Saturday Night Live has featured many bright up-and-coming comedians and actors / actresses since it’s inception in 1975. Some very famous celebrities, Chevy Chase with his one season for example, were only on the show for a short time. Others, like Darrell Hammond who is now working on his 13th year, stay there for what seems to be an eternity. There has also been a revolving team of writers - from Al Franken to Conan O’Brien. Some years and some casts are definitely better than others, and we all have our favorites. My favorite time ranges from the Phil Hartman era through the Will Ferrell era personally.
Will Ferrell w/ Infamous Cowbell
The thing with SNL is – there has to be a perfect mixture of talented actors / actresses and talented writers. We’ve all seen funny skits that weren’t so funny because the actors themselves aren’t funny. We’ve all also witnessed hilarious actors / actresses doing the best that they can with what has been given to them by the writers. The general consensus is that the show hasn’t been funny since Will Ferrell left. I hate to cause a commotion, but I have to strongly disagree with that. Sure, I’ll admit that there have been some rough patches since his departure, but I can’t say that the show is bad. Please allow me to explain.
In the years directly proceeding Will Ferrell’s departure the talented players were: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Cheri Oteri, and especially Mya Rudolph. Please don’t think that I’m a femi-nazi, but seriously – SNL isn’t known for showcasing or even capitalizing on its female talent. To me, funny is funny and these women are hilarious! Although they had seniority on the show, the majority of the sketches went to men who weren’t as funny. I don’t use the word sexist casually, but Lorne Michaels, seriously? He is one to take advantage of the talent of his casts… but when all of the talent happened to be women, he didn’t. Makes me wonder…
Gilda Radner
Since the post-Ferrell-madness there have been a lot of changes. Let’s forget about all of the time between then and now - when things could have been better. Right now, like today – I see the makings for one of those brilliant casts of SNL history. The current cast of season 33: Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Darrell Hammond, Seth Meyers, Amy Poelher, Casey Wilson, Kenan Thompson, and especially Kristen Wiig – have the potential to breathe live back into what people call a dying show. Each of these players have a place on the cast. Every one of them
Kristen Wiig, So...
bring something to the show. Kristen Wiig stands out to me the most. She is what I like to call “old school SNL funny”. She is (please don’t hate me for saying this!) as funny, if not funnier than Gilda Radner – the most talented female comedian to have ever graced the 8H stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The “Target Lady” and “Penelope” may not be “Roseanne Roseannadanna'” or “Baba Wawa”, but Kristen’s skits are just as comical as Gilda’s ever were.
In summary, to bring my rant to an end: give SNL a fresh watch. If you are a fan of sketch comedy and have stopped watching Saturday Night Live, you are totally missing out. I’m not asking you to stay home on a Saturday night – we all have DVRs and Tivos now. Record a couple of week’s worth of episodes and watch with them with an open mind. I have a feeling that you won’t be disappointed.
PS - Would have provided video if the writer's strike wouldn't have forebode it. I searched and search for recent SNL clips, but the "Hey Jude Korean Baby" was the only video that kept appearing. Although you've already seen it, this is the best recent SNL clip I knew I could find:
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