As any college writing professor will tell you, the end of the semester is not about playing. Rather, it’s about reading.

In my case, it’s getting through two and a half dozen script in the time it takes to….

Oh, never mind. 

All that matters is the grades are due soon and I AM NOT DONE.

Have I read some really good stuff?  You bet!

Have there been others that…..  Oh yeah, absolutely.

But mostly it’s been encouraging.  Gen Z has A LOT on their mind and they are paying attention.  They might not be writing exactly about our literal times (Note: Though some are).  But even when it’s an adjacent reality of sci-fi, end of the world, animated pirates or the impossibilities of having a live, in-person, honest to goodness relationship with….something….they’re paying attention, taking notes and making something out of it.

That’s why part of this week’s Saturday Night Live season 51 finale episode felt, well, especially appropriate.

No, it wasn’t the cold open where POTUS is visited by the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein (Note: Yes, they went THERE).  Or even the moment when it segued into beer pong with the current Dept. of Defense and the current FBI director (Note:  No, we’re not mentioning their names even one more time in print).

Instead, it was Ferrell’s return as the somewhat sadistically gay/bitchy high school drama teacher – Mr. Koenig – about to post the cast list to this year’s school play but holding back just a few minutes more because he delights in watching those kids literally squirm.

I long for those days. 

When the only thing to squirm about was not getting cast as the lead in “Grease.”  Or in my case, “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Watch, enjoy and wait for the special guest at the end of the sketch. And if you get especially SNL nostalgic by the end, you can always add another few cents to the coffers of my husband and me (Note: I?) and purchase the book we co-authored, The SNL Companion:  An Unofficial Guide to the Seasons, Sketches and Stars of Saturday Night Live.

Yes, that was a plug.  Because the book has the extra added bonus of being released right before you know who won the 2024 election.

More from the real world next week.

And no, I’m nothing like (much like?) Mr. Koenig in real life.

SKETCH: CAST LIST 2 – Will Ferrell & the SNL Cast