I've never gotten the SNL appeal. Sure, they have some classic skits, but during the periods when I watched it a lot (which was usually when I was dating someone who liked watching it), the not funny greatly outweighed the funny.
That just about sums it up. You now have 40 years of skits to choose from. In that, you can make some really great best of compilations. There were some truly great moments. But if you watch an actual episode, you realize that for every funny skit, there are probably 4 that are just sorta funny and 10 that are just bad.
This is why the last decade+ of DVR helps so much. Watch the first 30 seconds. If you didn't laugh in that time, skip to the next skit. You can usually watch an SNL episode in about 10-15 minutes on your DVR (or Netflix account).
But I have to admit I don't even do that any more. My DVR records all PrimeTime events from 7 or 8pm to 11 pm on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox. So the SNL40 was in my queue. Everybody swears the current season is the new low, but I think that is because it is happening and not archived yet. Once it is archived and people talk about the actually funny episodes, the seasons suddenly gets the nostalgia of being one of the good ones.
Why was there such a big deal about SNL40? Well, it is a nice round number. But 50 means more than 40, right? Well, 40 might be the last round number with still enough surviving original cast members. But it just scared me seeing some of the cast age so horribly. Not just the original cast, but cast that were part of my teenage and early adult years.
I don't know; I think it is like anything with longevity: they can't keep doing the exact same thing over and over (it gets stale) but if they change, there will always be someone who says they "lost it". Full disclosure, I watch every week, in it's entirety with my daughter, and we watched the first half or so of the Special.
And as I was watching, I realized... you had to be there. Meaning, I totally get that what the first cast did was unprecedented in many ways, but honestly? After the snippet of the "Chee-burger, chee-burger" skit, my daughter and I looked at each other and sort of said... o----kay. I love Belushi and especially Ackroyd - hilarious, funny guys, but mostly for the stuff they did AFTER SNL. Cut to later years, and I can listen to Phil Hartman all day long. I love Daryl Hammond. I STILL laugh out loud when Matt Foley (Motivational Speaker) says "Hey dad, is that Bill Frickin' Shakespeare?
" The Alec Baldwin (I know he's not a cast member) impression of Tony Bennett makes me laugh out loud every single time. Taran Killam, Kate McKinnon and Keenan Thompson will be mentioned with the best of them when all is said and done. But I found myself wondering - based ONLY on what they did on the show - how many of the original cast would make the show today? Are they considered the "greats" because they were truly "great" or because they were the first, and every one after had to be a little better?
The show always ebbs and flows when there is cast turnover. How do you not lose Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers and not have to take a breath and catch your feet?
Topic: SNL's 40th.... (Read 7626 times)
