Korean SNL’s Doctor Strange might be the best Doctor Strange

By Alex McLevy  |  January 9, 2017 | 11:00pm
Aux Features TV
Korean SNL’s Doctor Strange might be the best Doctor Strange

Look, no disrespect to Doctor Strange. It was a fun movie, full of dazzling special effects that require repeat viewing if only to fully absorb the CGI pyrotechnics director Scott Derrickson put together during those amazing city-transformation fight sequences. But the story was far from equal to the imagery. Aside from the paint-by-numbers origin story, Benedict Cumberbatch’s titular doc was basically Tony Stark lite, a character lacking rich interiority, as the script performed Marvel’s standard “sketch out the broad strokes and move on” approach to its heroes’ identities. So when greeted with a bizarro take on Doctor Strange from SNL Korea (and featured by Tor), there’s a fighting chance to make the alternate version of the Sorcerer Supreme a more iconic one, and the show just may have pulled it off.

This sketch from the Korean version of the late-night comedy program takes the Marvel superhero and makes him an instantly memorable joke character, capable of standing proudly alongside the makin’ copies guy and the Church Lady. The gist of the bit is that they’ve turned Doctor Strange into a David Blaine-like hack, a guy who does ridiculous shtick and then stares at the camera like he just made the Statue Of Liberty disappear. What makes it great, though, are the two yes-men who lose their minds every time he pulls off one of his “tricks,” thereby ensuring his continued quest for more magic.

Muddying the waters a little is the fact that a couple of his stunts are actual tricks, albeit fairly silly ones, like drawing a shuttlecock to his cock in mid-flight or making a cup move toward his hand. Luckily, it quickly moves on to the next absurdist bit—our favorite involves making an elevator rise—and the whole thing coasts by on the sheer joy of stupidity. Would that Benedict Cumberbatch only try so hard to astound.

[via A.V. Club reader LuLu]

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