[Conmi Cusal]

I think it was hard on the writers to write some of the stereotypical black comedy with only one black guy left on the cast.

[NumberSix]

Yeah, I'm thinking it was no coincidence that Kenan Thompson was in more than half the sketches, either. Most weeks he's lucky to appear in more than one.

[D-Ray Kenobi]

NumberSix, on 20 Nov 2006, 04:39 AM, said:

Wouldn't the presence of Jack Black alone make Fox's presence superfluous? Maybe he and Gass have sworn to promote the movie only through rock music or something.

Yeah, seriously. Jack Black and/or Tenacious D is a total no brainer if you want a combined host and musical guest.

[Jason Solo]

I'll tune in for Matthew Fox being a Lost obsessive.

[Doc Brown]

This Week: Tenacious D

FALSE. Matthew Fox is hosting. The D is just playing the part of Musical Guest. I cannot to sit through atleast one (hopefully) decent Lost parody.

[The Human Torch]

I know. lol I just figured D was the bigger listing and so I gave them top billing.

[Conmi Cusal]

I was watching an old episode the other day, the one with Johnny Knoxville as the host, and I found one sketch to be absolutely hilarious...

He was doing a telethon and Will Forte just kept yelling, "OHH NOOOHHH" over and over again, and all he would say was no, or oh no. I don't know why I thought it was so funny, but I'm laughing about it now just thinking about it. Anyone remember this one?

[The Human Torch]

I think I do remember that.

[Laridian]

Saturday's episode sucked. The D wasn't in any sketches (their music was awesome, though), and Fox is NOT funny. The only remotely funny sketch was when he was playing himself and all those people kept coming in the elevator talking about LOST.

[The Human Torch]

I skipped it. My wife, Sara, and I watched Superman Returns instead. Sara hadn't seen it yet and loved it. Although she did say that she likes Tom Welling more than Brandon Routh.

So does anyone know who's the host next week?

[Laridian]

Anette Bening, Gwen Stefani, and Akon.

[Doc Brown]

I didn't think this week's episode was that bad, but it wasn't as good as it could have been. Weekend Update worked, as always. The Elevetor sketch was pretty funny. Tenacious D was Tenacious. BUT, I am not too impressed with their newer songs.

[Laridian]

I loved that first song they did, and I can't wait to see it performed by Meat Loaf in the movie

[The Human Torch]

Justin Timberlake is the host and musical guest tonight.

[NumberSix]

Last week's Annette Bening episode was a little better than I expected, but they didn't exactly ask her to stretch. She played almost nothing but uptight and upper-class, with one weird flaw per character. They did their best to write to her strengths. The "monster under the bed" sketch was a scream, though.

Having said that...I'm not feeling remotely brave enough to tune in for J-Timb.

[Jedi Jami]

It's my dick in the box!

Hey, they said it.

[Rock]

Oh man, I almost died laughing watching the C*ck in the Box video! That was awesome.

The Target skit was dumb.

The Barry Gibb Talk Show is always funny. "I'm Barry F'n Gibbs!"

The Homelessville Cup O' Soup was not bad either.

Dry Eyes game show rocked!

Weekend Update was okay. I just wish Seth Meyers would do skits as well. The Lou Dobbs thing was pretty boring.

* * *

Overall: Good show

This post has been edited by Rock: 17 December 2006 - 09:51 AM

[The Human Torch]

It definitely had it's dull moments, as most episodes do, but overall I was happily surprised at how much I enjoyed it. "**** In a Box" was hilarious. Although most of Digital Shorts I've seen are good. I thought that Justin and Jimmy during the Barry Gibb Show skit looked more like a "gay Anakin and Obi-Wan" than the Bee Gees. lol "Hip Hop Kids" got a few giggles out of me too. The only part of the show where I absolutely was not amused or anything was the Nancy Grace Show skit.

[Jedi Jami]

I feel sorry for Justin, Omeletteville was 100 times funnier than Homelessville for some reason. Last night it just seemed done already. I think the dude did a much better job pimping omelettes than a soup kitchen. Plus the songs were funnier! 'Who cooks the eggs good? YUM YUM YUM!' Same with the Barry Gibb talk show. 'I'm Barry ****ing GIBB!!' made me laugh my ass off but it also made me want to beg Jimmy Fallon to come back. Then again, the new angle with Robin being annoyed was pretty funny. I didn't watch after Weekend Update because I was busy but what I did watch was kind of disappointing as hard as it is for me to admit.

The FIRST Barry Gibb talk show was soooooo funny though! 'I grew up on the streets of Sydney', and 'I am never more than five seconds away from a gun!' And then the brothers singing, 'I'll put you in the ground, I'll put you in the ground'. Oh man I'm so glad that skit is on the Best of Jimmy DVD.

[Dave Dark]

Justin Timberlake doesn't suck so bad at being funny!

[lightsabre]

So is Jimmy Fallon back or what?

[Dave Dark]

he's not. he was back as a guest just for that one sketch. he actually comes back at least once a season as far as I've seen.

but yeah no.

[The Human Torch]

Yeah, Fallon seems to come back for specific sketches and specific hosts.

[Beer Baron of Canada]

Maybe I just watched a bad episode or something cause I don't really watch it anymore but OMGWTF? Not right, i didn't even crack a smile, AND i'm drunk. So can someone tell me (that watches it all the time) is it just me or is it always like this now?

[Darth Spoon]

It's been that way for years. Each sketch is funny on the first joke, then steadily less so as it goes on. It's also clear that this batch has absolutely no doubt that they are totally hilarious, and oblivious to the facts otherwise, which is a bad combination.

I also hate Jimmy Fallon. STOP SMILING AT THE ******* CAMERA!!!

This post has been edited by Darth Spoon: 30 December 2006 - 11:49 PM

[Dave Dark]

it's been getting progressively less funny for the past 5 years. there are a few shining moments in certain episodes, but it just hasn't been the same at all.

[R5-VAN DAMM]

Darth Spoon, on 30 Dec 2006, 09:41 PM, said:

I also hate Jimmy Fallon. STOP SMILING AT THE ******* CAMERA!!!

PREACH IT, BROTHA!!!

He has annoyed the piss out of me since day one. He thinks he's frikin' Mike Myers, and he thinks it frikin' cute...and it's NOT!!

Get LOST, Jimmy FAIL-ON!! You're not funny...and laughing at your own stupid jokes doesn't make it any better!!!

::Steps off soap-box::

This post has been edited by R5-VAN DAMM: 31 December 2006 - 02:41 AM

[R5-VAN DAMM]

I'm watching it right now, and it's just this empty hole where comedy once was.

This is pretty much the feeling I've got from it since the mid-late 90's. For a long time, I figured it was just bitterness due to the fact that my favorites had left. (David Spade, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Dana Carvey, Chris Rock, Rob Schnieder, Kevin Nealon, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, and Molly Shannon.) I realize that there are people of all age groups have a certain loyalty to those from a certain cast, that are now big names. Yet, so many, from so many age groups and so many casts all pretty much agree on the fact that SNL has been crap for at least the last 5-8 years.

I can't quite figure out why either. When I I first tuned in in 1990, I didn't know anyone, but by the end of that single episode, I knew the names of all the characters and actors in nearly every sketch. My friends and I would recite the funniest lines in school all week long...until there were more the next week. Now, and pretty much since Will Ferrell left, I watch and nothing stands out as being truly worth remembering. No memorable actors, no memorable characters, no memorable lines, no memorable skits.....nothing.

It all just seems like a bad high school play with camera-shy actors making cliche, tired impressions of their favorite SNL cast members.

I used to hate the bands because it took away from the comedy skits, but now....the bands are all I end up enjoying.

I don't think it's so much the writing either. It just seems as if there's no chemistry on the sets anymore. No passion. They're just reciting a bunch of lines. I also can't help but notice the lack of regular characters/sketches, such as Opera Man and Wayne's World. To me...those were what I looked forward to every week. Now, it all just seems too random.

I don't know......

Anyone here have an thoughts on what/how/who/when things went wrong? Did SNL ever have a "slow period" before the 90's? Is there hope?

This post has been edited by R5-VAN DAMM: 31 December 2006 - 02:44 AM

[perfectsim]

I pretty much agree and I have avoided the show for bit now. I caught a couple minutes tonight and it was pretty bland I shut it off.

Who is the least funniest person on SNL now? I'm thinking Kenan Thompsan. I don't think that's how his name is spelled, but who really cares? He sucks really bad.

I don't want to say that I blame the writers, but... I blame the writers. Of course, part of the writing is done by the talent. I've watched shows that could be funny but are ruined by bad acting, but current SNL skits don't have funny premises to begin with. It's like watching myself on TV. You know, I think I'm funny but I'm really just being an esoteric prick. Then one person laughs at one joke and I think I'm ******* hilarious and start running my mouth all the while not noticing that everybody is slowly walking away.

[Dack McCrack]

I blame the unfunnyness on the lack of drugs. John Belushi was hilarious: on drugs. Kenan Thompson(san? eh who cares): not on drugs, at least nothing hardcore.

Chris Farley: hilarious: on tons of drugs. This idea kinda falls apart now that I think that Will Farrel and lots of others seem pretty mild, yet are funny.

Eh.

[The Human Torch]

Most of these issues are because of each of our personal tastes and a little bit of "rose colored glasses syndrome". With that said I think most new or even "recent" SNL episodes and skits are more miss than hit. Although when they hit on a skit it usually is very funny, at least for me. Of course the "rose colored glasses syndrome" comes into play with that thought because it could be applied to any season of the series.

Note: Baron's "SNL WTF?" thread was merged with this one.

[ShadowDog]

I think they're just not attracting the top comedic talents these days. Tina Fey is probably the most talented person they've had in recent years and I don't think she did many skits, if any. Back when SNL first started there weren't many options to make it big in comedy so this was one of the best ways to do it. Now there are many ways to get huge. Even if you're talking trying to get big on a show, the Daily Show is probably the fast track these days. SNL is pretty far down the list.

As mentioned above, the comedy talent used to do a lot of the writing so I think that's what they're missing.

Here is the most complete list I could find of all the SNL alums. How many of these people do you recognize by name? I recognize a little over half. If this list was organized by season I think we'd see there was a black mostly talentless period in the 80s that matched this current drought and then we'd see the talent really drop off in recent years.

Fred Armisen
Dan Aykroyd
Morwenna Banks
James Belushi
John Belushi
A. Whitney Brown
Dana Carvey
Chevy Chase
Ellen Cleghorne
George Coe
Billy Crystal
Jane Curtin
Joan Cusack
Denny Dillon
Brian Doyle-Murray
Rachel Dratch
Robin Duke
Nora Dunn
Christine Ebersole
Dean Edwards
Chris Elliott
Jimmy Fallon
Siobhan Fallon
Chris Farley
Will Ferrell
Tina Fey
Will Forte
Janeane Garofalo
Ana Gasteyer
Gilbert Gottfried
Mary Gross
Christopher Guest
Bill Hader
Anthony Michael Hall
Brad Hall
Rich Hall
Darrell Hammond
Phil Hartman
Jan Hooks
Melanie Hutsell
Victoria Jackson
Chris Kattan
Tim Kazurinsky
Laura Kightlinger
David Koechner
Gary Kroeger
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Jon Lovitz
Norm MacDonald
Gail Matthius
Michael McKean
Mark McKinney
Tim Meadows
Laurie Metcalf
Seth Meyers
Dennis Miller
Jerry Minor
Finesse Mitchell
Jay Mohr
Tracy Morgan
Garrett Morris
Eddie Murphy
Bill Murray
Mike Myers
Kevin Nealon
Laraine Newman
Michael O'Donoghue
Cheri Oteri
Chris Parnell
Joe Piscopo
Amy Poehler
Randy Quaid
Colin Quinn
Gilda Radner
Jeff Richards
Rob Riggle
Ann Risley
Chris Rock
Charles Rocket
Maya Rudolph
Andy Samberg
Adam Sandler
Horatio Sanz
Rob Schneider
Paul Shaffer
Molly Shannon
Harry Shearer
Martin Short
Sarah Silverman
Robert Smigel
David Spade
Pamela Stephenson
Ben Stiller
Jason Sudeikis
Julia Sweeney
Terry Sweeney
Kenan Thompson
Danitra Vance
Nancy Walls
Damon Wayans
Kristen Wiig

[NumberSix]

I didn't discover the show in my youth till the Eddie Murphy/Joe Piscopo years. I've had seasons where my fandom for the show would come and go, and there was a Dark Age in my life from October '93 to roughly summer of '96 where I hardly watched any TV. Within those limitations, though, I'm surprised how many of those I recognize, even including a few who barely graduated beyond "Featuring" status before they were booted.

For those playing along at home, the correct answers for the "Who's in the current SNL cast?" quiz are:

Fred Armisen
Will Forte
Bill Hader
Darrell Hammond (now the old man of the show, on staff since 1995!)
Seth Meyers
Amy Poehler
Maya Rudolph
Andy Samberg
Jason Sudeikis
Kenan Thompson
Kristen Wiig

IMHO, their biggest problem is that they need training. They need someone willing and qualified to tell them what's funny and what isn't. Funny can come naturally for some folks, but no one is funny all the time. There are actual skills involved, like timing, pacing, emphasis, the merits and appropriateness of exaggerated vs. straight-faced, knowing how to be funny, knowing what funny looks like beyond your own worldview, knowing how to make funny things funnier or unfunny things less unfunny, how not to rely solely on heavy crutches like scatology or running gags. I get the impression some of these cats didn't learn these invaluable lessons from Second City, from comedy clubs, or even from simple trial 'n' error. And all of that goes triple for the writing staff, whoever they are right now.

My advice at this point: find a new face for "Weekend Update"; put Seth Meyers back in skits; give Hammond a different celebrity or two to impersonate to death; ask Fred Armisen to be a little less Chris Kattan; and either retrain or fire all the other white guys. That's for starters.

(Unlike some of y'all, I've actually found Kenan Thompson to be much funnier than some of the material he's been stuck with. If you consider his past work for Nickelodeon (seriously!), he's technically got more sketch-comedy experience than several of these guys combined. He's one of the few I've seen doing anything subtle in the current season. Some of the material he's been handed has sucked, sure, but he generates much less flop sweat than most of the rest.)

[Dave Dark]

I'm [not] sorry N6, but I didn't read most of your post.

the funny people left on SNL are as follows (who, just like the rest of the show, are pretty hit-or-miss):

Darrell Hammond
Will Forte
Amy Poehler
Andy Samberg
Maya Rudolph

and, OCCASSIONALLY... very, VERY occassionally... Kenan Thompson. his best years were back on All That/Kenan & Kel Show back when I was like, 10... ya'll. y'know?

[R5-VAN DAMM]

NumberSix, on 31 Dec 2006, 11:47 PM, said:

My advice at this point: find a new face for "Weekend Update"; put Seth Meyers back in skits; give Hammond a different celebrity or two to impersonate to death; ask Fred Armisen to be a little less Chris Kattan.

That....and ask Amy Poehler to be a LOT less Tina Fey.

[D-Ray Kenobi]

NumberSix, on 1 Jan 2007, 07:47 AM, said:

(Unlike some of y'all, I've actually found Kenan Thompson to be much funnier than some of the material he's been stuck with. If you consider his past work for Nickelodeon (seriously!), he's technically got more sketch-comedy experience than several of these guys combined.

"Keenan and Kel" was actually a really funny show.

I think the problem with the current state of the show is two-fold. The writing as well as some of the players just, well, suck. There are only a handful of good players on right now, and most of them get stuck with tired old gags or just plain bad material. Amy Poehler is freaking hilarious, but she seems to get stuck with the same Nancy Grace skit all the time. Seth Meyers is a much better actor than writer, I wish he'd give his head writer spot up and get back into skits. I get the feeling that the writing lull can be somewhat laid on him anyways. Andy Samberg is great, but he keeps getting parts that just aren't fit to his style at all. Honestly, the only player I can point out that has been consistantly funny with their parts, whether they suck or not, is Kristen Wiig. I'd like to see her get some more stage time, she's always cracked me up.

I actually do have one suggestion that I'm pretty sure would breathe a lot of life into the show, but I know it won't happen. Bring Conan O'Brien back to the writing staff. He doesn't even have to be a major writer, more of a "coach" that could guide everyone along until they really are ready. There's a reason most of the best episodes of both The Simpsons and SNL occured during his tenure. He's a heck of a comic writer. I mean seriously, his office is just down the hall. Bring the guy in!

[NumberSix]

Dave Dark, on 1 Jan 2007, 05:53 AM, said:

I'm [not] sorry N6, but I didn't read most of your post.

Ah, then you missed the part where I said, "Y'know what SNL really needs? Dave Dark." Since you just don't CARE, I've edited it out. Your loss.

D-Ray Kenobi, on 1 Jan 2007, 10:45 AM, said:

Amy Poehler is freaking hilarious, but she seems to get stuck with the same Nancy Grace skit all the time.

See, now there is a prime example of a wasted opportunity. Nancy Grace is painful to watch, and is practically begging to be satirized...but Amy Poehler's version is almost as frustrating as the real thing. And not in a funny way. If she could just pick up the pace and stop streeetchiiin' ooouuut herrrr drrraaaawlll to fiiill taaahhhme, and if the writers could play up the inane, one-sided nature of her loaded questions even more, that'd help tremendously.

[The Human Torch]

I cannot stand those Nancy Grace skits.

It also bugs me that they don't seem to do anything for Amy Poehler's hair for when she does Weekend Update... it looks like she just woke up.

[Laridian]

I also think Kristen Wiig needs to be in more sketches. She's hilarious at times. I love the A-holes sketches.

[NumberSix]

The Human Torch, on 5 Nov 2006, 12:07 PM, said:

Alec Baldwin is next week. I plan on watching that.

They're rerunning this one right now, incidentally.