Brief thoughts on #SNL40

Other people are probably going to write more extensively about tonight's SNL 40th Anniversary special, so I'll leave it to them, but I'll say my piece about a few things:

Most of the show was entertaining; the clip montages were well-chosen and edited, and it was good to see the lesser-celebrated Doumanian and Ebersol years get more "deep cuts" covered in the highlight reels, as opposed to the same Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo clips they normally rely on.  

The music performances weren't bad; nothing on par with Prince doing "Electric Chair" at the 15th anniversary or the Eurythmics and Al Green medleys at the 25th. Miley Cyrus doing "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" was surprisingly good, though.  

Jane Curtin doing Weekend Update with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler was a highlight, and she killed it with her Fox News joke. She was always the secret weapon of the original years, or at least the one hidden in plain sight.  

The biggest misstep of the night was the Californians sketch, which didn't seem to play too well in studio. Despite the participation of Laraine Newman and cameos from Bradley Cooper, Kerry Washington, Taylor Swift and Betty White, the sketch dragged.  David Spade posted a close-up of the script on Instagram earlier, which revealed this was the handiwork of James Anderson and Kent Sublette; for all I know they may be wonderful people, but this was all too typical of their other work on the show*.  The same could be said for Garth and Kat, which ground the pacing of the "salute to musical sketches" segment to a halt.

The "In Memoriam" montage was well-done, but I noticed a few glaring omissions:

• Joe Bodolai (writer, 1981-82)
• Nelson Lyon (writer, 1981-82)
• Mark O'Donnell (writer, 1981-82)
• Terry Southern (writer, 1981-82)
• Alan P. Rubin (band, 1975-83)
• Drake Sather (writer, 1994-95)
• Mauricio Smith (band, 1975-79)

They may have kept to a "more than one season" rule for writers, but I found it odd they didn't count the other band members who have passed.  I believe there were also a few other crew and staff members that had been memorialized beforehand but not here.  That said, it was nice to see some others get their due.  I was most concerned that Charles Rocket, Danitra Vance, Michael O'Donoghue and Tom Davis would get short shrift, and was pleased to see they were counted.  The same goes for Don Pardo, Dave Wilson and Audrey Peart Dickman (from many accounts, she was the engine that kept the show running, production-wise). 

Other than those issues, the special served its purpose: it reminded the audience why this show (and it's history) is special, and it was good to see a lot of familiar faces again.  I hope everyone there had a good time (even Anderson and Sublette).

*A partial list of other Anderlette sketches this season: "Forgotten Television Gems", "Women In The Workplace", "Campfire Song", "Nest-presso", "Amy Adams Monologue", "Singing Sisters", "Soap Opera Reunion", "The Journey", "Casablanca".

SNL Reviews to resume!

I've decided to resume the 1982-83 reviews this month; any episode where I have an edited repeat version will be done with my existing copy of the show, and will be altered/corrected accordingly if I get a more complete airing of the show, and will continue on through the rest of the Ebersol in order after the "season in review" posts.

I'm still planning to only do one SNL-related post a week (review or otherwise), but you can expect the review of Howard Hesseman / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers to go online around January 24.

Content generation

I'm trying to decide when I'll come back to posting SNL reviews. They're my "bread and butter" when it comes to generating traffic for this site, but at the same time I hate pigeonholing myself into one-trick-ponydom by only writing about the show, and I worry that I can't appreciate anything else on the level I've devoted to SNL. Then there's the concern that I've exhausted my supply of things to write about the show itself, or that I should save the time and effort I've put into getting my opinion on the show into something that pays me money or advances my career.

The process of writing each review is fairly intensive: I watch each episode two times, one to take notes, and one to do screen captures and fill in gaps from my first note-taking procedure. I also do a little research regarding pertinent information for each show.  If I know there's an alteration in the rerun, I try to confirm what's different. Then there's the whole issue of translating rough notes into sentences that accurately convey what I felt worked and didn't work in each show, with enough evidence to back up my viewpoint. I also have to worry about the stats for the back half of the review. The whole thing is time consuming, a little tedious, and frustrating at times, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel some validation from everyone who has told me they enjoy my perspective.

I want to wait until I have access to the original airings of the Bruce Dern and Susan Saint James shows before I post those reviews, but I might as well try to get the Howard Hesseman and Jeff & Beau Bridges episodes posted as soon as possible. I've been keeping this blog inactive too long, so I need to come up with something else to post regularly in the interim, but do I just pick another season of SNL? Should I give my thoughts on the current season, which aren't especially favorable to the cast and writers? Try writing about a new TV show, or attempt to write about music, literature or film?

We'll have to see what eventually posts here.

Another break

I'm taking another break from the SNL reviews; there are a few things I'm working on that take more priority than this side project lately.  While the process to watch, screengrab, research and write these reviews takes a little more effort than I'm willing to put into lately, I'm also waiting until I get access to some original airings of a handful of shows with missing content.

I haven't been thrilled with this season either, which seems particularly lifeless.  Jim Carrey may bring the energy level up this week, and Chris Rock / Prince is the most exciting lineup the show's had in a while, but I'm not confident either will transcend the mediocre writing that's plagued the show for six seasons.  After all, Bryan Tucker can just write "KENAN REACTS" into a script and it will likely be accepted for air.  I need the sleep anyway.

Not sure what I'm going to do for content in the meantime.  It may be time to re-evaluate my focus.

Week off

The last review was posted a few days behind schedule because I've been busy with a few different things in the real world (including a trip out of town and a change in jobs).  Rather than rush the next review to get back on schedule, I'm going to take the week off.  This actually isn't a bad point in the season to do this, with 10 reviews posted and 10 reviews to go.  The reviews will resume on Saturday, August 30 with my critique of Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas / The Bus Boys (January 29, 1983).

I also want to thank Paul Barrosse and Gary Kroeger, who have been gracious enough to provide background information on their time at Saturday Night Live.  Several of my reviews have been updated with addenda to include their recollections.

Back to reviewing soon

I'll be resuming my reviews of SNL's 1982-83 season in the coming weeks; I've been working on other projects lately, as well as the whole business of working and having a life outside of watching a sketch comedy TV show, though I admit this whole SNL thing has put me into contact with some very interesting people.  

I still haven't decided whether to continue through the rest of the Ebersol era once I finish that, or to skip ahead (or back) to a Lorne Michaels season, but I'm considering having a dual review track for different days of the week, where I have the SNL review on a certain day, and another review (either SNL or another series) another day of the week.  I will not review the upcoming season of the show because there are a number of websites that already do this, and I feel that I can't help but be overly negative (and redundant) when evaluating the newer shows due to my bias against certain performers and writers.

I've also decided to change my regular review process; I originally had it set up where I would do an initial viewing for taking notes, then screencap and finish that specific episode, but I've decided to do my notes for the season's remaining episodes ahead of time, then work on the next review (Smothers Brothers/Laura Branigan) after that's finished.  

A number of the remaining 1982-83 shows are going to be from recordings of reruns where some content is missing or the correct running order hasn't been confirmed; I will review as much of the show as I have access to at the time, but will revise accordingly once I have access to recordings of the live broadcasts.

The next review won't be finished until sometime later this month, but in the meantime I'm going to leave you with some stills from promos of that season's shows; these usually aired during the midnight station break when NBC was showing SCTV Network on Friday nights.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

SNL Season 39: Autopilot (with Distractions)

Kenan Thompson, doing his stock reaction shot.

Back in December, I decided this season of Saturday Night Live wasn't likely to improve from the string of disappointing shows that aired up to that point, and figured it was no longer worth watching the live shows.  SNL wasn't truly bad this year, but it was more frustrating than enjoyable.  The show has clear potential to be good, but for a variety of internal reasons that I can only speculate about, the writers and performers continue to fall into traps that make their output so bland and rote: even the Dick Ebersol era (1981-1985), seen by many as a safer and corporate version of Lorne Michaels' show, comes off as relatively adventurous in comparison. 

Since that point, I have tuned into SNL only sporadically, deliberately skipping some of the less-than-exciting guest lineups and catching material online if the message board buzz tantalized me.  The nights I bothered to watch live, I usually regretted tuning in, particularly for the weak Jim Parsons and lazy Andy Samberg shows.  The studio audience doesn't seem to mind the show's quality, but outside the electric atmosphere of Studio 8H, the crutches seem more obvious than ever.

I feel that going too much into detail regarding my specific opinions about the cast, writing staff and general show hierarchy would be redundant, and fear that my true feelings about some of the talent on the show border on unkind.  I'll leave it at this:

SNL needs to cut a number of writers and performers that have overstayed their welcome before any cast changes that happen can seem anything other than cosmetic.  I get the sense the show is more concerned about their own internal hierarchy and rewarding loyalty and popularity than the overall quality of the show.  There's a noticeable rigidity and lack of personality to many of the proceedings, and I can't help but feel the sketches are written as Mad Libs templates.  The "surprise cameos" come across as mandatory and perfunctory; merely something to get the studio audience to cheer loud.  Even the show's use of filmed sketches make it seem like the live material is merely filler to pad airtime.

In an ideal world, the next season of Saturday Night Live would force the cast, writers and producers to cut the safety net.  I'm concerned that the lukewarm reaction to this season will only lead to next year's SNL being even more rigid, formulaic and pandering.

The Worst SNL Sketches of All Time: Part 2 - Runners Up

I apologize for not getting this posted before tonight; real-world commitments and a few other changes related to the future of my blog take precedence over these posts. I admit that I have also been pretty burned out on the show for a little while, which may be another factor in why I've put off work on this list. Unlike the winners for "worst recurring sketch", many of these sketches have not been posted online; some likely due to music licensing issues.

Third Runner Up

• Rookie Cop - SNL had already aired a few sketches centered around people vomiting before, notably 1980's Roman Vomitorium and 1993's Bad Taste Sketches, but both prior examples wrote sketches around the vomiting.  This time, vomiting is the sketch, as it systematically gives every cast member and featured player (aside from Al Franken) a chance to spew out incredibly watery-looking puke.
• Hot Plates - A one-joke premise where, despite the waiters' warnings, diners touch the hot plates at a restaurant.  The whole thing is done too cartoonishly broad: as if having Horatio Sanz and Rob Riggle screaming "HOT PLATES!" didn't seem like enough cover for a weak premise, the gags involving Hilary Swank's hand fusing to a plate and Amy Poehler turning into a skeleton from just looking at her plate felt desperate.
• Van Morrison Concert - Much of the distaste towards this otherwise weak sketch about a woman's obnoxious dancing blocking the other patrons' view of a concert is because Melanie Hutsell plays the dancing woman, and adds an extra layer of obnoxiousness to the character with her facial expressions.  One voter says "It's a pretty bad sketch but she makes it unwatchable".  Whether the antipathy towards Hutsell on SNL is deserved or not, many still consider her a sketch-ruiner.

Second Runner Up

• St. Kat's Middle - Another one-joke premise, where middle school kids take their teachers' lessons on positive thinking to heart and try to apply them to their friend with a broken knee (Kenan Thompson).  The audience could tell where this was going to go before the first fall, but what makes this one excruciating is the extended sequences involving Thompson's character's face in close-up, delivering agonized damnation of his friends in such an overwrought manner that it's plausible that someone just told Thompson to stretch out the sketch and milk it for all it was worth.
• Sunken Submarine - The worst thing to make it to air while Dick Ebersol ran the show: a ten-minute-plus sketch that plays to light chuckles at the very most; it's like they built the set first and only then decided to write a sketch around it.  So much of this sketch is a succession of attempted gags that just fail: Robert Culp eating oatmeal without a spoon while wearing a dress and gloves is a perfect metaphor for the pointlessness of the whole thing.

First Runner Up

• Jack The Stripper - In their 1986 book Saturday Night, Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad mention that some considered this sketch about women on the streets of London being terrorized by a stripping heir to the throne of England "the most disastrous sketch ever on the show".  Even the lighting contributes to the sketch's problems, as this sketch is so dark, foggy and murky looking that the cast might as well have performed it in shadow.  Better lighting still wouldn't have fixed this sketch's aimlessness.
• Miracles Of Science - The Tom Arnold show from 1996 was an unusually bad show right in the middle of SNL's last major comeback year, and this sketch (which originally aired in the plum post-Weekend Update slot) is as unfunny as anything the show churned out during its low points.  Arnold plays a janitor who, following a nuclear accident, had his brain size, arrogance and physical pain grow instead of his intelligence, and new player Will Ferrell interviews him.  I wonder how much the sketch would have improved if the casting was reversed, but as a whole, this sketch dies early and hard, and both Arnold and Ferrell seem to know it.
• Rear Window - It's bad enough this sketch is little more than Grace Kelly farting; what's worse is that it feels like the writer thought that if the audience wouldn't laugh, it's because there weren't enough fart sound effects.  Even still, what brought an already terrible sketch to new depths of awfulness was host January Jones (easily the worst host the show's had in recent years) and her inability to finish the sketch without giggling.  One voter's comment said it best: "Jones gave a dreadful performance and actually ruined a sketch about the film 'Rear Window' that revolved around a fart joke. Think about that for a second."

The Worst SNL Sketches Of All Time: The Results, part 1: Recurring Sketches

The results are in, and so begins my series of weekly posts on the worst Saturday Night Live sketches. Unlike the vote for the worst individual sketches, there was no single recurring sketch that got a significantly higher number of votes than the other nominees; many sketches received one vote apiece, and there were considerably fewer nominees (and votes) in the recurring category than in the worst overall sketches.  In the end, there was a three-way tie for worst recurring sketch, with a clear second place winner.

The worst recurring SNL sketch or characters of all time are: (tied) The Californians, Garth & Kat, Gilly

The Californians - One of the voters summed it up best: "Every time I see some promo of SNL that lauds that piece of skit sketch I want to break things".  James Anderson and Fred Armisen wrote this sketch revolving around the characters'  accents and tendency to give driving directions, which likely would have been a forgotten one-off sketch had it not been for Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader breaking character at Armisen's exaggerated line delivery.  Like with Debbie Downer, the producers and writers decided it was going to be one of their new signature bits, but where they found ways to put Debbie Downer in different situations, the very format of The Californians limited any potential to develop beyond such a thin premise.  By the time Armisen and Hader left the show, they had done the sketch 6 times in the space of 13 months.

Garth and Kat - This Weekend Update segment featuring an unprepared musical duo in matching vests is little more than Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig playing an improv game where one leads and their partner has to match what they're doing.  The whole thing is very self-indulgent and seems designed to kill 5 minutes of airtime more than anything else: like their characters, Armisen and Wiig don't rehearse their songs, and the result is more amusing to them than it is to the studio audience or home viewer.

Gilly - A polarizing character that even Wiig's own mother hates, Gilly seems to be the ultimate example of the bad SNL recurring sketch: one voter referred to it as "Kristen Wiig and the writers simply cashing paychecks".  I've said before the sketch reeks of Wiig and Paula Pell cynically coming up with a cash-grab character to be put on a T-shirt, because this sketch is neither's best work.  To Pell's credit, she did manage to put a genuinely funny moment in the first sketch (Casey Wilson's dialogue with Will Forte), but the sketches are tedious after the first run-through of the beats, which are limited variations on a set formula: if you see one minute of a Gilly sketch, you've seen the rest of the sketches in the series.  Inexplicably, NBC and SNL figured this was enough of a beloved character to warrant being used as a framing device for a compilation of Christmas sketches that aired in prime time (A Very Gilly Christmas).

Runner-up

Ching Chang (later Ching Change) - Saturday Night Live was arguably at its best during the late 80s, which is why this Dana Carvey character sticks out as especially bad: a stereotypical Chinese man who is emotionally attached to the live chickens he sells, insisting in Chinese Pidgin English that "chicken make lousy housepet!"  This rightfully attracted flack when it aired; at one point, SNL addressed the controversy by having Ching's sister Loose (Nora Dunn) criticize him for acting like a cartoon compared to her "positive ethnic role model" boyfriend (Phil Hartman).  This character is considered one of the most racist things the show has aired, and becomes more painful to watch as time passes on.