saturday night live

NEON MERCURY · February 21, 2005, 01:09:06 PM

my question for the snl faithful:

how did it feel while watching the special and lamenting how the show has turn to shit ....like the white dog shit variety.

Myxo · February 21, 2005, 01:25:30 PM

There has yet to be a third generation of great SNL writing.

Hopefully over time we'll see another.

ono · February 21, 2005, 01:53:56 PM

All I hear is white noise.

grand theft sparrow · February 22, 2005, 10:48:52 AM

Quote from: NEON MERCURYmy question for the snl faithful:

how did it feel while watching the special and lamenting how the show has turn to shit ....like the white dog shit variety.

Kind of drove the point home for me.

The skit with Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor doing the word association thing with racial slurs completely punctuated exactly what the show has been missing: relevance. Like Tyler Durden said, "Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken."

The show's sanitized now. It's still funnier than Mad TV and not quite the worst it's ever been (that Brat Pack season with Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. and the free agent season with Chris Elliot and Janeane Garofalo were much worse) but to see the early sketches in contrast to what it is now... two different shows.

I think if anyone can save the show, it's Amy Poehler, the most consistently funny performer they've had since Will Ferrell. Just about everyone else - including the once great Darrell Hammond, who really deserves credit for filling the Phil Hartman void along with Ferrell - really needs to go. Rachel Dratch is funny but she needs to do more besides playing old ladies (though the soap opera crying coach on the Hilary Swank ep was the best thing she's done in ages). And they couldn't find two more talented black comedians than Kenan Thompson and Finesse Mitchell?

They need more people on the show who aren't afraid to do anything. Most skits just seem like they're trying hard to not be daring; I don't know if that's Lorne Michaels' call or pressure from the NBC suits or what but it's got to stop.

Sorry, I really needed to get that off my chest. I forgot how great the show used to be and now I'm very annoyed that it's what it is now. However, I will continue to watch through this lull in hopes that a cast will come along that will restore the show to, if not the peak of its greatness, at least the mid-level greatness that we had just a few years ago.

cine · February 22, 2005, 10:25:28 PM

Quote from: hacksparrow
Quote from: NEON MERCURYmy question for the snl faithful:

how did it feel while watching the special and lamenting how the show has turn to shit ....like the white dog shit variety.

Kind of drove the point home for me.

. . .

The show's sanitized now. It's still funnier than Mad TV and not quite the worst it's ever been but to see the early sketches in contrast to what it is now... two different shows.

well.. anyway.. they addressed why the show isn't like the 70's anymore. that was all talked about in the special.. in fact, that was the entire point OF the special. if you guys missed all that, i'm sorry.

as for the special.. it's coming on dvd later this year with over an hour of additional footage.

modage · February 22, 2005, 11:31:21 PM

Quote from: Cinephileas for the special.. it's coming on dvd later this year with over an hour of additional footage.

good, i liked it but like easy riders, it was too brief. i wonder why jane curtin wasnt interviewed?

Sleuth · February 22, 2005, 11:33:02 PM

her and Bill Murray REFUSED

cine · February 22, 2005, 11:38:12 PM

sleuth refused too.. why sleuth.. why..

©brad · February 23, 2005, 10:51:59 PM

i watch these skits, the majority of which are exceedinly lame, and think 'well, i at least have a shot in this biz, b/c i know i could come up with something funnier than that.'

put it this way-- if there ever was a battle of being witty between snl and xixax, we would win hands down, 12 times out of 10 if that were even possible. so, if old lorne really wanted to fix his show, he would start hiring us.

grand theft sparrow · February 25, 2005, 11:21:10 AM

Quote from: ©bradput it this way-- if there ever was a battle of being witty between snl and xixax, we would win hands down, 12 times out of 10 if that were even possible. so, if old lorne really wanted to fix his show, he would start hiring us.

Your logic is flawless.

ono · February 26, 2005, 03:55:36 PM

Tonight is a rerun of the Paul Giamatti / Ludacris episode, and following that in some markets is the first ever episode of SNL, featuring such moments "I want to feed your fingertips to the wolverines" and Andy Kaufman's Mighty Mouse song rendition. Also, on March 12th, David Spade will host, with musical guest Jack Johnson.

Myxo · February 26, 2005, 04:06:36 PM

Quote from: ono mo cuishleTonight is a rerun of the Paul Giamatti / Ludacris episode, and following that in some markets is the first ever episode of SNL, featuring such moments "I want to feed your fingertips to the wolverines" and Andy Kaufman's Mighty Mouse song rendition. Also, on March 12th, David Spade will host, with musical guest Jack Johnson.

David Spade..

Awesome, I look forward to that show!

RegularKarate · February 26, 2005, 05:02:27 PM

David Spade AND Jack Johnson?

are they just expecting nobody to watch?

Spade really embodies recent SNL though, the same, very old, very boring shit done over and over until enough people are tricked into thinking it's actually funny.

ono · February 26, 2005, 06:05:46 PM

Quote from: RegularKarateare they just expecting nobody to watch?

No. Lorne just doesn't want you to watch.

Myxo · February 26, 2005, 06:54:42 PM

Quote from: RegularKarateDavid Spade AND Jack Johnson?

are they just expecting nobody to watch?

Spade really embodies recent SNL though, the same, very old, very boring shit done over and over until enough people are tricked into thinking it's actually funny.

He's not as funny without Chris Farley.

Spade & Farley together were great.