Saturday Night Live (SNL) 2014-2015 Season thread

There seemed to be a lot Sarah Silverman's humor in the writing of the sketches and it improved the overall show, in my opinion. (I actually laughed several times this week.) I suspect she strongly steered the show in a direction that she wanted. It was far from perfect, but MUCH better than last week.

 

Watching that Steve Martin repeat last night at 10 delineates how far SNL has fallen. The only time cue cards appeared to be looked at was during Weekend Update.

That will never happen today. And that's a shame.

 

I thought last night's episode was a step down from the opener. The timing and pace seemed off, and that includes Sarah Silverman's monologue.

What I do like about this year is that the cast seems like it has no breakout stars. That means the cast may work like a real ensemble together. This no star setup has not been the case for a long time (not counting last year, of course). It could be interesting, and cut down on bad writing for reoccurring characters that only have one gag in them.

 

Sarah's monologue was very funny. Some good bits the rest of the show. This Michael Che' guy just doesn't seem right for the news. At least through two weeks. And he and Colin have no chemistry working together.

 

Why do you think he's not right for the news?

 

It's just two weeks, so maybe he'll get better. But he doesn't seem natural at all. I keep hearing what a great comic he is, but in the two episodes on WU he hasn't displayed any personality at all, imo.

 

Hmm...I've just taken it as him playing it straight (which, after years of anchors smirking after jokes and acting smug, is actually quite refreshing).

 

Well, remember I was pitting this week against a truly dismal last week! Wouldn't really take much to massively improve. Just sayin, they are going in the right direction...I think. Lets see what next week brings.

 

Funny, I thought Colin and Michael seemed to be trying to have some chemistry. I liked the 'words you shouldn't say' bit they did -- at least I chortled a few times. This could work out in the future.

And, IMHO, Colin seems to be better not having to play off the 'equally nervous to do the news' Cecilly Strong.

 

Two lame episodes. Sigh.

 

Lindsey, the audience member from Sarah Silverman's monologue, tells her story:
http://www.reddit.com/r/LiveFromNew..._rlivefromnewyork_i_went_to_the_104_show_and/

 

I've always assumed that anyone in the audience who gets on camera like that has to be a plant. That she wasn't genuinely surprises me. Great story, though!

 

Colin couldn't have chemistry with anything other than a tree. He's terrible and he's been there a while now. His delivery is terrible. Terrible.

 

Today they aren't all living on cocaine like a lot of them were back then! I think that particular episode was one of SNL's absolute best ever so virtually anything would pale next to it.

 

Well, there you have it. The cast and writers have to start doing cocaine again.

 

Brimg back the original writers!

 

I saw it as they ran it again at 1:30 am...; I decided to watch it for Sarah Silverman (and she wasn't bad)..., but Maroon 5?
They proved to me, once again, why they are one of the most awful bands of the last 10 years.
I hated them (but I always have...)

 

Now it seems a little controversy has emerged regarding the "River Sisters" sketch from Saturday's show. Two members of The Groundlings claim the bit was stolen from them.

http://www.avclub.com/article/saturday-night-live-accused-stealing-sketch-ground-210132

 

That skit was so bad I'd have kept quiet if they had stolen it from me.

 

I didn't learn until today that Vitamix, the $650 blender, is a real thing.

But I saw one today at Costco for $500, so if you're looking...

 

I didn't think it was bad. I thought it was funny. It seemed like a female version of the frequent SNL sketch where a bunch of guys tell stories with bad punchlines and then keep breaking into a singalong. Don't know what that sketch was called, but I'm sure someone knows what I'm referring to.

 

I watched the new episode, and thought it better than most of the recent ones. I also saw the vintage one - what a classic. The funniest moment in the 2 1/2 hours I watched was the word-association skit with Chevy Chase and Richard Prior -- leading up to Prior's "DEAD honky" reaction. Laugh out loud funny. Ant there was als0 Steve Martin's King Tut performance, which I rewound and watched several times. So many funny things going on there. And the Blues Brothers performance, the wild and crazy Czech brothers, the list goes on.

 

"AND EVEN THOUGH WE AINT GOT MONEY...."

 

If this year's SNL season continues to plod along, you may receive a call in a few weeks from Lorne Michaels' assistant requesting for a meeting to toss around some other ideas. Keep your schedule clear.

 

After watching my fair share of SNL over the years, here's my 2 pesos...and my VERY simplified perspective:
I'd assume that the Cast and the Writers (I confess to not know if this season's talent has double-duty, but typically they do) are constantly thinking, "Gee, wouldn't THAT be hilariously funny if we had a sketch where..."

Being selected for the elite cast of the ONLY sketch comedy/variety show aired in the US, I'd assume that should be a required part of their mind-set - 24/7 . So, I agree with LSP2003.

But perhaps Lorne and/or the other producers/directors have NOT done their basic job, and NOT coached and cajoled and pleaded, "We need new laugh-your-****-off IDEAS, BITS and CHARACTERS to make this must-see-TV!!! Be INSPIRED to CREATE !!! "
Being "young talent", I'm not certain if they have the experience, discipline, "hard-knocks", professional guidance, etc to conceive of and fully develop GREAT, HILARIOUS, UNIQUE, MEMORABLE skits and personas as their full time job requires.
After all, they have not been fortunate to be seasoned vets from the beloved SCTV, nor tried bits on National Lampoon, nor made numerous stand up comedy tours, as some on previous casts had toiled through.

If we think of the best skits and cast of the classic eras, many times it involved recurring characters that may have been created "off-season" or in stand-up routines, etc... but the really funny, quirky, and hilarious ones were developed further as the given season played out ***.
And then the random guests were added in weekly to provide variation and "comedic fodder".

So, the character is the "pizza dough", and every week that idea/skit should be "tossed around" and "topped with sauce", so to speak, and the guest host is added as the "pepperoni". (Usually as the comedic foil, part of the set-up, or as the final punch-line.)
Then add current events to the mix, the "cheese" and "red pepper flakes", which gives the semi-political and semi-topical, occasionally cutting-edge aspect. The edgy, spicy, flavor, if you will.
Unfortunately, week to week I think we're subject to some half-baked recipes that just don't rise.

***John Belushi's samurai, Martin Short's Ed Grimly, Dan Aykroyd's unethical pitchman, Bill Murray's Lounge Singer, etc...come to mind