Sunday, February 05, 2017

Making Saturday Night Live Great Again!

I never believed in the summer of 2015 that Donald Trump was actually serious about running for president, and the fact that his kids couldn't figure out how to register as Republicans in the New York primary will always stand in my mind as proof of that. Some say it was just another attempt to increase the TRUMP brand's visibility, some say it was just an ego trip, some say it was part of a negotiating strategy with NBC over his Celebrity Apprentice contract, but I'm going to suggest another possibility: Maybe Trump was working with his employers at NBC to increase the appeal of a floundering Saturday Night Live franchise by giving it a joke presidential candidate to spice up an election year that was threatening to be a Bush vs. Clinton snoozefest.

The Alec Baldwin performances as Donald Trump gave SNL new life and high ratings as NBC employee Trump pretended to be offended, but the show reached a new height last night when the accidental president's press secretary Sean Spicer was portrayed by Melissa McCarthy. I've been watching SNL on and off since it began in 1975 and at the moment I can't think of anything funnier than this. I can't stop watching it.


Sorry Sean Spicer, but this is one of those defining performances. Just as no one can see Sarah Palin speak without thinking of Tina Fey's "I can see Russia from my house" imitation, no future press conference of yours will ever be seen without Melissa McCarthy's impression in the back of every viewer's mind.

Thanks SNL.


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Update 2/5/2017 at 8pm:
The Trump/NBC conspiracy to Make SNL Great Again has officially succeeded.  According to Variety today, the show has its best ratings in 22 years thanks to Donald Trump's antics and attacks.


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