Which show was funnier: SNL, Mad TV or Chappelle's Show?

SCTV.

 

I agree totally!

 

SCTV......hands down the best. The best ensemble cast. Writing, everything about the concept was on the money. The whole low budget TV network theme was a constant source for great bits. Just tons of laughs all the time.

Man I miss that show. And John Candy

 

In Living Color & SCTV wereMUCH funnier than them, imho!

 

Chappell. SNL has had its good seasons but even then the final few skits were always flat. MADTV same way.

 

Has this ever been released on DVD ?

 

Easily... SCTV!

 

Yes. I don’t own it but I have seen it out there. I’m not certain how many of the seasons were issued on DVD though.

 

Mad TV

 

Dave Chappell more controversial cutting edge, even today..speaks his mind, zero retribution.

 

The four NBC seasons have been issued on DVD, as well as a greatest hits of the indie syndicated years. The Cinemax shows have not been anthologized, which is a shame since those went largely unseen the first time around.

 

I think SNL is the best of the shows if you take the best skits and watch those, it is a great show to record and skip things you know you won't like. Eddie Murphy, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Darrell Hammond, Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell and so many others are great in the right skits. It is no surprise to me that only SNL has been a massive success, running for decades and launched movie careers for cast members, the talent has been the key to its success. The guest hosts and musical acts are often good, another big plus for me.

If I had to watch each SNL episode, all skits, my opinion might be different since I am certain I would dislike more than half of almost all episodes.

 

A note to SCTV neophytes: while a skit show, SCTV is a grower. The skits aren't in-your-face like Chappelle or SNL. The general concept is a low-budget TV station located in the middle of nowhere, staffed by untalented nobodies.

These nobodies are recurring characters, who "star" in no-budget versions of mainstrean genres and hits, like "Midnight Cowboy II in 3-D." Yet no matter what context they're placed in, the nobodies remain resolutely themselves, hilariously incapable of being anything but what they are, be it D-list horror film actors, unfunny comedians, or furniture warehouse owners.

 

Taking personal feelings or any subjective measure out of the conversation, SNL is the most successful comedy program of all time. SNL has been a 90 minute major network program for about 43 years and is still drawing a big audience. SCTV was on for about 8 years and bounced arounds several networks. Chappelle show was on Comedy Central for three years when it was barely a network. If cherry picking highlights, SNL has a much larger body of work and is still adding to it. If you want to pull out the worst examples, comedy that didn't work, SNL would also take the lead by a wide margin.

I really can't think of anything from the Chappelle Show that wasn't funny. It was perhaps the best 24 minutes of comedy that has ever been broadcast. Dave walked away at the peak and never had a drop off.

 

huh? comedy central was already well known before he was on the network and i believe they asked him to do another season and he flaked out

 

it was well known but cable isn't network and in 2003 it was certainly a much lower viewership. A poor to average show in network prime is going to get a couple million viewers and their highest ratings are close 15 million, comedy central best shows might get 1 million viewers.

The Chappelle show was an anomaly and Dave walked away from a 50 million dollar contract. A contract that was funded largely by DVD sales which were at a peak in 2006 and it was far and away the most successful program in the networks history. It created a good bit of carry over ratings for the other programs.

My only point being, a measure of success is holding down a spot on network TV, It's harder to do than it is on cable. I don't think South park makes it for 20 years at 10pm on wednesday on NBC, CBS or ABC. A 0.5 rating on Comedy Central keeps it as a flagship program, it gets cancelled after a week with those numbers on network.

 

SCTV for sure!

SNL seems to skate by on name at times.

 

But in reality, SNL is really all new every few years, so it it not truly the same show.
It has at least 7 distinct periods if not more.
So in name it is the same show, but that is it.

Would it have been as popular if with every big cast change, they changed the name to something other than SNL?

 

Lorne Michaels is the consistent factor. He started the show, choses the staff and ultimately decides what gets on air. His time away in the early 80's is generally considered the worst period in show history.

You wouldn't change the name of the nightly news because they changed the anchor. SNL has been the same show for its entire run. A live sketch comedy show with a celebrity guest, two music breaks and a news segment.

 

Chappelle had the best signal-to-noise ratio by far.

 

I just watch the Dave Chapelle special on Netflix. He’s OK. He’s got a cool. suave personality but I don’t think he’s that great of a comedian. Hes about average is a comedian. He rides on his cool personality which doesn’t impress me as far as joke writing, timing and comedy in general. I didn’t find him any funnier than some father I might be forced to sit with at dinner.

 

Another vote for SCTV, although not listed by the OP.

I can't believe that SCTV is nowhere to be found on streaming services.

 

Nothing Beat Eddie Murphy on SNL. And actually that 1 year with Billy Crystal and Martin Short was my favorite.


BTW Why not include You're SHow of Shows? It use to be my dad's favorite show back in the 1950s.....some of it is still amazing.
This skit is good as anything any of the other shows every did