5 One-Joke Premises That ‘SNL’ Ran Into the Ground
No Saturday Night Live character of recent vintage gets under my skin quite like Domingo, the gyrating Marcello Hernandez creation who cheats with Chloe Fineman when hubby Andrew Dismukes’ back is turned. The first Domingo sketch was fine but forgettable, but now he returns every few weeks to have his way with Fineman once again. Blame TikTok, since the sketch lends itself to memeable dance shorts that make up for the sketches’ inability to extend the original cuckold joke.
Redditors agree, as Domingo got multiple nominations and scores of votes in a recent r/LiveFromNewYork thread that asked the question, “What are some top examples of a joke getting stretched too thin?” But Domingo had plenty of company, mostly from SNL recurring characters that repeated the same catchphrases over and over again. Here are five of the most upvoted nominations for SNL sketches that ran a single joke into the ground…
The Richmeister
Rob Schneider’s character who harassed coworkers while they were making copies “stopped being funny after about 30 seconds into the first sketch,” wrote one Redditor. That didn’t stop the Richmeister from coming back nine times over two seasons, with each sketch sounding very much like the one that came before it. Repetitive. The Repeat Man Repeating Jokes. The Repeat-meister. Repeatster. Repeat-arooski. Repetitive.
Hub’s Gyros
This sketch might be a better example of what the OP was getting at — a single joke repeated several times within a single bit. “Hub’s Gyros” knows exactly what it’s doing here, with David Spade breaking the fourth wall to acknowledge “You like-a da juice, eh?” had worn thin and begging the other comics to end the sketch. But to at least some viewers, “Hub’s Gyros” represents the kind of joke that’s funny at first, grows tired with repetition and then finally gets funny again because you can’t believe the comics dare to keep echoing the punchline.
Close Encounters
Recent SNL isn’t immune to one-joke premises repeated ad nauseam. Kate McKinnon’s first turn as Colleen Rafferty was hilarious, but her eight subsequent appearances simply repeated the same formula: 1) Two witnesses testify to government officials about an otherworldly experience; 2) chain-smoking Colleen says her experience was much worse; 3) Rafferty’s tale involves her private parts being exposed; and 4) McKinnon gets physical, climbing and humping the celebrity guest until they break up laughing. McKinnon’s character is a true original and worthy of repeat visits — it’s a shame SNL felt locked into the same formulaic structure, sketch after sketch.
Gilly
Speaking of formulaic structures, few characters were more guilty of it than Kristen Wiig’s Gilly. The l’il mischief-maker would stir up some violent mayhem, which teacher Will Forte would mistakenly blame on Bobby Moynihan and broken-armed Kenan Thompson. Gilly would finally be identified as the culprit, responding with an unrepentant “Sorry.” Eight times was seven times too many for the sadistic, one-joke character.
“It’s the ‘90s, Colin”
@general.disarray42069
It’s unclear what Michael Che is up to lately on Weekend Update, justifying flailing jokes with the nonsequitur explanation, “Hey, it’s the ‘90s.” If he’s trying to make the phrase happen outside the show, it ain’t catching on yet.
“Hey, it’s the ‘90s” feels like a joke for an audience of one: Michael Che. It’s not far off from Norm Macdonald’s insistence on multiple Update punchlines featuring Frank Stallone and David Hasselhoff — the less audiences laughed, the funnier it was to Norm. Asking “What does it mean?” when Che repeats his ‘90s line is missing the point. He thinks it’s hilarious that he’s getting away with the non-joke.
