From the outset I will say, the odds are stacked against Saturday Night Live UK. After all, the words “Live from London… it’s Saturday Night!” never really had the same ring to it. The armchair critics are ready to slate it, but the true verdict is that it was truly a good effort from the debut episode of SNL UK.
To start with, SNL veteran Tina Fey opened it and while we may have expected the typical monologue she instead used the guests in the front row such as Nicola Coughlan, Michael Cera and Graham Norton to lean into. She was a great opener, they really needed a stalwart from the American import to give it credence and gravitas. The cold opener skit was predictably a political satire, taking aim at Keir Starmer’s insecurity at losing his friendship with ‘bestie’ Trump. The cast comprised of relative unknowns, with a few true standouts to keep an eye on. And in fairness to Tina Fey, she stuck around and took part in every sketch and she was excellent as she played off the new cast. Wet Leg were the musical guest, a perfect pick fresh off their Glastonbury high.
In terms of the skits on offer, there was a very good skit of David Attenborough using his brother Richard Attenborough’s DNA skills from Jurassic Park to bring back British icons from the dead for a Last Supper dinner party. This section included a gloomy Diana in her revenge dress played by Jack Shep, Freddie Mercury and even Cilla Black. It was strong and it was strategically placed at the start. A particularly excellent sketch saw them take a jibe at the new Oscar film Hamnet, in which every time Shakespeare returned to Stratford Upon Avon from London he would return as a more London-ized version of Paul Mescal with his earring, tote bag and even a Lime scooter. Other decent bits was a play on an M&S bra fitting and a small segment called ‘What Kind of Irish is your Grandad’ in which Fouracre raced through every kind of Irish accent. On the other hand, a skit on a film junket interview gone wrong was tepid at best, so it really was a bit of a mix, but crucially upweighted on the good side.
The pre-recorded skits however were a lot stronger. It allowed the nuanced British humour such as self deprecation and irony to come through, and this was also evident in the news anchor piece, known in its US counterpart as the “Weekend Update.” A piece about youthful-inducing skincare called ‘underáge’ which when used by the women in the ad would cause their boyfriends to be put straight in jail for dating an ‘underáge’ girl worked somehow.
Where it could do better? It played up to the American format too much. The brash, American format of people shouting for the sake of shouting is fine sometimes but not all the time. It’s not the 1970s anymore, so a global approach is needed sometimes but it would do well to take inspiration from Monty Python where it can. Overall, SNL UK was by no means perfect but it demonstrates a solid effort and demonstrates a much needed bit of risk taking in terrestrial TV.
SNL UK continues on Sky One next Saturday 28th March at 10pm.
FILM FOR THOUGHT 