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‘Saturday Night Live’: The Most Memorable Moments This Season - The New York Times

posted onMay 21, 2017
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Article snippet: Alec Baldwin pursing his lips, squinting his eyes, saying “Jina.” Melissa McCarthy plowing a podium into a crowd of reporters. Kate McKinnon pivoting from a self-absorbed Hillary Clinton to a deer-in-the-headlights Kellyanne Conway. As “Saturday Night Live” wraps up its 42nd season this weekend, these performances are destined for the history books: They helped the show achieve its highest ratings in two decades, and they helped define President Trump and his White House for liberals nationwide. For many on the right (and some on the left, too), Mr. Baldwin’s impersonation of Mr. Trump grew old fast, and some sketches crossed the line. But there’s no mistaking that the president, who attacked the show’s treatment of him, also turned it into appointment television again. Here are some of the most talked-about sketches of the season, including a couple of favorites that have nothing to do with partisan politics. Mr. Baldwin first appeared as Mr. Trump in a skit lampooning the first general election debate. While his impersonation wasn’t as dead-on as those of Darrell Hammond or Anthony Atamanuik (“The President Show”), it became instantly recognizable for the character’s exaggerated hand gestures, facial expressions and stratospheric self-regard. “Saturday Night Live” spoofs of presidential debates have typically become instant classics, but the second general election debate in particular received outsize attention. The debate lampooned Mrs. Clinton’s perceived ri... Link to the full article to read more

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