It’s the holiday season, and that always means at least one thing, Saturday Night Live holiday sketches. The holidays produce some of SNL’s best sketches, including the infamous “Schweddy Balls” sketch, where Alec Baldwin brings his salty snacks on an NPR show. Things were a bit more special this year though, because this weekend’s episode featured a sketch about the most in-demand gift this Christmas, the PlayStation 5.
The episode was hosted by Arrested Development and Ozark star, Jason Bateman, and featured American country music singer Morgan Wallen as the musical guest. Though this new bit is about the PS5, video games are no stranger to Saturday Night Live. A sketch earlier this year featured NFL superstar JJ Watt recording some bizarre lines for Madden 21. That same season also featured a sketch about a basketball announcer (played by Chance the Wrapper) trying to cover a League of Legends match.
This week’s episode though featured a very topical gaming issue, and that is how hard it is to get a PS5 this Christmas. Jason Bateman plays a jolly Santa Claus who receives a rather strange Christmas letter. The sketch quickly turns into a parody of rapper Eminem’s classic song “Stan,” a song about an obsessive and suicidal super-fan. This version is instead about someone named Stu (played by SNL’s Pete Davidson) who is obsessed with Santa Claus, provided he can provide him with his one wish, a PS5 for Christmas.
The sketch even covers the trials of Stu trying to obtain a PS5, like how difficult and messy it was to try and preorder a PS5 from sites like Walmart. Stu even mentions walking into GameStop before realizing he could just ask Santa, expecting him to provide. The parody follows the same trajectory as the Eminem original, as Stu grows meaner, angrier, and more desperate as Santa ignores his letters. Stu eventually threatens to light Santa on fire and threatens to go driving after drinking a “fifth” of eggnog.
Instead of getting significantly darker as the Eminem original does, the parody then cuts to a breakdown by Sir Elton John (played SNL writer and now actor by Bowen Yang) singing about how he also loves Santa, and also would like a PS5. The idea that even a mega-celebrity like Elton John can’t get his hands on a PS5 heightens the comedy quite a bit and lends to how scarce the PS5 feels to those who have yet to obtain one.
While the window for getting a PS5 before Christmas is closing fast, there are a few tips on getting a PS5 that should be followed to prevent anyone from feeling like Stu this year.