‘Saturday Night Live’: On Alec Baldwin’s promo — and Rosie O’Donnell’s Steve Bannon pitch
Is Alec Baldwin hosting “Saturday Night Live” a big deal? The first promo for this weekend’s episode at the bottom of this article does a hilarious job of raising the question. After all, it’s not lost on anyone that he’s appeared on the show several times already this season as Donald Trump, most recently on this past episode. Not only that, but he also played a co-pilot in the Sully sketch with Tom Hanks earlier this season.
What we like about this promo is that it does remind us a little bit more of Baldwin’s history as a part of the show, which is a huge part of his story. He’s someone who first hosted the show decades ago, and he’s hosted more than anyone else in history. He’s also got so many other iconic sketches — including Schweddy Balls — that existed long before he ever put on the infamous Trump wig. Hopefully, this episode is a reminder of much of this. Obviously, we want to see him do the Trump impression again given that it is so ingrained in his DNA. We just also want to see him do so much more than this.
Now, let’s talk Rosie O’Donnell. Specifically, we want to do so through the lens of her campaigning to play key Trump Administration member Steve Bannon, who so far this season has been presented as a combination of the Grim Reaper and also Palpatine. Mikey Day’s been the cast member under the costume, but Rosie wanting the part makes sense — she could easily play the part given that Melissa McCarthy wonderfully played Sean Spicer, and you know that this would annoy Trump bigly given how much he’s hated Rosie over the years.
As for whether or not it’s the right move for the show to go in this direction, we’re of two minds about it. No doubt it would be hilarious, but at the same time, the Bannon character as presented is already great. Maybe you do this as a one-off, and keep the Evil Reaper Bannon the rest of the time.
Want to get some other news right now when it comes to “Saturday Night Live,” including Spicer’s reaction to the McCarthy impression? Then be sure to head over to the link here now! Of course, we imagine that there’s going to be a whole lot more to say about this episode before it airs.