Viewers have pleaded with Saturday Night Live to “stop killing jokes” after an “awkward” Elmo sketch attempted to recreate a viral video.
Yesterday’s instalment (16 January) of the popular series parodied a 2004 Sesame Street episode that recently went viral on social media.
In the original video, Elmo is seen fighting with his friend Zoe over her pet rock, Rocco.
In the SNL sketch that re-enacts the scene, comedian Chloe Fineman is wearing an Elmo costume and imitating the muppet’s voice.
Impersonating Elmo, Fineman complains that Rocco has been given a chair.
“Rocco doesn’t need a chair, Rocco doesn’t even have legs,” says Fineman. “Rocco’s a rock, what is he even doing here?”
Viewers, however, were unimpressed with the skit with many taking to Twitter to criticise it as “unfunny” and “awkward”.
“This is so profoundly awkward and unfunny. You literally stole a sesame street bit and made it less funny,” reads one comment that has since received nearly 10,000 likes.
“Stop. Killing. Jokes,” wrote one user.
Another added: “*sigh* Oh, that’s an unfunny SNL skit,” while someone else said: “Congrats you just killed off the joke as usual.”
A fourth person wrote: “Damn you couldn’t let us have this one huh.”
Comedian, TV writer and actor Ashley Ray wrote: “I want this writers room to take one week off twitter and try writing the show.”
“Chloe’s great, but this basically [sic] takes something that was already funny on its own merits and makes it worse,” said another.
One person wrote: “They just stole a sesame street bit. There’s no original joke here. It’s just the same bit.”
The viral Sesame Street scene is taken from a 2004 episode in which Elmo and Zoe fight over a batch of freshly baked cookies.
The resurfaced video sent viewers into hysterics, with many people taking to Twitter to share their reactions to the resurfaced clip.
