Saturday Night Live can be hit and miss, but last night's Star Wars sketch was a hit -- like a target acquired, missiles launched, direct hit on the infantilism of geek culture. Last time the show took on Star Wars, it was a miss; a rehashed idea for unseen auditions with a couple celebrity cameos and some real bottom of the barrel jokes (although the Danny Devito BB-8 audition still gives me a chuckle). However, this time they came out blaster's a-blazin' with an on-the-nose Star Wars toy commercial that takes on one of the most unpalatable elements of the fandom -- obsessive, joyless collecting. Take a look at what I'm talking about in the video below.

Accurate sketch is accurate. If you're a part of the nerdisphere, you definitely know these guys, and let's be real, you might be these guys. It's part of what keeps the convention floors so packed. And it's a big part of how studios are able to capitalize on your fandom and turn something like Force Friday into the wildly profitable success that it was. It's good for the constitution to take a little ribbing for a habit that's...to put it delicately...unflattering. I admit I've spent my fair share of hard earned money on trinkets and collectibles, but there's something about the collector culture that's always seemed a bit off to me. Maybe it's because it makes it so easy for studios to capitalize off a fandom's love for something. Maybe it's all the reasons Simon Pegg spelled out in his nerd culture state of the union blog post. It's the holidays and all, so if you find yourself a little too well represented in that sketch, consider buying the next toy for one of the little ones in your life. And for gods sake, let them play with the damn thing.

 

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Image via NBC

For more of our Star Wars coverage, peruse the recent links below, and be sure to check back when our review goes live on December 16th.


 

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