snl star trek parody

The 'One SNL a Day' Project

A project where I review one SNL episode a day, in chronological order

December 20, 1986 – William Shatner / Lone Justice (S12 E8)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COLD OPENING “Ballad Of The Green Berets” variant lauds mute Marine Ollie North (host)

— Funny idea, and I love the melody of the song. — I like how the lyrics are explaining all the important details of the Oliver North story, which in hindsight provides full context for any future viewers (like me) who wouldn’t have much familiarity with the story. That ages this cold opening better than some other overly-topical things SNL has done over the years, though as much as I’m enjoying this cold opening, I’m sure it hit even harder with viewers in 1986. — I got a good laugh from the “What a great plan!” lyric. — Good bit with Shatner holding his hand up as if to speak, only to remain mute. STARS: ***½

OPENING MONTAGE — Nice touch with the theme music briefly being interrupted early on with a snippet of “Joy to the World” before the regular theme music continues. — There used to be some SNL fans that claimed comedian Kevin Meaney is credited as a one-episode-only featured player in this episode, but nope. In the live version I’m reviewing of this episode, and in all the rerun versions I’ve seen, he’s credited as a special guest.

MONOLOGUE (no synopsis available)

— This was very short before he segued into the related next sketch. The jokes in this monologue weren’t really working for me, so it’s probably a good thing that they transitioned out of this early. STARS: N/A (not a rateable segment)

16TH ANNUAL STAR TREK CONVENTION at a Star Trek convention, host tells loser attendees to “get a life”

— Some laughs from Dana and Jon making fun of Kevin for getting a trivia question wrong. — All the little details throughout this are a funny and probably accurate recreation of a Star Trek convention. — And there goes Shatner dropping the legendary “Get a life, will you people?” bomb. — Great cutaway to Jon looking down in disappointment when Shatner asks “Have you ever kissed a girl?” — Shatner’s harsh reality check to the Star Trek fans is a riot. — I like the fight between Phil and Shatner in the background, leading to Shatner playing off his whole “Get a life” speech as a recreation of evil Captain Kirk from a Star Trek episode. — Overall, a true classic. STARS: *****

CHRISTMAS PARTY at a party, Liz & Candy Sweeney sing a Christmas medley about bells

— First time a Sweeney Sisters sketch has begun with either of the sisters already present in the scene, instead of both of them being introduced into the sketch by someone. — Nothing much to say about the overall piece, but the medley was fun as usual, had a great Christmas spirit feel, and featured the usual solid interplay between Jan and Nora. STARS: ***½

T.J. HOOKER “Little Blue Riding Hood” features the cop on a car

— Fun visual of Shatner on the hood of the driving car. — Shatner’s dialogue sounds strangely muffled so far in this sketch. — Okay, Shatner’s dialogue is now sounding clearer. — Funny bit with him reading the license number with his foot. — I like the way this is escalating, with it now being dusk outside as a still-on-the-hood Shatner is writing a sentimental letter. — Boy, that is one fake-looking snow backdrop. — An overall decent sketch, though I was expecting it to be a little stronger. STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE musical guest performs “Shelter”

WEEKEND UPDATE describing Ronald Reagan’s prostate surgery makes ALF uncomfortable

— LOL at the audience reaction to the brain tumor joke about CIA director William Casey. — Al Franken makes what I believe is his first appearance of the whole season, despite receiving no credit in the opening montage tonight (nor does he receive one for any other episodes this season). — A lot of laughs from Al wincing, squirming, and making a variety of other uncomfortable sounds and gestures while going into explicit detail about the surgical prostate procedure. STARS: ***½

STAR TREK V: THE RESTAURANT ENTERPRISE Khan (DAC) tries to shut it down

— Very funny concept for a Star Trek parody. — I liked Dr. McCoy’s “For god sake, Jim, be careful!” when Captain Kirk is simply heading to a table. — First time I’ve spotted Kevin Meaney tonight, this time in a non-speaking role as a choking victim. — Kirk: “Dr. McCoy, this man needs medical attention.” McCoy: “Dammit, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a– Oh, oh, sure.” — First time Akira Yoshimura has reprised his role as Sulu since SNL’s original Star Trek parody in season 1, starting a decades-long running gag. — Hilarious how so many mundane restaurant issues are being treated so dramatically by the Star Trek crew. — Very memorable part with Captain Kirk pointing out how Sulu has put on weight. — Dana is freakin’ hilarious as Khan. — I like Dana’s Khan stopping in the middle of his rant to also question Sulu’s weight. Also, something about Yoshimura’s monotone delivery of his explanation “We all get older, Khan” always amuses me. — Kevin as Spock: “Would you do me the very great honor of eating my shorts?” STARS: ****½

LOOK AT THAT! narcissistic (host) admires his physique in front of the mirror

— Shatner’s really funny in this with his self-admiring in the mirror. — Overall, a simple but fairly charming sketch. STARS: ***

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES KEN relates the dark side to his classic Christmas experiences

— Kevin: “Over the river and through the woods… that’s the way my grandmother used to drive.” — I’m loving the increasingly ridiculous things he misses about Christmas. — Not sure the “Save your receipts” joke at the end worked for me — Overall, a solid and a very quintessential Kevin Nealon piece. For some reason, I’ve always kinda considered this a sister sketch to Steve Martin’s Holiday Wish sketch from two episodes earlier, to the degree that I sometimes misremember this Nealon sketch as being performed in front of a dark background while he sits in a chair, like the Steve Martin sketch. STARS: ****

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE lynch mob attacks Potter (JOL) in lost ending of It’s A Wonderful Life

— Good to see Dana’s hilarious Jimmy Stewart back. — Kevin Meaney in another small role, only this time, he gets an actual line. Strange that they would bring him in as a special guest to just play bit roles all night. Why not give him a stand-up segment? — Phil’s voice as Uncle Billy is cracking me up. — Love the dark turn this has taken with the whole town angrily coming after Old Man Potter. — If you listen, Dana can be heard muttering “Why, I oughta pound you” when tipping Old Man Potter out of his wheelchair, which is starting to become a go-to phrase of his in these black-and-white sketches. — LOL at the reveal that Potter’s been faking his crippled state. — This is getting even funnier now with Potter being replaced with an obvious dummy as the beatdown starts to get particularly brutal. — I like the citizens randomly breaking out into “Auld Land Syne” while Potter’s beatdown is still occurring. — Overall, this sketch was freakin’ priceless. A true SNL classic. STARS: *****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE musical guest performs “I Found Love”

THE TRUE LIFE STORY OF FRANKIE TOUSSAINT Frankie Toussaint (Griffin Dunne) pays for others’ job dissatisfaction

— Random Griffin Dunne-starring film. — I like Tom Davis as the doctor casually explaining there were things he should’ve done to save Dunne’s friend’s life, but didn’t because he was simply distracted by other ambitions. — I like the way this is quickly escalating, with all the cuts to subsequent scenes. — Overall, a good film and featured a strong performance from Griffin Dunne. I used to joke to myself that SNL cast Dunne in this film as an apology to him for the crappy episode they gave him when he hosted the previous season. Who knows, maybe there’s some truth to that. STARS: ***½

BUSTER POINDEXTER Buster Poindexter [real] performs “Zat You, Santa?”

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS: — A very strong and memorable episode, and one of my personal favorite Christmas episodes the show has ever done. The quality was very consistent with solid sketches throughout the whole night, two sketches were all-time classics (Star Trek Convention and It’s A Wonderful Life), and William Shatner was a fun and very game host.

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Steve Guttenberg): — a big step up

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW: We enter 1987, with hosts Joe Montana and Walter Payton

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12 replies to “december 20, 1986 – william shatner / lone justice (s12 e8)”.

A joke I always crack up at in It’s a Wonderful Life is when Potter, after being revealed as faking his crippling, says “Hold on, I can explain that.” I also didn’t notice until a recent viewing that the extras are very, very bad at coordinating the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” (or more accurately Phil Hartman is bad at this).

The Mute Marine melody is the Ballad of the Green Berets song, right?

I’m 90 percent sure the Mute Marine song is to the tune of the Ballad of the Green Berets (which makes it that much funnier in my opinion).

Wasn’t “Get a Life!” a Robert Smigel piece?

Man I love that “It’s a Wonderful Life” parody…so good. It really addresses the frustration I think many movie-goers had that the actual film never shows Potter getting his just desserts for what he did.

I agree that Kevin Meaney’s appearance in this episode is baffling. Does anyone know the story about his appearance in this episode? Did he do a stand-up routine or have a larger role in a skit that ended up getting cut in dress rehearsal?

If you look back at Season 11, there were almost no short films aside from several commercial parodies and the 2-3 filmed pieces in the season premiere. I believe that was a conscious decision on Lorne’s part, as he had criticized Ebersol’s SNL for relying too heavily on pre-filmed/taped segments.

Season 12 brought back the short films, but they were mainly outside acquisitions and not in-house productions. When Schiller’s Reel returned in Season 14, the show started to refocus on developing short films in-house.

How are you able to watch these episodes? AFAIK, most of the stuff from 1980 to the late 2000s is no longer available for streaming. I would LOVE to watch the Griffin Dunne sketch!

For some reason, Kevin Meaney’s “I Don’t Care” song popped into my head today and I also wondered: what happened with his appearance? Seems like the show was pretty packed, and I can’t find a reason it would have run long, so was he cut after dress and given a few extra roles as a consolation? Given the choice, couldn’t they have cut Buster (since he’d been on the show many times)? Was Meaney in the good nights? Someone out there must know what happened.

Man, Dennis cringes so obviously and openly after that awful Kit-Kat joke. I get the feeling he was not a fan of those cheap photo gags.

Is that George Coe making his final appearance (uncredited) on the show as a judge in the “Get A Life!” sketch?

https://tvline.com/2015/07/20/george-coe-dead-saturday-night-live-original/

Such a shame that William Shatner is kind of a dick, nowadays. Especially going off on some kinda transphobic rants on twitter.

Merry Christmas! Here’s my review of the musical performances.

Shelter — Pretty good song that has a bit of a country/blues vibe to it, and uplifting lyrics. Good choice for SNL, as this band was somewhat obscure at the time and could have really benefited from the high profile exposure (they ostensibly didn’t, their album Shelter peaked at 65 on the Billboard chart, lower than their previous…maybe it would have been lower without this appearance though). — I don’t have a whole lot else to say about the performance, it was just a solid rendition of a pretty good song. Maria McKee was perfectly charming on vocals and guitar. STARS: ***1/2

I Found Love — Maria ditches the guitar for this faster number. Nice energy by the band here. — Not sure I’m liking her rapid-fire ranting between verses or her extremely frenetic dancing during the outro. Did she gulp 5 cups of coffee or something between songs? STARS: ***

I’ll pass on a review of Buster Poindexter since he’s pretty much part of the SNL house band in this season.

Something I noticed while watching this episode: in the Sweeney Sisters sketch, Kevin’s character is addressed as Bill – which I think means he is reprising his character of “Instant Coffee” host Big Bill Smith.

The Sweeney Sisters Christmas medley in this episode is AMAZING 😆😆 one of their best sketches.

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William Shatner Defends 1986 “Get A Life” SNL Skit After Criticism From Rod Roddenberry

| September 6, 2021 | By: Anthony Pascale 90 comments so far

A late-night comedy skit William Shatner did 35 years ago is once again making news, with Shatner defending himself against criticism from the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

1986: Shatner, SNL and “Get a Life”

In December 1986—one month after the release of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home— William Shatner hosted an 8th season episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live . One of the skits, called “Star Trek Convention”—but more often known as the “Get a Life” skit—poked fun at fans at Star Trek conventions.  The skit (which you can see below) was written by SNL mainstay Robert Smigel with help on the nerdy details from SNL staff writers Jon Vitti and George Meyer. It featured Shatner becoming exasperated with the increasingly nitpicky fan questions until he disparaged the fans, saying (in part):

You know, before I answer any more questions there’s something I wanted to say. Having received all your letters over the years, and I’ve spoken to many of you, and some of you have traveled… y’know… hundreds of miles to be here, I’d just like to say… GET A LIFE, will you people? I mean, for crying out loud, it’s just a TV show! I mean, look at you, look at the way you’re dressed! You’ve turned an enjoyable little job, that I did as a lark for a few years, into a COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME!

Robert Smigel had pitched the idea to Shatner directly; in 2018, Smigel told The Ringer Shatner was sold by the “Get a life!” tagline. “That’s what made him laugh,” he said.

While controversial for some fans at the time, it was embraced by many, who also appreciated the detailed understanding of the Trek lore it included (like references to Yeoman Janice Rand and Leslie Thompson and the episode “The Enemy Within”). Shatner himself acknowledged how he respected Star Trek fans. During his monologue for the show, he said, “I mean they’re truly incredible, and I hope they have a sense of humor about the show tonight, or I’m in deep trouble.”

William Shatner in Saturday Night Live ‘s “Get a Life” skit (NBC via Getty)

2021: Rod Roddenberry weighs in

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote the upcoming Star Trek Day, Rod Roddenberry took issue with the 1986 skit:

I never really appreciated that skit because I think it was demeaning to the fans. I think it was disrespectful, especially for a character who was an open-minded, intelligent leader.

However, he also added, “I don’t condemn it in any way. It’s Saturday   Night   Live,  and it’s all fun.”

On Sunday in response to a tweet from THR about the Roddenberry comments, Shatner responded with “Isn’t presentism just wonderful?” along with an eye-roll emoji.

Isn’t presentism just wonderful? 🙄 #getalife https://t.co/kX6tj5hP7I — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) September 5, 2021

Shatner followed that up with some clarification, explaining how “presentism” applied today’s value system to moments in the past.

It’s presentism because it applies today’s value systems & beliefs about what is “bullying” & what is “disrespectful” to a time when those were not the values or opinions and nobody was really offended but the mindset people have is that it makes them look intelligent & caring.🤷🏼‍♂️ https://t.co/yIFT8IDGVe — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) September 5, 2021

1999: Shatner reflects with “Get a Life!”… the book about fans

At the time of the sketch, Shatner actually wasn’t active on the Star Trek convention circuit. The actor had experienced tense moments with some fans; in 1968, one fan even tried to rip his shirt off as he came out of 30 Rockefeller Center. But after appearing at a number of conventions in the 90s, the actor became more fascinated with Trek fandom, leading to his 1999 book Get a Life!

In the book, Shatner explains how he learned he had fans all wrong:

Who were these people? Were they sane? Were they sober? Did they really need to ‘get a life’? To be brutally, humiliatingly honest, that now-infamous ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch was for me, at that time, equal parts comedy and catharsis. I was oblivious to the facts. I bought into the ‘Trekkie’ stereotypes. In a nutshell, I was a dope.

However, in the same book, Shatner says that in 1986, he trusted that fans would not be offended by the SNL skit because it was “SO exaggerated and SO stupid and SO cartoonish.” And he was relieved to learn how Gene Roddenberry reacted to it:

In the weeks to come I do get some criticism for that sketch, but far more praise, from fans, castmates, even Gene Roddenberry, which surprises me. No one was ever more protective of Star Trek’s fans than Gene, and I really expected he might take me to task.

Shatner’s SNL episode came as Gene Roddenberry was developing the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Shatner’s  Get A Life! book includes a passage from Richard Arnold retelling how Roddenberry, along with D.C. Fontana, David Gerrold, and Bob Justman, all watched a tape of the sketch together the following Monday. According to Arnold, “We were all in stitches, and no one was laughing harder than Gene.”

A decade after the book, Shatner followed up with the documentary William Shatner’s Get a Life! which also explored the world of Star Trek fandom. In the video below from Comic-Con 2012, Bill talked to The Hollywood Reporter about how that one sketch spawned the book and then the documentary.

After 35 years, people are still talking about this SNL sketch. As Smigel told The Ringer, it “may be the most resonant sketch I ever wrote there.”

Watch the skit

Find more stories about Star Trek history at TrekMovie.com .

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At the very least… I learned a new word today. Thanks, Bill!

Well, nice to see the people who actually came with and wrote it got a pass.

Maybe I should’ve listened to him..

This particular skit could just as easily be done today using a group of a few ridiculously-dressed, enthusiastic Star Wars fans or Marvel fans with one of the actual actors from those franchises, and it would still get the same reaction from me….a bellylaugh overall.

I’ve no issue with Bill agreeing to doing it then, just as I’d have no issue if he’d just done it yesterday. I’d have been more impressed if Bill had actually written the entire thing himself, but he certainly performed it with gusto.

I couldn’t agree more!

It’s no secret William Shatner doesn’t like Star Trek and doesn’t really know anything about it beyond what he needed to know. He’s an actor, he doesn’t need to be a fan. I find that skit funny and I have no doubt there is a truth to it for him.

“It’s no secret William Shatner doesn’t like Star Trek and doesn’t really know anything about it beyond what he needed to know.”

I don’t for a second believe he writes those books that display his name as the author.

“It’s demeaning and disrespectful … but I don’t condemn it in any way and it’s all fun .” These would be categorized as contradictory nonsense statements that are perhaps better left ignored. Also, Robert Smigel is a great American.

Yes, he actually IS condemning it but just to save his own a$$ he tempers it by saying it’s just fun. That way he covers all the bases. He gets to have people talk about him. Complete BS.

I don’t know, it’s nowhere near as demeaning and disrespectful to the fans as the garbage that’s been churned out by Paramount/CBS since 2009

“the fans”. Ignoring all the fans that liked Star Trek 09? Fans that like the new streaming series? Or are they not real fans? If anything, that’s demeaning and disrespectful. Please don’t gatekeep.

Cool Story bro

As a lifelong Star Trek fan, I never had an issue with this skit. It was funny. I have never heard of anybody having an issue with it. Until now.

Well, I didn’t know it was a “skit”… I have taken it as an actual honest comment up until today. And that “misunderstanding” certainly induced a very strong rebellion against that attitude and incresed the intensity of my fanaticism :-) Ironic, isn’t it. The very skit that made me was just that… a joke. But I am utterly grateful for that misunderstanding. I stand by my decisions concerning Trek.

This is truly a deep dive from Shatner. I thought I was the only person reading up weird academic papers on “presentism” — Presentism is  the doctrine that only the present is real . … A presentist thinks that everything is present; more generally, that, necessarily, it is always true that everything is (then) present. Presentism is the temporal analogue of the modal doctrine of actualism, according to which everything is actual.

Another meaning of presentism is closer to what Shatner means: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis)

It’s a pertinent point he’s making and elevates the conversation a little. Shatner surprises me sometimes. I never took the skit personally. There are aspects of fandom that I roll my eyes at as well. In any event, he’s a stalwart presence at many conventions and was very kind to me when I got his autograph. It’s not like he really NEEDS to go to these things.

He doesn’t need to go, but I am sure he doesn’t go for his love of the fans.

Sounds like a good concept for a Star Trek story.

“Presentism is  the doctrine that only the present is real .”

Wow, that concept seems to be deeply flawed on many levels. First of all, the present doesn’t even exist. Each and every future moment becomes past in an inconcievable instant. And that very brief moment defies us entirely. Unless you are a trained Jedi :-)

Second, even if you apply a broader sense of “present”: Nothing that is would be if it hadn’t been born by the past. And nothing that is would have any sort of purpose if it didn’t have a future. The present would be utterly pointless.

That is not to say that I cannot accept a certain level of abrogation, for example regarding the retconning of Trek canon or values (e.g. female captains) for giving leeway to creative purposes…

I don’t see why Roddenberry even needed to dredge up a 10 minute comedy sketch from 35 years ago for a fluff piece; it came across as a half hearted attempt to manufacture a little artificial conflict for the sake of attention and I think even he realized it as he was saying it, thus his walk back.

As to the sketch itself, I though it was funny back then and still think it’s funny today. Having attended a few conventions back in the early 1980s, it was also more accurate than some fans may want to admit.

To be honest, I found Denise Crosby’s Trekkies documentaries to be more demeaning, with their long looks at the more outlandish corners of fandom like a bunch of people dressed as Klingons eating at a McDonalds. Now that was eye rollingly cringeworthy.

@ TonyD – I have a sudden hankering to rewatch ‘Galaxy Quest’ all over again now.

It was The Hollywood Reporter which “dredged up” the sketch, not Roddenberry. Did you even bother to *read* the article, homeboy?

And Roddenberry could have easily taken the high road, said that it was 35 years ago, that it was all for laughs and moved on. He didn’t quite do that, now did he. He dredged up tired old arguments about how it was disrespectful, etc., then said inexplicably said it was all good. Talk about a clueless, mealy moused answer to an equally shallow question. Of course, I guess I should expect as much from someone whose only claim to fame is having a recognizable last name and only accomplishment is riding on and profiting from the coattails of others.

Happy, homeboy?

What’s great about that sketch is that it’s still funny today as it was back in ’86. I been seeing this article show up on my feed (gee, wonder why) and I never clicked on it once. Since it made it to TM, I finally did and its much ado about nothing. It’s totally fine for Rod Roddenberry to feel that way but I think most fans enjoyed the joke. And I wasn’t a even a teenager at the time but still a very big fan of Trek then and I thought it was funny. Of course I had no idea 35 years later I would STILL be a fan (I was also a big fan of Knight Rider and The A-team that year too ;)) and here we are! And like Star Trek, SNL is just a TV show too that’s famous for poking fun at everything and yes maybe had a (small) point. And it was really funny.

Oh thanks Tiger2, now I can’t get the A-Team’s theme out of my head!

Sorry about this, but I couldn’t help it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdyYvwcybzg

Yeah the skit, like SNL overall in the 1970s and 80s, was fun to watch and generally harmless. That said, I think Shatner at the time was totally on board with the theme of the skit and it probably also reflected his personal character and opinion of Star Trek and the fans (as I noted in my comments below).

All respect to Rod, but the sketch was funny, and the satire spot-on. It stung because it was true, and still is true.

Look at any long discussion thread about the franchise, especially the newest shows in the franchise, and you will see many people who do, indeed, need to “get a life.”

Humor about Star Trek, In Star Trek, about the stars of Star Trek and the fans of Star trek has always been part of Star Trek. Rod “Needs to Get a Life”

I like Rod just fine. He seems to be a thoughtful, well-intentioned person who cares about Star Trek and his father’s legacy. From what I can tell though, he’s never had to work a day in his life. So I don’t find his criticism of those that are actually in the arena to be particularly credible and am not interested in his opinion.

“From what I can tell though, he’s never had to work a day in his life.”

Unfortuantely, money is the only thing that still keeps me attached to that sort of normality. But I really, really hope that the Solana-Class Starship Etherprice will soon free me from those obligations :-) Bitcoin to the Moon and Cardano to Cardasssia!

We’re shipmates 😀. Sadly the USS Bitcoin struck a quantum filament today. 🥲

Well I mean, MOST rich people don’t have to work a day in their life, but to give them credit most do anyway (if only to make MORE money lol). He has definitely worked, but yes most of it has been around his father’s endeavors. But hey, no different than the Trump kids and people still listen to their opinion too. ;)

actually his dad made him work on TNG as a intern when he was a kid. he never appreciated it until later, a job many would have killed to do.

Working for Star Trek isn’t work! That I would pay money for… I’m talking about your average 9to5 job. And that is still in my way of becoming a full-time geek :-)

Anyway, I hope that’ll have been dealt with around Christmas… But honestly, I shouldn’t post this. The crypto market took a significant dip after my last post. It’s obviously bad karma…

I feel the same about the need to dig up that sketch. Seems like trend-bait. From a very pessimistic perspective – pretensim could be what Rod is doing as an exec for all the new live action shows and how far afield from the original vision they have gone Talk about cashing in on a legacy that until recently he had wanted nothing to do with. The Mission Log podcast is greatness so all due credit there, but even the premise at the time it started was that Rod had no real idea of what the point or meaning of Star Trek was.

This is so interesting on many many levels.

First of all, I didn’t even know this comment back in 1986 was a scripted, exaggerated sketch. I always thought of it as an honest, spontaneous remark.

Second, my lifelong rebellion against that sort of attitude expressed back then, stands tall. Trek is – like any other movie (franchise), literature, architecture etc – a piece of art, one that outlives its creator(s) and persists even beyond my own life. I consider such persistance of vision as superior to the frail and fragile nature of reality… Unfortunately, Nimoy is dead. But Spock lives on forever…

Third, it is isn’t “just” a TV show. It is a TV show and therefore exists, as a TV show. There is no place for “just” in that sentence. For me, sci fi and fanatsy franchises are “my life”.. and Trek is my home soil. I know the content isn’t real, there is no Federation, no Enterprise, no Warp Drive… Doesn’t have to be… because the bridge designs are real, the uniforms, the colors, the musical scores, the SFX, the box office numbers…

Being a “Homo Aspergensis” I can fully immerse in such minute details. The audio-visual tapestry, the music, the money numbers…even a plain and simple list of episodes! And all of that is real… The history of that fiction, that piece of art transcends reality just like Shakespeare, DaVinci or Homer… It will prevail. I cannot understand how any of this can be deemed a “colossal waste of time”…

There are people risking their lives in extreme sports, others live in the woods to be one with nature… I cherish Star Trek trailers, soundtracks, ship models. So what?

To my knowledge, SNL has always discouraged ad-libbing in their sketches, so there was little chance it could’ve ever been spontaneous. Especially when, you know, it’s the punchline.

Oh, and no offense intended, but you might want to lighten up just a little about this stuff. Laughing at the things you enjoy is another level of enjoyment, after all.

What was it Picard said about the space Irish, “Sometimes you have to bow to the absurd.” Something like that. And Star Trek and its fandom has plenty of the absurd.

Really like what you wrote here. Let’s put this another way. Imagine that Zuckerberg participates in a sketch and make comments about how stupid people using FB are. It might be funny (and true), yet it would be disrespectful to his “customers”. Same for Tim Cook participating in a sketch and saying that Apple users are mostly dumb and snob rich people. Again may be funny to some, but very disrespectful. The point here is that the message came not from SNL, but from Shatner, who AFAIK makes a living from ST and its fans. So I agree with Roddenberry. But then, I have stopped admiring Shatner a long time ago. I don’t have to like the actor just because I like the character.

It was all the self-admitted comedy bully writer Robert Smigel’s sentiments. Shatner might have thought the phrase funny, but, according to Seth Myers in an SNL anniversary special, one of the funniest tales told by SNL writers of the era was Shatner was unfamiliar with the US colloquialism and had no idea how to say it properly, so he tried various sorts of dramatic readings of it that had them rolling in the aisles, until Smigel put him out of his misery, showing him how to say it.

He was 100% right. I just have to read some of the essays in the comments section here to feel the same way !

The skit is hilarious, as much today as then. ( Lower Decks shows it has a point.) Galaxy Quest parodied the rabid fans as well.

I have no issue with the skit. I have no issue with Roddenberry having (or not having) an issue with the skit. I have no issue with Shatner having an issue with Roddenberry having an issue with the skit.

Move the f–k on.

Bryant, that’s what I say when I see people crying over silly stuff. “Got an issue? Here’s a tissue!”

I think in the skit there was kind of a nod to the idea of realism vs fantasy and my personal belief is that if you are a science-fiction fan of any kind then yes, some of these fantastic concepts may seem real to you especially if you have a good imagination and there is nothing wrong with this. I don’t think it is a waste of time if you want to spend your time immersed in everything Star Trek. I believe that not everything in life should be based on work or earning money, if being an intense Trek fan makes that person happy, so be it. That is a freedom people should have.

It’s not even that. It isn’t about real world vs fantasy at all for me. The contents of genre shows are ficticious for sure but the shows and movies AREN’T. I do not believe there are Klingons out there or there will ever be a Starship Enterprise going to Warp 9. And even the tech that has exceeded Trek’s predictions doesn’t interest me that much. I haven’t even got a smartphone…

I KNOW it’s a TV and movie franchise and that very fact makes it more accessible to me than reality. In reality people you love die. In reality girls and women have always been far beyond reach. In reality you become old and eventually die. How is that reality preferable to something you can revisit time and again as long as you live?

For almost 30 years I’ve been watching Trek. Not just the movies and TV eps… The actual show is sth. special. But I listen to scores every day, I watch trailers on a regular basis, I love looking at stats or episode lists, collecting ship models, comparing bridge designs and more recently watch Trek-related stuff on YouTube…

All of that matters BECAUSE it is a TV show. If that was reality I’d be scared to death… I don’t want any Klingons or Borg in reality. I even don’t want to upgrade to Trek-like tech. It is the self-contained TV and movie franchise that matters… all its designs, sounds, shapes, actors, music, ep titles, YouTube content and trailers…

None of that stuff is any less real than cars, food or sports… It is part of reality. TOS having 3 seasons and 79 episodes… that IS reality… the contents, stories aren’t but that’s true for every book, every play, every movie ever written unless it’s a historical documentary.

I’m a collector and I’m an Asperger who dwells in numbers, title lists, designs, colors, collector’s items, names and music. I live in my own world and that world is utterly different. I do not perceive time the way you do. I’ve always been here.

Back in 1986, Shatner asked that poor guy if he had ever kissed a girl. Well, I haven’t and I certainly don’t want to. I’m supersensitive, you cannot even touch me without tickling me to death. I cannot connect to people the way you do. I cannot compromise, I cannot share my life with others on an everyday basis. It’s impossible for me to “get a life”…

Yeah, I had to move out of my parent’s “basement” when they died recently. I have my own apartment, Mr Shatner. But still I have been and always shall be a geek, Trekkie, nerd… I am what I am… And I won’t apologize for that…

Rod Roddenberry takes issue with a harmless skit but continues to help Kurtzman destroy his father’s creation as long as he keeps getting paid lol.

Rod only cares about money. The fact that without Shatner the series may not have ever got to where it was.

Because we know that Shatner has been involved with ST for all those years because of his love for the fans….

“Presentism,” Bill? How about “revisionist history”? That skit didupset a lot of fans at the time, but it’s fun to see your ego rewrite the past as if being upset by it was some new phenomenon based on today’s value system. This guy never ceases to prove what an egotistical blowhard he is.

All that said, I never was upset with the sketch, and found it amusing. I can understand how people might not have appreciated their fandom hero mocking them, though. Roddenberry was right that it WAS disrespectful of the fans.

Contrary to Bill though, I actually think this is a case of reverse presentism (pastism?)– a sketch like that would probably play better today. Self deprecating humor, humor that mocks its own audience, is something we see a lot of these days, especially as genre fandom has grown far beyond the small niche, geeky circles.

I watched it when it aired live with a bunch of friends who were huge fans then and are still huge fans now. We all thought it was hysterical. It upset some fans, it didn’t upset the overwhelmingly majority of them. Those who were upset by the skit weren’t in on the joke but became a part of it.

That’s not revisionist history. That’s just the way it was.

Those were the days! When people could still say what they meant and make fun of people, without being canceled or some other BS.

Shatner makes some valid points and I might even agree with him to a very limited extent.

That said, the skit and his recent comments probably also give us some insight into his personal character and the limited way he views the world and the people around us. It is no surprise that none of his TOS co-stars seemed to consider Shatner as a close personal life-long friend.

It is also not a huge surprise that producers and directors have never gone to Shatner to work on anything significant in the Star Trek universe since Generations. Meanwhile Doohan and Takei were both in Berman Trek shows along with Nimoy who was also in the JJ movies. Nimoy seemed to be well respected and genuinely reverred by almost everyone he ever worked with on Trek, I was especially impressed by actors who had limited exposure to Nimoy, like Kim Catrall who is more known for her role in Sex in the City, had nothing but insightful and glowing comments about Nimoy, following his passing.

I am not sure how much of this is true, but supposedly Patrick Stewart took Shatner aside one day. He apparently recommended that he learn to embrace the fact that the TOS show and movies were so reverred by so many people and that is why he eventually started to do conventions and other fan events.

Why did Nimoy decide to do the reboot movies. He walked away from playing Spock in Generations, even refused to direct it. Everyone assumed he was done with the character after Unification.

Shatner was doing conventions well before Patrick Stewart was even cast.

But he had *stopped* doing them (for a long time). Did you read the article, homeboy?

This is such a non-issue on every level. Rod wasn’t even criticizing him, and Shatner did nothing wrong. The villain here is The Hollywood Reporter for trying to turn people against each other.

You’d think Shatner would be smart enough not to take the bait.

Because let’s be honest: this skit DID spur a lot of anger from fans at the time, but similar bits done in the years since–such as when he appeared in Futurama, in an episode that similarly mocked the geekiness of Trekkies–have been beloved by fans. Big Bang Theory spent a decade mocking comics fans, Trekkies, and the like, and it too has become a favorite of those same fans.

This is definitely NOT a case of “presentism” as he seems to think. If anything, attitudes towards this kind of humor have softened over the years and become less offensive.

I watched it as it aired. I wasn’t offended. I suspect Rod said it to get some clicks and a response out of Shatner.

In a way, they are both sons of the same man, yet not brothers at all.

In all likelihood, mission accomplished.

And yet a lot of people WERE offended at the time, even if you weren’t among them. I do recall it riled up some of the Trek fandom back then, even if they were a vocal minority. To say otherwise is simply disingenuous.

I watched it as it aired as well. When Shatner pointed and Lovitz, asked him if ever kissed a girl, and Lovitz drops his head in shame, I howled with laughter. It was funny then, it’s funny now.

When Bill did originally, we had a different era of Trek and Bill then. However, it was very funny and in no way was it offensive to me as a Trekker. Bill has a great sense of humor and it showed here when he did this. Its true that fans know more about the episodes of (insert Trek series here) than the actors do. Over the years my wife have spoken to a few of actors at the conventions and cruises and they are all amazed at our knowledge. Of course it comes from watching the TV shows and movies over and over again. The actors only see/remember what they shot and few, if any, actually watch the entire episode to gain any knowledge. I had to laugh at the skit photo showing the table of trek collectables… we have that same waste basket. Even a few of the Mego action figures.

Loved that skit when I saw it for the first time in 1986 and still love it now. Great humor.

Hey, Rod…….get a life.

As enjoyable as the Get a Life skit was, the funniest skit in that episode was the long lost alternate ending to It’s A Wonderful Life…

Is that skit online anywhere?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw89o0afb2A

Warp factor 9!!

Trekkies really need a sense of humor.

That’s a tall order.

What does Rod Roddenberry actually Do?

He’s a producer.

That title can mean a bit less than it seems.

He’s an executive producer. Typically that involves handling the business end of a production and not being involved in any creative decisions.

In Roddenberry’s case, it probably means lending his name to the credits of the shows in some shallow attempt to make people think a person from the Roddenberry lineage is still actively involved and then just getting out of the way.

Great to see this story, as it will increase the value of my mint copy of the 45 rpm single of “He’s Dead, Jim” by DeForest Kelley.

The skit is hilarious. Being able to laugh at yourself is something allot more people need to learn now more than ever.

More than ever? I rather quote Kästner again:

„Was auch immer geschieht: Nie dürft ihr so tief sinken, von dem Kakao, durch den man euch zieht, auch noch zu trinken.“

It’s a story guys, you know, fiction? No matter how enjoyable. But it’s not real life!

It was funny then and it’s funny now. People need to lighten up.

Back in ’86 the sketch hit hard, but it’s still pretty funny. Nothing more than Big Bang Theory did every week with “nerds” and sci-fi fans. Have to take issue with the article contending Shatner wasn’t active on the convention circuit — does this refer to that week, month? He did many conventions during the seventies and eighties. He may have slowed down after the success of STIV and the demands of TJ Hooker, though. Also, I wasn’t sure about his feelings for the series, but the Cushman book relates a story concerning the last episode- Turnabout Intruder. The director wanted Shatner to exit the briefing room in a direction suggesting a nonexistent door. Shatner protested there would be complaints because fans knew the ship too well. That and the story about his refusing to use a metal plated Vietnam era walkie talkie as a communicator in STII suggest he did care about the show — as if his high energy performance wasn’t enough.

The only thing that really bothered me about the sketch was the way they referred to the episodes by number. How inaccurate! >;>}

At the time the skit came out, I was 19, in college and had a large group of Star Trek fans at the school; been a fan since first run syndication days for TOS. I can tell you that none of my friends were offended, we all found it funny. Don’t know anyone back then or since that didn’t. Back then we knew how to poke fun at and laugh at ourselves without getting bent out of shape about stuff.

As Rod is at least partially in charge now, getting into a fight with him is *not* a good idea if Shatner wants to be in the next movie…

I’ve seen the sketch before, but I’d forgotten that Shatner was already raising horses in 1986. Four movies must really have turned his fortunes around.

I actually enjoyed the skit quite a bit. The only thing that really bugged me was having the fans use episode numbers. I have never used an episode number and I don’t know anyone who has ever used episode numbers. But that’s just a nitpick. The sketch Was a good sketch from a time when SNL could be funny from time to time. Unlike the last few years were SNL it’s just been complete garbage.

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Star Trek: 7 Stellar Comedy Sketches -- and 4 Terrible Ones

Long before the bombastic William Shatner became a parody himself, sketch comedy shows couldn’t get enough of spoofing his Star Trek.   Let’s boldly go where plenty of late-night shows have gone before, to explore the strange world of Star Trek send-ups, to seek out new laughs and half-assed impressions, and to find at least a few examples of places no sketch should ever go again.  

1 Star Trek: The Last Voyage

Writer Michael O’Donoghue spews his satiric acid all over this one, with an oily NBC executive as the Enterprise’s most deadly foe.  Belushi reportedly struggled with the impersonation during a week of rehearsals but nailed it on the air show, “one of the acting roles of which John was most proud,” according to Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live . 

2 Star Trek: The Wrath of Farrakhan

The conceit is simple -- Kirk’s arch-nemesis Khan is replaced by the hilarious Damon Wayans as Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan.  The sketch works a lot of laughs out of its one-joke concept (for a supposedly enlightened show, why does Roddenberry have the white guy running everything?), with extra-funny performances by Jim Carrey as an elastic Kirk and David Alan Grier as a militant Mr. Spock.

3 Love Boat: The Next Generation

The sketch is somewhat long but fun nostalgic cameos and celebrity goofs make it an amusing comedy hang. Come for the Charo, stay for the “Geordi LaForge as Your Ship's Bartender.”  And Chris Farley as a linebacker version of Number One? Inspired!

4 Check Please!

That’s Harold Ramis as Spock, in a long-eared precursor to his Egon character in Ghostbusters . Dave Thomas delivers the goods as fry cook Bones McCoy.  It’s another one-joke premise, but count on SCTV to know how to deliver a laugh and then end the damn thing before it wears out its welcome. 

The sketch is worth noting for yet another Sulu performance by longtime SNL production designer Akira Yushimura.  Here he is in the 2017 Spocko sketch:

Broadway Video

And again, 40 freaking years earlier , in the Last Voyage sketch:

Yushimura filled in as Sulu for additional sketches in 1986 and 1994, which is to say, until Bowen Yang showed up, a production designer was forced into duty when the show needed an Asian character. Let's hope Akira gets residuals. 

6 A gaggle of Robot Chickens

The throw-a-million-jokes-against-the-wall approach works once again!  If you don’t want to watch ‘em all, at least stick it out through Two Kirks, A Khan, and a Pizza Place .

7 Get A Life

Even though Shatner doesn't grok fandom, this is likely one of network TV's first celebrations of Nerd Culture. Whether Jon Lovitz has kissed a girl is still up for debate.

Those seven Star Trek sketches set our comedy phasers to supremely silly -- but there are plenty of others that land on “sleepy” or “stupid.”  Raise your deflector shields – here are four of the worst.

1 Star Schtick

Neither Wayne nor Schuster bothers with an impression here.  Their Captain Quirk and Mister Spoof (groan) trade vaudevillian one-liners to the score of a hokey laugh track.  One might consider it old-timey fun, but with a running time of more than half an hour , this one should have been swallowed by a black hole. 

2 Star Trek Parody

The gag here is that Carol Burnett (in the deservedly forgotten 90s revival Carol & Company ) is the chief of an all-lady Star Trek crew. You know that it’s all ladies because 1) they all have comically large boobs and 2) Dr. McCoy has a roast in the oven, you know, like ladies do.  Fast forward.

3 Star Trek V: The Restaurant Enterprise

Shatner hosts again, this time making sure the Enterprise’s dinner guests are served their lobster salads.  Only the reliable Phil Hartman as an apoplectic Bones McCoy saves the sketch from being completely unwatchable.

4 The Frasier/Star Trek: Voyager crossover

This weird piece of space trash was part of the Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond special, a crossover with Frasier notable for its conspicuous lack of Frasier.  It makes no sense other than to imagine that these two shows were popular in 1996 so why not throw them in a blender and see what happens?  Beam us up, please.

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Watch Star Trek parody: Saturday Night Live’s Starcharter Andromeda

By chad porto | apr 12, 2021.

It’s not hard to find ways to parody Star Trek . Heck, the Muppets were able to do just that with their Pigs in Space sketch from back in the day. Parodying of Star Trek is so easy and so common that to list all of the times the show or series have been parodied would be a fruitless task that would keep everyon here for much longer than needed. So it’s not surprise that Saturday Night Live did just that.

Saturday Night Live (SNL) had a Trek parody on their most recent show on Saturday night called Starcharter Andromeda, which NBC described as;

"In this Star Trek prequel, a spaceship’s crew has a hard time dealing with two dramatic crewmates (Carey Mulligan, Mikey Day)."

The sketch features Carey Mulligan, who served as special guest host, and Carey Day as two affluent youngsters that came from a prvilleged and exclusive “Starfleet Academy”. Their entitlement is clealry an issue with being on the ship, named the USS Anrdomeda. The sketch also seemingly takes pop shots at Paramount+.

For those unaware, “Andromeda” is the name of another franchise thate Gene Roddenberry created, but was only ever utilized after his passing. The sereis starred Kevin Sorbo

As for the SNL sketch, it doesn’t really live up to other parodies and homages. If you’re looking for something Star Trek flavored, you could check out The Orville, which stars Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth MacFarlane, or the Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver film, Galaxy Quest.

For those looking to stay a little bit closer to the source material, there’s the Star Trek serise Lower Decks , which got mixed reviews but is getting a new season soon, so it might be something to check out if you’re interested in animated comedies with a Trek spin.

Next. Star Trek fans get new teaser trailers, convention and more on First Contact Day. dark

Screen Rant

10 best star trek parodies all fans should watch.

Star Trek has been a cultural institution for 57 years, spawning Muppet spoofs, bad impressions, cartoon caricatures, and pitch-perfect parodies.

• Star Trek: Lower Decks is the greatest and most affectionate parody of the franchise, but its official canon status sets it apart from other spoofs.
• Various TV shows and sketches, like Chewin' The Fat, The Muppet Show, and The Adam & Joe Show, have successfully parodied Star Trek with humor and deep-cut references.
• Other parodies, such as Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek and Black Mirror's USS Callister, offer unique and sometimes dark takes on Star Trek, pushing the boundaries of the franchise.

Star Trek has been a cultural institution for nearly 60 years, and its place in the popular imagination has spawned all manner of spoofs and parodies. Arguably Star Trek: Lower Decks is the greatest parody of all time, given how it perfectly, and affectionately, sends up the entire franchise. However, its official placing within the Star Trek canon means that it wouldn't be fair to place it alongside the countless comedy sketches, movies and sitcoms that have sent up the show over the past 57 years.

There's a long history of William Shatner impressions of varying quality, with the most notable being Jim Carrey's from In Living Color . While the jokes in those sketches, such as "The Wrath of Farrakhan" haven't aged brilliantly, Carrey's impression is certainly worth checking out. Some Star Trek parodies have gone on to spawn a life of their own, with full series orders, merchandise, and a fiercely dedicated fanbase all of their own. Meanwhile, other parodies have said all they have to say about Star Trek in 5 gag-filled minutes, and move on to their next target.

9 Chewin' The Fat - Taysiders In Space

The casting of Martin Quinn means that Star Trek : Strange New Worlds' Scotty is now Scottish , after decades of being played by a Canadian and an Englishman. BBC Scotland comedy sketch show Chewin' The Fat depicted a whole crew of Scottish Starfleet officers in the memorable sketch, "Taysiders in Space". Based on the premise that Starfleet Academy opened up a new campus in Carnoustie in Scotland, the sketch depicts the first batch of recruits setting out across the universe, with their phasers set to " malky " - that's kill in Scottish. It's a bracingly Earthy take on Gene Roddenberry's original Star Trek vision with some big laughs.

8 The Muppet Show - Pigs In Space

Pigs in Space has been a stalwart of The Muppet Show since season 2, and while it has sent up all manner of sci-fi movies and TV shows, Miss Piggy's starship is called the Swinetrek, directly linking it to Star Trek . Not only that, but the character of Captain Link Hogthrob is very clearly based on William Shatner's Captain Kirk and just like Star Trek , it spawned numerous spinoffs. In the 1990s, ABC revived The Muppet Show as Muppets Tonight , which ran between 1996 and 1998. Pigs in Space was also updated in the revival, with the subtitle Deep Dish Nine and the character of Captain Pighead to better reflect 90s Star Trek .

7 The Adam & Joe Show - Stuffed Trek: The Toy Generation

The Adam & Joe Show was a cult TV comedy magazine show that was famous for spoofing popular movies and TV shows with toys long before Robot Chicken . In their sketch "Stuffed Trek: The Toy Generation", Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish sent up Star Trek: The Next Generation with some fairly deep-cut references. The mention of " more terrible movies " and irritation at Lt. Commander Da-Toy's newfound sense of humor say it all about Adam and Joe's opinions on Star Trek Generations . Interestingly, decades later and with successful feature films under his belt, Joe Cornish was approached to direct Star Trek Beyond , but he turned it down.

6 Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek

Turkish cinema is notorious for its copyright-skirting parodies of Western IPs, and not even Star Trek could escape this treatment. Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek is, like the title suggests, a film that places the titular Turkish comedy character into an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series . More specifically, "The Man Trap", complete with Salt Vampire and seductive apparitions. Watching it does feel like experiencing a feverish mashup of TOS season 1, but it's never boring. The Turkish Star Trek parody is also a charming buddy comedy between Ömer and Mr. Spack, and there's been nothing quite like it before or since.

5 Black Mirror - USS Callister

"USS Callister", Charlie Brooker's pitch-perfect parody of Star Trek: The Original Series had a predictably dark edge. As a Star Trek parody it worked on multiple levels, from the recognizable tropes to the much deeper critiques of its sexual politics. It's also a smart and thought-provoking take on Star Trek 's holodeck technology and the rights of those whose images are stored inside. The characters that Robert Daly (Jesse Plemmons) interacts with inside his simulation are avatars for his co-workers, who retain the memories of the cruelty he metes out to them. Star Trek has yet to fully interrogate the ethics of its holodeck technology in such a complex and engaging way, making this a must-watch episode for fans.

4 Animaniacs - Star Truck

Animaniacs' parody of Star Trek is an absolute riot as the Warner Brothers (and sister) cause chaos aboard the starship from their favorite TV show. It's full of copyright skirting names like Mr. Squat and Captain Kork, alongside typically meta-references such as a nod to " Ricardo Montalban and his plastic chest ." There's also a hilariously blunt joke about the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode "City on the Edge of Forever". The parody featured some incredible impressions of William Shatner, DeForest Kelley and Leonard Nimoy by Maurice LaMarche that perfectly capture each of their iconic Star Trek roles.

3 Seth McFarlane's The Orville

The Orville 's reputation as a Star Trek parody initially hampered its ability to be taken seriously as a sci-fi show in its own right. There are strong Star Trek links to The Orville from guest appearances by notable stars, and creative input from 90s Trek legends Brannon Braga, Jonathan Frakes, and Robert Duncan McNeill behind the scenes. Seth McFarlane has a deep love of Star Trek and that really shines through in some of the affectionate jibes at tired old Trek tropes. However, The Orville is more rewarding than a mere parody because it recaptured the feel of the episodic, planet-of-the-week style Star Trek long before the debut of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in 2022.

2 Futurama - Where No Fan Has Gone Before

Both Matt Groening's beloved animated series The Simpsons and Futurama have featured various nods to Star Trek over the years, but "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the peak. In the episode, the Planet Express crew discovers the original Star Trek actors alive and well on the planet Omega 3, where they've been resurrected by alien superfan Mellvar. Reuniting the majority of the living Star Trek: The Original Series Cast - minus James Doohan - it was an episode packed full of references and big laughs. From Philip J Fry (Billy West) in Captain Pike's bleep-bleep chair to the killer final line delivered by William Shatner, it's an absolute hoot.

1 Galaxy Quest

While Futurama may have had the benefit of the involvement of the original cast, Galaxy Quest is the best Star Trek parody . The beloved sci-fi movie, which has spawned its own dedicated fanbase, was released in 1999. Effectively putting a Star Trek spin on the Steve Martin movie The Three Amigos, it sent the cast of a popular sci-fi show into space to defend a planet from an alien warlord. It's full of acutely observed jokes about conventions and fans, and it's steeped in various well-worn Star Trek tropes. Tim Allen is perfectly cast as the William Shatneresque character while Alan Rickman's snobbish actor is archly funny. It's the funniest Star Trek parody of all time, but Galaxy Quest is also a joyous homage to the show and its hugely positive impact on fans.

Saturday Night Live

• View history

Saturday Night Live , or SNL for short, is an American late-night television comedy show featuring various comedy sketches, involving both a regular cast and celebrity guests.

SNL has parodied Star Trek many times over the years in addition to appearances by many Trek actors. Since its beginning in October 1975, SNL is produced for, and airs on NBC , the network that had been the original broadcaster of Star Trek: The Original Series .

• 1.1 "The Last Voyage of the Enterprise "
• 1.2 " Star Trek V: The Restaurant Enterprise "
• 1.3 "Get a Life!" sketch
• 1.4 Star Trek Democrats
• 1.5 " Love Boat: The Next Generation "
• 1.6 Rescue 911 spoof
• 1.7 Nerd Chatline
• 1.8 Quinto, Pine, and Nimoy on "Weekend Update"
• 1.9 Worf, M.D.
• 1.10 Star Trek : The Lost Episode
• 1.11 Starcharter Andromeda
• 1.12 Star Trek: Ego Quest
• 1.13 Other mentions
• 2 Star Trek and SNL connections
• 3 External link

Sketches [ ]

"the last voyage of the enterprise " [ ].

John Belushi gives the Vulcan salute

SNL first featured a Star Trek parody in 1976 entitled "The Last Voyage of the Enterprise ". It starred John Belushi as Captain Kirk, Chevy Chase as Spock, and Dan Aykroyd as Dr. McCoy and the voice of Montgomery Scott, with actress Doris Powell as Uhura and SNL set designer Akira Yoshimura in the first of several appearances on the show as Sulu. The premise of the skit finds the Enterprise being pursued through space by a 20th century automobile , "owned by a company that manufactured cookies" (a play on the fact that the full name of NBC – the network that airs SNL – is the National Broadcasting Company, whereas the "cookie company" in question is Nabisco , whose name is short for National BISCUIT Company). A passenger from the vehicle, NBC executive Herb Goodman (played by host Elliott Gould ), boards the Enterprise and informs the actors that Star Trek has been cancelled. Goodman has his assistant Curtis ( Garrett Morris ) and an NBC stage crew break down the set, while Spock (now out of character as Leonard Nimoy and hysterically bemoaning his lost job, as quoted below) frantically wandering the set looking for his ear tips that Goodman has pulled off. McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu (now also having broken character and speaking as DeForest Kelley , Nichelle Nichols , and George Takei ) leave the set despondently. Kirk, sitting in his chair on the now-disassembled bridge, makes one final log entry (quoted below).

• " Most peculiar, captain. I can only assume that they possess some sort of weapons deactivator, in which case I shall merely render him unconscious with my famous Vulcan nerve pinch. " - Chevy Chase (as Spock)
• " I don't believe it! God!!! Everybody I know loves the show when I see the show, huh? I have a contract! I have a contract! I want my... Where's my ears? I want my ears back! I want my ears back! " - Chevy Chase (as a breaking-character Leonard Nimoy)
• " I'm a doctor, not a tailor, dammit. " - Dan Aykroyd (as Dr. McCoy) [a parody of McCoy's famous phase " I'm a doctor, not a... "]
• " Captain's Log, final entry. We have tried to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. And except for one television network, we have found intelligent life everywhere in the galaxy. Live long and prosper... Promise! Captain James T. Kirk, SC 937-0176 CEC. " - John Belushi (as James T. Kirk ) [ NOTE: This is the above-mentioned final log entry depicted in the photo at right; it references Shatner's Promise margarine ads, which aired around the time the sketch was made. ]

" Star Trek V: The Restaurant Enterprise " [ ]

Another parody was aired on 20 December 1986 , when William Shatner hosted. The sketch, which posited what the plot of the fifth movie might be, finds The Enterprise bought out by the Marriott corporation and turned into a seafood restaurant. The crew is threatened when Khan Noonien Singh brings a health inspector to the restaurant, though Kirk resolves the situation by slipping the inspector a bribe. Shatner, of course, played Kirk, Kevin Nealon played Spock, Phil Hartman played McCoy, Victoria Jackson played Janice Rand (now a waitress instead of a yeoman ), and Dana Carvey played Khan and voiced Scott and Chekov. SNL cast members Nora Dunn and Jan Hooks played patrons, as did comedian Kevin Meaney, who played a choking victim who is saved by a "Vulcan Heimlich Pinch" delivered by Nealon's Spock.

Perhaps the most memorable exchange is this one, referring to Meaney's character:

Another memorable quote is as follows:

"Get a Life!" sketch [ ]

The most infamous Star Trek sketch was also featured during Shatner's 1986 appearance on the show. Not so much a parody, it featured Shatner as the guest of honor at a Star Trek convention. After being asked a barrage of trivial questions by the audience, Shatner finally berates them to "get a life!", telling them it was only a TV show. After finishing his rant (and being reminded of his contractual obligations by the convention manager) Shatner quickly explains the rant was a reenactment of the "evil" Captain Kirk from " The Enemy Within ".

The scene apparently caused some fans to believe these were his true feeling for Star Trek fans, though he has assured them it was only a sketch. The sketch did, however, inspire the title for his book Get a Life!

In the intro to this edition of SNL, Shatner quipped that he hopes the Trekkies out there have a sense of humor or " I'm in deep trouble! "

• See Get A Life!

Star Trek Democrats [ ]

The cold open of the 14 March 1992 episode did a combined parody of Trekkies and American Presidential campaigns, as the remaining Democratic candidates, former California governor Jerry Brown (Dana Carvey), former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas ( Al Franken ), and William J. Clinton (Phil Hartman), visit a Star Tre convention, hoping to sway the audience (led by Chris Farley and Mike Myers ) to support them by telling them what great fans they are – but when told that Leonard Nimoy has endorsed Tsongas, Clinton breaks into a rage, screaming " He no better than Shatner!!! " and breaking the podium.

" Love Boat: The Next Generation " [ ]

Patrick Stewart and Rob Schneider

Yet another was done in 1994, when Patrick Stewart hosted, in a skit called "Love Boat: The Next Generation" (parodying both TNG and The Love Boat ). Essentially, it involved the USS Enterprise -D crew running the " Galaxy -class Cruiseship Pacific Princess". (The sketch involved a model of the Enterprise -D with a model cruise ship as part of the saucer section.) [1]

Stewart, of course, played Captain Picard . Chris Farley played Riker , Rob Schneider played Data , Phil Hartman played Worf , Tim Meadows played Geordi La Forge (although he acts more like the character of Isaac from The Love Boat , with his catchphrase, "outta sight!" a double entendre towards La Forge's blindness ), Julia Sweeney was Deanna Troi , Ellen Cleghorne was Guinan (acting more like Whoopi Goldberg than the character), Melanie Hutsell was regular "Love Boat" guest star Charo , Al Franken was Tog the Ferengi (Charo's estranged boyfriend), Adam Sandler was David Brenner, and David Spade was Joan Rivers . Instead of Dr. Crusher, however, the sketch featured a cameo by actor Bernie Kopell , reprising his role as Dr. Adam Bricker from The Love Boat .

The show had also begun with a Trek spoof: Stewart's opening monologue had been a laughably inaccurate "tribute" to TOS. [2]

Rescue 911 spoof [ ]

Another semi-parody, also aired in 1994 involved a spoof of Rescue 911 which was hosted by William Shatner at the time. Michael McKean played Patrick Stewart, filling in for Shatner. Host Roseanne Barr played a 911 operator who keeps blowing off callers. The sketch also featured a brief appearance and the end of the sketch by Tim Meadows as Geordi La Forge.

Nerd Chatline [ ]

In a 2005 episode with guest host Paris Hilton , SNL featured a sketch spoofing erotic chatlines with an offer of "nerd chatlines" for fans of various franchises including Star Wars , Dungeons & Dragons , Lord of the Rings , Doctor Who , and Star Trek .

The Star Trek portion featured Maya Rudolph as Candy, with a " massage license from Rigel VII ", wanting " to go where no man has gone before ". Candy, dressed in a TOS operations division uniform, claimed that it was the time of the Vulcan mating season of pon farr and that she wanted to do something logical to the caller. She also stated that like the eel-bird of Regulus V she needed to find a mate or die. The caller, dressed in a TOS command division uniform, responded that he was "giving himself the Vulcan nerve pinch " and displayed the Vulcan salute .

Quinto, Pine, and Nimoy on "Weekend Update" [ ]

On the 9 May 2009 episode, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto appeared on the "Weekend Update" segment of SNL. They tried to explain that the new film fit flawlessly into Star Trek canon, though two Trekkies in the audience (one, played by Bobby Moynihan , wearing a red TOS-uniform shirt with commander 's stripes, the other a t-shirt with McCoy and Uhura and fake Vulcan ears) are clearly skeptical. Quinto, for instance, mentioned that the movie took the time to explain the origins of the Kolinahr ceremony as it is connected to the fascinating pon farr marriage ritual.

Finally, however, after Pine attempts to explain how the transporter uses the Heisenberg compensator , just as previous Trek transporters did, but is unable to pronounce "Heisenberg", they admitted they actually had no idea what they were talking about. They also mentioned having been harassed by angry fans and having received threats in a language they could not decipher – either Vulcan or Hebrew. Quinto mentioned having found decapitated action figures in his mailbox every morning, and Chris Pine complained about having received notes tied to rocks that were thrown at his windows, but only scratching them, not breaking them, since they didn't throw hard enough – all of which has resulted in death stares from the insulted Trekkies. Finally, they simply express hope that these fans will still come to see the movie.

In the background, a rather familiar voice assures the two that "they will come", and Leonard Nimoy appears – at which point the two previously angered Trekkies are visibly overcome with joy (combining Vulcan salutes with a rather un-Vulcan like display of emotion) – and states that in time Chris Pine will be accepted as equal to the original Kirk, while Zachary Quinto will be viewed as "slightly less" than equal to the original Spock, but "ultimately OK".

Nimoy attempts to assure Quinto that fans will like the movie because to not like it would not be "illogical" as host Seth Meyers suggests (having interrupted Nimoy, beaming at the idea of beating Spock himself to the logic-based punchline), but rather "would make them dickheads" – a sentiment that, coming from their hero, the Trekkies in the audience heartily accept. The appearance ends with Nimoy, Pine, and Meyers doing the Vulcan salute.

Worf, M.D. [ ]

On the 28 February 2015 episode, there is a skit featuring cast member Kenan Thompson as a doctor attempting to get closer to his wife – a Trekkie – by attending Star Trek conventions. He later goes straight from the convention to go and operate on a man while still dressed up as Lt. Worf . After various other off-color gags, he ends up causing the patient to go into cardiac arrest and die due to being unable to have the other doctors look at him with a straight face or without laughing at his ridiculous costume. It ends with NBC announcing a new show called " Worf M.D. "

The skit was subsequently followed by a card paying tribute to Leonard Nimoy, who had died the preceding day.

Star Trek : The Lost Episode [ ]

Kirk and Spocko

Broadcast 6 May 2017 , this sketch features host Chris Pine as Kirk (from TOS instead of the Kelvin timeline), and is presented as a documentary by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Kenan Thompson) on a missing TOS episode titled "Spock's Secret". It depicts the introduction of Bobby Moynihan's Spocko, Spock's stereotypical Italian-American half-brother who was fathered by Sarek with a Human hostess. Tyson closes out the sketch by remarking that at least it was better than Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . (As with the sketches listed above, Akira Yoshimura once again plays Sulu in the sketch, although for the first time, he is not wearing glasses.)

Starcharter Andromeda [ ]

Broadcast 10 April 2021 , this sketch (introduced as a " Star Trek prequel" airing on Paramount+ ) depicted two entitled "rich white kids" (played by guest host Carey Mulligan and Mikey Day ) who are more focused on their own interpersonal drama than the actual crisis onboard the "USS Andromeda ".

Star Trek: Ego Quest [ ]

Broadcast 2 October 2021 , this sketch mocked the recent billionaire space projects by depicting a trailer for a new Star Trek show called " Star Trek: Ego Quest " starring Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos (played by guest host Owen Wilson ) exploring the galaxy on his penis-shaped starship, the SS New Shepard and battling rival billionaires Elon Musk and Richard Branson .

Other mentions [ ]

On the 12 October 2013 episode, SNL spoofed both the film Gravity and the 2013 US government shutdown . In the skit, two astronauts lost in space contact NASA to find that the only remaining employees are two janitors . One of the janitors claims her son can help rescue the astronauts because he is always watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

In a November 2015 episode of SNL, the show presented fictional auditions for the upcoming Star Wars movie Episode VII: The Force Awakens , with an introduction by J.J. Abrams . One of those auditions featured cast member Leslie Jones , in Klingon makeup, reporting that the ship had entered the Neutral zone , although the shields were down to 12%. Jones was then informed her performance was Star Trek , while the audition was for Star Wars .

Star Trek and SNL connections [ ]

Roy Orbison and the Beastie Boys , whose music has been played by Trek characters, have also appeared on SNL.

Teri Hatcher , Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (once as "The Rock", four times as "Dwayne Johnson"), Kirsten Dunst , Winona Ryder (Dunst and Ryder hosted consecutive episodes), and Seth MacFarlane have also hosted.

External link [ ]

• Saturday Night Live at Wikipedia
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein

Chris Pine spoofs William Shatner in SNL Star Trek parody

By jeremy dick | may 7, 2017.

Chris Pine is best known for playing the new Captain Kirk in the Star Trek movies, and a new SNL parody has him spoofing the William Shatner version.

I was expecting some kind of  Star Trek spoof on last night’s  Saturday Night Live . But this… this went above and beyond, defying all my expectations. Truly, this is an awesome thing.

Star Trek actor Chris Pine, who has taken on the role originally made famous by William Shatner, guest hosted  SNL yesterday. One of the segments was of a faux “lost episode” of  Star Trek: The Original Series airing on TV Land. In one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen as a nerd, Pine plays the original Captain Kirk in the hilarious skit.

Introducing this “lost episode” is Neil DeGrasse Tyson (hilariously portrayed by Kenan Thompson). Tyson provides some of the back story behind the episode, playing various clips from it. In this “lost episode”, Spock brings him brother Spocko on board to help the crew on the bridge. However, the annoying Spocko doesn’t quite have the tact of his brother. He gets on everyone’s nerves and even winds up hitting on Uhura!

You can watch the entire skit in the YouTube video below.

Next: Colbert's homophobic Trump joke brings FCC investigation

Not all of the impressions of other characters on the show are perfect. But Pine’s impression of William Shatner as Captain Kirk is spot on. And that’s really what makes this so very enjoyable. It’s unfortunate that it’s only a sketch, because I want to watch an entire episode of Pine as original Kirk!

Watch Chris Hemsworth Confess His Love To A Chicken In SNL's Funny Star Trek Parody

This weekend, Chris Hemsworth took the stage to host an episode of Saturday Night Live for the first time. During the episode, the team put together some sketches referencing the acting projects he has accomplished in the past, including Star Trek . You can check out SNL ’s parody of Star Trek , below.

The parody is a pretty silly one, featuring a crew in space that is unhappy with the captain leading them on a dangerous mission. The crew is in peril, which sounds like more of a drama premise than that of a comedy sketch, but then a live animal shows up and the laughs come more quickly. As it turns out, the captain is actually a chicken named Emily, who is dating Chris Hemsworth’s Lieutenant Jericho. The sketch is pretty gimmicky and even uses a live chicken for laughs, but Hemsworth is a good actor and sells the goofy bit, making a romance with a chicken more of an amusing sketch than an uncomfortable one.

A Star Trek sketch is all the more timely, considering that Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy passed away just last week. In the time following Spock’s death, plenty of people and groups found adequate ways to pay tribute to the late actor. William Shatner shared memories , Canadians tricked out bills with Spock faces, and The Big Bang Theory included a memoriam in this week’s episode. It makes sense that SNL would nod at Star Trek , too.

Of course, it’s convenient that Hemsworth has actually appeared in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboots. His tenure as host on the late night sketch series also featured a Marvel-oriented sketch , which was obviously a given, considering Hemsworth is most famous for playing Thor, and will be reprising the character in Avengers: Age Of Ultron . There were also some great Thor jokes in the promo trailer .

Other memorable moments included a brand new “Porn Stars” sketch and a hilarious Empire parody .

NBC’s Saturday Night Live is currently celebrating 40 years on the air. You can catch new episodes on weeknights at 11:30 p.m. ET.

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[TNG at 30] Flashback To SNL’s 1994 Next Gen/Love Boat Mashup

Captain Picard’s Love Boat

Actor Chris Pine recently appeared on an episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live , as a very Shatner-esqe version of Captain James T. Kirk. The segment ignited discussion on social media of past SNL Star Trek skits, including Shatner’s iconic 1986 “Get A Life” sketch. However, one that seemed to go somewhat unnoticed was 1994’s Next Generation – Love Boat mashup, featuring Patrick Stewart himself as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

“And love… life’s sweetest reward. Let it flow, it flows back to you!” – The Love Boat theme song

In the 1970’s, one Hollywood TV producer nearly single handedly dominated the television broadcast airwaves. Aaron Spelling, one time actor – appearing in bit parts on shows such as I Love Lucy – became one of the most popular and prolific TV show creators around. Leave it to the master of the hit series TV landscape, Aaron Spelling, to have a connection to Star Trek – however accidental.

Iconic shows like Charlie’s Angels and Fantasy Island were must watch TV back in the day, and regular viewers of the boob tube simply couldn’t warp away from Spelling’s creative spell even if they had a Starfleet transporter. If visionaries such as Rod Serling and Gene Roddenberry ruled as TV’s “golden age” sci-fi gurus, then Aaron Spelling ruled in his era as an equal master of pop culture escapism.

Crime fighting and fantasy fulfillment aside, Spelling also liked to just have laughs on his shows. That search for chuckles gave television viewers Spelling’s masterpiece of campy, ocean trekking fun – The Love Boat .

The Love Boat was a one hour ABC sitcom, chock full of familiar faces from yesterday’s silver screen. The mighty Pacific Princess, a luxury cruise liner, led by Captain Stubing, a paternal, take charge, bald commander – captivated viewers for nine seasons.

Set a course for… LOVE!

Wait a minute… sounds familiar. Bald Captain – a massive, luxury vessel which would ferry an eclectic mix of passengers of all manner and description to exotic destinations… Let’s see. What other TV series does it remind me of? Hmmm…

Watch the classic 1994 Saturday Night Live skit – complete with guest host Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, as he sets a course for romance and love, along with Chris Farley playing Number One and Rob Schneider as ole yellow eyes himself, android Mr. Data.

Did Roddenberry pattern his Jean-Luc Picard after Spelling’s Stubing? Decide for yourself, but the parallels between the legendary shows make for a wonderful parody. Maybe subconsciously Roddenberry’s push for a bigger, prettier more luxurious starship design for his Enterprise D – complete with those nifty ‘hotel like’ furnishings of carpets and plants in the corridors – came after watching Spelling’s opulent creation.

More from Will Stape’s series on TrekNews.net celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation :

• Star Trek Healthcare – 24th Century Medical Marvels
• Next Generation Trepidation: How A Funny Looking Enterprise and Its Bald Captain Made Me Nearly Hate TNG
• Looking At The Star Trek: TNG Interactive Technical Manual From 1994
• Risa: Posh Upscale Resort Or Raunchy Sex Club?
• Ten Forward: Where Guinan Knows Your Name
• The Secret Life of ‘Trek’ Pets
• Next Gen’s Oft Neglected Type I Phaser

[amazon_link asins=’1593938624,B01BP06ENA,1506702511,B01N47VPJG’ template=’ProductGrid’ store=’treknenet-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’17e1cb99-0793-11e7-bb88-b1e93e7dd574′]

Will is an Emmy Award nominated screenwriter, book author and content producer. He's written for magazines, the web and for several highly respected TV shows, most notably for the Star Trek franchise. Will penned episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine , and he was one of the few freelancers to work on episodes for both landmark Hollywood series, born of visionary Gene Roddenberry. He's pitched to Star Trek: Voyager , Deep Space Nine & for USA Network's show, Stephen King's The Dead Zone . His articles & celebrity interviews appear in national magazines, websites, newspapers and he's written extensively for publications such as: Yahoo! News, McCall's Quilter's Home, American Chronicle, Bayonne Style, OMG, Shine, Hudson Reporter, The Last Reel & Sci-Fi Pulse. His new book, Star Trek Sex: Analyzing The Most Sexually Charged Episodes Of The Original Series , is published by Bearmanor Media. You can follow Will on Twitter @willstape and @LaughTrek .

Markus McLaughlin

May 9, 2017 at 8:43 pm

You forgot to mention Sen. Al Franken as a Ferengi Tourist! 😀

May 10, 2017 at 3:50 pm

Also don’t forget Akira Yoshimura who appears as Sulu here, as well as in the original SNL Trek skit, and Pine’s skit.

Mario Rodriguez

May 15, 2017 at 8:21 pm

OMG You’re right! That’s so epic!

alex sleight

January 3, 2023 at 11:39 am

Aaaand thats whaaat weeeee callllll Blackfaaaaaace! RIP phil hartman but also OUCH.

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Taylor Swift Worries She Might ‘Accidentally’ Sing Ryan Gosling’s ‘All Too Well’ Parody on Tour

The pop star loves the “(Ryan and Emily’s Version)” of the song

Ryan Gosling hosted arguably an all-time great “SNL” episode, beginning with a new alien abduction sketch with Kate McKinnon , followed immediately by a monologue in which he sang a Ken-ified version of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well.” And according to Swift herself, it might just seep into her tour performances.

As Gosling hit the 30 Rock stage on Saturday, he explained that he was there to promote his upcoming movie “The Fall Guy,” in which he stars opposite Emily Blunt, meaning he wouldn’t make any jokes about “Barbie,” or his character Ken.

“Because it’s not funny,” he deadpanned. “Ken and I, we had to break up. We went too deep.”

To really commit to the break-up, Gosling took a seat at the piano, and began singing a new version of “All Too Well,” with lyrics based on Ken. Naturally, Gosling had his Fauxjo Mojo Mink Coat on hand to perform in. Eventually, he was even joined by Emily Blunt, who switched up the lyrics to be about her own most recent character, in “Oppenheimer.”

And, having seen the performance, Taylor Swift was truly impressed, joking that she might even adopt some of those lyrics herself.

“All Too Well (Ryan and Emily’s Version) !!! Watch me accidentally catch myself singing this version on tour,” she wrote in an Instagram story, alongside the video. “This monologue is everything.”

She ended her post with emojis of hands making a heart, as well as the applause hands.

The performance was one of the few during the episode where Gosling didn’t crack up (though he did nearly miss grabbing his microphone from off the piano after putting his coat on, which he did visibly notice).

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'SNL' spoofs 'Barbie' trailer with clever American Girl doll parody

"Barbie" fever has hit "Saturday Night Live."  

Greta Gerwig's live-action spin  on the iconic Mattel toy got a droll parody trailer in Saturday's episode of the NBC comedy series . In a pre-taped sketch, "SNL" cast members imagine what it would look like if American Girl dolls got their own movie. Naturally, the results are less than ideal. 

The original American Girl dolls are fictional characters from various time periods. As a result, a historically accurate film would feature grave subjects such as war, slavery, illness and death. 

"My daddy's a prisoner of war," says Molly (Molly Kearney), a World War II-era character. "And tragically, I have glasses." 

More 'SNL': Host Ana de Armas learned English watching 'Friends,' calls Chandler the 'best' tutor

"That's OK," says Addy (Ego Nwodim), a young Black girl growing up during the Civil War. "I don't know my birthday because I'm a runaway slave." 

A chipper voiceover explains that unlike "Barbie," there are no boyfriends or pink Corvettes in this story.

"Did all their family members die of vague, old-timey diseases? Absolutely," the narration says. "Come for the fun, stay for the overburdened preteens wearing four layers of petticoats and pantaloons." 

The tongue-in-cheek trailer ends with multiple American Girls contracting cholera, while Josefina ( Ana de Armas ) announces her plan to stop the Spanish-American War. At one point, they dump a dead body from a covered wagon. 

De Armas hosted "SNL" for the first time this weekend alongside musical guest Karol G. The Cuban actress played a Spanish student, game-show contestant and hip-hop vocalist in her sketches, and reflected on learning to speak English in her monologue. 

"Barbie" (in theaters July 21) spawned multiple memes with its new trailer and character posters earlier this month. The hotly anticipated movie stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as versions of Barbie and Ken dolls, respectively, although the film's plot is being kept tightly under wraps. Issa Rae, Michael Cera, America Ferrera and Will Ferrell round out the star-studded cast. 

Previously on 'SNL': Donald Trump crashes The Last Supper, calls Jesus a 'nepo baby' in Easter sketch