Admittedly, I didn't watch all of it, but the 80s SNL special last night was essentially saying, "See we sucked back in the mid-80s, too. Please ride this current awful period out with us...Hopefully it will get better."

IMO, the show hasn't been any good since Ferrell left. They don't have a single talent who can carry the show on his/her back. Plus, the writing is awful...

I don't follow the ratings game, but this show can't be doing that well in the ratings, can it?

And yes, Bill Simmons did comment on this last week, but seeing that special last night really drove it home for me...

Any thoughts?

SNL always goes through periods of sucking very badly. This one is extremely bad, though, and it's lasted longer than usual. At this point, I think Mad Tv has surpassed SNL, and Mad Tv is just horrible. If this keeps up I can actually see it getting cancelled.

The show definitely has it's moments. As someone mentioned on the special last night, some years the writers are great and the cast is weak, sometimes the cast is great and the writing sucks, and sometimes they are both firing on all cylinders for a season or 3.

Unfortunately, I have had very few hearty laughs this season.

Tina Fey as head writer - not so good.

unfortunately, i think the show will become sort of obsolete soon. or rather, i think its current audience will dwindle (ive stopped watching, it felt like a waste of time on saturday night) and there seem to be vey few new viewers.

i think bart could be right.. this one might not be around much longer.

I normally don't complain about SNL, but this season has been absolutely terrible... even what used to be one of the highlights of the show, Weekend Update, has been totally unfunny. This week's was by far the best of the season, mainly because of Jason Lee, and even it only had a few funny skits.

The thing that stood out to me from that 80's special last night was Al Franken's quote about the show being the best when both the writers and cast mesh well together.

I think some of the current cast could be really great: Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Kenan Thompson, Amy Poehler, Darrell Hammond, and Bill Hader. I like Horatio Sanz a lot, though a lot of people don't seem to like him. I think Will Forte could easily become a Will Ferrell-type to carry the show. The problem is the writing has been absolutely godawful. The sketches are based on half an idea and never come to any resolution.

My other big problem with the show is the quality of the musical performances. I think the Foo Fighters were the exception this past Saturday--the vocals and music both sounded great. Typically, though, you've got shitty sound and the songs come out sounding like a jumbled mess. And then there's Ashlee Simpson.

The writing is the problem right now. Even when they had Will Ferrell as a guest, I turned it off after two or three sketches. They just rehashed old Will F. sketches, but not as funny, and then went into their normal drudgery.

They should just fire the entire writing staff and start fresh, not a single old writer to remain.

The cast is no where near as Ferrell in his hayday, and I think that the cast has been the problem for a while. However, this year the writing sucks too. Take the Debbie Downer sketch from last season. Sure it wasn't great, but it was a decent idea. Ive been turning it off. The skits are horrible. The only one Ive watched recently was for the Foo Fighters, and I fell asleep before they came on.

I watched it this Saturday and it was so unfunny that it was unintentially funny. Just awful

Sure, it sucks, but it will never get cancelled. They own that time slot. Who gets better ratings during that time? The ratings probably aren't nearly as good as they used to be. They always go through ups and downs. They should try and recruit some young comics out there. Mitch Hedberg would have been funny on SNL before he died. They could increase ratings and make the show better by doing a bold move like firing 3/4 of the cast and hiring an almost entirely new cast and writers. People would be intrigued and maybe watch again.

im always out at the bar sat night so i have no clue what goes on..i only watch snl reruns..ill be bitching in 5 years when these come on comedy central syndication and ill resurrect the thread

Mitch Hedburg would've been horrible on SNL, unless they gave him his own segment to do standup. What was that joke he used to do? Asking a comic if he can act is like saying "Ok, you're a cook. Can you farm?"

Never been a fan of SNL at all really. But I did want to see Felicity Huffman host the show this past Sunday night but I completely forgot.

The state of SNL is New York.

No way dude, he could have played a random homeless guy saying weird shit. There are plenty of things that would have fit him. A sitcom....No....but Mitch in sketches would've worked. They're just long enough.

i will tell you what that sketch with Jason Lee "the Falconer" was the funniest shit i've seen in awhile.

I disagree emphatically. Besides Eddie Murphy, name me one SNL alum who has had a good stand up act. Billy Crystal? Steve Martin sort of counts, I guess. But the best sketch actors do not come from stand-up comedy. They come from acting programs, and especially improv troops. Amy Poehler came from Upright Citizens Brigade, many SNL cast members have come from Second City and other similar groups.

It's two completely different types of comedy, and a cast full of the best standup comics would suck, really badly.

Good point, just look at Reno 911, great improv but I don't believe any of the actors are former stand up comics, I could be wrong and damn is that not some excellent improv comedy along with great comedy writing. Look at the Daily show as well, they lose a "correspondent" and without missing a beat, stewart just plugs in another great actor.

Yeah, I guess I do see your point. Tracy Morgan is a funny stand-up comic but that is about all I can think of. But I do still hold the opinion that Mitch Hedberg would've been funny in sketch comedy with the right group of writers for him.

[quote="punkdavid] I disagree emphatically. Besides Eddie Murphy, name me one SNL alum who has had a good stand up act. Billy Crystal? Steve Martin sort of counts, I guess. But the best sketch actors do not come from stand-up comedy. They come from acting programs, and especially improv troops. Amy Poehler came from Upright Citizens Brigade, many SNL cast members have come from Second City and other similar groups.

It's two completely different types of comedy, and a cast full of the best standup comics would suck, really badly.[/quote]


Chris Rock? What do I win?