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Full disclosure: I meant to watch the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special on Sunday night, but I totally forgot about it. Over the past half-century, SNL has had plenty of funny moments that would have been worth revisiting, so maybe I’ll catch it on streaming.
The original cast was revolutionary; even when their sketches failed, they still somehow managed to make the audience laugh. I’m a particular fan of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s cast that included so many greats like Dana Carvey, Victoria Jackson, Tim Meadows, and the late Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks.
Of course, the show’s political bias has overshadowed the comedy in recent years. Here’s an example: eight years ago, Tom Hanks appeared in one of the show’s “Black Jeopardy” sketches as a Donald Trump voter named Doug. The sketch was funny and effective at demonstrating how much rural Americans and black Americans have in common.
However, at one point, the host (Kenan Thompson) walks over to shake Doug’s hand, and Doug bristles. It’s the hoariest of stereotypes: the conservative who is standoffish and fearful of black people.
Unbelievable
Tom Hanks in a MAGA hat refusing to shake hands with Keenan Thompson is a call back from eight years ago on SNL… https://t.co/aQZS1SyRsK pic.twitter.com/ztGqVsiq7w— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 17, 2025
SNL brought Doug back for a guest appearance on the 50th anniversary special and repeated the dumb jump-back-from-a-handshake moment.
Tom Hanks in a MAGA hat, horrified at the idea of shaking a black man’s hand, tells you everything you need to know about what the left has learned since November and why they will thankfully continue to lose landslide election after landslide election for the foreseeable future pic.
