Well, another week in 2021, another new episode of “SNL” without any parody of presidential level politics. We’re not making a value judgment about this, after all there’s a 50/50 chance any sketch could end up either missing the point or trying to hard to both-sides things. But just considering how much we saw Alec Baldwin’s Trump on the show in early 2017, it’s just weird.
Anyway, the latest cold open sketch featured Kate McKinnon as Dr. Anthony Fauci for a coronavirus vaccine briefing that turned out to be a fake game show parodying everyone wanting to get the vaccine, called “So You Think You Can Get the Vaccine.”
The sketch featured as a panel of judges three Democratic governors: Alex Moffat showed up as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pete Davidson once again played Andrew Cuomo, and Cecily Strong played Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The premise was that these three would decide which of the show’s contestants could get the vaccine.
“Getting the vaccine shouldn’t be competition, but Americans will only want to get it if it means someone else can’t. So, let’s meet our panel of judges who are all — get excited — famous governors,” McKinnon’s Fauci said. “He’s hated by every single person in California except those 10 people he had dinner with at Napa at one time.”
Sidebar: That’s a pretty good burn. Anyway, Moffat’s Newsom said in response “what can I say? I love dinner.”
“How are things going in California?” Fauci asked.
“Teeth? White. Bodies? Tight. COVID? Pretty bad,” Newsom said.
“Next, he’s currently under fire for futzing with old dead people and also for the kind of sexual harassment allegations that make you go, ‘Yeah, I can see that.’ It’s New York governor Andrew Cuomo,” McKinnon’s Fauci continued.
“Yes, hello. Nice bodies, some of you. I know, I know, I’m in the friggin’ dog house again. Remember when your favorite movie was my PowerPoints. Remember ‘Today is Tuesday’? Why can’t we go back to that? I mean, come on,” Davidson’s Cuomo said.
“Our next judge narrowly escaped being kidnapped by a group of men whose fingerprints probably had Cheetos dust on them. Please welcome the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer,” Said Fauci.
“It’s an honor to be here with my fellow governors. People yell at them about their policies, and they yell at me ‘GET HER’. But hey, that’s life,” Strong’s Whitmer said as she drank a beer.
Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodom, Melissa Villasenor and Bowen Yang showed up as civilians vying for the vaccine. And then once again Aidy Bryant showed up to give the people what they want, her extremely fun parody of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, this time dinging his ridiculous performance at CPAC on Friday. And then Mikey Day came out as an elderly man who qualified for the vaccine but had no idea how to use the internet in order to make an appointment.