The Saturday Night Live (SNL) 2010-2011 Season thread

There's a fine line in comedy between being Funny, and being Stupid.

SNL, crosses that line much too frequently for my tastes.

 

There is no line. Theres a vast grey area and that's what SNL is about exploring. It's never been particularly clever, not even in the 70's. Maybe for a brief period in the mid 80's with Short/Crystal//Tufnel

 

I seem to have a higher tolerance for contemporary pop than most around here - I like Justin's records. But he is probably the best popstar-turned actor by far. If he had never been a singer, he still would have made it big in Hollywood as an actor. He was great in The Social Network.

 

I guess it just depends on how old you are and how high your bar's been set.

 

I thought that little republican candidate skit was well written and well presented by Helms.

 

I think Justin Timberlake could do a great modern take on the hour long variety show format made so popular by Dean Martin. He'd have to own it ( or close to it ) and make truckloads of money, but he would be terrific and also be able to attract "A" list guest stars. I'm sure that they'd have to tape it, but a live show would add that element of surprise. Lorne Michaels produces.

 

It sounded like you had something personal against him, or an irrational refusal to see any merit. I think a lot of guys were that way with him at first. I mean, he was in one of those silly boy bands for pete's sake. How in the hell can he be a legit actor or be funny on SNL? I had to grudgingly admit he wasn't bad at all at first, and now I just accept him as a good talent. He's great on SNL every single time.

 

It's been a great season folks. I still love SNL after all of these years.

 

Me too.

 

You Weak Ending Update...

I would not go so extreme as to call it 'great', but it has been an improvement over the last couple of years of rock bottom stupidity--those writers should be hung by their two-fingered peckers until some really funny stuff starts to dribble from their noses...

I was just thinking they oughta have a field day on this season finale with the Newt Gringrinch material they got handed to them on a silver platter this week. If they can't nail that one; they need to retire, not just take the summer off.

I would say that this American Icon of a show, which has been on all of my TV-consciousness life, has fallen from its ballsy roots and humble beginnings as thee place to catch up on all the news fit to parody into a lame shtick shock doctrine which is reflective of a total lessening of our collective critical capacity to accept subpar naughty kid jokes (dick in the box?! really?) as a decent barometer of what passes for humor in a world where real life has become comically tragic.

Thus, sadly, SNL hath become our own collective Deep Dark Truthful Mirror.


And that, my friends, doesn't look pretty.

cheers,

 

Me too.

 

U2?

 

First and foremost, it is a comedy show. Always has been and always will be. It has produced an incredible amount of comedic talent in forty-one years. Most importantly, it has always made me laugh out loud - always.

 

Same here.

I occasionally return to this thread, and am always 'treated' to some anger-management candidates wanting to hang somebody because they didn't think something was funny.

There's no arguing funny, I guess. But to me, it's almost always been cutting-edge funny. The Tina Fey era, just as an example, broke a lot of barriers and proved that comedy doesn't have to just be a boys club.

 

Come on down to Liquorville!

 

Liked the 3-way song with Justin, Andy, and Lady Ga-Ga. Not as good as "D*ck In A Box" but still funny.

 

Now that was a show.

 

People need to stop encouraging Kristen Wiig. Doing the same predictable "joke" repeatedly (what a shocker, she just read the secret word! ) in a stupid formulaic sketch that wasn't funny the first time (let alone the fifth or sixth) should not be rewarded with laughter or applause. I read recently that she's 'retired' Gilly and Penelope. That's a start, but let's not kid ourselves; she's great at impressions but I can only think of one character of hers (the female half of the Two A-Holes) that isn't mind-numbingly annoying, and lacking in anything that could be remotely considered humorous.

Other than that sketch, JT was great as usual. And Lady Gaga was a surprisingly good co-host; she appeared in about half the show.

 

JT owned this show in all aspects tonight. You could tell he was really having fun and didn't mind poking fun at himself.

The most impressive skit to me was the Tunnel of Love sequence. It's incredibly hard to pull off moves like they (the actors/robots) did.

 

JT was right on it tonight, and the show's writers backed him up with solid material throughout. Gaga was great, too.

Oh, and Kristen Wiig is a genius.

 

Barry Gibb Show was terrific.

 

Another great episode last night. I hope this show never goes away....

 

Loved the season finale last night. Best SNL show in 20 years.

 

I am just 30 minutes into the episode and had that exact thought, decided to pause it and come here and see if the episode gets high marks. I see a lot of complaints about the show but 36 years after it started, I still find several good episodes each year and most episodes have at least a couple skits I don't skip. It is the perfect DVR show for me.

I don't have any music at all by Justin but the guy is definitely talented and versatile, one of the most talented performers working now. I think he could have a great career as a comedic actor if he decides to pursue that. Given music I like, I believe I would also think he is a good song and dance man. He has such stage presence and personality compared to other talented guys around today. He is certainly among my favorite all-time SNL hosts.

 

This was the best episode I've seen in a long time.