Comments on: SNL: late 70’s – early 80’s or early-mid 90’s?

By: Clark

Clark — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:12:05 +0000

Similar to why the Simpsons was so great for a while.

BTW – I’m sure I’ve seen Eddie Murphy episodes on E! as well as classic 70’s shows. But maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. I will say I was very underwhelmed at the episodes from the naughts I saw.

By: Tim J

Tim J — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:00:59 +0000

The biggest difference between the late 80’s/early 90’s seasons and others wasn’t really the cast, but the writing. AL Franken, Jim Downey, Jack Handey, Bob Odenkirk, and Robert Smigel is an all-star writing cast. Not to mention Conan O’Brien for a couple of seasons.

By: Tim J

Tim J — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:55:25 +0000

E! tends to rebroadcast a lot.

E! only rebroadcases recent episodes that are hosted by Paris Hilton, Justin Timberlake, etc. I have yet to see them rebroadcast an episode from the 90’s or before although when E! first got the rights they did air the entire first season, and TOm is right, it didn’t hold up very well. Part of the problem is that SNL is topical so you’re removing the show from its context.

By: Clark

Clark — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:49:42 +0000

E! tends to rebroadcast a lot. So I think I’ve seen a reasonable cross section over the years. While not every skit was a hit it frankly was a ton more consistent than what’s come since about 95.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:33:30 +0000

And I agree that there have been some good cast members recently. And I think there are good current cast members. Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig can be really good.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:29:53 +0000

But hasn’t it always been uneven? Have you watched any old complete episodes recently?

I suspect that the “best” years of SNL are only superior in our memories. I always remembered In Living Color as pretty funny, until a few years ago when I saw a re-run episode and it was pretty lame start to finish. Same with Black Sheep.

It’s also probable that a lot of us are only acquainted with the highlights of the earliest SNL. We don’t often see complete episodes with all the duds included.

By: Clark

Clark — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:26:28 +0000

What’s weird is that there were some pretty talented folks at SNL the last 10 – 14 years. Will Ferrel is nothing to sneeze at. Plus some pretty good sketches. But the show was so uneven. I think the writing was the biggest problem.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:04:53 +0000

Yeah, Colin Quinn. By far the worst.

By: Clark

Clark — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:17:57 +0000

I love the classic stuff. But the stuff from around 89-94 was amazing. There was very little crap. There were some good guys from the mid 80’s. (Billy Crystal, Robert Downy Jr., Eddie Murphy, etc.) But that one period never was matched.

By: Tim J

Tim J — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:37:31 +0000

The mid-90’s were pretty rough for SNL. They tried to go with some recognizable names like Chris Elliot, Michael McKean, and Janeane Garafolo (shudder) and failed miserably. This was coupled with Myers, Nealon, Farley, etc. leaving in a somewhat awkward fashion.

Lorne Michaels was well justified in blowing up the show and bringing in a whole new cast in ‘95. That cast would rival the late 80’s/early 90’s cast (Carvey, Hartman, Lovitz transitioning to Farley, Sandler, and Spade) as the best ever.