Death of a legend? SNL stinks

[VF21]

I have watched Saturday Night Live from the very beginning. I always found something to laugh at, even through the worst years.

This year, however, simply reeks. I miss Tina Fey, I miss Horatio. But most of all, I miss the real biting satire and humor that has kept this show running all these years.

I actually changed the channel and am watching the last part of MadTV. And it's actually what SNL used to be...irreverent and funny and insulting to everyone regardless of race, creed, color OR importance to the network.

 

[nebs]

I agree that SNL stinks now and I think MadTV has actually been getting better with time.

I miss Horatio

Wow. I thought he was probably the worst I have ever seen. Wait I take that back.. Colin Quinn was the worst.

 

[bibbinator]

Wow. If MadTV has gotten better than SNL then SNL must really stink.

Maybe MadTv is better too, but I haven't watched it in a while.

 

[VF21]

I agree that SNL stinks now and I think MadTV has actually been getting better with time.
Wow. I thought he was probably the worst I have ever seen. Wait I take that back.. Colin Quinn was the worst.

The fact I miss Horatio speaks volumes.

 

[GoGoGadget]

I haven't watched SNL for years. Cast has been okay, off and on, but the writing has been on a downward slide for at least a decade.

 

[VF21]

Not entirely. It's nothing like it used to be but there has generally been some redeeming value. This year it's just tired and old.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I haven't watched SNL for years. Cast has been okay, off and on, but the writing has been on a downward slide for at least a decade.

I agree that its the writing and not the cast - even the original "greats" were pretty limited once they got off the show and there is plenty of solid talent that has been wasted over the past decade (or two). I have to imagine things will get even worse and some people will look back fondly at this era as days gone by ten years from now because when you really get down to it each era has gotten progressively worse than the last.

The musical guests have really gone downhill as well.

 

[D-Mass]

Faithful SNL watcher myself, and the show ALWAYS goes through these periods. Popular cast members leave to pursue other interests and it always takes a couple of years to rebound. I'm not as pessimistic about this group...there is some definite talent there. They just need a few more pieces and some refreshing writing. I used to do sketch comedy in LA, and it was VERY difficult and time-consuming to come up with a good show. Imagine doing that every week for 30+ years...

Amy Poehler is excellent, as is Kristen Wiig. The male cast is particularly weak right now, but even they show flashes of, well...adequacy.

I haven't watched last night's episode yet, but I thought the opener had a couple of decent sketches.

I have faith it will rebound.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Over the past 30 some years SNL has gone through peaks and valleys and although this clearly is one of the valleys it be a little premature to conduct a post mortum. The current cast may not be the most tallented ever but the big problem is the loss of Tina Fey as HEAD WRITER. She had an edge that had missing for a while. Now the show is as edgy as a bowling ball. No amount of tallent infront of the cameras will do the trick. I supect Loren Micheals has been mailing the show in for years, a bright sharp group of writers made it possible. Lets hope he goes out and brings in the edgy sharp wit that really tallented writers like Tina and Al Franken brought in over the years.

Ironically with the emergence of Studio 60 and 30 Rock, SNL has clearly BECOME an establishment icon, making the task of being edgy anti establishment parady even more difficult. If I were a network exec I would DEFINATLY be on the phone to LM about the show current content.

 

[SDKing]

Mad TV has been better than SNL for quite some time now

 

[HndsmCelt]

MAD TV targets an enterly different audiance demographic they are not writen or produced for the same audiance. It's sort of like comparing Dave Chapel to Jeff Foxworthy.

 

[D-Mass]

Yeah, not a fan of MadTV myself...

 

[nebs]

MAD TV targets an enterly different audiance demographic they are not writen or produced for the same audiance. It's sort of like comparing Dave Chapel to Jeff Foxworthy.

True enough. MadTV is more along the lines of In Living Color (which I loved as a young teen) but I always loved SNL as well. SNL is nearly unwatchable for me now... not completely because I love comedy but when I have to choose at 11:30 I find I'm more on the MadTV side.

 

[VF21]

If I - the epitome of someone for whom MadTV was really not written - find it more entertaining than SNL, I would think that's an indication of a problem.

I have watched SNL from the very beginning, through all the peaks and valleys. This time just feels different. It feels a little desperate and a LOT strained. And that's just not a good sign.

 

[SDKing]

MAD TV targets an enterly different audiance demographic they are not writen or produced for the same audiance. It's sort of like comparing Dave Chapel to Jeff Foxworthy.

I understand what you're saying, but I liked both shows. I think many others feel the same way too.

 

[hoopsfan]

If I - the epitome of someone for whom MadTV was really not written - find it more entertaining than SNL, I would think that's an indication of a problem.

I have watched SNL from the very beginning, through all the peaks and valleys. This time just feels different. It feels a little desperate and a LOT strained. And that's just not a good sign.

I agree. I miss the good old days of SNL.

" I seem to have cut the dickins out of my thumb."

 

[Gargamel]

I have watched Saturday Night Live from the very beginning. I always found something to laugh at, even through the worst years.

I've seen some old episodes from the 70s and 80s on Comedy Central and at 3am on NBC (back when they used to play them). Pretty bad. Some of the 70s material w/ Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase wasn't even that great. I saw an episode that had Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Anthony Michael Hall as castmembers. I never even knew they were. SNL has had a lot of junk to offer since 75, but I do think it's beyond dead at this point. It was sputtering before the Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, and Will Ferrell cast came out of nowhere. However, the last few years have produced NO innately funny castmembers, afaic. Loren should close shop.

The heyday was the early 90s where they still had the trio of Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon and the influx of Chris Farley, Mike Myers, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, etc. Loren should start putting those full episodes out on DVD if he wants to make cash. I'd buy that.

 

[Spike]

I agree that the cast is weak and the writing is poor. It doesn't seem like writers are willing to take chances anymore. We also have to think about what the cast brings to the table - does anyone write their own material anymore?

 

[bibbinator]

SNL has outlived themselves. There is so much quality sketch and standup comedy on Comedy Central now. Ten or fifteen years ago guys like Dave Chappelle or Carlos Mencia would have given their left nut to get a part on SNL. Now they can have their own shows on Comedy Central or HBO. It's not a hard decision.

 

[StevenHW]

...I saw an episode that had Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Anthony Michael Hall as castmembers. I never even knew they were. SNL has had a lot of junk to offer since 75, but I do think it's beyond dead at this point. It was sputtering before the Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, and Will Ferrell cast came out of nowhere. However, the last few years have produced NO innately funny castmembers, afaic. Loren should close shop.

The heyday was the early 90s where they still had the trio of Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon and the influx of Chris Farley, Mike Myers, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, etc...

You were watching an episode from 1983 to around 1985. Julia and Anthony were around during the last of the Eddie Murphy-Joe Piscopo years, and also in the one year that Billy Crystal was a member.

I also liked SNL from the latter part of the 80's up to the early 90's, though I didn't watch the show regularly.

I agree with the earlier post written by D-Mass' in regarding that SNL has gone through artisitic peaks and valleys.

The one ironic thing about SNL was that it when it first started out in 1975, it was considered as the anti-establishment show that would satirize most everything you would see on TV at the time. Then it got safe and settled around the mid-80's, and there was no new challenges to conquer. Pretty soon, other sketch shows appeared: "Fridays", "MadTV", "The Kids In The Hall", "Almost Live!", "The State", "In Living Color", and others.

And Lorne Michaels even repeated himself; he produced a show very similar to SNL, simply called "The New Show" during the mid-80's, which was cancelled after a few months.

To me, the show that was Lorne Michaels' inspiration for SNL was mostly "Monty Python's Flying Circus", and even that show ran for only about 4-5 years. Member John Cleese once said that he already was starting to get tired of the show around the latter of the second season, and felt that the group was beginning to run out of ideas on the third season. He left the show for the fourth season, and the other members went on without him. But at least MPFC had the good sense not to carry on much longer than they had to.

 

[VF21]

Okay, I gave it another chance, but I'm still not impressed.

Dick Cheney hunting accident jokes? Will Farrell in a "surprise" cameo as James Lipton? John C. Reilly as guest host?

Seth Myers joining Amy Poehler at the weekend news desk doesn't help any, either.

This turkey is dead...just in time for Thanksgiving.

 

[VF21]

They've had a couple of reruns and their new shows still haven't shown me much.

They're having a special new show tonight. "Best of Darrell Hammond" - I think they realize they're in deep, deep dooty.

 

[Viking]

I agree that its the writing and not the cast - even the original "greats" were pretty limited once they got off the show and there is plenty of solid talent that has been wasted over the past decade (or two). I have to imagine things will get even worse and some people will look back fondly at this era as days gone by ten years from now because when you really get down to it each era has gotten progressively worse than the last.

The musical guests have really gone downhill as well.

hey now, they had RHCP on a few months ago (haven't watched SNL in forever so i dont know about any other ones) but they tend to invite most all of the mainstream popular bands/singers anymore (pretty much since about the time of the whole bubblegum pop explosion of the late 90s), and a lot of them really arent that great. they've had some ok musical guests but they dont easily come to mind.

as an aside i only miss tina fey. but thats because i have a mad crush on her

 

[pdxKingsFan]

The early SNL used to be daring with musical guests, it wasn't all flavor of the month pop acts or way past their prime acts like I consider RHCP to be. The show that in past decades featured Elvis Costello faking out the producers only to launch into the banned "Radio, Radio", Fear starting an in-studio riot and Sinead O'Connor tearing a photo of the Pope at the end of a protest song is most memorable in this decade for featuring Ashlee Simpson's lip-syncing blow up (followed up a few weeks later with Eminem also blatantly lip-syncing).