Posted on 05/13/2018 4:27:07 PM PDT by Kaslin
Saturday Night Live hasn’t been running for my entire life, but sometimes it feels that way. When the show debuted I was still in high school, as hard as that is to believe today. I’ll definitely confess to being a fan of SNL early on, particularly when Belushi was still with them, though I sort of lost track of the show in the 80s and 90s. But after all these years, is the seemingly eternal Saturday night offering from NBC finally on its last legs?
Christian Toto seems to think it’s possible. Not for a lack of advertising revenue or even ratings, but simply because even some of the shows most liberal fans seem to be growing tired of the schtick. It’s all gotten too predictable. As Toto points out, while everyone knew that producer Lorne Michaels was a liberal at heart, there used to be an unpredictable edginess to the writing. You couldn’t be sure who they would go after on any given week and they would frequently surprise us. But not anymore, and even some well known leftists from the entertainment community are growing tired of it.
“SNL” alum Rob Schneider made waves recently by saying the show’s liberal crusade is hurting the laughs. Comedy demands empathy and surprise, two elements in short supply on “SNL” circa 2018.
“The fun of ‘Saturday Night Live’ was always you never knew which way they leaned politically,” he told the Daily News. “You kind of assumed they would lean more left and liberal, but now the cat’s out of the bag they are completely against Trump, which I think makes it less interesting because you know the direction the piece is going.”
Schneider added “SNL” player Alec Baldwin’s take on President Trump is another problem.
“To me, the genius of Dana Carvey was Dana always had empathy for the people he played, and Alec Baldwin has nothing but a fuming, seething anger toward the person he plays.”
In short, SNL traded in their edge for an echo chamber. Good natured ribbing, such as Chevy Chase playing a bumbling Gerald Ford, has been replaced by the anger and debasement of Baldwin’s Trump persona. Weekend update basically covers no news unless it’s something that can be used to mock Trump. At this point, even Vice is getting sick of it.
Toto goes on to offer a series of seven moves that SNL could use to bring back the funny and possibly something of a more ideologically diverse audience. These include having Lorne Michaels go on a national apology tour, dumping the cold open, reading some conservative satirists to see what they find funny these days and – possibly the boldest and most outrageous suggestion – replacing Alec Baldwin with Darrell Hammond.
Would that breath fresh life into the show? Maybe. I can’t see how it could get more offensive to at least half the country and, frankly, boring at this point. Putting last night’s show in context with Toto’s article, I found myself wondering today whether SNL was already noticing the same thing. I’ll let you be the judge, but check out the video of the strange Mothers Day skit they put on where the mothers of some of the cast members complain about all the Trump bashing and politics. It was clearly scripted, but why include that theme?
That pig Baldwin doesn’t resemble President Trump in the slightest.
I still remember sitting down in front of my TV on Saturday night to watch the Fantastic Theater Si-Fi movies they always had on Saturday night. I had watched a real awful one the week before and was prepared to suffer again. I love old Si-Fi movies, when suddenly the announcer came on and yelled “LIVE, FROM NEW YORK! IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE!”
my thought was “What’s this crap? Where’s my horrid Si-Fi movie?
Wonder if they will put the old Fantastic Theater back on.
It had it’s moments. Mostly over-hyped tripe. But hardly an expert since I haven’t seen it for over 35 years. The only thing I took from it was the white hot heat of a gazillion suns hatred I still hold for Chevy Chase. Proof positive the world holds justice in contempt.
I never thought of it that way. But that makes complete sense.
For news spoofs of the past I liked the old 1960’s THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS, and later 1980’s HBO’s NOT NECESSARILY THE NEWS.
SNL ever so often had it’s funny moments but that was decades ago. MAD TV the same, and FRIDAYS finally died a thankful death. Second City TV is no more thank heavens.
After John and Gilda, I looked at the hip comedy scene as a dangerous place to be and decided not to watch what I thought was self destructing, talented human beings.
Hasn’t been funny tor 30-35 years
Every August I have sent an email requesting ticket to show. Just because Back in 1999 I got a standby ticket after waiting outside 30 Rock all l night long 19 years ago Friday night may 14, 1999. never got in on Saturday night.
Still have not gotten a ticket.
SNL hasn’t been funny for at least 20 years ...
Tom Snyder always seemed to be having so much fun.
This is what he wanted to do after a long broadcasting career.
Alec Baldwin just goes to prove that Amityville managed to get rid of it’s horror by passing it along to Hollyweird.
The Billy Crystal year was funny.. His spot-on impression of Sammy Davis Jr. would never be shown ( and probably isn’t in highlight clips)due to the crazy PC culture of today.
Up until a few years ago, I was always a fan of the show and didn't mind so much that they leaned to the left because they were consistently funny and they would have some pretty good zingers for politicians of both political parties.
Now they are bitter and angry. And bitterness and anger don't make for good comedy. That stooge (Baldwin) that they have playing Trump is utterly awful. Even I could do a better Trump than him.
I still watch for Baldwin as Trump. Some weeks it misses. But many weeks it’s spot on. The rest of your post is pretty spot on.
It certainly was NOT harmless good-natured ribbing for Chevy Chase to portray President Gerald Ford as a bumbling fool. It was disrespectful and sick. It made me sad then and it grieves me now.
I remember watching SNL and Second City afterwards when I could sneak it as a kid. I agree the original core was the best and think would this generation get that comedy? I say no. I watched some of today’s garbage and can’t even force myself to laugh.I remember SNL was just as snarky to the right as they are now but were not at all PC. Yes, the quality of comedy has deteriorated but Americans have changed also. Everything is political against the right and meant too offend the right. It’s like the Corespondents dinner which used to be very funny but now is repulsive. The left rots away everything it touches.
I am guessing their ratings are in the tank along with lots of complaints thrown their way. Cohan is going to a 30 minute show from his 1 hour. He used every excuse as to why but again it is the ratings and complaints.
Every rare once in a while, there’s those moments of brilliance...
Eh, who am I kidding, the skit triggered liberals on and off the show, it’ll never happen again. But lives on for us to enjoy again and again. Here’s SNL’s ‘election night’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHG0ezLiVGc
> The last good cast they had was in the early to mid 90s....Dana Carvey, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Phil Hartmann, David Spade, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider.
Phil Hartmann had true talent. Adam Sandler (and Wil Farrell) none. Change your voice to someone stupid and sing - anyone can do it, even Sandler. Farrell and woman in the cheerleader skit was one of the first outright idiotic ones they continued to run.
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