Those of us old enough to remember when SNL was actually funny, what are your feelings on how this show has declined over the years?
I hate to see a once great show suck so hard. That show hasn’t been funny in at least 15 years. I think they should just cancel it already. Sad.
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I can’t bear to watch it anymore, I haven’t watched it in probably 10 years. I don’t understand how they went from being really funny and original to just pure crap.
Maybe, when you don’t know something beckers, darling. You could Google it before being useless.
I miss the Phil Hartman years. I miss Tina Fey now…she’s all I had… it’s all crap now. I don’t even try to watch. The only thing I enjoy now are the digital shorts.
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i hope eponymoushipster said something offensive about beckers…
anyway, yeah, that show just dropped like a brick, and i’m not sure it could be cured with more cowbell…
@asmonet It is truly sad, for a while, I was tuning in hoping that they might pull off a good show. NEVER. How can you watch a “comedy” show for 90 minutes and not laugh, giggle, or even chuckle one time?
@The_unconservative_one: Exactly. I don’t even smile to myself. I just it there and pray.
And that’s how I lost my faith in God.
@asmonet lol! Now that’s funny! You should be their head writer.
The last time I saw the show was when Trainwreck Lohan was on. One of my improv classmates was supposed to be an an extra in a sketch that night. I quit watching the episode the moment La Lohan stepped in a scene that was supposedly about Harry Potter, but was really about her cleavage hanging out. At the time I think she was, what, 18? I was appalled that Lorne had allowed such a cheap, exploitative laugh. I missed my firend’s scene because I simply couldn’t watch another second. Before that, I don’t think I’d seen an entire episode probably since high school (i.e. a long time ago).
NBC still wins that time slot, so Lorne has carte blanche. I blame him for how awful the writing is now. SCTV, Python, Mr Show, Kids In The Hall, hell, even Wayne & Shuster knew when to pack it in. Lorne needs a smack in the head.
@aprilsimnel that’s the episode that had Debbie Downer. That was pretty funny.
@aprilsimnel yeah, that one is pretty funny. i like the clips where everyone starts cracking up.
wow, I’ve been addicted to SNL for quite a while and am really surprised to see this topic..
They’re in a sort of transitional phase now, but I thought the last cast has been one of their best:
Amy Pohler, Fred Armison, Adam Sandberg, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikas, Kenan Thompson, Bill Hader, Will Forte…
How can you not like these guys?! Comedy genius.
I think it goes through it’s ups and down but I always find something to enjoy. I love Sandberg’s Digital Shorts- Cock in a Box? That’s gold. Laser Cats? Priceless. Guest stars Alec Baldwin-brilliantly funny. Commmercial spoofs? There’ still a lot to like but I’ll admit there will never be a Samurai Deli Clerk or Land Shark but some of it’s still pretty funny. Nothing has taken it’s place yet. MadTV went kaput.
Little known SNL cast members over the years- Robert Downey Jr., Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Anthony Michael Hall, Damon Wayans
“That show hasn’t been funny in at least 15 years.”
This is what people were saying fifteen years ago. I was fifteen and loved the show. Sure, it has it’s high points and low points, but overall, I don’t think it’s bad. I watch some of the early clips (think, late 70s/early 80s) and don’t think they’re that funny. It is still being used as a springboard for some top-notch comedians to start their careers.
It’s horrible now. And sometimes they’ll have a “special” re: “Recent Highlights from SNL” and nothing on it is funny.
When the cast members quit doing drugs on the set, it started to suck.
and BTW @upholstry , Adam Sandler completely sucks. There isn’t a comedic genius bone in his body, and he couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag. (in my humble opinion…)
What cracks me up is that when I read this question I was thinking “Yes, I really miss Belushi, Ackroyd, Curtain, Radner, etc.! Those of us who remember the original SNL cast haven’t seen anything that comes close since then! I guess it’s all in your perspective.
That being said, lately I’ve been watching digital shorts on Hulu and several of them are laugh out loud funny to me. Dick in a Box, People Getting Punched Right Before they Eat, that goofy Doogie Houser orchestra clip, and Christopher Walken as the gardener who is afraid of plants, all made me laugh! The Celebrity Jeopardy clips are hilarious too.
I think part of the problem with SNL is that it’s been on TOO LONG. The original people were funnier, I think, primarily because it was all new.
@upholstry: Look up the seasons 15 years ago, then talk to us about comedic genius. When something is funny that long there’s something magical that happened. But, that’s not the case nowadays. More people tune in out of habit and then change their mind then religiously stick it out every Saturday.
I remember canceling my weekend plans once or twice before DVR so I could watch it, albeit the later seasons but still some funny.
Now, it’s drivel. You may only know the recent casts but trust the majority here, those that remember the good times, are sad.
You know, if Justin Timberlake weren’t so insistent on being the reincarnation of Michael Jackson, he’d be a benefit for that show. Every sketch that someone’s sent me with him in it has been hilarious. Omeletteville and The Barry Gibb Talk Show truly cracked my shit up.
That said, I remember the late 70s-early 80s when the only good person on that show was Bill Murray. It was awful and then Eddie Murphy came on board and things got better. Everyone stepped up their game, because he was just that good. There hasn’t been, other than Tina Fey (and she was more a writer), a standout performer of that caliber on the show in years.
@aprilsimnel Isn’t Michael Jackson still alive, or have I missed something??
@tb1570 – Yeah, but he’s no longer the MICHAEL JACKSON that people like Justin Timberlake may remember who seemingly had a new hit song every week, and each release was an EVENT.
Maybe Michael should do SNL. That would help the both of them. Or be the biggest trainwreck in televised history. Either way, l’d totally watch.
@SuperMouse those are the only things I have found funny in recent years. Dick in a bbox and people getting punched before they eat were laugh out loud funny. I do miss the original “not ready for prime time players.” The Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo years were hilarious as well.
That’s not the actual title. Listen to the lyrics even bleeped.
I wonder what happened last night at the CMAs, I wonder.
@eponymoushipster
Cock in a Box kind of rolls off the tongue though…figuratively speaking of course…:)
@SeventhSense actually, it sounds like it could be a British dish.
i heard Dali was into that…
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