How can “Saturday Night Live” parody a farcical administration?
Some of the most durable “Saturday Night Live” sketches are game show parodies. It’s not hard to understand why – the genre runs on the universal appeal of gambling, with many offering a shot at fast money mixed with puzzle or trivia games of skill and elements of chance. But the classics test the players’ intelligence more than their luck, making their outcome less predictable. Hence, people love Alex Trebek’s “Jeopardy” and Darnell Hayes’ “Black Jeopardy” on “SNL.” Minus a few champions who enjoy insane winning streaks on the former, we can’t predict who will win; even contestants with a genius I.Q. can be defeated by someone with bulletproof strategy. “Black Jeopardy,” on the other hand, lands its jokes by fooling the audience into thinking it knows how the contestant Kenan Thompson’s Darnell sets up as the stooge will perform, then quickly turns that assumption on its ear. Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa from “Black Panther,” for example, was entirely out of his depth when called upon to answer questions about American black culture. So was Elizabeth …
