Saturday Night Live Episode Recap
The last new Saturday Night Live episode before the 2008 presidential election has come and gone, and the election probably can't come a moment too soon. It appears SNL is out of ideas.
John McCain -- the man who could be president -- stopped campaigning three days before the election to show up on SNL, appearing alongside Tina Fey's Sarah Palin to "lampoon" himself.
See, he doesn't have the "money" or "resources" of Barack Obama, so he can only afford to buy time on QVC to promote products like "Fine Gold" (kind of funny). If McCain showed up next week -- after the results come in and he has lost(?) -- the sketch would feel like he had a sense of humor about how everything went down. Under these terms, it felt kind of desperate and -- like his running mate's appearance from a few weeks back -- a little like he wasn't quite in on the joke. Also, Tina Fey seems really, really ready to stop playing Palin. Just an observation. (Watch the video)
McCain also stopped by "Weekend Update" (now being hosted solely by Seth Meyers, since Amy Poehler has left the show to raise a baby and star on a sitcom) to talk strategy. It wasn't totally unfunny, but nothing about it a) likely won McCain any new votes (and no late-night sketch show, Republican or Democrat, appearance should) or b) suggested his night wouldn't have been better spent actually trying to win the presidency.
Seth Meyers' response to being asked by McCain if he'd heard the senator referred to as a "maverick" provided the funniest moment of the sketch, and it was just a guy saying "Yes." (Watch the video)
Actor/director/notorious Democrat Ben Affleck was the night's host, though he didn't seem to be promoting anything -- which, actually, was kind of nice. In the late '90s, when Affleck's star was really on the rise, he hosted the show a bunch -- and had a fun back-and-forth on the show with his then-girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow -- and was always one of my favorite guests. Saturday's episode might have been his least successful appearance; not because he didn't come to play, but more so because his participation felt like an afterthought.
Take, for instance, the sketch goofing on The View. Besides requiring a whole lot of inside knowledge about the talk show (luckily -- if you want to call it that -- the wife watches, so I could pick up on some of it), the sketch pretty much existed to bash conservative mouthpiece Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Ben Affleck showing up to do a not-very-good Alec Baldwin impression felt kind of shoehorned in. On the flip side, Casey Wilson did zero in on how to do a really funny Jennifer Aniston impression, which -- like Andy Samberg's Mark Wahlberg before her -- doesn't seem like it would be easy to do. (Watch the video)
Another example: in what was the night's closest-to-successful sketch, a High School Musical parody called Night School Musical, several cast members play night school students singing about their sad and desperate lives. Then, Affleck gets shoe horned in to do an unnecessary song and make the sketch go on longer than it should have. Again, it's not his fault; the writers should have just left him out. And, once again, Casey Wilson gets the funniest line. ("Then do meth because I'm addicted to meth." It's funnier in song.)
So, that's it. SNL seems to be losing a little bit of the momentum the election has provided. And, with the election wrapping up this week, the show will need to figure out a way to get through the rest of this season. Saturday's episode didn't show a lot of promise for that new direction. Affleck did his best, but the show felt a little lazy.
Read all SNL Season 34 Recaps
A Visit From A Presidential Candidate
John McCain -- the man who could be president -- stopped campaigning three days before the election to show up on SNL, appearing alongside Tina Fey's Sarah Palin to "lampoon" himself.
See, he doesn't have the "money" or "resources" of Barack Obama, so he can only afford to buy time on QVC to promote products like "Fine Gold" (kind of funny). If McCain showed up next week -- after the results come in and he has lost(?) -- the sketch would feel like he had a sense of humor about how everything went down. Under these terms, it felt kind of desperate and -- like his running mate's appearance from a few weeks back -- a little like he wasn't quite in on the joke. Also, Tina Fey seems really, really ready to stop playing Palin. Just an observation. (Watch the video)
McCain also stopped by "Weekend Update" (now being hosted solely by Seth Meyers, since Amy Poehler has left the show to raise a baby and star on a sitcom) to talk strategy. It wasn't totally unfunny, but nothing about it a) likely won McCain any new votes (and no late-night sketch show, Republican or Democrat, appearance should) or b) suggested his night wouldn't have been better spent actually trying to win the presidency.
Seth Meyers' response to being asked by McCain if he'd heard the senator referred to as a "maverick" provided the funniest moment of the sketch, and it was just a guy saying "Yes." (Watch the video)
A Waste of Affleck?
Actor/director/notorious Democrat Ben Affleck was the night's host, though he didn't seem to be promoting anything -- which, actually, was kind of nice. In the late '90s, when Affleck's star was really on the rise, he hosted the show a bunch -- and had a fun back-and-forth on the show with his then-girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow -- and was always one of my favorite guests. Saturday's episode might have been his least successful appearance; not because he didn't come to play, but more so because his participation felt like an afterthought.
Take, for instance, the sketch goofing on The View. Besides requiring a whole lot of inside knowledge about the talk show (luckily -- if you want to call it that -- the wife watches, so I could pick up on some of it), the sketch pretty much existed to bash conservative mouthpiece Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Ben Affleck showing up to do a not-very-good Alec Baldwin impression felt kind of shoehorned in. On the flip side, Casey Wilson did zero in on how to do a really funny Jennifer Aniston impression, which -- like Andy Samberg's Mark Wahlberg before her -- doesn't seem like it would be easy to do. (Watch the video)
Another example: in what was the night's closest-to-successful sketch, a High School Musical parody called Night School Musical, several cast members play night school students singing about their sad and desperate lives. Then, Affleck gets shoe horned in to do an unnecessary song and make the sketch go on longer than it should have. Again, it's not his fault; the writers should have just left him out. And, once again, Casey Wilson gets the funniest line. ("Then do meth because I'm addicted to meth." It's funnier in song.)
More Sketch Highlights:
- "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" - Ben Affleck does a reasonably good impression of the pundit, spoofing his fast-talking, self-important style. Not a bad sketch, but goes on way too long. (Watch the video)
- "Grady Wilson's Put the Fire Back" - Kenan Thompson (who showed up a lot on Saturday) tries to make another character catch on. (Watch the video)
- "Coat Store" - Sometimes, the 12:55 sketch is the best of the night -- they're getting away with something when they think no one's watching. This isn't one of those times. (Watch the video)
So, that's it. SNL seems to be losing a little bit of the momentum the election has provided. And, with the election wrapping up this week, the show will need to figure out a way to get through the rest of this season. Saturday's episode didn't show a lot of promise for that new direction. Affleck did his best, but the show felt a little lazy.
Read all SNL Season 34 Recaps
- Original Air Date: 11/1/08
- Host: Ben Affleck
- Musical Guest: David Cook
