SNL - Wow is it tanking....

I saw this last Sat, and man, I knew the show had gone downhill, but yikes...not a single "watchable" sketch in the whole show (and that music guest was frickin' tone def...).

With the exception of good hosts' shows (like Betty White or Justin Timberlake), it seems some of the skits now are just plain bad. Even on Sat., Scarlett Johanssen was funny in her parts, but the writing...uggh....

Even good performers like Kristin Wig and Seth Meyers are just getting some awful sketches. Maybe this needs to go in the Rant forum more, but yikes!

its been going down hill since rock, sandler and farley parted in the 90s...some say it began earlier once belushi and chevy chase left. I can barely stand it any more i refuse to watch it, same ting goes for mad TV its pathetic!

reply to post by Gazrok


I agree.
That Bush-Kanye bit...I have seen better impersonations of Bush on YouTube by newbies, really. And even that aside....it wasn't funny at all. The show has gone downhill in my opinion. Betty White was the only guest whose show was really good, in recent memory.

reply to post by Gazrok


what is SNL? is that an american tv show?....oh wait saturday night live?? lol just thought as i was typing ..i could just delete my post but like magnus magnuson ive started so ill finish.


never watched it....

Usually you get one or two good skits, and the rest are just worthless filler, but last weeks episode was complete $h!t. I actually felt bad for Scarlett Johansson. To get called on to do the show, and then be at the mercy of lazy writing must have been a nightmare for her.

'Comedy' writing nowadays is completely lame. The SNL sketches from 20+ years ago are way superior.... what went wrong? It's enough to make a person lose faith in comedy....even sitcoms are watered down and silly, there's no edge, nothing. I was watching old reruns of 'In Living Color' and couldn't believe with what they got away with back then.... controversial and hilarious! Bring back good writing, please.....

I remember watching the premier hosted by George Carlin. The first five seasons were the best. Once all the original Not Ready for Prime Time players left. That was the end. It was all down hill from there.

The last episode I watched was the one with Christopher Walken. It's just awful now. Kinda sad.


-TheAssoc.

Admission time:
I've not watched SnL since PRE-Wayne's World.

It seems so long ago... can't even remember the season/years now.
What was that, early/mid-90's?

I agree with the above poster who cites the lack of good writing on SNL for the problems with the show. A list of the current writers can be found here.

When you scan through the alumni of SNL writers from the past it reads like a "who's who" of comedic genius. For the last few years it's just read like a list of just "who???".

If there is to be salvation for SNL it can only come, in my opinion, in one way. Start totally over again, from the original recipe. Fire everyone and find young and hungry sketch/improv comedians to build it back again. Kids who have nothing to lose and who will push the envelope without caring about corporate policies and censors. That was the recipe that made the Not Ready For Prime Time Players work. It's what the show needs to return to.

Improvisational / sketch comedy is not the domain of accounts and lawyers... It's the realm of troubled and angry young people with something to say. SNL will remain a crapola fest as long as there are people who worry about running it as a business and not as what it needs to be, a passion project.

~Heff

You can't ever count SNL out. Every time someone suggests it's going downhill it seems there is suddenly a breakout star. I have really liked the cast of the past few years personally, although I agree that the writing has often been awful. I was reading that one of the newer cast members, Abby Elliot, is daughter of former SNL member/comedian/actor Chris Elliot. I always thought he was really funny.

reply to post by MrAndy


There are some breakouts there, namely Kristin Wig and Seth Meyers, but the writing...was just bad. And those skits, like the stupid hispanic talk show, where they do the stupid dance....that's just unwatchable.... I mean, if it wasn't funny the first time, why do the same setting again?

Originally posted by Gazrok
I mean, if it wasn't funny the first time, why do the same setting again?

Lazy.

The show's definitely in desperate need of a serious talent injection or a mercy killing.

At it's best, it never was any better than the all-time greatest sketch comedy show, SCTV. Now THERE was some brilliant writing and performing. Park some in your Netflix queue. You won't be disappointed.

reply to post by yeahright


Not to mention that Second City Television provided talent ( writers and performers ) to most of the early incarnations of SNL!

~Heff

Originally posted by Replikant
'Comedy' writing nowadays is completely lame. The SNL sketches from 20+ years ago are way superior.... what went wrong? It's enough to make a person lose faith in comedy....even sitcoms are watered down and silly, there's no edge, nothing. I was watching old reruns of 'In Living Color' and couldn't believe with what they got away with back then.... controversial and hilarious! Bring back good writing, please.....

Damn good post. The new generation has taken over and it's, for the most part, completely lacking in originality and understanding of the nuances of humor. Now you just make the grossest, crudest movie you can, and this new generation of zombies just pee in their pants because they don't know any better.

SNL really died after the Myers, Carvey, Sandler and Farley era. Will Ferrell is really the only one that came after that has any ability at all.

Peace

"In Living Color"...now THAT's some funny stuff. (and if you watch Dancing With the Stars, you'll catch a younger Carrie Ann Inaba as one of the Fly girls, on some seasons, in addition to J-Lo)....

Homie the Clown....Woodchuck to Gray Squirrel....Men on Film....Fire Marshal Bill (I think)....Vera DiMilo....classics!

They have made it stupid and just matched up people that dont have chemistry together. Jimmy Falon is not funny and all the celebs they have just are pathetic and seem to be there for rating boosters. Lots of fillers too now as some one said. I didnt mind the mid 90s stuff with Adam Sandler, some celebs also did a few skits too I can remember alex baldwin in one (or one of the baldwins) which was funny. I do agree though has fallen off, and did so at least 10 years ago

Originally posted by Gazrok
reply to post by MrAndy

 

There are some breakouts there, namely Kristin Wig and Seth Meyers, but the writing...was just bad.

Seth Meyers is one of the head writers

I meant breakout stars more along the lines of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell over the years. I don't believe that anyone there currently or recently has become a big name like those, although I think a lot of them have potential. I think Andy Samberg is really overrated though. I know a couple of his music videos became big hits on the web, but there have been so many more bombs there. He is young though. I thought Will Forte might breakout, but the MacGruber movie bombed, I haven't seen it but I did think the sketches were funny. He's no longer in the cast, though.

My favorite SNL sketch of recent memory was of Fred Armisen's Barack Obama turning into Dwayne Johnson's "The Rock" Obama when he got angry. I couldn't find any good video of it though.

reply to post by q_ball


Alec Baldwin has two great ones....one with "Canteen Boy" (Adam Sandler), and one with "The Delicious Dish", the "Schweddy Balls" skit... Those two both cracked me up. Betty White had her own "The Delicious Dish" with the "Dusty Muffin" skit. Same idea, and still funny....Good times.

If you've ever seen the John Travolta one with him as Dracula, with a gay Wolfman roomate, now that is funny....

reply to post by Gazrok


Exactly they where good, also Chris rock had a lot of great clips. However most his humour was just run offs from his stand up shows I found, used the same jokes when doing stand up or vice versa. I

Guys who was that bloke who did the news reports? Ive seen him in some 90s movies but havent seen him since then? He plays chris rocks agent in the 2 live crew scetch and also the news reports in most clips with adam sandler or chris rock?