WASHINGTON — So, did you hear the one about the comedian who spent a whole day on Capitol Hill and told no jokes?

Democrat Al Franken arrived in Washington on Monday content to be as mundane in the Senate as he was brazen in his previous job as a "Saturday Night Live" performer.

Forget funny. Soon after he showed up in a Senate hallway with Majority Leader Harry Reid, Franken made clear his new shtick is serious senator from Minnesota.

"I think they'll get to used to the idea that I'm a senator, that I've kind of changed careers," Franken said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I just don't think it will take that long. They'll see what I do and what I say. Mainly, I'm going to put my head down and get to work."

Franken said his first order of business would be preparing for the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. He said he was meeting with "the best legal minds" in Minnesota to prepare for his role in the hearings.

"As someone who will have been in the committee a grand total of six days and isn't an attorney, I kind of see myself fulfilling a certain role for Americans watching the hearings," he said.

Franken also said he is looking forward to getting involved in health-care legislation and wants to play a role in crafting legislation that contains costs.

"It is unsustainable the way we are going," he said.

Franken's seriousness didn't faze the dozens of onlookers who packed into a narrow Senate hallway hoping for at least one salty quip.

What they got was essentially a rather dour politician, in a blue-and-white striped tie and a dark blue pinstripe suit, standing behind a podium with the seal of the Senate on it, speaking slowly from prepared remarks. Franken barely cracked a smile as he talked at length about his duty to his constituents and emphasized repeatedly that he would work hard.

In the interview with the AP, Franken offered some glimpses of humor, joking about the similarities between Minnesota and North Dakota and acknowledging the publicity that's surrounding his arrival in the Senate.

"I think that there was a little hullabaloo today because I'm going to get sworn in tomorrow, and because I'm the 60th Democratic vote in the Senate," he said.

But Franken's been working on his new role for years. The man who many considered ribald was the picture of reserve during a two-year campaign and eight-month recount from which he emerged victorious over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.

Franken is expected to be sworn in on Tuesday. He'll be the junior senator from Minnesota, alongside fellow Democrat Amy Klobuchar.