jaymc
The conventional wisdom is that the best era of SNL is whatever was on in your early teen years.
The way my wife puts this is: "when it seemed cool to be allowed to stay up late."
I feel like in the streaming era this has changed, because most people I know just watch it the next day.
― they see me lollin' (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 20 October 2020 15:51 (three years ago) link
translation = I am an old
Cecily has been almost totally MIA, I think this last week she was only in a voiceover?
I happen to really like this cast mostly, but the ideas and writing are just not cutting it.
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 20 October 2020 16:18 (three years ago) link
Too busy filming those Prego ads?
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 20 October 2020 16:24 (three years ago) link
Shrill is great, love Aidy but I think she's ready to bolt SNL and probably should
Che and Colin Jost have been head writers and the show has pretty much gone to shit under their reign
― they see me lollin' (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, October 20, 2020 10:51 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
streaming is probably the one thing that's kept me watching, because with no commercials and skipping musical acts I don't care about, it's like a 40 minute show
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 20 October 2020 17:22 (three years ago) link
I don't look in very often, but I gave tonight's debate opening a go--just terrible.
― clemenza, Sunday, 25 October 2020 04:31 (three years ago) link
Episode utterly dire. When Adele’s acting is the best thing....
― akm, Sunday, 25 October 2020 05:55 (three years ago) link
Guessing that Cecily may have some risk that made her decide she didn’t want to be on set
― akm, Sunday, 25 October 2020 05:57 (three years ago) link
It’s not even interestingly bad, it’s supremely mediocre to the bone
― akm, Sunday, 25 October 2020 06:32 (three years ago) link
I’m kinda surprised that Africa sketch made it to air.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Sunday, 25 October 2020 16:07 (three years ago) link
Yeah that was some racist shit.
― DJI, Sunday, 25 October 2020 16:12 (three years ago) link
And they had a whole sketch about not having to think about Trump anymore. Projection, much? Have they had a single cold open in four years that wasn't a Trump sketch?
― DJI, Sunday, 25 October 2020 16:13 (three years ago) link
The only political sketch that made me LOL on SNL in the last 20 years was Dana Carvey coming back to be George H W Bush, taking Ferrell's Dubya on a hunting trip, pointing the rifle at him as he walked away, and saying "Nope, not gonna do it. It's only 4 years"
― Neanderthal, Sunday, 25 October 2020 16:28 (three years ago) link
I've been informed that Cecily strong is filming a movie in Canada and Aidy Bryant is shooting the next season of Shrill.
― akm, Sunday, 25 October 2020 16:28 (three years ago) link
UMS otm, the worst WU anchors since colin quinn, just hacky unambitious dreck
― cointelamateur (m bison), Sunday, 25 October 2020 18:13 (three years ago) link
unambitious dreck
the only ambition that counts in comedy is to provoke a laugh. satire requires more ambition, but SNL has almost always been bad at satire.
― the unappreciated charisma of cows (Aimless), Sunday, 25 October 2020 18:18 (three years ago) link
thanks i knew what i meant when i wrote ambitious
― cointelamateur (m bison), Sunday, 25 October 2020 19:00 (three years ago) link
Chevy Chase as a pratfalling Gerald Ford was hacky unambitious comedy, too. Why would you bother to criticize the show for not delivering what it has never delivered in the past 45 years?
― the unappreciated charisma of cows (Aimless), Sunday, 25 October 2020 19:04 (three years ago) link
are you arguing that Che and Host are exactly at the same level as all head writers through SNL history
― Un-fooled and placid (sic), Sunday, 25 October 2020 19:59 (three years ago) link
"exactly the same"? no. I am not such a silly goose as that. they are each of them hacky and unambitious in their own individual way.
― the unappreciated charisma of cows (Aimless), Sunday, 25 October 2020 20:02 (three years ago) link
I think I'm becoming an SNL truther and that maybe the early 90s was the peak
― rip van wanko, Sunday, 25 October 2020 20:15 (three years ago) link
I'm trying to think what 90s image is funnier than this still imagehttps://cdn.imgchest.com/files/p7bwcknzo7n.png
I'll find one...
― Philip Nunez, Sunday, 25 October 2020 20:37 (three years ago) link
it's a tough one...https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/d7ogcb3mky9.png
― Philip Nunez, Sunday, 25 October 2020 20:43 (three years ago) link
they are each of them hacky and unambitious in their own individual way.
While not familiar with whole episodes in the pre-Jost era, it seems apparent that Fey's external work on 30 Rock shows a greater ambition for laughs, structure, satire and emotion. Meyers' transformation of his talk show into a life support system for Gentile's segment could be a later blossoming of ambition that he didn't hold as head writer, but I can't see Che graduating to that from his current outside-work ambition of relentlessly bullying one single leftist ex-comedy writer on Instagram for not being as wealthy as Che. Poehler might be facing a reckoning this year for the way her school retained the same financial structure over the decades that its influence grew, but she also built a school that became one of the most significant developers of American comedy talent in several generations. MacDonald's personal ambition seems limited simply to earn enough money to gamble with, but he evidently saw the Update platform as worth exploiting to make savage and accurate attacks on corrupt or hateful people in power, rather than having them sit at the desk to apologise to in person.
― Un-fooled and placid (sic), Sunday, 25 October 2020 20:59 (three years ago) link
Sitcom writing and skit comedy tied to a weekly live format are wholly different beasts. The tight deadlines and need for material to fill a 90 minute show of five and ten minute segments strongly encourages gag writing, not "structure, satire and emotion".
― the unappreciated charisma of cows (Aimless), Sunday, 25 October 2020 21:18 (three years ago) link
Che and Jost's respective activity outside of their stewardship of this bad show does support bison's judgment, though, as does comparing their Update work to MacDonald's.
― Un-fooled and placid (sic), Sunday, 25 October 2020 21:28 (three years ago) link
"Poehler might be facing a reckoning this year for the way her school retained the same financial structure over the decades that its influence grew," sorry what?
I think Che and Jost are fine on WU. It's still the strongest segment of the show though Melissa Villasenor's bit was terrible as was the Village People bit.
― akm, Sunday, 25 October 2020 21:48 (three years ago) link
I was surprised to see SNL's ratings so high this year. Give the people what they want...
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 25 October 2020 21:52 (three years ago) link
"sorry what?"Keeping tickets at mostly $5 maintained a flow of 4x nightly full houses, but effectively resulted in the students paying to perform & run most of the business, while excluding them from any decision-making power. The workforce"s opposition to moving the Chelsea location to Hell's Kitchen in 2017 was borne out by the financial collapse of that location. The Los Angeles workforce"s complaints about financial mismanagement and diversity have this year been compounded by the aggressive actions of the consultant hired to handle shutdown, and followed by the founders" attempts to transfer the entire business to a diversity board as a nonprofit, and selling off the one location, out of four on two coasts, that they actually own.
― Un-fooled and placid (sic), Sunday, 25 October 2020 22:16 (three years ago) link
I've literally never heard of John Mulaney (usual disclaimer: I'm sure that says more about me than him), but that was a solid monologue. The slumber-party detour was great.
― clemenza, Sunday, 1 November 2020 03:53 (three years ago) link
comedian, also used to be on Kroll Show, and was one half of "Oh, Hello" on Broadway. I saw his special in 2018 that he recorded at Radio City Music Hall live, it was dope.
― Lover of Nixon (or LON for short) (Neanderthal), Sunday, 1 November 2020 03:57 (three years ago) link
Also it's his 4th time hosting.
― jaymc, Sunday, 1 November 2020 04:02 (three years ago) link
I'm so far from keeping up, you can be famous and host SNL and I might not know you...I read up on him a bit after his monologue.
― clemenza, Sunday, 1 November 2020 04:08 (three years ago) link
Also was an SNL writer, providing some of the high points of the show during the Seth Myers years (including purposely giving Bill Hader no choice but to break while reading Stefon cue cards during Update).
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 1 November 2020 04:24 (three years ago) link
confused threads for a moment and thought you were talking about Nate Silver
― Lover of Nixon (or LON for short) (Neanderthal), Sunday, 1 November 2020 04:25 (three years ago) link
lmao
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 1 November 2020 04:28 (three years ago) link
Mulaney was an SNL writer for some years before his stand-up career took off (creating and writing the character Stefon for Bill Hader, notably). He's hosted SNL once a year for the last three years*, each time mounting an elaborate & musical sketch that he'd had rejected while staff there as the finale.
He has several very good stand-up specials that are worth searching out if you enjoyed his monologue, and a variety special on Netflix starring himself, David Byrne, Jake Gyllenhall, and an ensemble of kids, called The Sack Lunch Bunch.
*not counting tonight
― edited for dog profanity (sic), Sunday, 1 November 2020 04:32 (three years ago) link
oh xpost
comparing Trump to having a horse loose in a hospital was pretty inspired
― Lover of Nixon (or LON for short) (Neanderthal), Sunday, 1 November 2020 04:33 (three years ago) link
(from Kid Gorgeous)
Don’t forget his failed sitcom. Left SNL to have his own show w Martin Short and it was terrible and flopped. This “the comeback kid”.
― dan selzer, Sunday, 1 November 2020 12:17 (three years ago) link
If you like Mulaney's standup and Bill Hader, they did a long interview/talk together for one of the NYC libraries that has some really funny moments and stories that is worth searching out.
― earlnash, Sunday, 1 November 2020 16:07 (three years ago) link
John Mulaney is far and away my favorite stand up comic currently working, and maybe my favorite ever. This was a solid episode though not as strong as his last two hosting duties, but fuck it, I would love for him to just host it forever.
― akm, Sunday, 1 November 2020 16:18 (three years ago) link
(his stand up specials on Netflix are some of the few stand up specials I can watch multiple times. I don't know how many times I've seen that horse in a hospital bit ... I even saw him do it live...and it's still funny)
― akm, Sunday, 1 November 2020 16:19 (three years ago) link
at the actual taping in Radio City, a few people got up and left at that point lol - I had a shitty seat and it could have been the usual trove of people who leave early, but there seemed to be a few who didn't like that bit.
― Lover of Nixon (or LON for short) (Neanderthal), Sunday, 1 November 2020 16:33 (three years ago) link
We've listened to his "Salt and Pepper Diner" bit possibly more than any other stand up bit ever.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 1 November 2020 16:47 (three years ago) link
I even saw him do it live...and it's still funny)
I've rewatched just the long Bill Clinton story from The Comeback Kid several times as a reminder of the joy of seeing him do it in 2014.
― edited for dog profanity (sic), Sunday, 1 November 2020 20:20 (three years ago) link
the JT Bittenbinder story is cry my eyes out funny
― Lover of Nixon (or LON for short) (Neanderthal), Sunday, 1 November 2020 20:21 (three years ago) link
as is the Delta Airlines bit. Somewhere my son actually drew that sketch out as a comic panel and it was hilarious, I should see if it's still in his room somewhere (he did it when he was like 11).
― akm, Sunday, 1 November 2020 21:24 (three years ago) link
I actually thought this episode was pretty mediocre, tbh. I liked the monologue most of all found a lot of the other skits boring, except maybe the "Birds" one.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 1 November 2020 23:17 (three years ago) link