Tina Fey officially leaving SNL

Yeah, because before 2001, they never made fun of the president on Weekend Update.

Sheesh.

 

Yeah, and the jokes on Update often were funny before Ms. Fey's reign began. What is it, does the chin scar hypnotize you guys so that you think everything Tina says is funny? I just don't get it.  ???

Sheesh right back at you.

 

I think this is bad news for Poehler, who had been the weaker end of a weak Update duo. She's better in sketches than behind the desk. I'm looking forward to a new tandem.

 

I was gonna say I bet Rob Riggle would be the new person behind the desk, but he's missing from this season's cast lineup. He wasn't on this show this season? I could have sworn I saw him.

 

For the record, I thought Phil Hartman's Clinton and Darrell Hammond's Clinton were both hilarious, and Dana Carvey's Bush was funny. I loved it when Hartman did Reagan in that sketch about the Iran-Contras.

So yes, the humor goes good both ways. It was more subtle back then, before 2001.

 

A couple of thoughts about SNL:
1. The host is in too many sketches. Putting the host in every sketch used to be reserved for the really funny hosts — Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, etc. Michaels has to be willing to step up and tell some these hosts that they won't be in every sketch.
B. Also, the writing is dreadful. It's almost as if 90 percent of the material is nothing but a comic premise.

 

First, the reason the presidential skits seemed unfunny of late is because they were unfunny. It didn't have anything to do with too much bashing of Bush. It had to do with the writing. It just wasn't funny. And the acting, which included one of the all-time worst impressions of a sitting president in SNL history, was too bad to overcome.

What people forget is Will Ferrel played Bush for a short time just before he left. He handled much of the writing for those skits and hit Bush's flaws just right. And it always came off as funny. Just like Hammond's Clinton. If the writing is decent and the imitation is good, it's funny. If those two qualities aren't there, it will seem forced and appear more like they're just bashing the guy.

Second, the reason the hosts are included in every skit is because they have almost no recurring skits. Can you ever remember a two-year span of SNL in which not one actor managed to come up with a recurring character that was worth a shit? The three this group have managed is that dumbass "Hey, Carol" shit (sorry, shooter, but that's one of the worst damn skits I've ever seen), Debbie Downer, which got progressively worse each time it was rolled out, and the married couple who fight all the time, which was really the only skit that you could count on for a decent laugh or two.

Third, say what you will about Falon, but the guy carried WU. If you can't admit that, you haven't watched the last two seasons with Poehler and Fey.

Finally, Buck is dead on about the writing. It's like they're sitting around on Monday and Tuesday and come up with a couple of decent ideas for a funny skit or two, but then they can't manage to come up with enough decent material to pull them off. And really, that's more of a reflection on the cast as a whole than it is on the head writer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Fey. I'm just saying that she wasn't the only one to blame for the last few seasons. That whole cast could be done away with, except for the two guys who came on this past season, and the show would likely be much, much better off.

 

To amend my earlier post on who they should keep if they blow up the cast:

I would also keep Maya Rudolph. Good stuff out of her. I was a huge fan or her Donatell Versace sketches.

With Fey gone, I'm guessing Poehler is off WU.... just re-tool the whole thing. It'll be interesting to see what direction they go.

When Fey was out birthing her baby, Horatio Sanz filled in. While I don't hate him as much as some folks, he's the wrong choice for that for sure. The show as a whole wouldn't suffer without him.

 

The Prince Show has some highlights, although it usually requires the host to save it (or Kristin Wiig to jump in when Prince decides he doesn't want to be on it).

Hopefully, this year's featured players might be turning the tide as far as recurring characters.

Bill Hader is great as Vincent Price ... the first sketch (the Thanksgiving one, which lampooned Hitchcock, Judy Garland, Lucy & Ricky and just about every other celeb from the '50s) was a riot. They tried it again later in the year and it didn't work anywhere near as well, but that has some potential.

The Sudeikis/Wiig idiot couple might not have much traction left, but it still seems funny. Hopefully, they've torpedoed Wiig's other semi-recurring character, the Target lady (which wasn't as annoying as Carol, but started to get annoying after the first minute).

Andy Samberg has value for the digital shorts.

(and the presidential skits are bad in part because of the writing, but in part because I don't think it's possible to portray Bush worse than Will Forte has).

 

I'm sorry, but Jimmy Fallon is one of the worst sketch artists they've ever had. He couldn't even keep a straight face through an entire skit. Then, on WU, he pulls out his guitar and it's like hearing a cheap version of Adam Sandler. As it is right now, I'd boot Horatio if even I do like his one skit. boot Fred Armisen. keep Maya. keep Poehler. keep Will Forte. boot Kenan. boot Finesse. boot Purnell. keep Darrell Hammond. keep Rachel Dratch. keep Seth Myers. boot that Samberg kid. Awful!
keep that newer girl who does the Wal-Mart worker. Kristen something. You can tell she has talent if they'd come up with clever stuff for her.

 

Andy Samberg... He's one of those guys who has NO BUSINESS being called good-looking.

And yet, he's sexy as hell.

Keep Samberg, please.