If you saw the potato chip sketch on Saturday Night Live this weekend, what did you think of it?

I thought that entire episode was horrible.
I expected more from Blake Lively.

I didn’t think the episode was exactly “great”, but I thought that sketch stood out. Did you have any impressions about that sketch in particular?

and I had no clue who Blake Lively even was, I had to look it up

I didn’t like it.
It could be because I was studying and thought everything sucked at the time, but I didn’t think it was funny.
=/

Even the Digital Short was awful in that episode. Pee-Yew.

I was hoping for another “What’s Up With That?” and was very disappointed.

British indeed. It’s like one of the Python sketches that aren’t famous. Mediocre and purgatorial.

EDIT: As far as the recent SNL’s go, it was pretty good, though.

@drdoombot – yeah, “Shy Ronnie” didn’t do it for me either. But I tend to find the digital shorts either hit or miss, far more often miss than hit, just when they hit, they hit big. I’m not a big fan of “What’s Up With That?” either. Seems like one joke carried on way too long for the first sketch, then they did it again.

@Sampson – not really sure what you mean by “purgatorial”, did it make you feel like you were in comedy limbo, waiting for it to get funny?

@dalepetrie I meant that it was ok. Not great, but not terrible.

EDIT: The edit from my first answer was supposed to be on this one and I just missed the time limit…

My expectations were low, so no disappointment. As for the “potetochip” skit, didn’t care for it…comedic timing off, and yuk-yuks for the gag were cheap and predictable. Seemed to go on for 4 minutes longer than necessary.

More of a fan of good writing and Christopher Walken (warning, may not be safe for work):

http://www.hulu.com/watch/4109/saturday-night-live-colonel-angus-comes-home

@dalepetrie I don’t know what it is about that sketch, but it had me up dancing and singing along both times they did it. I hope it turns into one of those sketches they do all the time.

Come to think of it, it was very British. Dry and unappealing to most Americans, namely me.

@sndfreQ – ah yes, I remember Colonel Angus. For me that was just the same sketch they’ve done over and over and over again. I remember back in the 80s they did a modern update of War of the Worlds where everyone kept saying “funkin” this and “funkin’ ” that. Or when they did that sketch earlier this year where the new cast member accidentally dropped the F-Bomb when they kept saying “freakin’” Or the sketch with Horatio Sans and Jimmy Fallon with Janet Jackson hosting where they worked at a winery as “cork soakers”. I kind of tend to think those kinds of jokes are funny once, but they lose something the second time around. It’s all about almost saying something dirty, but not quite, which to me is funny because of the shock value, but once you do it, the shock value is gone and there’s no purpose in repeating the jobke.

Personally, I’m not surprised I’m the only one who seemed to like it. I think the comedic timing wasn’t off, I think it was intentionally offputting. And though the spitting out the chip was predictable, it was all these other little non sequitor things that I thought made it a gem, very unique, and what I would consider to be better writing than a play on words repeated ad nauseum or yet ANOTHER sketch where there is one joke…the host that keeps interrupting the guests so they never get to speak….repeated over and over. No offense intended to you or @drdoombot, just a matter of opinion and different tastes, and clearly I’m in the minority on this one anyways…I’ve always had what I consider to be a strange sense of humor.

There were just so many little weird things in this sketch. Like the interviewer was going to get the astronaut test out of the refrigerator, or how you’ll never drink Tang, never wear a puffy suit and never get to pee in zero gravity….like these are the motivating factors for somone’s becoming an astronaut. Or the line about “I’ll be taking my hemmorhoid pillow”. And the whole premise was just out there, it was this bizarre humor sketch, acted with the melodrama of Gone with the Wind.

By the way, I’m glad I asked this question, it’s really interesting to see what I find humorous vs. what others do.

Huh, I don’t get a British feel out of that at all. It was what I’ve come to expect from SNL in the past ten years or so. Obvious reading of prompters, yelling a line repeatedly and an idea that seems to come from someone’s lunchbreak. then again I thought Justin Timberlake was hilarious so, grain of salt and all that

I liked it. :-)

I found the potato chip clip mildly funny, mostly because of how well Sudekis and Forte sold it. It was a pretty stupid concept, and without those two it would have been pretty bad. I thought the Underground rock festival commercial was hilarious! One of the best things they’ve done this season. “Everybody get’s Pitchforks!”

I never watch SNL because my feelings pretty much parallel gemiwing’s. But I thought this was funny. It was the bit when the secretary screamed in terror at the thought of a potato chip thief in their midst that got me chuckling.

Mad TV has been kickin’ SNL’s butt for years now…

@dalepetrie I think you’re right on that assertion about what is comedy; seeing as the show is now 35 years old, we’re talking at least three generations of comics and writers on SNL (and you could suppose that we’re now on the fourth generation). Looking back on the “best of” seasons, it’s pretty clear that the brand and style of comedy shifts from decade to decade; for me, I happened to get into SNL just after high school and into college in the late 80s/early 90s (Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, etc.), and didn’t find most of the 70s/80s skits very funny (Joe Piscopo, Dan Akroyd, etc.).

They were much more funny. When they were high.

@gemiwing – I thought JT was hilarious too. I guess the British feel for me came from the just “left field” aspect of it. From the beginning of the sketch, I mean they’re at this HUGE NASA headquarters, yet they’re meeting in a small office with 1970s faux wood paneling…the guy whose lifelong dream is to be an astronaut looks like Colonel Sanders. I agree with @jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities that Sudekis and Forte sold it well, the whole LIAR, LIAR, and I did not come here to have my reputation slandered, and yes, as @wildpotato pointed out, the Secretary was just incensed…I loved the line, “trash like THAT can show itself the door.” For me it wasn’t really even about the concept, the concept itself was pretty weak, it was all those little things that were thrown in that got to me, the out of nowhere stuff like I was talking about earlier, same thigns that made it seem “British”.

@dalepetrie I completely agree that it’s left field. I was really excited about it then they started yelling and I just zoned out so most of the funny bits probably passed right by me!

I have always watched SNL and I will continue until it ends. It has it’s ups and downs (the current season is very low), but I still like it.

This skit made me laugh. So did the ESPN skit, which they have done before. I guess I’m low brow.

Minority view here. That bit sucked ass. It’s what passes for funny when everyone is high.

@filmfann – fwiw, I’ve never been high and I loved it.

@stratman37 Um… MAD TV has been off the air for quite some time. So, great point.

And I must say, the potato chip sketch was far and away the most inspired, best acted, and hands-down funniest thing they’ve done on SNL all season. Top to bottom, brilliant. It was absurdist, yes—and that was the point. Every odd, unusual detail is what made the whole thing work.

Sketches are supposed to exist in a slightly alternate universe. That’s when they are funniest. That’s when we can check our disbelief at the door and live in this odd world for a minute.

The fact that an older man was interviewing in a shitty wood-paneled office to become an astronaut, the fact that the ‘space test’ was a single sheet of paper kept in the fridge, the fact that there was nothing high-tech about the place, the fact that Forte’s character could immediately spot that one chop was missing—all of these odd, surreal details helped create a world in which eating a potato chip could matter so much.

The emotional stakes were extremely high. The characters were well-formed, unique, and had a strong point of view. The actors all committed deeply. There was perfect structure. A hilarious climax. And a satisfying resolution.

Anyone who doesn’t like this sketch is a mindless simpleton.

@geriatrix MAD TV is still aired…

In reruns

@geriatrix – I agree with everything but your last line. Certainly different strokes for different folks, not everyone is into this type of humor, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that if you didn’t like it, that meant you were a mindless simpleton. Indeed, many of the people who posted here saying they didn’t like it are people I’ve come to know and respect on Fluther. Just FYI, I’m thrilled whenever a new user comes on board, particularly one with whom I share certain sensibilities, but on the other hand, at Fluther, we’re not really about attacking each other and name calling, it’s a pretty sure way to get your comment removed here. We come here because we like to “play nice” and have a safe environment in which to do so, unlike every single other blog and Q&A site on the internet where people attack each other left and right. We appreciate opinions and viewpoints other than our own, we’ll argue our points, but we don’t call names or assign labels here, and that is what makes this site so much better than all the others like it.

I only mention it because I’d hate to see you sour on Fluther on your first day if someone decided to flag that post as abuse and it were removed. Welcome to Fluther and hope you can stay awhile.

@geriatrix But the reruns are still fxcking awesome.

@dalepetrie Thanks :)

Apologies for my hatespeech. I got a little worked up.