Saying I'd rather play Guitar Hero than watch SNL is like saying I'd rather have sex than mow the lawn. There's just no comparison.

BTW I'd rather mow the lawn than watch SNL. I'm serious.

supercrap

@Mommar:
It's been crap almost since the original cast cleared out. They had a few good cast members come in as replacements, but I think I can still count them off on one hand. That's kind of the way it works with these things. You get the most amazing group of comic talents you can find, start up a variety show with them, the best ones bail almost immediately to persue bigger careers, and the rest of them don't stick around much longer. Pretty soon you have a bunch of second-stringers that each seemed like a good idea on a case-by-case basis, but not when they're all you have. Mad TV has been going that way as well (though they haven't sunk nearly as low as SNL yet). Probably the only modern variety show that's been immune to this is Kids In The Hall, mostly because the cast, from what I understand, own the name of the group, so they couldn't be replaced by a bunch of hacks when they all collectively decided to quite the show.

Purple Dave

How dare you ninja-link me to myspace!

SFLegend

Unfortunately, SNL died along with Chris Farley.

y5

Let's see, writers are whining about money.(Don't they make enough anyways?) Most TV Shows suck(Cavemen didn't help). Most of the older shows are loing steam(SNL is a prime example).

KM91

I don't think the cast are as bad as people make them out to be. I've seen the cast do amazing comedy in their off time. I'm a fan of Fred Armisen's work on the show. The problem is the lame writing. It's not clever, not in the least. The actors don't have much to work with. Certain show's have been absolutely great, and it shows the potential the comedians on the show have.

CyberGlitch

i think they should go back to their original format: sketches with jokes.

thank you, goodnight

relax_guy

Dear Lorne, Just replace the musical guests (who usually suck hard anyways,) with Guitar Hero players. Problem solved. Now please send me a cheque.

GOLD5

Andy Samberg and Bill Hader brought SNL back from death. They need to include something LIKE Rock Band and GH3 in their bits if they want viewers.

AngelX

guitar hero cannot replace the comedy that is "Laser Cats"!!11!!1!!!!!1111111!

hrabbit

Jimmy Fallon is everything wrong with SNL.

awesomerobot

@doubtful: that's what I'm talking about. That "dick in a box" is an old porn website that did that thing as their "story" with a pizza delivery guy. It wouldn't surprise me to see a Bangbus thing in a couple years. Disappointing.

VakeroRokero

Fortunately, thanks to YouTube, I don't have to wade through hours of SNL for the funny skit.

Which reminds me, I have watched Dick in a Box for a while.

doubtful

@ImCowman:

Never be cancelled? You know that in the early 80's they were in severe danger of being canceled because it simply wasn't funny anymore. If they didn't get lucky by bringing on Eddie Murphy the show wouldn't be on anymore. And if you ask me it's in the same slump it was when the first cast left and the second cast transitioned over prior to Eddie Murphy. I have no problem with different casts/writers trying different things, but I do have a problem with unfunny and I haven't found them funny for a very long time.

Mommar

@WizarDru: man, you sure know a ton of SNL. I was a big fan also years ago...

VakeroRokero

@Hiro0015: Yeah, I've been a dedicated watcher (at least on TiVo) for that past few years. The best skits are definitely the Shorts.

Benjo

@Soriya: sure the show was started going from comedic to stupidity, so the older fans stopped watching and brought a younger generation of viewers, that's when Wayne's World got a movie, and the "Greek Fresh Pepper on Paprika waiters" and "Frankenstein & Co. Sings..".

I'm gonna buy some dvds to watch it again. lol...

VakeroRokero

Brilliant strategy by Michaels!!! Undoubtedly, he knows the immediacy of blogs and their effectiveness at dispensing information, especially when it comes to the rabid consumer demographic simply known as "gamers." And all the commenter debates about how funny SNL is/was only serve to remind us that the show is back on and Lorne Michaels is amenable to gamers.

CobAlGhul

People often play the blame game when their own situation isnt quite where theyd like it to be. Whats the deal here, simply because SNL is SNL the show is supposed to be a huge success no matter how stale things get?

A lot of fingers get pointed at Guitar Hero, yet I dont see anyone doing anything about it.

BiffVelvet

I don't watch SNL (Celebrity Jeopardy will never be topped), but I think this is just SNL's low period. It has a cycle. Just be patient and it'll be funny again.

"I've got to ask you about the Penis Mightier."

Jason144

@jollydwarf: you can't complain that many of these people ended up having great movie careers, since comedians have a tons of fans and a funny script and a funny main role requires someone that can make it more funny (facial gestures, acting and timing) interesting.

Everything has been going down for years and proof is how Jimmy Fallon was considered the next big star of the show to make it to movies and his movies failed so hard they are still in red numbers.

VakeroRokero

they need to stop reading cue cards. the regular cast should not be reading cue cards.

teh_joe (Little Man being Erased)

SNL comes and goes in greatness. Every few years they get an amazing cast thats extremely funny...

And then they leave to either follow movie careers (some successful, some failed) or die due to some sort of drug over dose.

It was getting funny again... till the strike. Their success goes up and down like everything else.

FrigidAir44

@VakeroRokero: Actually, I remember watching a biography of SNL awhile back and during 1994-1996 years of SNL, people at the time didn't actually like their stuff. Its just grew on people over the years.

Soriya

SNL still has some good skits. Like Vinny Vedecci, he's hilarious. If they keep it with the same staff and writers, eventually it'd become just stale and people would start complaining (Although people are still complaining, but always gotta complain about something, especially on the internet). But now I'm actually really liking SNL. (Except the Donatella Versace skit, thats always horrible.)

Soriya

Problem with SNL is exactly that... Guitar Hero shouldn't be a problem, it should be AN OPPORTUNITY.
Creative writers will always find a way.

If games are now the current trend, there's the way to make the show up to date and funny.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

@Mantastic:

Did you see? Did you see? The doctor and me?!

Cancer boy :)

CaptLtrl

The last great SNL comedian generation was 1994-1996's Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock, Chris Farley, Janeane Garofalo, Tim Meadows, Norm Macdonald and Phil Hartman...

The greatest will always be the (almost) original cast of 1975-1977 Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, John Belushi and one of my favorites SNL's alumni, Bill Murray.

Will Ferrell is very funny but this show is a team of funny people not a single guy doing everything.

VakeroRokero

SNL is all about cycles. Every few years, they refresh the cast and writing staff in the meat grinder environment they have and it gets good again. By season four, the cast had thinned dramatically. Suddenly, after Season Six, you got a new generation which had Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, Billy Crystal, Tim Kazurinsky, Gilbert Goddfried, Mary Gross, Martin Short, Christopher Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss.

They were followed by the Season 12 group: Phil Hartman, Dennis Miller, Dana Carvey, Victoria Jackson, Jon Lovitz, and Kevin Nealon. In season 15, they got Mike Myers. In season 16, they got Chris Rock, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade. In Season 19, you got Jay Mohr, Norm Macdonald and Sarah Silverman.

In season 21, you got Darrel Hammond, Will Ferrel, Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon and Chris Kattan. In season 26, you got Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey, among others.

The fact of the matter is, SNL is a breeding ground of some of the best comedians and comedic player in the business. Some (like Mark Mckinney or Billy Crystal or any of the SCTV people) already had careers pre-SNL...but they got a LOT more exposure when they traded up, in most cases. Sure, they have their ups-and-downs...but they still succeed as often as they fail.

WizarDru

@Mantastic:

I'm crushing your head!

Sparx

Not for nothing, but I think SNL had a lot more to worry about before Guitar Hero came along.

AndrewG009

@obeymydog: Perhaps two VERY talented guys. These two are guys "from youtube" in fact, they are also filmmaking professionals. They make GREAT stuff and as rad as youtube is, it cannot yet get them the watercooler cred that SNL can. Laser Cats was so awesome not because if the sheer silliness, but because it was so well thought out, and was a "complete" story. In the five or so minutes you got a

transition from "real life" to silliness with the intro part in Lorne's office

An initial battle wherin the hero and the sidekick are introduced.

a crime is comitted wherin the villain is introduced

the hero prepares for the final battle, is initially bested but comes through due to teamwork.

Basically the structure of any adventure drama. Add to that the genuis use of mundane itens as props, specifically the white board flipping over to present the "armory" of laser cat based weapons taken straight from the action film handbook, and you have a production that is far above "random guys from youtube."

They continue to be the cest thing on SNL.

AlreadyDead

I'm completely guessing here, but the impression that I get about SNL's decline (over the last five-plus years, in particular) is that Lorne got tired of seeing his key repertoire players use the show to catapault to movie careers. He's content to field a team of 'utility infielders' and career 'triple-A' (as in baseball, not gaming) types that can venture into film and other projects, but just don't have quite the 'escape velocity' to break away from the show for good. I'm sure this keeps the salaries in line, too.

It's also pretty clear that they're trying to compensate for a weaker cast by getting more popular (and younger...and hotter) hosts, even if the star in question has no discernible comedic talents. Has Miley Cyrus hosted/'musical guested' yet?

Andy Samberg seems to be the 'face' of the show at the moment, which says it all, since he's incapable of being funny outside of the "Digital Shorts". But again, the show seems to be half-geared at vapid teenage girls at a sleepover. And let us stop right there.

jollydwarf

Their only competition, is themselves. They better not blame their lack of ratings on anything else than their recent trend of subpar skits. The Lebron, Timberlake episodes, and the online shorts, are too far and few. No need to watch the show anymore, just catch the occasional good skits at a later time.

I'm sorry, I'm usually not this negative, but the stuff they have been putting out on average as of late, is just not worth watching.

KrsJin

@obeymydog: at least she will be hosting this week

HawaiianActor

Ah SNL. Makes me wish the Kids in the Hall were still on.

Mantastic

@suburbancowboy: You'd be really, really sober at the end of the show, btw.

I just want to say say that, yeah, it hasn't been freaking amazing recently, but it is in no way a terrible show. I really think you guys should actually try to watch it every once in a while instead of listening to everyone say, year after year, that the show is terrible. Did anyone see the LeBron James Episode? or the Justin Timberlake show? (I hate the guy, but he is funny as hell on SNL) Even the recent one with the news anchor was funny. Don't expect every skit to be AMAZING, because the show has NEVER been like that.
/rant

SNL will never be canceled. like Essonse said, just deal with it.
TV in general is not effected by Guitar Hero any more than its effected by books.

ImCowman

Good. Hollywood is made up of a bunch of jerks. They dicked around the writers and now they're paying for it.
Laying the blame on games is foolish.

Demaar

Last Tuesday I bought this Best of Mike Myers SNL DVD because I was curious to see what the early episodes of Wayne's World were like.

Never has a DVD purchase made me actually feel guilty before. I paid an entire tenner for it, too.

Luckily there's a happy ending because I kept the receipt and I traded it in for Batman Begins and Serenity on a two for £10 deal.

I realise that I'm being dangerously off-topic. Guitar Hero's great, I like Guitar Hero.

Bernard McGraw

oh and "action cats" > "laser cats"

obeymydog

I am pretty excited to see the new SNL this saturday. Having Tina Fey is a perfect way to bring back the show. With all the great work she has done lately on 30 Rock it only seems fitting that she be there to "resurrect" SNL after a writer's strike. She was the head writer there for years after all. It makes sense to bring her back into the loop for a week.

If anything maybe this kicked everyone in the butt on the SNL crew and makes them work a bit harder. The show has always had it's ups and downs, but it is definitely on an up swing right now. The newest cast members have been really good.

It will truly be a sad day if SNL ever goes off the air... unless they manage to tank completely into irrelavance and stay put for along time before getting axed.

Bgrngod

@Slothboy: that "Laser Cats" sketch is exhibit A...2 random guys on youtube could've done that. Same is true for "Lazy Sunday"

obeymydog

@brello: You described MadTV perfectly. At least SNL puts some effort in their skits.

NoBullet

Damn I have been playing too much Guitar Hero! I've never seen Laser-Cats before.

SuperMekman

Mad TV season 1 -4, is the best Saturday Night comedy show I have ever seen.

HurricaneDave

New drinking game: Drink every time an SNL skit runs out of jokes and just suddenly ends with all of the actors spontaneously dancing and the camera zooms back and they cut to commercials.

suburbancowboy

SNL is lame, has been for years, I never laugh at it anymore not once. But hes got a point, video games threaten TV, has been for a long while :)

Irenicus-the one and only

@eponym: Agreed. SNL isn't going anywhere. Sure they have some skits that are terrible, but that has been true since its debut. Many of today's most popular comedians owe their career to SNL.

Eldragon

I disagree with Lorne. The worst threat to his show is Mad TV. I watch that almost 95% more than SNL. Weekend Update used to be the best. Now it's snarky and cutesy. It makes me want to hurl.

krushjudgement

Will Forte is one of the best writers the show has ever had, and Fred Armisen is a consistently funny performer, even when stuck in otherwise horrible skits. Well, except for that stupid Nuni stuff. The crap-per-gold ratio is way too high, but these two, at least, can't be blamed.

nokahoma

I laugh every time I hear "SNL sucks now".

That opinion has existed since season 2. Every year people crap on the show. Criticize the cast and/or the writing. Same story, different generation.

eponym

@iameleveneight: Um, no. The original cast was far better than the late 80s/early 90s cast. That show hasn't been funny in decades.

seafisch

@Archaotic: I don't really think the cast is a huge problem. They have a bunch of funny individuals that when provided with the proper material can provide some solid laughs. WILL FORTE, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Darrell Hammond and to a lesser extent Amy Poehler and Fred Armisen have all proven to me at least that they can be hilarious when provided with some solid material.

Hauler

He should be more afraid about SNL sucking.

Dathmar

I'll stick with my Mpegs of Celeb Jeopardy.

"I'll take the rapists for a thousand alex."

Eville1

Saturday Night Live needs to totally redo it's format. More filmed shorts and cartoons, more and better musical acts, and a tighter, more cohesive comedy troupe. But it's in its going to die inevitably anyway. People go out on Saturday night and nobody wants to watch this stuff on TV. We're all totally fine with waiting for the best clips to get picked up on YouTube.

etchasketchist

I was always a lukewarm SNL fan. I watched it most during the Chris Farley days and even then it was usually only one or two genuinely funny skits per night.

I submit that shows like SNL and Mad TV are no longer necessary or relevant due to the wide variety of original sketch comedy available on internet, generally localized on youtube.

Discuss.

Slothboy

SNL has spawned all the good Comedy actors now days it seems, but most of the new talent they have are not up to par with their old crew. Look at the movie "Hot Rod" I thought it was ok, but basicly a rehash of napoleon Dynamite. Where is the new Chris Farleys, Dan Akroids, Adam Sandlers, David Spades, John Belushis? ect...

In my opinion they need to add Nick Swardson, If you havent heard of him check him out, He plays in Grandma's Boy, Blades of Glory ect...

Sinnbox

SNL is weird. The writing and the acting on the show really don't translate well to television. I know that sounds weird, since it's a tv show, but it's totally true. I went to see a taping of SNL last year and it was hilarious, I've never laughed so hard in my life. When I watched the episode on television, I couldn't believe how much was lost.

When you have comedians like Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan and Larry David putting out shows, it's clear that SNL's tried and true formula needs serious revisions.

I almost entirely blame Tina Fey for the destruction of SNL.

oldboy313

@obeymydog: Agreed. 30 Rock is the best comedy on television right now. And I think the show helps demonstrate why SNL sucked so much during Fey's reign.

Eli Reusch

Atleast I get a chuckle from Watching People play Guitar Hero ^__^

**hoooooooooooooooooooooe**

MissingNo

when Tina Fey left, SNL was toast. 30 Rock is consistently putting out higher quality stuff than SNL.

obeymydog

Andy Samberg, and his Lonely Island pals (Chester included) should just run that show.

suburbancowboy

SNL has sucked for a while, way before Guitar Hero was even a glimmer in Harmonix' loin. Its not like there aren't funny comedians anymore. Comedy Central seems to have no problem finding talent.

cybereality

@Essonse:

My brother is the same way. He abslutely loves the old stuff with Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd and others. Me personally, I prefer the 90's stuff with Phil Hartman, David Spade, Chris Farley, and Mike Myers/Dana Carvey, etc...

Each cast has its pro and cons but frankly I think the show as a whole went downhill the day they signed Will Ferrell. Not that they didn't have some good stuff (jeopardy anyone?) but overall it just didn't seem appealing anymore

Sparx

Most of the cast should be fired and some new blood has to be added. I think Andy Samberg is the only funny one on that show and I guess the news skit of theirs is ok but I think the last episode I saw, the only funny part was Andy Samberg's "People punched while eating" skit. The rest of it was pretty mediocre. It's funny how they bring back old SNL cast members as hosts though.

Jacktherip

Do they still laugh at the camera and have no damn clue how to deadpan a joke? Because that's what lost me in the late 90's... I don't think it was the quality of the writers (maybe it is now, who knows), but the actors' abilities to perform on the writing that has suffered.

Oh, and @iameleveneight, you are totally right, that was SNL's renaissance.

code.monkey

@iameleveneight:
He said that period was good, too.

I haven't watched SNL in a long time... But sounding from the comments, it still isn't funny. Back in the early days, with the likes of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, etc. were great. And the days of Will Ferrell, David Spade, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Tim Meadows, etc. were great, too.

And MadTV reruns on Comedy Central make me wonder how this show ever survived beyond one season... Every recurring character is either annoying, stupid, or both. About the only thing I liked about it were the Spy Vs. Spy shorts, and maybe the Spishak commercials.

BPM IIDX 8th style

i dont think many people would have watched snl even if there wasnt a strike. can it get any more unfunny?

the past is the past. either can the show or start being relevant again.

sitsalot

@Essonse: Not only what you said...but I don't think people ever sat down and watched a full episode of SNL from the first years of the show. They had their fair share of bad, unfunny skits as well. People just choose to remember the good ones and pretend that was how the show was all the time...when that really wasn't the case.

Superman64

How about The Ambiguously Gay Duo: The Game?

strictnein

snl goes thru periods of good times and bad, unfortunately the cast has sucked for the past few years or the writers have sucked or possibly both

maybe it's their sucking that causes ppl not to watch instead of the strike

i wish they had a cast like the late 70s or early 90s cast, they've been in a down turn for a while and need a good upswing

cleverlymadeup

I would truly like to see a game centered on a character created and voiced by Bill Hader. The guy is that awesome.

And if they did a "Laser Cats" game, you KNOW they'd have to have 'quick-time events' which used the "Dragon's Lair" mechanic with live action footage.

jollydwarf

@Essonse:
God forbid anyone mentions the late 80s/early 90s renaissance of SNL which was every bit as good as the original cast.

iameleveneight

Mad TV = crap

SNL = Shit

they should just cancel both.

MURDERFACE

@Essonse: So was slavery.

Len Bias Cocaine Surplus

You people must be very forgiving of SNL. Because last I recall it was crap in the late 90's as well.

Mommar

Last night I was watching a short documentary piece about accessible games from KQED (their stuff is available online, in high definition... as it should be) and they mentioned that 2/3 of American families end their day with videogames. It's astonishing that stereotypes and censorship of videogames is still rampant with so many people playing... but it certainly makes sense that TV is threatened.

otakucode

I agree, every time I see news about SNL, I'm half-surprised the show is still on the air. I still miss Deep Thoughts with Jack Handy.

- People laugh when I say that I think a jellyfish is one of the most beautiful things in the world. What they don't understand is, I mean a jellyfish with long, blond hair.

Strangelove

Andy Samberg is funny. Especially in this: [www.collegehumor.com]

thegetupkid

It really bugs me when people talk about how "Oh, SNL has sucked since the 70's ended, they should just cancel it."

Sure, it might never be as good as it was back in its heyday, but just because it's not "great" doesn't mean it's not "good." There have always been lulls, but if they had canned it during these periods, we never would have had amazing runs like the Will Ferrell-ish days.

Basically: It's a cultural institution. Deal with it.

Essonse

@Hauler:
Not just the writing, but the quality of the cast. I mean, really...SNL hasn't had a relevant cast in almost six years now. Without good writing and a good group of people to utilize said writing, SNL's just dead in the water these days. I haven't watched it in years because of this.

Archaotic

Guitar Hero/Rock Band were both popular activities during the strike, at least in the comedy circle. I'm sure everyone remembers Conan's awesome Rock Band segment, and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert both mentioned Guitar Hero as the production staff's distraction of choice while the writers were away.

ca$h

Agreed, they really need to clean house and fire all of their cast. So terrible.

Benjamin Linus

SNL, at this point is threatened by a shiny object passing the corner of my eye.

Deadeyereborn

Their biggest threat is their own cast.

Len Bias Cocaine Surplus

Perhaps if the writing was anywhere near it was during the Ferrell days they wouldn't be worried about competition. They should just make the show an hour and a half of Digital Shorts because they're the only things worth watching these days.

Hauler

Well, make it funny again for starters. That would help. Annoying noises and gay jokes only go so far, you know.

brello

lol, SNL sucks now a days... The only funny part is the Digital Shorts.

Hiro0015

it gets funny for a season or 2 then sucks for about the same amount of time. back and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forthback and forth

slappyMCslappy

Even better!
Lorne Michaels should do Guitar Hero sketches on SNL, or maybe wait until Guitar Wizard comes out and he can actually learn how to play the guitar!

See this interview at CES 2008:

+ Watch video

Piano-Wizard-Queen