# When's the new SNL season start? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936 "2004-09-19T02:19:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/1 "2004-09-19T02:19:27Z")
It’s the middle of September already – I expected the new fall TV shows would be starting by now, including _Saturday Night Live_ – but tonight’s show is a rerun, hosted by Lindsey Lohan. When’s the new season start, anyway? The SNL website ([http://www.nbc.com/Saturday\_Night\_Live/index.html](http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/index.html)) says nothing but “Check back soon for new episode info!” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/2 "2004-09-19T02:24:36Z")
According to TV Tome, the 30th season (!) starts October 9. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/3 "2004-09-19T02:34:25Z")
I just took another look at the SNL website, and it says “SNL Season Premiere – Host: Ben Affleck – Musical Guest: Nelly – October 2.” But in light of **Mr. Blue Sky’s** post, I don’t know what to think. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/4 "2004-09-19T02:39:43Z")
:smack: I looked again and that’s what TV Tome shows, too. ---
**Author:** ![kka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kka)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/5 "2004-10-04T19:42:12Z")
Did anybody catch the SNL premiere? How was it? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/6 "2004-10-04T19:47:12Z")
> [@kka](#): > > Did anybody catch the SNL premiere? How was it? Let’s just say that’s 90 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. It was so bad it was almost painful. ---
**Author:** ![Izzybella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e56c9b/32.png) [@Izzybella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Izzybella)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/7 "2004-10-04T20:02:31Z")
> [@kka](#): > > Did anybody catch the SNL premiere? How was it? It was pretty much crap. Wasn’t funny. Got bored. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/8 "2004-10-04T22:10:36Z")
The first 20 minutes were a parody of the pres. debate, not funny. The fake commercial I saw was for Dr. Porkenheim’s Boner Juice (A takeoff on Cealis ads) (a smirk at most) Amy Poehler (sp?) took over for Jimmy Fallon on Weekend Update. She was not bad, but who told Horatio Sanz he could impersonate Elton John? Another 10-15 minute sketch about John Kerry talking to Clinton. This did it for me, I switched to something else. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/9 "2004-10-04T22:16:30Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Amy Poehler (sp?) took over for Jimmy Fallon on Weekend Update. She was not bad, but who told Horatio Sanz he could impersonate Elton John? > Another 10-15 minute sketch about John Kerry talking to Clinton. This did it for me, I switched to something else. I think the point of the Elton John thing is that it’s not a good impression of Elton John. It’s bratty, and they make him sing (like in last Saturday’s show) that he hates Asia, and that’s what’s supposed to be funny. I think. John Kerry talking to Clinton (Darrell Hammond - move on) wasn’t funny, but I have to give points to Ben Affleck for his James Carville impression. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/10 "2004-10-04T22:17:27Z")
I was amused throughout. I liked Alec Baldwin’s appearance mocking Ben Affleck’s moves – I guffawed when James Gandolfini showed up in character on Weekend Update as a scary mob guy talking about the Gay Governor. Avoided both musical numbers, tho. Was amused by Clinton’s appearance in the Teresa Heinz-Kerry/ James Carville/ John Kerry sketch. Clearly my mileage varied. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/11 "2004-10-04T22:37:47Z")
I thought it was overall entertaining, although somewhat inconsistent… the Debbie Downer skit was AWFUL. I did, however, quite enjoy the people trapped on the escalator. It was obvious, but still entertaining. Maybe it’s my partisanship showing, but did anyone else think that they made fun of Debate Bush in a far more telling and relevant way than they made fun of Debate Kerry? I also loved Elton John not caring what Amy Poehler’s name was. ---
**Author:** ![Psychodispotic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@Psychodispotic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psychodispotic)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/12 "2004-10-05T00:09:51Z")
Can anyone please guide me to a film/TV show that Ben Affleck actually made better. I can always come up with a much better character actor for those roles. And as a leading man . . . sheesh. He could make just about any SNL skit unfunny with his terrible comedic timing and propensity to steal cue card glances by the handful. When I hear Aflac, I think of a duck - a very annoying little noisy duck! RE: the show - I fell asleep pretty much right after the debate sketch. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/13 "2004-10-05T00:21:46Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Maybe it’s my partisanship showing, but did anyone else think that they made fun of Debate Bush in a far more telling and relevant way than they made fun of Debate Kerry? Hey, Debate Kerry delivered the most memorable line of the skit: “My position on the war has always been consistent! I am for it whenever I address a pro-war audience and I am against it whenever I address an anti-war audience! That is not flip-flopping, that is pandering, and the American people deserve a president who knows the difference!” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/14 "2004-10-05T00:26:58Z")
Eh, it wasn’t bad for a season premiere. SNL seems to be at its worst when it’s their first show after they’ve been away for a while; it takes them some time to hit their stride. The debate sketch was okay; it had some good lines, but it wasn’t at the level of SNL’s best political humor. The guys they have doing Bush and Kerry (Will Forte\* and Seth Meyers) aren’t bad, but they aren’t really fun to watch, the way it was fun to watch Darrell Hammond do Bill Clinton or Will Ferrell do George W. I liked the Carville/Clinton sketch, and the James Gandolfini appearance. \*Did anybody else hear Don Pardo mess up and announce Will Forte as “Will Ferrell”? ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/15 "2004-10-05T00:34:09Z")
The show was abysmal. The only remotely funny skit was the people trapped on the escalator, and that was only funny because it was so awful. It was like theatre of the absurd or something. If I don’t see Ben Affleck again any time in my life, it will be too soon. And Amy Poehler isn’t fit to carry Jimmy Fallon’s Weekend Update lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/16 "2004-10-05T00:36:25Z")
Can someone please give Rachel Dratch a movie contract? Not that she deserves one, but it will get her off the show. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/17 "2004-10-05T03:52:57Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > \*Did anybody else hear Don Pardo mess up and announce Will Forte as “Will Ferrell”? I did. Don Pardo’s a great guy, but he’s in his 80s and some things may not be as easy for him as they used to be. I’m thinking announcing the cast is among them. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/18 "2004-10-05T03:59:46Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > \*Did anybody else hear Don Pardo mess up and announce Will Forte as “Will Ferrell”? I heard it as “Will Fort,” as if Forte had decided to go with a one-syllable pronunciation of his last name for no fathomable reason. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/19 "2004-10-05T04:06:21Z")
Poehler was okay on update. We’ll have to see if she can grow into the job. Affleck did a great Carville impersonation, and it was nice seeing Bill Clinton again. The opening bit with Alec Baldwin was pretty funny. AB is among the funniest hosts they’ve ever had on that show. I liked Gandolfini and the Elton John thing. Debbie Downer was _awful_. The first time they did it it was funny, but only because everyone was cracking up madly. This time they settled down and did is straight, and it was boring. I’d give the opening episode a C+. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936/20 "2004-10-05T05:55:57Z")
Weeeeak. It was pretty horrid, and I think the past couple of years have been some of the show’s funniest. Affleck was pretty good, quite the chameleon, but I fear Tina Fey has spent too much time on outside projects and concentrated too little on the season opener. The debate sketch was funny but extreeemely drawn out. Are we back to that again? 10 minute, one joke sketches? Seth Meyers was a great kerry, perhaps even a bit too realistic. Poehler was shaky, but she and fey will probably end up being the highlight of the show. Dratch is great, as ever, but once again she can only do so much with the material. Whatever happened to bits like Elian! the Musical? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-the-new-snl-season-start/264936.md?page=2)