Anyone expecting the Saturday Night Live prime-time special to have moments that would resonate on the campaign trail, or even be anything more than a slightly longer version of "Weekend Update," clearly expected too much. The big cameo, from SNL legend Bill Murray, was welcome but almost felt like a small letdown after all the hype about a potential Sarah Palin appearance.

The half hour began with a long sketch (it took up nearly half the show) based on Tuesday's debate, which proved once again that the writers just don't have as good a comedic handle on John McCain and Barack Obama as they have on Palin. The primary running joke in the sketch concerned moderator Tom Brokaw's alleged penchant for control freakiness, and while SNL alumnus Chris Parnell did an excellent job as the veteran anchor, cutting-edge humor it was not.

As for the impressions, Fred Armisen is becoming slightly more comfortable with his Obama impersonation, but while he's studied Obama's speaking rhythms, he's still not being given much that's funny to say. Darrell Hammond seems to be settling into a pattern of playing McCain as a befuddled old man, forgetting the names of people asking him questions and wandering aimlessly around the stage while Obama spoke. Murray, who appeared in the sketch as one of the debate's town hall questioners, asked the candidates about the plight of the Chicago Cubs, which likely amused those who know that he is an obsessive fan but probably puzzled everyone else.

From there, it was on to "Weekend Update," which was about the same length and format as a typical Saturday version, except for being interrupted by one commercial break. Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler had a few campaign jokes (saying that Palin's energy policy was "America runs on Dunkin"), some commentary on the financial collapse (criticizing the AIG brass for their costly retreat: "Even the Mafia knows not to spend money that soon after a heist!"), and the odd gags about Rock Band and monkeys working in Japanese restaurants. A bit featuring Kenan Thompson as an excitable financial analyst was about as memorable as anything else Thompson has ever done on the show, which is not praise.

The special ended with Will Forte and Armisen playing Daryl Hall and John Oates as dueling Obama and McCain supporters doing "You Make My Dreams" as campaign commentary -- random, but silly enough to work. There's another special next Thursday, and considering that the final debate takes place the preceding day on Long Island, you have to believe one or both candidates will be a part of it. But the first stab at prime-time SNL proved to be a pale copy of the Palin SNLs.

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