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Based on a a new directive from
my editor, I have decided to try to be somewhat more positive
in my approach to television analysis. What's the point of
whining and criticizing things which are clearly out of my
control? This column is meant to be fun and educational and
happy. I promise I will try in the future to do just that.
But not today.
Saturday Night Live sucks monkeynuts.
Those of you who have witnessed this once great sketch comedy
show spiral into hopeless mediocrity in the last season or
two know the drill: the horrendous bits that go on forever
with no point, the unrecognizable impressions, the incessant
grinning of frat boy gone wrong Jimmy "I’m-only-on-this-show-because-we-need-the-female-demographic"
Fallon.
I've always been a big fan of SNL so for me to write a negative
piece about them would require a cast less talented than the
worst of the Mary Gross, Anthony Michael Hall and Tim Kazurinksy
years combined. It would involve writers not this unfunny
since "Saved by the Bell: The New Class." I've seen
junior high talent show sketches with more laughs than the
ones that make it to the "front 30" -- the initial
half hour of the show where they give you all the best stuff,
in hopes you will fall asleep before the trainwreck that occurs
after the musical guest's first performance.
How do I put this strongly enough for you? The show is so
bad, I look forward to "Showtime at The Apollo,"
which in the larger markets, follows immediately afterward,
and, except for those rare moments where they let a talentless
white Mariah Carey wannabee on stage to be roundly booed off
by the an audience hungry for blood, it requires a lobotomy
and some serious drugs to enjoy. Saturday Night Live is worse.
Much much worse.
Sure, there's Darrell Hammond, the veteran "anchor"
of the show, who is perhaps one of the few remaining bright
spots in the cast. He's a talented impressionist but has all
the charisma of a suburban funeral director. He's no Will
Farrell or Phil Hartman but at least he can hold it together
during a sketch. Unfortunately, Bill Clinton is no longer
in office and Ted Koppel has one foot out the door at ABC.
Who else can this guy do?
Tina Fey and newcomer Amy Poehler are other bright spots.
They're moderately talented and sometimes amusing and might
be fun to watch ON ANOTHER SHOW.
Then there's the recently formed "partnership"
of Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz. "Fat and skinny guy"
worked great with Belushi and Akroyd --even Farley and Spade,
but here it's like watching two stoners battle it out for
laughs in a high school detention room. Jimmy "look at
my cute bedhead" Fallon cannot get through two lines
without laughing and mugging for the camera. Losing it during
a scene works once in awhile. It worked great on The Carol
Burnett Show when the audience would see Harvey Korman
turn beet red as he tried to keep from breaking up. But those
moments were funny and involved hilarious material. Fallon
just acts like a buffoon as he flubs every other line he's
given, and ultimately, he's the only one laughing.
The rest of the cast is just horrendous. They are not funny
even when given funny lines, which is never. How is it that
cast members get promoted from featured player to the main
cast is just baffling. It has something to do with Lorne Michaels
--who between jaunts to his East Hampton estate, and 20 years
at the helm --has gotten lazy. He's made enough money with
the franchise and has taken much [read: all] of the credit
for its successes. Now he needs to hand the reins over to
someone new -- and fast.
In the end, SNL will prevail. It certainly will take time
to groom new cast members to fill in the huge gaping holes
left by departing veterans. It will take a new writing staff.
Or if Lorne Michaels is smart, he'll bring in a "cleaner"
and get rid of everyone all at once. It worked before and
it can work again.
Until that happens (or I'm lucky enough to have a date on
Saturday night), I will watch Showtime at the Apollo
instead. At least they let the audience boo the performers
off the stage.
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