You’ll forgive us if this Saturday Night Live precap reads as if if was written in enthusiastic italics. We’re riding a little high after we correctly predicted four out of five of last week’s sketches (among them, the return of Kate McKinnon’s “Close Encounters”). Actually, we’re not riding a little high, we’re riding so high that we’re halfway to 100 percent sure we’ve also accurately guessed at least the same number of bits that’ll be included in this weekend’s Steve Carell-hosted episode. Read on, and see if you agree we’re on a roll…
Melania Gets ‘Fired’ Up: Since it turns out Donald isn’t the only Trump who’s canning members of his administration these days, we want to know how the First Lady went from making fashion statements to deciding which National Security Advisors to pink-slip. Presumably, this is a “skill” that she picked up from her husband, so if Alec Baldwin’s POTUS returns Saturday, we can easily see him teaching Cecily Strong’s Melania how to fire someone — and, as an added bonus, the difference between sacking someone on The Apprentice vs. axing someone at the White House.
The Return of Ace and Gary: Some SNL fans might not realize that Carell’s most memorable character on the show even is a Carell character. But from 1996-2011, he and Stephen Colbert provided the voices of Ace and Gary, aka the Ambiguously Gay Duo, in Robert Smigel’s cartoons. Were the crimefighters to reappear seven years later, we could find out if they’ve changed along with the times. Maybe by now they’d be out and proud, rebranded as the Unambiguously Gay Duo, and determined to mend the social divisions in our country. Something tells us that’s a challenge to which they’d, er, rise.
Pass the Turkey and the Politics: If tradition holds, SNL‘s Thanksgiving episode will gather a family around the dinner table for some cranberry sauce and awkward political talk. And since Carell’s so often tackled fatherly roles, he’s a given to play the patriarch. But we’d take that typecasting a step further, by aging him by about 30 years and letting “the old man” react to his very liberal daughter’s Turkey Day guests: members of the Central American migrant caravan. Wanna bet Pops wouldn’t make it to dessert before being told to shut his piehole?
No, Not That Wave: Though prom preparations don’t typically include one-handed Nazi salutes, a Wisconsin high school might just step to a different goose. After this week’s unfortunate, headline-making photo-op, we have questions — so many questions — which SNL could answer by introducing us not only to the kids involved but also the photographer. What did he say before the picture was snapped? Why did it take so long for it to go viral? Could a skit about all this develop into a portrait of hilarity? We must find out!
Family Feud: Media Edition: Yes, yes, we know Thanksgiving 2017 featured a Family Feud sketch with Steve Harvey’s clan, but we’d nonetheless love to see Kenan Thompson return for an edition of the game show that pitted CNN and MSNBC against Fox News. Just imagine Mika Brzezinski (Kate McKinnon) and Anderson Cooper (Alex Moffat) taking on a few Fox and Friends hosts! And since Moffat plays several of the potential Feud-ers, the show would have to turn for an assist to Carell — maybe even as Joe Scarborough. Survey says… we’re gonna be right about this one!
Tune in Saturday (11:30/10:30c, NBC) to find out if our confidence was justified. And, till then, hit the comments with the skits that you think we’ll be seeing.
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