Why Fans Are Once Again Upset With SNL's Latest Debate Skit
Although the stakes are high, the 2020 election admittedly makes great fodder for Saturday Night Live laughs. With only one more episode before the Nov. 3 election, SNL brought back Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump and Jim Carrey as Joe Biden for a sketch about the final presidential debate — but it wasn't quite the hit it could have been. While the SNL writers may have thought it was all comic gold, critics and fans of the show were wildly bored with SNL's final presidential debate sketch on Oct. 24, with the New York Post's Johnny Oleksinski going so far as to call the jokes "so old hat a Pilgrim should wear it." Not great, huh?
There was nothing outstandingly wrong with the debate sketch, it just seemed repetitive to discerning viewers like Oleksinski. The critic complained in his review that the show relied on an old stereotype that Biden is an angry old man. "This whole Big Bad Biden bit has never worked, and it never will. If we were to play word associations with Americans, the first thought to pop into their heads when they imagined Biden would not be 'Scary.' As for Baldwin's Trump impression? We get it," Oleksinski wrote.
So, the Post's TV critic wasn't amused. But was anyone else?
Twitter reactions to 'SNL' ranged from 'lazy' to 'incredibly cringey'
It's easy to ignore the critics, but Saturday Night Live might want to heed fans' complaints about their final presidential debate sketch, since it seems like almost everyone was over it. In anticipation of the Oct. 24, 2020 episode, one exasperated fan tweeted, "Oh God there's gonna be another debate cold open on SNL." They weren't wrong and the debate cold open fatigue was real.
"We're gonna do another debate cold open SNL? Ffs," someone else tweeted. Another person added, "Boy #SNL has turned so incredibly cringey. Even the political debate skits that used to be funny are just flat now. Kate McKinnon is absolutely carrying this show on her back." Still, a different person wrote, "These debate sketches are so unilluminating. They just feel... lazy." Some people even offered up their advice on how to make the sketches better. "I love SNL@and Jim Carrey, but the debate spoofs are getting old, this particular one was not funny, and they need to bring Sudeikis back to play Biden," yet another fan wrote.
Despite the complaints, it must be said that it's not easy being funny every week, even when that's the point of a show. And given how absurd reality is these days, the SNL writers should at least be applauded for trying to make sense of it in any way possible. There's always next week, right?