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Saturday Night Live may take nose dive by playing too safe
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This year’s presidential election gave a much needed boost to that stalwart of sketch comedy, Saturday Night Live. The show is back on the political and pop radar, having almost fallen into the abyss of "Irrelevant No Return."
Credit the keen instincts of executive producer Lorne Michaels for picking up the show by its bootstraps and dusting off its cobwebs. Throughout its more than thirty years, similar programs have come and gone, most notably In Living Color, SCTV, Kids in the Hall, and the recently cancelled MadTV. The granddaddy of live television survives precisely because it isn’t afraid to push the line, taking chances with hits, near misses, and the patently absurd. Tuning in is downright fashionable again, a thrill for old-timers like myself who thought the show might never again shine.
Why then does Michaels seem to be pulling back on the reigns?
This past Saturday, SNL deviated from its regular pattern. Rather than follow the guest monologue with a sketch or commercial spoof, the show went straight to commercial (and a tad too many for my liking), then returned with three skits in rapid succession. Turns out they pulled a skit about Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Obama’s Chief of Staff. Too risqué or too offensive? You be the judge.
Any other reason producers would have booted the sketch?
Then there’s the matter of Barack Obama. Amid official denials, industry insiders say four African-American comedians – Jordan Carlos, Donald Glover, Wyatt Cenac, and Jordan Peele -- have auditioned to replace cast member Fred Armisen as the president-elect. Seems there may be too much controversy for producers to successfully defuse. Poor Armisen thinks he’s got it nailed down, but anyone can tell he struggles with intonation.
On the other hand, casting solely for a new Barack Obama impersonator could easily backfire. If memory serves me correctly, the last time two male African-Americans performed in the same cast, only one received any real airtime. The other was relegated to bit parts and background noise.
Hiring a new cast member to play Barack Obama could result in a similar outcome, clamping down on a vehicle only recently back in flight.
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