Last October,Saturday Night Livepremiered one of its most popular sketches, “Haunted Elevator.” The sketch begins with a couple going to a hundred floors of frights ride and while the first couple floors are traditional scares, they eventually cross paths with a guy in a suit covered in pumpkins, and his name is David S. Pumpkins (played by an adorably goofy and gameTom Hanks). If you somehow haven’t seen it yet, check it out:
The sketch became incredibly popular, and while it’s never quite worked for me (rather than laughing, I tend to sympathize with the confused couple, except my confusion comes from why the sketch is so popular), it’s understandable whySNLwould want to find a way to bring the character back. While many assumed that Hanks would simply return for a new sketch featuring Pumpkins, it turns out NBC is going much further. Today, they announced they’re moving forward with theDavid S. Pumpkins Halloween Special.
Per the press release, “Set in a small suburban town on All Hallows’ Eve, the special centers on David Pumpkins and his skeleton sidekicks who show a young boy and his sister the true meaning of Halloween, answering none of their questions along the way.”Mikey DayandBobby Moynihan, who played the skeletons in the sketch, will have voiceover roles as will sketch co-creatorStreeter Seidellalong withPeter Dinklage. Hopefully, Dinklage’s involvement means we’ll get a “Space Pants” animated special at some point.
It will be interesting to see if people are excited for a half-hour special, or if the character only works in small doses. Day, Moynihan, and Seidell will all write and produce, so the talent behind the sketch is doing the special, but I can’t help but feel like, as with mostSNLcharacters, it will be a case of diminishing returns.
TheDavid S. Pumpkins Halloween Specialwill air Saturday, October 28th at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT.
