For many years, there was relative consistency in how good SNL was. Yes, some episodes were definitely better than others, but the degree of difference wasn't all that great. If you pick a random episode from the Belushi era or the Murphy era or the Hartman era or whatever, chances are, it stacks up reasonably well to any other in the same era. And most of the eras are about as good as any other era. Different, yes, but still with a relatively same ratio of laughs to satire and parody.
If you look at SNL in the past, oh, five years or so, you'll see much more turbulence. One week, it will be be passable or even good and the next three weeks utter dreck. Now, apologists will say it's not the show but the viewer, as though humor has changed dramatically in the past decade after literally thousands of years of human existence. I mean, we find drawings in caves that people still laugh at. So, no, those sorts of cheap rationalizations aren't a good defense for bad comedy, no matter how many people endorse them.
This season of SNL has been among the most turbulent. There were, maybe, two good episodes, both driven by hosts who are so funny it would be hard for even SNL's subpar writers to screw things up. Not that they wouldn't try.
You can diagnose pretty easily what's wrong, but since they're not paying me hundreds of thousands of dollars as a consultant, there's no need to give a complete list.
Anyway, the kid who plays Wednesday did an okay job, but I wish the rest of the show had lived up to those expectations. The funniest bit was the pointy faced guy who does Trump doing other impressions, but it all came across as something to take up time. A skit about a road trip was exactly like all the other skits the skeevy writers come up with, which is start with a slightly absurd concept and then just let it keep getting more absurd, circling back to jokes at the beginning. Seriously, these guys are just doing the same skit over and over but changing the location and the literal gags (but not their nature).
If you look at SNL in the past, oh, five years or so, you'll see much more turbulence. One week, it will be be passable or even good and the next three weeks utter dreck. Now, apologists will say it's not the show but the viewer, as though humor has changed dramatically in the past decade after literally thousands of years of human existence. I mean, we find drawings in caves that people still laugh at. So, no, those sorts of cheap rationalizations aren't a good defense for bad comedy, no matter how many people endorse them.
This season of SNL has been among the most turbulent. There were, maybe, two good episodes, both driven by hosts who are so funny it would be hard for even SNL's subpar writers to screw things up. Not that they wouldn't try.
You can diagnose pretty easily what's wrong, but since they're not paying me hundreds of thousands of dollars as a consultant, there's no need to give a complete list.
Anyway, the kid who plays Wednesday did an okay job, but I wish the rest of the show had lived up to those expectations. The funniest bit was the pointy faced guy who does Trump doing other impressions, but it all came across as something to take up time. A skit about a road trip was exactly like all the other skits the skeevy writers come up with, which is start with a slightly absurd concept and then just let it keep getting more absurd, circling back to jokes at the beginning. Seriously, these guys are just doing the same skit over and over but changing the location and the literal gags (but not their nature).
