Saturday Night Live: Revisiting Chris Pine, Star Trek, and that Sulu cameo

Saturday Night Live may be off the air from now until September (most likely), but there is still some merit that comes via exploring a few elements of episodes that may have been lost in the shuffle the first time around.

Tonight, NBC is replaying the episode hosted by Chris Pine from earlier this year, and that is largely notable thanks to the fact that Wonder Woman just came out in theaters. Clearly, someone over at the network intentionally made that move with publicity in mind. Maybe they wouldn’t have done it if Wonder Woman bombed, but it’s turning out to be every bit the movie that Batman v. Superman failed to be.

We could just continue this entire review bashing Batman v. Superman, but there are other important things to discuss, including the Star Trek spoof that didn’t get enough attention the first time around.

In terms of humor, this wasn’t the greatest iteration of Star Trek in the world; yet, there was some humor that came courtesy of Pine playing more of the William Shatner version of Kirk than his own from the recent motion pictures. The character of Spocko, played by now-departed cast member Bobby Moynihan, is wonderfully silly but perfectly in line with the sort of character that he was great at. This is a guy who was silly and grating to the other cast members, but not in a way where he was maliciously going after him. There was an innocence about him, like he just didn’t know better. Whether it be with this character or someone like Riblet, this was the sort of thing that Bobby was great at.

Then, there is what many people missed in the sketch: Sulu. When this sketch first aired, it was another unfortunate reminder of the lack of Asian-American representation on the show. However, many people (including critics) failed to realize just who this was on the screen. It was none other than Akira “Leo” Yoshimura, the longtime production designer who first played Sulu on the show decades ago. Even if there was an Asian-American cast member, having Yoshimura play Sulu would be a nice touch to the show’s history. Plus, it’s a salute to a longtime employee and an unsung hero. (Fun fact: He’s been around for more episodes than anyone in history, including creator Lorne Michaels.)

Whether you love history, Star Trek, or just Chris Pine, this sketch still has something to offer upon repeat viewing.