Massive movie star and sketch comedy veteran Ben Stiller (who worked on SNL for a short time in the '80s) returned to host the show for the first time since 1998 this week, and the episode proved to be a dramatic slide after the solid opening weeks of the season. Whether it was a number of repeat sketches or Stiller doing a couple "greatest hits" characters, it felt like a show looking backwards, and it's too early in the season for that.

And, after two shows that put the guest host front and center, it left Stiller without a whole lot to do. He's a resource that could have been better utilized.

Sketch Highlights

• "Cold Open: Mitt Romney/Chris Christie" - As political cold opens go, this was ok. I'm still not thrilled that Jason Sudekis is playing Mitt Romney, because his impression is about as dull as Romney himself, but I liked all the stuff with the journalists getting excited about Christie. Plus, Bobby Moynihan! Meatballs. (Watch the "Cold Open: Mitt Romney/Chris Christie" video)
• "Lincoln Financial" - This was repeated throughout the night with diminishing returns. The first one was my favorite, because it had an actual punchline. It's not often that just naming the product provides the laugh. (Watch the "Lincoln Financial" video)
• "Fox and Friends: Hank Williams Jr." - I get my hopes up every time SNL does a FOX News sketch, and I'm always a little let down when it's not as sharp or funny as it should be. This week was no exception. I like the idea of the three terrible hosts sitting around saying stupid, inaccurate things, but I could watch FOX and Friends to see that. The Hank Williams Jr. stuff all played kind of like an afterthought, and Still was stranded without much to do. (Watch the "Fox and Friends" video)

• "Digital Short: V-Necks" - I've lost most of my patience with Andy Samberg at this point, which makes the "Digital Shorts" even harder for me to enjoy than a regular sketch. Maybe it's that I don't find self-satisfied silliness funny, or maybe it has to be just the right kind of self-satisfied silliness. I don't know. This certainly wasn't a train wreck or anything, but once the V-neck showdown began to escalate, it was pretty clear where things were headed. (Watch the "Digital Short: V-Necks" video)
• "Shanna Halloween Party" - I'm trying so hard to be positive. I'm trying so hard to be positive. I'm trying so hard to be positive. It's disheartening to see Saturday Night Live trotting out a week sketch built around yet another one-note Kristen Wiig character this early in the season (there were two for the night, if you include that atrocious party planner she did on "Update"; I would say we aren't likely to see that again, but worse things have been repeated), especially when it's a repeat from the last few seasons. Because we know the entire arc of the sketch ahead of time, it has nowhere to go and no way to surprise us; what's worse, it doesn't even try. I liked Andy Samberg saying "I feel like something bad is going to happen," because it was as close as the sketch would come to self-aware commentary. Mostly, though, it was a bummer. (Watch the "Shanna Halloween Party" video)
• "Update: Stefon and Zoolander" - I like Bill Hader and I think his club-kid character "Stefon" is funny, but he's way, way overexposed. Like several of the more inoffensive repeat sketches, this one is a good joke carrier (you can tell the writers have a blast just sitting around and making lists of nonsense), but it's the same thing every time -- plus, for some reason, Hader now seems to think he needs to break character and laugh (something he otherwise does not do) every time he performs the character. The show tried to shake things up a little this week by bringing Stiller on to do his Zoolander character (he made it safe to laugh again in the post 9/11 world), but that move felt kind of calculated and too after-the-fact to work. Like, I don't know if a lot of people were clamoring for a Zoolander comeback. I was not. Plus, Stiller looked to old to be playing the character (something that plagued him throughout the episode, even though I don't think it's actually the case). I appreciate the effort, everyone, but I don't think it worked. (Watch the "Update: Stefon and Zoolander" video)
• "Underground Festival: Columbus Day" - The combination of Ben Stiller doing several old characters and the sheer number of repeat sketches this week made Saturday Night Live feel kind of desperate, and that's unfortunate considering the fact that the season has actually gone pretty well so far. I don't hate the "Underground Festival" sketches, but they've been done too many times already and have lost a lot of their novelty. There are always three or four good jokes written into these (though that's out of probably 25 or 30), so they'll never be a total waste, but I really wanted to see the show continue to push itself this week and instead it took a step backwards. Oh well. RIP Ass Dan. (Watch the "Underground Festival: Columbus Day" video)
• "Bruce Springsteen DVD Set" - I don't know. I mean, there's a reasonably funny idea here, and Fred Armisen's Little Steven was funny, and Ben Stiller is known for his Springsteen impression, and it was short. I guess that's a lot going for it. I just couldn't help but feel like this was a leftover from Stiller's days on The Ben Stiller Show, and while I'm a big fan of that long-gone sketch show, I don't really mean that as a compliment. (Watch the "Bruce Springsteen DVD Set" video)
• "Tinyballs" - Anther taped sketch that wasn't horrible, but really felt like someone started with the title and worked backwards from there. It doesn't help that this is the oldest joke about steroids anyone can imagine. Taran Killam did a Brad Pitt impression during an "Update" piece last year, and it was grotesque and way over the top. Here, it's way more subdued and actually really awesome. It's not enough to be funny -- it's more of a "holy cow, Brad Pitt seems like a hard impression to do but he's figured it out and it's uncanny" kind of thing -- but, if nothing else, this sketch had that going for it. (Watch the "Tinyballs" video)

• Original Air Date: 10/8/11
• Host: Ben Stiller
• Musical Guest: Foster the People