Tom Shales

Lorne Michaels had let it be known over the summer that his budget for this season of "Saturday Night Live" had been cut, but even so, attentive viewers must have been taken aback when they saw a promo, on the Oct. 7 show, for the next “SNL” telecast—a repeat of the season opener only three weeks after it opened the season!

Why, what on earth is going on, we wondered.

It turns out there is no reason to panic, even though that is a logical first reaction to ALL news in these times. NBC is airing a NASCAR race on Saturday (the 14th) and it will run late—so late that “SNL” probably wouldn't get on the air until after midnight. Michaels says there is no point in burning off a brand new show when it's so late that hardly anyone will see it, so the season premiere will air again. The host is comic Dane Cook, whose monologue was long and boring but who did a very good job in the sketches, and the musical act is The Killers, whom your teenage daughter may already be tired of. They have a certain something—but not much of it.

Meanwhile here's a scoop: On the Oct. 21 show, although he won't be the host (that will be John C. McGinley of "Scrubs"), “SNL” alumnus and now movie superstar Will Ferrell will make a gala return appearance. Ferrell represents a certain special something that the current cast lacks (though Amy Poehler comes close): He's an all-around utility player who is also a high-energy power source to keep everybody going even on those nights when the show's luminance dims.

He also dared to ad lib, against the show's tradition, sometimes daring fellow cast members not to crack up on the air. He brought so much oomph and was so tireless on the show that he could have been given Tom Brokaw's old network nickname: Duncan the Wonder Horse. It was given Brokaw by then "Today" executive producer Steve Friedman, who masterminded the show's rise from the ashes, causing Phoenix envy to break out among the competitors. But that's ancient history.....