Sunday, March 3, 2024

'SNL' mocks 'Biden is old' in 'Inside Politics' cold open

Happy Sunday! It's time for a highlights post of last night's Saturday Night Live. I begin with Inside Politics Cold Open, where the cast makes fun of the "Biden is old" meme and the over-the-top efforts to combat it.

Dana Bash (Heidi Gardner) interviews Governor Gavin Newsom, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and Draymond Green (Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Marcello Hernández, Devon Walker) to address concerns about President Biden's age.
The biggest criticism of this skit I read in the comments was that Michael Longfellow didn't even try to imitate Gavin Newsom's distinctive gravelly voice and flair for the dramatic. I agree. Try harder next time. On the other hand, he and the other writers did capture Biden's actual accomplishments and the defenses Biden's surrogates use. As for "we all know the stakes," watch the first story in Weekend Update: Trump and Biden Visit Southern Border, McConnell to Step Down.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news like Mitch McConnell announcing he's stepping down from Senate leadership at the end of the year.
"Swarmed by criminals and rapists" and "Trump, who looks good behind bars, by the way" — LOL, tell us how you really feel. Just the same, the bit does illustrate the stakes quite well. I'll take a slightly older Joe Biden over a slightly younger defendant who owes about half a billion dollars in fines and judgments and is facing 91 criminal charges.

Speaking of telling the audience how the writers really feel, I'll be relieved not to hear jokes about Mitch McConnell's cruelty after he steps down as Senate Minority Leader after the election, but until then, I'll laugh at them along with everyone else. Those jokes continued in Weekend Update: Flaco the Owl Dies, KFC Launches Fried Chicken Pizza.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Staten Island hosting a LGBTQ-friendly St. Patrick’s Day parade.
That's sad news about Flaco the Owl, who survived a year free (I don't know if I'd call Manhattan "in the wild"). The next segment features happier animal news, Charlotte the Stingray on Her Pregnancy.

Charlotte the Stingray (Ego Nwodim) stops by Weekend Update to discuss her mysterious pregnancy.
I have written that I'm a paleontologist many times over the past 13 years, but I haven't mentioned that my Ph.D. dissertation was on self-fertilization in snails since 2013, slightly more than eleven years ago to the day. I also studied parthenogenesis in snails and clams, so my mind went there as an explanation. I'm not alone in thinking this. The alternative is that Charlotte stored sperm from a mating before she was captured. That's another way she could be pregnant in isolation. We'll find out once her pups are born.

Follow over the jump for two clips featuring last night's host that tie into the themes of the previous two clips.

Continuing the animal theme, Sydney Sweeney stars in Air Bud.

A cheerleader (Sydney Sweeney) meets the new star basketball player.
Ha, ha, and woof!

Michael Che called Charlotte the Stingray's pregnancy "immaculate" and Sweeney drops the word, surprisingly appropriately, in her monologue.

First-time host Sydney Sweeney talks about her life outside of acting and addresses internet rumors.
Good thing Sweeney talked a lot about show business, as it justified today's post as the first Sunday entertainment feature of March. Whew! On the other hand, I'm a little worried for Sweeney for reasons that I mentioned in 'SNL' tackles E. Jean Carroll judgment, DeSantis endorsement, Nikki Haley, and more — "here's to hoping Madame Web doesn't earn at least one Razzie Award nomination next year and Johnson doesn't earn one as well for her role." I'm afraid Madame Web will earn multiple Razzie nominations and might even win some of them. I just hope Sweeney escapes being nominated.

That's it for today's post. Remember, it's also World Wildlife Day, and stay tuned for a marching music Super Tuesday on Marching Music Day, when I feature the corps and bands from Super Tuesday states east of the Mississippi. I'll get to the states west of the Mississippi on Super Tuesday proper.

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