SNL: More Painful than a Dentist's Drill

from JoeUser Forums

So, now that we have a TV again (see my article "Luddite no More"), I decided that Saturday evening I would sit down and watch SNL, as I hadn't been able to in months.

Now, don't get me wrong; as far as humor goes, SNL has always had a bit of a "rise and fall" tendency; when the core comedians leave, it takes awhile for the other comedians to step up to the plate.

Soooo, I watched the show. It was a rerun, from during the election, but it was HORRIBLE. I don't mean corny, I don't mean cheesy, I mean downright AWFUL. We wrote better skits for junior high school TALENT DAYS, for crying out loud. And I survived the Joe Piscopo years even!

Now, I can forgive the fact that the Bush and Kerry roles weren't very convincing visually; you have to work with what you've got. But the fact is, these guys did not capture EITHER politician in a convincing caricature (a la Dana Carvey's Bush 1.0 and Ross Perot). It was painful, awful drek (and I survived "A Night at the Roxbury").

The ONLY redeeming quality of the show was the Robert Smigle cartoon.

Oh, for the return of good sketch comedy!

entertainment
7,434 views 20 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
sorry gid as faras i am concerned saturday night live died after the leaving of the abc's boys ackroyd, belushi and chase.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top

sorry gid as faras i am concerned saturday night live died after the leaving of the abc's boys ackroyd, belushi and chase.

I think it continued through the Eddie Murphy years, but yea, forget the recent crap.

Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Maybe I'm too young to remember the golden years or the original cast, but I really think the show is on its way back with Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler leading the way. It had fallen into complete and utter chaos when the biggest "talent" they had to offer was Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, but I think we will see a great resurgence in the next couple of years.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top

It had fallen into complete and utter chaos when the biggest "talent" they had to offer was Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan,

My Kids love those guys, but they really grate on my nerves.  I took my son to see Anchorman, and he loved it.  It was not as painful as Pokemon,but not by much!

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
My Kids love those guys, but they really grate on my nerves. I took my son to see Anchorman, and he loved it. It was not as painful as Pokemon,but not by much!


When your "funniest" characters are two guys who can't dance and a monkey/human hybrid, you're in trouble, especially when none of those characters' humor has anything to do with dialogue or actual wit. They were just bad imitations of Chevy Chase, with the exception that they couldn't take a fall like Chevy.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top

fall like Chevy.

Those were the days!  Of Course having a stumblebum (Ford) as president sure did not hurt CHevy Chase's antics at all!

Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
That's why I watch Mad TV. Hopefully, SNL will get better again.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
That's why I watch Mad TV. Hopefully, SNL will get better again.


I watchit on occassion. I like it! Not as good as the hey day of SNL, but pretty good.
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
I was upset when Jimmy Fallon left, but I think SNL has the best female cast ever. I've gone back and watched some of those older shows and they can be pretty awful, too.

Chevy Chase is one of the most overrated comedians of all time.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
Chevy Chase is one of the most overrated comedians of all time.


Also true, which is why it is so painful to watch people imitate him, and not as well.
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
Chevy Chase is one of the most overrated comedians of all time.


Also true, which is why it is so painful to watch people imitate him, and not as well.

I think you can throw Fallon in the overrated pile too, though.
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
Good comedians have come and gone through the SNL cast, but the sad fact remains, it's been on for almost 30 years but we'd be hard pressed to name as many really good ones in the bunch.
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't tune into SNL that much anymore. Hey, Chevy had his moments, he was a funny guy, had some good laughs. Mad TV and Dave Chappelle get's my laughs now! Oh, and that Soup guy, corny but funny!
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
Ah, Jimmy Fallon was the best impersonator since Phil Hartman. The guy can do almost anybody. I think he's great.

I didn't think anyone could get me back watching "weekend update" after they screwed Norm MacDonald, but Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon ruled. I like Amy Poehler too, tho, so I'm not that bummed.
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top

I think SNL has the best female cast ever.

Now, there we can potentially agree. The problem is, the female cast has been slow to "grow" into their roles, and Lorne is overly reliant on the female contingent for political correctness (if you read the memoirs of people such as Gilda and Jane from the first cast, SNL has a pretty bad history as regards females). But they need to be careful in going too far the other way; Horatio Sanz is only a heavyweight as far as his bathroom scales are concerned, NOT as a comedian.

Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
Horatio Sanz is only a heavyweight as far as his bathroom scales are concerned, NOT as a comedian.


I wholeheartedly agree. He has never been funny.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
I was watching a 60 minutes interview with Lorne Micheals. It turns out that the guest hosts pretty much decide what skits get on air. Then, Micheals edits the ones out for time.

I think that's part of the problem. SNL needs to let their writers and comedians have control over the show.
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
I didn't think anyone could get me back watching "weekend update" after they screwed Norm MacDonald, but Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon ruled. I like Amy Poehler too, tho, so I'm not that bummed.


I only recently started watching SNL, so the best SNLer I ever saw was Fallon. Yes, he was great at Weekend Update. I was mad, because the year I started watching was the year before he left, so I only saw one year of him.

SNL has been declining even more since Fallon left, IMHO.
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
I've watched SNL since its inception, and it's sad to say I believe it died long ago.....
Memories? Ah, Andy wrestling women, Mr. Robinson's neighborhood, Noogies, cone heads, Billy Crystal, Jane's crush on Cronkite( basically the first 4 years in toto )

Highlites since the beginning;

Leon Redbone, John Goodman w/ Dan Ackroyd, Wayne and Garth,
Buckwheat, The lounge singer, Will in the hottub....

Since Dana Carvey left, the cast has seemed, well, sub-par...Jimmy Fallon was just too wierd, and Will seems very adept at childrens comedy - not late night....

Mad TV is OK, but tends to go for the gutter ( like Mad Mag ) and the least worst copy of SNL had to have been "The Kids in the Hall"

Waiting now to see how "The Sketch Show" goes, it has the makings of a Tracy Ullman genre ( hopefully )