Saturday Night Live

[Gary]

I just watched it was easier to access the full episodes somewhere.

Also I got to say my absolute all time favorite bad SNL host moment is Bruce Willis just wandering off halfway through a sketch cause he didn't like it during his last stint in 2013ish.

That mostly summarizes Bruce Willis 2010-today.

Bill Murray is a category all his own. Better being a fucking weird recluse than inches from a blackball like Chevy has been for most of his career.

Murray probably thanks his lucky stars for Wes Anderson and Sophia Coppola. They helped re-define his career for the better.

 

[Valeyard]

Murray wanted to make that jump for so long, too. Thin margin between Scrooged and Rushmore for my favorite performance. Still gotta see Razor's Edge, the one he really wanted to make him a legit actor but bombed.

 

[King Kamala]

There were still some cast members doing good work like Will Forte and Amy Poehler, but the shakeup in the mid 00's was much needed.

On paper, Season 30 ('04-'05) doesn't seem like it's be competing with Seasons 6 and 11 for Worst of All Time.

Cast on paper seems good if not great
Fred Armisen
Rachel Dratch
Tina Fey
Will Forte
Darrell Hammond
Seth Meyers
Chris Parnell
Amy Poehler
Maya Rudolph
Horatio Sanz

Featured players;
Finesse Mitchell
Rob Riggle
Jason Sudeikis (first episode: May 7, 2005)
Kenan Thompson

Only problem is everyone was either past their prime on the show (Fey, Horatio, Darrell), still hadn't found their voice on their show (Kenan, Seth Myers), would never find their voices on the show (Finesse and Rob Riggle), or were just having their worst tics encouraged (Maya and Amy Poehler). Only two people in their prime were Forte and Fred Armisen and you can't build a show around weirdos who are usually in post Weekend Update spots.

Combine that with a horrible selection of hosts and you got a real shitshow.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Holy shit, this crowd is unbearable.

 

[Valeyard]

On paper, Season 30 ('04-'05) doesn't seem like it's be competing with Seasons 6 and 11 for Worst of All Time.

Cast on paper seems good if not great
Fred Armisen
Rachel Dratch
Tina Fey
Will Forte
Darrell Hammond
Seth Meyers
Chris Parnell
Amy Poehler
Maya Rudolph
Horatio Sanz

Featured players;
Finesse Mitchell
Rob Riggle
Jason Sudeikis (first episode: May 7, 2005)
Kenan Thompson

Only problem is everyone was either past their prime on the show (Fey, Horatio, Darrell), still hadn't found their voice on their show (Kenan, Seth Myers), would never find their voices on the show (Finesse and Rob Riggle), or were just having their worst tics encouraged (Maya and Amy Poehler). Only two people in their prime were Forte and Fred Armisen and you can't build a show around weirdos who are usually in post Weekend Update spots.

Combine that with a horrible selection of hosts and you got a real shitshow.

I wouldn't put it close to 6. Maybe 11. It took me a couple years to remember Amy Poehler could be funny and I despise Armisen. They fell apart after Fallon left, somehow. Totally checked out. Jimmy fucking Fallon.

I don't hate Rudolph or anything but I don't think I laughed at anything she was in until the Eddie Murphy show where she wasn't even on the cast.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Maya Rudolph is one that can be funny in other people’s stuff but if she is left to her own devices, her characters are always either making funny noises or singing or both. I know they basically gave her free reign at the end of her run on the show and she was also mentoring cast members that stayed on like Kenan, which led to a multitude of painful sketches.

 

[Brocklock]

Yeah I'm not a Fred Armisen guy at all. He has moments, but then he'll just keep repeating the same funny joke 6 more times in the sketch. I think Poehler around 04 was still kind of fresh and I think she only started in 01 or 02. I remember her being one of the lone highlights in those early to mid 00's seasons. Now towards the late 00's, she was definitely stale.

Rudolph I think is fine outside of SNL. SNL just plays to the most obnoxious and grating aspect of her with the comedic singing and acting more outrageous. I think she can be funny in a more subtle role. Her and Wiig are similar in that SNL just encourages their bad traits, but I like them off SNL.

 

[Valeyard]

Armisen's whole shtick can be summed up by his cameo in Euro Trip.

Weekend Update was a mess for a few years, too. Poehler just never seemed right at the desk and it was just the peak of the overpush. That's always basically the make or break for any given show, too. I just had no desire to watch her until Parks And Rec got its footing because she'd been just handicapped.

Rudolph overcompensates. I always think of the recurring with with her and Dratch hosting the show on their high school network or whatever and how obnoxious she was.

 

[King Kamala]

Yeah. Armisen is extremely hit or miss to me.

I think problem with mid '00s cast is its OK on paper but almost everyone did their best work after the show. Maya Rudolph is a great comedic actress but wasn't a great SNL castmember.

 

[OldSchoolWrestling]

Heidi Gardner's legs though.

 

[HSJ]

I know it was a big thing at the time but I hated Tina and Amy on Weekend...Amy at the desk in general was bad.

 

[Brocklock]

I thought it was fun for a little bit, but it got tiresome quick. Her and Seth was similar and I liked their chemistry early on, but it got old fast. She was always an odd fit at Update overall. She was a very good physical comedian and was much more goofy and over the top than most Update anchors.

 

[strummer]

As was alluded to earlier the Tina Fey era of snl (99-06) was not as good as you remembered. First few seasons are good but man 02-05 is rough as hell. 04/05 is an all time terrible season.

People always look back at her run as this golden period but it really wasn't

 

[Valeyard]

Tina's always going to be about the impact she had rather than what she put out. Update-wise, Fallon leaving meant she had no real on air chemistry with anyone and it should've just gone right to Seth instead of the meandering they did to just get to Seth anyway. I like her a lot but the hit/miss ratio is closer than people want to think, likely by design. Keep the legacy stronger,

I like Forte so much on everything but SNL. Reminds me of Odenkirk. But him being the worst in a bad run of Bush impressions hurt him to me, but to be fair to him the same kind of thing happened with every version of Reagan sucking.

I can't remember when he left (I think about between 2004 and 2006?) but losing Jim Downey made them rebuild.

 

[Zetterberg is God]

You guys summoned the demon as Maya Rudolph is the next host. Hopefully the month break helps. Thought tonight was a great show myself though.

 

[King Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1371884070737694720

Carey Mulligan and Daniel Kaluuya are both interesting choices. Is it just me or has had SNL had an unusual amount of non comedic hosts this season?

insert joke about Maya Rudolph not being funny.

 

[King Kamala]

Damn. Looks like @The Valeyard is selling his record collection.

 

[Valeyard]

Watching the early '80s right now, actually, and he's the worst. Obnoxiously bad. Give me Kattan.

 

[strummer]

I'm surprised Eddie never put him in one of his movies in the 80s. They were very close. Eddie actually did a cameo in Piscopo's (horrible) comedy special circa 85/86

 

[strummer]

I actually think Piscopo was okay when he stuck to impressions but when he tried to do any original character it was cringey bad.

He's also a huge Trump supporter so fuck him

 

[King Kamala]

Did any cast member as prominent as Joe Piscopo have a worse post SNL career? Maybe the aforementioned Kattan. It’s a sharp nosedive after Johnny Dangerously.

 

[Valeyard]

Piscopo thought was on Eddie's level, somehow. I read once he was bitter wasn't seen that way when he left the show.

 

[Valeyard]

Piscopo's deep, deep fixation with Sinatra always makes me laugh though.

Watching him build up to a boxing match between puppets in the coming weeks is a terrible yahtzee of some kind. Charles Rocket should've punched him.

 

[strummer]

Joe Piscopo starring in a Brian DePalma film seems like it can't be real but it actually happened

 

[Valeyard]

The sixth season is something I always wander back to. That cast got hosed. The writing killed them from the start and you just see them grow more and more defeated as it goes on. By the time Eddie becomes an official cast member, they just don't bother since he was getting the push. The stretch of Weekend Updates with Rocket and my girl Gail Matthius are just so bad.

Rocket being jealous of Eddie and Piscopo is kind of heartbreaking, given how he died. Dude wanted to be Chevy Murray so bad.

 

[strummer]

Murray dunking on Rocket when he hosted in season 6 is so sad in retrospect. Rocket's last show as well

 

[Valeyard]

NBC's got some balls with all the Malcolm McDowell uploads. Unedited on Peacock, home of the Office.

 

[Hawk 34]

Did any cast member as prominent as Joe Piscopo have a worse post SNL career? Maybe the aforementioned Kattan. It’s a sharp nosedive after Johnny Dangerously.

ARE WE JUST PRETENDING SIDEKICKS DIDN’T EXIST IN ORDER TO SUIT YOUR NARRATIVE?

 

[Brocklock]

ARE WE JUST PRETENDING SIDEKICKS DIDN’T EXIST IN ORDER TO SUIT YOUR NARRATIVE?

OR DEAD HEAT? JOE PISCOPO AND TREAT WILLIAMS IN A ZOMBIE COP BUDDY COMEDY EXISTS IN MY WORLD

 

[Valeyard]

Mary Gross. This despite Feds being an all time buddy cop movie.