This past Saturday saw witness to what may end up being the most legendary SNAFU in the 2016 election so far. While this year has been no stranger to comedic moments, from the Sarah Palin endorsement speech to Jim Webb’s slightly creepy statement on killing an NVA soldier, the opening to the last Republican debate is by far the new favorite.

For those of you who didn’t see it, let’s walk through it step by glorious step. It all began when the moderators of the ABC debate started to call the candidates to the stage. Everything went somewhat according to plan until they reached Dr. Ben Carson, who apparently couldn’t quite bring himself to get on stage. He got halfway, then stopped. When a backstage manager waved him to go on, Carson simply stared him down like a wild-west gun fighter and held his ground. Exasperated, the manager gave up and left Carson to do whatever it was exactly that he was doing. When Ted Cruz was called forward Carson appeared to revitalize himself and moved forward… only to stop one step later and motion for Ted Cruz to pass him, which he did.

At this point the moderators called Donald Trump to the stage, and, not to be outdone in the crazy department, he too stopped halfway onto the stage. The two stared coolly at the camera for a few moments until Jeb Bush was called, and he briskly swept past them, giving the audience a hilarious ‘suit yourselves’ look.

Then, somehow, impossibly, it got even better. There was but one candidate to take the stage: Governor of Ohio John Kasich. While the entire audience knew this, it seems that the moderators did not, and they proceeded not only without him, but before Trump or Carson made it onto the stage. Once they realized their misstep, their was a flurry of conversation and activity as they scrambled to fix things. First they announced only Carson, who then walked on, quickly added Trump, and then remembered Kasich, rounding up the chaos and finally getting everyone on stage. Remember, the debate had yet to even start.

The moderators, desperately searching for an excuse, blamed the noise in the room as the reason they couldn’t see which candidates were on stage or remember that Kasich was even in the race. On the other hand, I see it as quite possible that Carson may have been unable to hear his name. Trump? Trump was doing what he does best: something weird that throws everyone else off.

All in all this was a comedic start to a rather serious and productive debate. For the first time in the entire Republican race Trump didn’t have a stranglehold on the talking points, and thus serious conversation ensued. Candidate Marco Rubio took a battering of biblical proportions, as after Iowa he seems likely to pick up the slack from Trump. Chris Christie threw plenty of punches, and the Cruz campaign’s deception on Iowa Caucus night was a heated topic of conversation as well.

Despite it’s roots, the Republicans do deserve some slack. Their race is one with more candidates and therefore a lot more chaotic. Taking Trump down has taxed them, and Jeb Bush must be at his last inch of sanity at this point. That all withstanding, the night managed to take a productive turn and actually may have shook up the race in New Hampshire. Whether or not that claim holds true we can only wait and see.