Saturday Night Live (SNL) 2013-2014 Season thread

There were seven cast members under 30 in the season which just ended (and two more who turned 30 during the season).

 

I'm watching SNL for the 1st time since I can't remember. It's pretty lousy. It's like all filler and no killer on the show. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

 

It doesn't matter what Lorne Michaels does or who he hires or fires with SNL. He's owned the timeslot for years with zero competition almost from the beginning. What does it take for him to realize that with all of the outlets available for comedy these days that it may be time to give up the ghost. SNL has been running on it's past glories for years. Just watch a show like "Key & Peele" and you'll see the brilliance SNL used to have.

 

Beck Bennett - 29
Aidy Bryant - 27
Kyle Mooney - 29
Jay Pharoah - 26
Noël Wells - 27
Brooks Wheelan - 27
Sasheer Zamata - 28

Cecily Strong and Kate McKinnon were 29 at the start of the season.

 

Not related to the discussion, but of this list, the only ones I can associate the name and face together are Jay Pharoah and Cecily Strong. And I'm generally a fan of the show.

 

I swear I'd have to get rid of most of those folks and that's not even all of the cast... It's just a groan fest, Wells isn't that funny, neither is Wheelen and whatever hipster cachet they are trying with Kyle Mooney isn't working. Sasheer Zamata really isn't a laugh a minute herself. Dreadful all around...

 

It's certainly relevant to the thread, as it indicates that the show had way too many cast members this year and needs to trim them down.

 

Brooks was fired.
Check out @brookswheelan's Tweet: https://twitter.com/brookswheelan/status/488821599936606208

Since he got more airtime than John Milhiser, that almost definitely means John was fired.

Hopefully Beck and Kyle are a lock. Love those guys' humor.

 

That's a shame. He was so good in the "Good Nights" as Tall White Guy In The Back.

 

Milhiser is gone.
Check out @MrJonCryer's Tweet: https://twitter.com/MrJonCryer/status/489159522003333120
Check out @JohnMilhiser's Tweet: https://twitter.com/JohnMilhiser/status/489163701803442176

Apparently, Noël Wells, as well. I can't find confirmation, at the moment.
EDIT: http://fansided.com/2014/07/15/saturday-night-live-fires-noel-wells-john-milhiser/#!bfC88j

 

Not at all surprised about Brooks' demise on the show. He's such a likeable guy and I was really rooting for him, but he just didn't seem to have that elusive 'something' that makes a person stick out on this show. He'll be fine though no matter where his career takes him. Good dude.

dan c

 

They both had some very good moments, but the cast really needs to be trimmed down. This is the harsh life of SNL.

As speculated earlier, Nasim Pedrad is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
http://www.deadline.com/2014/07/saturday-night-live-noel-wells-john-milhiser-leaving/

dan c

 

I don't think any of the firings are wrong-headed. Pedrad is a painful loss, though.

 

I had all three of them in the SNL filing pool.
Beck Bennet and Kyle Mooney imho were the stand-outs of the new class
Mike OBrien is a writer and also Cecily's boyfriend so figured he would stay.
Sasheer did very well for herself.
Colin Jost I was pretty meh on.

 

He never established a distinctive personailty on the show (or get that much air time) but he was the only one of the new guys I could easily recognise. Most of the others have sort of generic faces but Wheelan had sort of Will Ferrel-ish look that's almost made for comedy.

 

I'm sorry people are losing their jobs, but I'm all for tightening up this cast. Last year was a disaster. I haven't even tuned in for the summer reruns, and that's really saying something. There's nothing I want to see again (well....maybe Louis CK and that "Mr Bigstuff" thing). I can confidently say that it was my least favorite season since I started watching the show as a yoot back in '87.

This is the ideal cast going forward, in my opinion:

• Dyke
• Fats
• Cecily
• Taran
• Bobby
• Vanessa
• Jay
• Shasheer (seemed like a natural right out of the gate)
• Beck (I'm willing to give him another chance. That man-baby thing was pretty good....the first time.....but if he doesn't wow me this year send him packing)

and finally...

• *New Male Castmember who can really turn heads - I'm talking Will Ferrell/Bill Murray level*

Bring back that "not ready for prime-time player" mentality. Give us a tangible team of people to root for, not an army of anonymity.

Then again, maybe they should fire everybody and hire folks whose names I can pronounce.

I really like Keenan, and he continues to entertain me, even when he's serving up hot garbage, but maybe it's time for him to move on. The show has to evolve.

 

You have a problem pronouncing "Dyke" and "Fats"?

 

I sincerely wish those two could have their own SNL spin-off movie.

 

So you only want skinny heterosexuals with names white guys are familiar with? Nice.

 

I feared someone who wasn't familiar with this season of SNL would take offense....



This was the highlight of the whole year for me.

 

It's likely a matter of semantics. They probably just decided not to renew their contracts after the initial one-year period was up. To the actor, it probably feels like being fired. But it's not unusual for first-year cast members not to be renewed, especially if that cast member doesn't make a big impression with the audience.

Norm Macdonald, on the other hand, really was fired! (Coincidentally, he was the last truly hilarious cast member of that show.)

 

Mea Culpa. That must have been on the one episode I missed!

 

Maya Rudolph was that for me.

 

Im gonna miss her