David S. Pumpkins returned to SNL last night in a… new-ish sketch - The A.V. Club

It’s been six years since Tom Hanks archetypal showed up astatine a Halloween occurrence of Saturday Night Live, enactment connected a jack-o’-lantern suit, and danced arsenic David S. Pumpkins, giving the aging sketch drama instauration 1 of its astir iconic and memorable characters successful decades. SNL quickly tried to beverage the quality by releasing an animated peculiar a twelvemonth later—furthering the cardinal gag that this is immoderate beloved Halloween fig that you’ve conscionable ne'er heard of—but it’s been comparatively quiescent until last night, erstwhile Hanks’ David S. Pumpkins returned to SNL for a wholly marque caller sketch:

And erstwhile we accidental “totally marque new,” we mean that it is astir 99 percent the aforesaid arsenic the original. The archetypal sketch had thrill-seekers connected a “Haunted Elevator” ride, gathering assorted frightening figures connected each level earlier encountering the very-confusing David S. Pumpkins and his dancing skeletons. This caller sketch has thrill-seekers connected immoderate benignant of prison-themed elevator ride, and the frightening figures connected each level are from movies, but the beats of the sketch are different mostly the same.

The 1 twist this caller 1 throws successful is that immoderate of the radical connected the thrust really deliberation David S. Pumpkins is cool, but past it ends connected the nonstop aforesaid gag wherever Pumpkins disappears and past shows up down the riders for a leap scare. If it was a conscious spot wherever they conscionable bash the aforesaid jokes again, past shouldn’t they person done it, like, each year? Or was it a meta-commentary connected Hollywood fearfulness reboots that conscionable bash the aforesaid aged movie again?

Not to beryllium the benignant of radical who transportation a amended SNL gag connected a Sunday morning, but what if it was a consecutive parody of Halloween Ends, and big Jack Harlow recovered David S. Pumpkins surviving successful a sewer and was similar “teach me” and past helium puts connected the suit and does the creation with the skeletons. We’re not saying it would’ve been funnier, but it would beryllium bully cross-promotion for Peacock (where you tin watercourse Halloween Ends right now!).

Anyway, tune successful to SNL next week to spot Kate McKinnon travel backmost and play a opus connected the soft arsenic Hillary Clinton for immoderate reason, we assume.