How is this show still on television? It's just horrible.

This is the first time this has ever been posted and it definitely deserved its own thread.

I still regularly view SNL, and am a fan, but this season is the worst I've seen in a while.

The main problem are the featured players. I hope none of them return, they are all weak, except maybe the James Thompson guy. Even Bowen Yang, he just isn't funny to me.

The repertory players still have some firepower when the writings good.. Keenan is a legend.. McKinnon is fantastic. Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Heidi Gardner, Melissa Villasenor very serviceable. I like Ego I just don't think she's that funny. The dudes are weaker with Chris Redd, Kyle Mooney, Alex Moffat and Mikey Day being ok..Pete Davidson is just Pete. Love him or hate him.

WORST WEEKEND UPDATE probably ever. Jost and Che ****ing suck. They've been doing it for 8 years together and have the chemistry of 2 half dead strangers. Both have the personalities of a tree.

I've thought the same thing since about 93/94 or so. Norm Macdonald explained how horribly unfunny the show was in his 99 monologue.

This is the ageless debate of every single generation. If you're 16-22, SNL is the best during that timespan of your life. Before then it was decent. After that point it is going down hill until you're 35 or older and then you begin to wonder why it is still on television. We'll get a good thread about it every 2-3 years.

ShotOver said:

---

How is this show still on television? It's just horrible.

---

Thanks for the hot take!
Would love if you could follow up with your insights on the following:
Joe Biden
Airplane food
Kids these days
How loud the movies are at the theater
Soccer moms

Eagerly standing by!

BCG Disciple said:

---

This is the ageless debate of every single generation. If you're 16-22, SNL is the best during that timespan of your life. Before then it was decent. After that point it is going down hill until you're 35 or older and then you begin to wonder why it is still on television. We'll get a good thread about it every 2-3 years.

---

Eh... peaked for me in the 12-15 range.

The early 90's Myers / Carvey / Farley / Hartman / Schneider / Sandler / Nealon cast was next level.

The female cast members from that era were a little weak, but who wouldn't be with that group of guys?

I wonder how many 16-22 year olds actually watch SNL?

I know my kids don't.

It may be an age old criticism of SNL, but I think there is a huge different today than there has ever been.

Comedy, itself, is dying. SNL is suffering from a lack of truly funny young people, imo.

I stopped watching SNL when I started at A&M in around '05-'06. During that time in school you had Will Forte, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, etc. I didn't watch the show then and was nostalgic for the late 90's, which was my time of SNL. I'm sure I lamented during that time that SNL wasn't as funny as it was when I was watching.

However, I genuinely believe those performers are absolutely hilarious people. I could listen to Will Forte read the phone book, and laugh my ass off.

Idk. I think this younger generation of comedians think they have a mission to perpetuate their viewpoints on others, instead of just being original and funny. I believe this bleeds over into SNL.

Especially when considering the political humor. It is so far and away trying to push an idea instead of just making fun of all of those ridiculous people, like it used to do for 30 years. That was one of the biggest turn offs, and I believe started when Seth Meyers became the head writer. The way they make fun of one side is so full of vitriol, and then they playfully crack little jokes about the left. Hey look... the lady playing Kamala just smiles at the camera and acts cool... that's so funny! To this day, I consider Seth Meyers being promoted to head writer as the catalyst for SNL starting to truly suck.

The Adam McKay -Tina Fey years as head writers are what I consider to be my favorite era, which I'm sure is because of my age, but I also appreciate the other previous eras and completely understand others choosing those. I cannot fathom anyone saying any stint post 2006 is the best era of SNL.

Quote:

---

and it definitely deserved its own thread.

---

So tired of 3 or 4 obsessed sweaty autists trying to own this board and police every single thread. Don't ****ing open it or reply if you're not interested. Really that simple.

Breathe.

Quote:

---

Comedy, itself, is dying. SNL is suffering from a lack of truly funny young people, imo.

---

Streaming and podcasts have had a diffusion effect on comedy talent. Why struggle through the distillation process of clubs and comedy troupes and working as background players when you can create your own show, or find paying gigs on shows that three people will ever watch? I rarely watch SNL anymore because there are usually other things I'd rather do on Saturday night, and I'm growing too old to get most of the pop culture references. But I've caught it a few times in the last 2 years when I thought the writing was decent, but the actors' delivery was just flat. Staring at a cue card and shouting lines in a staccato voice will ruin most writing.

On the politics side, I was surprised to see that Jim Downey's wikipedia entry has a long section on other people's perception of his politics. Adam McKay called him right-wing. I was simple-minded enough to think that he and Norm made fun of Clinton because Clinton was in power, and satire is supposed to mock elites and those who seek power.

There's also the issue Norm discussed for years, of younger comedians not knowing the difference between applause and laughter.

I remember that one time they made fun of Obama having big ears. Once. In eight years.

Phil Hartman said that during his time on the show, Democrats thought they were really awful and mean-spirited to Dems. He said it was because most them were liberals, so when they went after Republicans, they went after policy. And when they went after Democrats with whom they mostly agreed, they made fun of personal issues - like Clinton chowing down at McDonalds or chasing that poontang. I think that makes sense, and explains why hardcore political types never believe SNL is on their side.

I think he talked about it somewhere in this interview, which is good all around just because it's Phil Hartman and Tom Snyder:

TCTTS said:

---

As best I can recall, last night's episode didn't make a single joke at the expense of the right. Multiple sketches/jokes mocked the left, however. You have a president as prone to unintentional comedy and dumbassery as Trump, the show is going to naturally gravitate that way, and you can't really fault it for that. But now that he's out, and Biden's numbers are dropping/people are tiring of his sh*t, you can feel the comedy beginning to shift more and more "against" him/the left. It's something I specifically noticed last night. Will SNL ever be as blatant in its anti-Trump-ness as it has been/will be for any other president? Almost assuredly not. But they absolutely do dole it out for the other side as well, increasingly so as of late.

---

Lol. Go put your head back in the sand.

I laughed for years at the greatness of Ferrell as Bush and Hammond as Clinton/Gore. It was comedy gold. Why is it that I can tell the difference in the writing shift from comedy to vitriol and you can't? Idk... perhaps the same reason many of us see the blatant cronyism in everyday Hollywood and you don't.

Also, that was only a piece of my point, not the entire point. The talent is not funny.

I think Harry Lime hit the nail on the head when he mentions all the other avenues. From the 70's through the early 2000's, there weren't nearly as many avenues for young talent to thrive. There was stand-up, possibly getting a sit-com on network TV, or SNL (I understand I'm simplifying, Mr. Hollywood; chillax). Now days, there are many newer channels making quality shows, there are internet platforms where real talent can work for themselves, and there are many new streaming services putting money behind young talent to create.

If you are good enough to be successful with any of these mediums, why would you subject yourself to the grind that is SNL other than the antiquity of the establishment?

DallasTeleAg said:

---

TCTTS said:

---

As best I can recall, last night's episode didn't make a single joke at the expense of the right. Multiple sketches/jokes mocked the left, however. You have a president as prone to unintentional comedy and dumbassery as Trump, the show is going to naturally gravitate that way, and you can't really fault it for that. But now that he's out, and Biden's numbers are dropping/people are tiring of his sh*t, you can feel the comedy beginning to shift more and more "against" him/the left. It's something I specifically noticed last night. Will SNL ever be as blatant in its anti-Trump-ness as it has been/will be for any other president? Almost assuredly not. But they absolutely do dole it out for the other side as well, increasingly so as of late.

---

Lol. Go put your head back in the sand.

I laughed for years at the greatness of Ferrell as Bush and Hammond as Clinton/Gore. It was comedy gold. Why is it that I can tell the difference in the writing shift from comedy to vitriol and you can't? Idk... perhaps the same reason many of us see the blatant cronyism in everyday Hollywood and you don't.

Also, that was only a piece of my point, not the entire point. The talent is not funny.

I think Harry Lime hit the nail on the head when he mentions all the other avenues. From the 70's through the early 2000's, there weren't nearly as many avenues for young talent to thrive. There was stand-up, possibly getting a sit-com on network TV, or SNL (I understand I'm simplifying, Mr. Hollywood; chillax). Now days, there are many newer channels making quality shows, there are internet platforms where real talent can work for themselves, and there are many new streaming services putting money behind young talent to create.

If you are good enough to be successful with any of these mediums, why would you subject yourself to the grind that is SNL other than the antiquity of the establishment?

---

Sometimes I truly question your reading comprehension. I *literally* admitted how blatant they are/were in their Trump hate, and highlighted how unprecedented that was. Also, I've never said that Hollywood's messaging hasn't increased or that it isn't more blatant than it used to be. For the 400th time, my only defenses of Hollywood have ever been that they aren't as monolith in their views as many seem to think, and that it's way, way, way more challenging to get a political message of any kind into movies/shows, for no other reason than how hard it is to get things made in the first place.

If aliens visited from another planet and wanted to know how the TexAgs entertainment board worked, this thread should be frozen in carbonite and kept for all time. It has all the great features.


1) A recycled opinion as the topics
2) Instant sarcasm to the recycled topic
3) Anger at the sarcasm and the suggestion that this board does not belong to an oligarchy but is in fact a democracy and if you don't like it, SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
4) An immediate politcizing of the issue
5) A counter punch to said political opinion
6) Escalation far beyond what 99% of people would think is normal in a discussion board
7) TC being bashed for his Hollywood naivety
8) The TC counter-punch post that you know is his before you even read it because it's 70% longer than every other post on the thread and had 31 edits
9) An uneasy silence, like the eye of the hurricane, waiting to see who will take the next shot.

Harry Lime said:

---

Quote:

---

and it definitely deserved its own thread.

---

So tired of 3 or 4 obsessed sweaty autists trying to own this board and police every single thread. Don't ****ing open it or reply if you're not interested. Really that simple.

---

So what you're saying is you need your safe space?

This thread has everything.

[applause]

helloimustbegoing said:

---

If aliens visited from another planet and wanted to know how the TexAgs entertainment board worked, this thread should be frozen in carbonite and kept for all time. It has all the great features.


1) A recycled opinion as the topics
2) Instant sarcasm to the recycled topic
3) Anger at the sarcasm and the suggestion that this board does not belong to an oligarchy but is in fact a democracy and if you don't like it, SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
4) An immediate politcizing of the issue
5) A counter punch to said political opinion
6) Escalation far beyond what 99% of people would think is normal in a discussion board
7) TC being bashed for his Hollywood naivety
8) The TC counter-punch post that you know is his before you even read it because it's 70% longer than every other post on the thread and had 31 edits
9) An uneasy silence, like the eye of the hurricane, waiting to see who will take the next shot.

---

Keenan cracks me up.