Ratings, I expect. Either she screws up again and it’s funny, or she gets it right, but more people are watching just because she might blow it.
I only saw it on the Internet, but I thought the Simpson debacle was very funny in a “take that, phony musician” kind of way.
In the Saturday Night Live behind the scenes book that came out… probably 2 years ago. It’s a great book that interviews just about every cast memeber ever about the show. It goes in to detail about how the show is run.
One tidbit-
It’s clear Janeane Garofalo hates Lorne Michaels and the show.
As usual, the only funny thing last night was Darryl Hammond. He should just break off and do his own show. SNL sucks.I am done with it.
HEAR HEAR!!!
HEAR HEAR!!! (os is that Here!Here! I never did know)
ok - having read the rest of the thread - you’ve all overlooked one thing
the guest host
The writers have to write around the guesthost - especially those with no stage experience like sports superstars. (and why are these people even being asked to host? damned if I know). But last week with KZJ had some very funny bits - the Diane Carbonal bit was great. If they’ve booked a no talent flash in the pan to host, the sketches have to be written so as not to tax that person’s lack of ability. It’s so obvious when someone talented hosts. Think about it.
And by the way, if I didn’t make it clear earlier this thread, or in last week’s thread, Horotio Sanz is SO OVER. Dump him. He is so obviously wasted (i can’t tell if he’s drunk or high but he’s definitely out of it) why he hasn’t been fired is a huge mystery. He must have one damn solid contract.
They’re just waiting for him to be discovered face down in a pool of his own vomit. It’s so much easier for Lorne that way.
My guess: Janeane doesn’t like a whole lot of stuff.
If so, it’s only because most of the rest of us fall asleep without switching the TV off.
I don’t watch regularly, but I do think they did excellent stuff during the election, in particular their versions of the debates. (Also Queen Latifah’s commercial for Excedrin for Racial Tension headaches.)
–Cliffy
Knew I’d forgotten something. The problem with the guests is that the show has become another stop in the publicity tour like Leno, Letterman, Today, etc. and the show has to cater to them, usually resulting in painfully unfunny bits.
I think the only way for SNL to get back on track is for it to crash and burn in a spectacular fashion. NBC will either try to fix it, or can the damn thing. Either way, everybody wins.
I haven’t seen much SNL this season, but unless this season is drastically lower in quality than the past few, I think most of you seem to be blowing things out of proportion. Sure there are pleanty of duds, but there have always been pleanty of those. I can recall a few times recently (ie in the last 2 years) that SNL has made me laugh very hard, and I have a feeling that some large portion of these complaints about the show are from people who miss the old days and don’t have the same sense of humor they did back then. That’s not at all meant as an insult but certainly people’s senses of humor change as they age and maybe SNL’s humor just isn’t aimed at, or written by, people in your age group?
Nah, it like sux.
What nobody’s mentioned yet, is, I think, the real reason why SNL has gone down the tubes. During the 1970s up until most of the 90s, if you were a comedy writer who wanted a steady gig doing edgy material, you went to work for SNL. Now, however, you can get a job working on Comedy Central, where you can pretty much be as edgy as you want to be.
Do you think that modern NBC would be willing to air South Park shorts during SNL, even with all the obscenties bleeped out? I seriously doubt it.
My wife has asked me multiple times why I an optimistic enough to think the show won’t stink. Week after week they prove that they can’t get more than 2 skits to be funny and have several that are painful. The Weekend Update used to be the highpoint of the show, It has been terrible for a decade and is getting worse.
Even in the worse years (81?) the Update was still funny.
I think the best periods were the Original Cast and the 87-93 era. Dennis Miller was probably the best News Anchor. Amy is the worst.
Horatio is in his 8th season and this makes me go WTF.
Sad, very Sad
I think the reason we all feel that '75-'79 were so great is because SNL was new. No one had ever sucessfully done a show like that before. The ensemble worked. and until Chevy got his swelled head, everyone appeared equal (tho we now all know the truth)
Ever since then, they’ve been trying to find substitutes - an impersonator (Aykroyd), a generic sweet woman (Curtin), a funny woman, a fat guy, a black guy, a leading man. Formula.
I agree with Tuckerfan. The good writers have found a better forum. Altho it’s basic cable, and has some restrictions, you can get away with a lot more (South Park, the Daily Show) than networks will allow
I wonder if this is why WPIX (and perhaps other WB affiliates) have started running South PArk at 1am (not to mention Sex and the City at 11pm - but OH BOY has the dialogue been looped over)
Well, I was going to suggest that they hire Rocket back, since it was him who got them to realize the show was tanking the last time, but it turns out that’s not possible.
I just a had an idea. SNL would become much more interesting if it were transformed into a sketch comedy game show. Here’s how it would work:
At the end of every episode, the audience votes (phone-in style) for whoever sucks the most, be it one of the actors or one of the writers. The one who gets the most votes is immediately fired and replaced. It would certainly make the show more exciting.
Yikes! -
but you know - that’s so crazy, it just might work. Quick!! Someone call the network execs!! (we all get a share of the royalties, tho, right?)
If only Andy Kaufman were still around.
I’m afraid it is true that the show has become part of the “establishment,” and not just in the counterculture sense of the word, either. Back in 2001, when GW Bush started using the term “strategery,” it was apparent they they had lost the edge they were famous for. That’s not a problem in and of itself, though. The problem is they don’t know it. Anyway, I think they should cut the show back to an hour. Weekend Update, two musical preformances, one longish opening sketch, a cartoon, and 3-5 sketches. Of course that would only work if they cut out the crap. It seems just as likely that they would be more inclined to make sure there’s time for Debbie Downer.
Exactly. Buck Henry was always good.