Saturday, April 20, 2024

Kate McKinnon Still Missing in Action, AWOL, as “SNL” Yields to the Kardashians with Mixed Results

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Where is Kate McKinnon? She re-signed to “SNL” but has been nowhere to be seen in the first two episodes of Season 47. Last fall, Cecily Strong and Aidy Bryant pulled this trick so they could film some minor series elsewhere. Is Kate making more Verizon commercials?

Last night’s show was all about the Kardashians. It’s about five years too late. Kim, as host, showed a talent for reading cue cards. Otherwise, her appearance was costly. To keep her afloat the show brought in a lot of guest stars and extra players to distract the audience including members of her own avaricious family. We’ll see if all this helped the ratings.

The first sketch of the night, a spoof of “Aladdin,” was vulgar and childish. That set the tone for the whole night. Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. Some sketches, like the one about a lottery drawing, made little sense. Even Weekend Update seemed off and not nearly as sharp as Week 1.

Halsey was the musical guest. Her first number was an interminable screech that no one wants to hear again. Her second was a parody of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” with that group’s former member Lindsay Buckingham plucking his guitar strings with an intent to garrotte Stevie Nicks. Did Halsey understand she was being used to do Lindsay’s dirty work?

PS The Halsey appearances sold not one record on iTunes or on Apple streaming. Literally no one said to themselves, I want that tune on my phone.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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