Live from New York, it’s… Centre College in Danville, Kentucky? Last night’s lengthy Saturday Night Live cold open was devoted to satirizing Thursday Night’s Vice Presidential Debate at Centre College. Clocking in at over eight minutes, in comedy terms, it felt nearly as long as the debate itself.
Kate McKinnon as Martha Raddatz began by poking fun at the Debate’s struggle for relevance (much as SNL does), “Before we begin, a reminder that your performance tonight is extremely unlikely to affect the outcome of the election. So just have fun with it.”
Taran Killam as Congressman Ryan barely got out a thanks to Centre College for hosting the Debate before Jason Sudeikis as Biden launched into “here we go.” (Get it? Because Biden frequently interrupted Ryan during the actual debate.)
The sketch broadly hit the high points: gently mocking Ryan’s incessant hydrating during the Debate; Biden’s braying; a Catholic-off on the topic of abortion; and moderator Martha Raddatz’s refusal to take any crap (“do I look like Jim Lehrer?”)
Sudeikis as Biden had an uphill battle coming off more over the top than the vice president himself, announcing “There’s gym-strong, and there’s old-man strong.”
On economic policy, McKinnon as Raddataz presses,”Can you please be more specific?” Killam as Ryan responds, “No, but let me say it again, with hand gestures.”
(For defter NBC election satire, pull up Thursday night’s 30 Rock, “Governor Dunston,” which includes Alec Baldwin chatting to Mitt Romney’s horse and Tracy as Governor Dunston, replacing Congressman Ryan as Romney’s running mate (“everyone’s talking about how much he looks like Tracy. NBC.com had over a hundred hits today!”)
