( CNN ) -- Season 40 of `` Saturday Night Live '' kicked off over the weekend with much the same assessment as previous seasons : talent that needs seasoning , up-and-down sketches and mixed reviews . `` Are 'SNL 's ' growing pains over as it enters its 40th season ? It certainly did n't seem that way from the show 's bizarre season opener , '' wrote EW 's Esther Zuckerman . On the other hand , Slate 's Sharan Shetty praised the opener as `` one of the better , more consistently funny episodes in a good while . '' 40 reasons why 'SNL ' matters . Certainly , uneven `` SNLs '' are nothing new . But the new season , with a combination of winning host Chris Pratt and some fresh faces , seemed to draw particularly diverse critiques . The best reviews were for a taped bit on future Marvel projects -- including films based around shopping carts and someone named Pam -- that , the studio promised , will make a mint . `` Who 's Pam ? Does n't matter . 'Pam ' will make $ 3 billion , '' the voiceover said . `` Pratt 's starring role in 'Guardians of the Galaxy ' served as the inspiration for the night 's best taped bit , '' wrote The Hollywood Reporter 's Ken Tucker . On the other hand , new Weekend Update anchor Michael Che was `` hobbled '' by `` lame jokes , '' Tucker said , not to mention his own nervousness . `` His appearance was a bit rocky : he flubbed a few lines and took a while to get into a rhythm with Colin Jost , '' Shetty wrote . If anyone came out well , it was new player Pete Davidson , who earned plaudits all over the place . `` Davidson ... was the revelation of the episode , '' Shetty wrote . And Twitter definitely smiled on the 20-year-old . `` This Kid Is A Star # SNL , '' tweeted Questlove . `` SNL 's new featured player @ petedavidson stole the whole show tonight during Weekend Update ! '' JustJared added . `` SNL 's '' 40th season continues next week with Sarah Silverman hosting .
New season of ` ` Saturday Night Live '' premieres to mixed reviews . ' The show 's growing pains show . Slate said it was ` ` consistently funny '' The standout guest was new player Jim Davidson .