My thoughts…on stuff

Saturday Night Live. One of comedy’s most hallowed institutions. As much a part of American culture as baseball, apple pie and frivolous lawsuits. Almost every great comedian came out of SNL. Eddie Murphy, Dan Akroyd, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler and many others. Many of its sketch characters are legendary and known worldwide, such as the Roxbury boys, Pat, The Ambigously Gay Duo (don’t let me get started on them), Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute and The Ladies Man. But as of late, it hasn’t been packing the punch as it once did. I normally watch the SNL reruns on E!, and for the past couple weeks I’ve been watching the new stuff straight from NBC, and I’ve gotta tell you, I’m disappointed.

Weekend Update was one of the highlights of SNL for me, along with the animated shorts. But it has gotten so devoid of humour that I’d prefer to watch the morning news than Weekend Update. At least they can make a good joke. I was happy when Tina Fey left the cast. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a nice lady, but she lacks the talent of a Will Ferrell or a John Belushi. But Weekend Updaye hasn’t improved since her departure. In fact, I think it has worsened, with Amy Poehler and that guy who sits next to her at the helm.

I remember when I used to roll on the floor laughing with tears in my eyes after hearing or seeing a sketch. But now, they barely register a chuckle. And if I chose to resist the urge to laugh brought on by the canned laughter of the audience, I don’t think they’d get that chuckle from me at all. I think SNL suffers from too much frill and not enough thrill. It has elaborate sets, costumes, etc, but at the end of it all, the jokes fall flat. I hope SNL improves its act soon, or I may actually have to find something to do on Saturday nights.