# SNL - Who?! What?! I'm Officially Old... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622 "2011-12-18T05:50:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/21 "2011-12-18T17:09:37Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > You’re complaining that a show on broadcast TV periodically goes to commercial. > > _You’re complaining that a show on broadcast TV periodically goes to commercial._ Really? Am I? Did you miss the point? One sketch, it hits or it misses. _Then a batch of commercials_. Then one sketch. \* Then a batch of commercials.\* Then a funny pre-taped sketch.\* Then a batch of commercials.\* As opposed to: monologue, Ace and Gary cartoon, _commercial_, Sketch, musical guest, _commercial_, SNL News (a long sketch, so,) _commercial_ a short sketch or stand-up, musical guest part 2, _commercial_. I used to be like that, IIRC. Listen, say you’re watching Star Trek. There’s a bit of the show, something happens, Dramatic music, and Picard say “Merde” Screen fades to commercial. _commercial_ Then, they try to solve the problem, they fail, they try again, there’s a weird result, a minor character suggest something, they start working on it, _commercial_, they try it, it fails again, and someone has a flash of insight to solve the problem, and the show ends. Try this: Picard and Riker dialog. _commercial_ Geordi has an idea, he starts it with Data and Wesley, _commercial_ they try it, _commercial_ someone talks to Beverley about their emotional problems, _commercial_, a _commercial_ between every scene. Wouldn’t that be, you know, cheating? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/22 "2011-12-18T17:41:39Z")
I checked the running length of a random season 2 episode of SNL and it was about 1:05. Checked a few random ones from season 37: 1:05, 1:04, 1:05. The total amount of commercial time hasn’t changed. You’re just perceiving it differently for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/23 "2011-12-18T17:50:13Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I almost never watch it live. On a good night, there’s about 30 minutes of good comedy worth watching. But when it’s good, it’s _really_ good. A good way to “watch” SNL is to follow [mediaite](http://www.mediaite.com/). If SNL (or Colbert or Stewart or etc…) does anything funny, they will usually have it. Often before it even airs on the west coast. It’s a good way to make sure you catch just the funny bits without investing the full 90 minutes per week. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/24 "2011-12-18T18:22:01Z")
I quit watching it when the Muppets left. They were the only funny thing on the show other than a rare samurai skit by Belushi. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/25 "2011-12-18T18:35:38Z")
SNL formula: Sketch that would be funny at three minutes, runs for ten. Essentially the same sketch, with minor variations, run all season. Pad the same sketch into a ninety-minute move. Add a sequel. Profit!! ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/26 "2011-12-18T18:39:46Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I checked the running length of a random season 2 episode of SNL and it was about 1:05. Checked a few random ones from season 37: 1:05, 1:04, 1:05. The total amount of commercial time hasn’t changed. You’re just perceiving it differently for whatever reason. > [@Clothahump](#): > > I quit watching it when the Muppets left. They were the only funny thing on the show other than a rare samurai skit by Belushi. It’s these type of posts that make me realize just how old I really am. Season 37?!?!?! WTF? FWIW, I watched last night and some found parts amusing, other parts not so much. Isn’t that the way it has always been? ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/27 "2011-12-18T18:41:11Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I checked the running length of a random season 2 episode of SNL and it was about 1:05. Checked a few random ones from season 37: 1:05, 1:04, 1:05. The total amount of commercial time hasn’t changed. You’re just perceiving it differently for whatever reason. Hrm. I was looking for something quantitative like that. Damn. I guess I am reacting badly to the breaks. In pure minutes, we’re not being cheated, the commercial breaks a shorter in addition to more frequent. Still, the flow seems off, breaks are too frequent. You suffer though a skit that makes you “Meh. That’s not that funny to me” (credit to Edward Murphy), hoping for the next you’ll like, but, nope _commercial_, then musical guest you don’t really care about, _commercial_, then another skit that fails then … Well, put me in the class of those who yell at kids on the lawn. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/28 "2011-12-18T18:47:27Z")
I remain confused why they go to the trouble of hiring Jay Pharoah, a black guy who does some pretty good impressions, but continue to assign Fred Armisen the role of Barack Obama. Armisen’s effort isn’t so great that we can’t give someone else a try; in fact, it’s absolutely awful. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/29 "2011-12-18T18:50:37Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > I remain confused why they go to the trouble of hiring Jay Pharoah, a black guy who does some pretty good impressions, but continue to assign Fred Armisen the role of Barack Obama. Armisen’s effort isn’t so great that we can’t give someone else a try; in fact, it’s absolutely awful. It seems like the standard SNL rule is once someone gets an impression, they stick with that actor until they leave the show. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/30 "2011-12-18T18:58:54Z")
Compliments to the set decorator(s) for the Jimmy Fallon Talking to Himself in the Mirror set. In the “mirror image” set there was a reverse printed poster of the Rockefeller Center poster seen on the wall of the other side. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/31 "2011-12-18T19:57:33Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > FWIW, I watched last night and some found parts amusing, other parts not so much. Isn’t that the way it has always been? That’s my feeling and I’ve been watching since the beginning. Memories get hazy and the Comedy Central reruns used to condense episodes into one hour by throwing out some garbage (I’ve always maintained that you could reduce an average episode into a single half-hour). This episode was no different. List of skits/numbers followed by my rating: The Boston Kids - B Monologue (Fallon) - B Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda - A Michael Bublé Christmas Duets - B Mirror Sketch - A Don’t make me sing! - F Half Jewish, Half Italian, Completely Neurotic - F Seasons Greetings From Saturday Night Live - C Michael Bublé - Holly, Jolly Christmas - C Weekend Update - A Beethoven introduces his band - C War Horse - F Michael Bublé - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - C Tebow and Jesus - B Average: 2.4 ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/32 "2011-12-18T20:18:49Z")
I have the season 1 and 2 DVD sets and it’s been really interesting to me, watching the old shows, how much filler and relatively unfunny stuff is in there. I’m sure part of this is just cultural drift since the late 70s, so that stuff that would have been uproariously funny then isn’t so much now. Also, the groundbreaking/subversive nature of the show back then probably helped quite a bit. That said, people really do tend to remember the stuff from the original cast that was really funny, like Landshark or the Samurai or the Bass-o-Matic, or Irwin Mainway (“Bag o Glass! It’s shiny, you can make a rainbow with it! What’s the problem here?”) or whatever. They don’t remember the unfunny home invasion skit that went on several minutes too long or the jokes that bombed on Weekend Update or whatever. Like someone said up-thread, there are funny bits and unfunny bits in pretty much every show. Sometimes it leans more heavily towards the funny and sometimes more heavily towards the unfunny. I do tend to get a bit eye-rolly at people who announce that they haven’t found the show funny since 1978 when they haven’t _watched_ the show since 1978. (Also, I think **Clothahump** is the only person in the history of the universe who actually enjoyed the Muppet segments on early SNL.) ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/33 "2011-12-18T20:21:54Z")
I have to admit the Tebow & Jesus bit cracked me up, but a lot of that is residual “Gah! THANK YOU!!!” from also watching Survivor this season. I’m just sorry they didn’t have better material for the Update reunion bit. So much talent covered in weak sauce… ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/34 "2011-12-18T20:33:01Z")
A singer who does Frank Sinatra covers is too new-fangled for you, OP? Watch it, I think there’s some kids on your lawn you need to go yell at. ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/35 "2011-12-18T20:34:36Z")
If there is no “Jane you ignorant slut” there is no real SNL. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/36 "2011-12-18T20:40:22Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > (I’ve always maintained that you could reduce an average episode into a single half-hour). I’ve often thought that a one hour SNL would be a tighter and much funnier show. I guess they want to stick with tradition at the possible expense of better quality. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/37 "2011-12-18T23:01:01Z")
I watch the show. It’s had its ups and downs in recent years, but the current cast is pretty solid. So much so, actually, that I was taken aback by the sheer number of “special guests” this past weekend. I think they may have actually outnumbered the regular cast. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/38 "2011-12-18T23:58:10Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I can remember the exact last SNL episode I tried watching: It was the season premiere in the Fall of '95 with a whole new cast (Ferrell & company). > [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](#): > > I stopped watching SNL back in the late 80s > [@DrFidelius](#): > > Late 80s? > I stopped watching when the original cast left > [@Clothahump](#): > > I quit watching it when the Muppets left. Oh yeah? I knew Lorne Michaels’ parents. We were friends. I stopped speaking to them when Lorne was born because I knew he’d never be any good, so there! ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/39 "2011-12-19T01:35:16Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil;14579777I was taken aback by the sheer number of “special guests” this past weekend. I think they may have actually outnumbered the regular cast.[/QUOTE] Pretty close: Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Dratch, Chris Kattan, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Horatio Sanz. Did I forget anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622/40 "2011-12-19T03:13:14Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Pretty close: Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Dratch, Chris Kattan, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Horatio Sanz. Did I forget anyone? Jude Law [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-who-what-im-officially-old/606622.md?page=3)