Saturday Night Live: Discussion Thread

[Vee]

Eddie Murphy discusses SNL a bit in this NYT profile, and the David Spade joke he took offense to. I also think it was probably deliberate. @Khan

Edited June 30, 2024 by Vee

[DRW50]

SNL was often racist at that time, and David Spade is a smarmy pain in the ass, but Eddie himself made jabs at Garrett Morris (who was having horrible problems with drugs at that time and was in a much worse position than Eddie was, although presumably whoever wrote that piece with Eddie did not know this) in an Update piece in his early months at SNL. There were also a sea of jabs by the show later on against Jon Lovitz and especially Joe Piscopo (who had made himself a national joke through bizarre career choices and steroid use). It was something of a punching down tradition on that show in its first 20-25 years.

Edited June 30, 2024 by DRW50

[j swift]

It does that thing that annoys me in modern pop culture, which is bringing up the debate of what counts as racism.  Inherently, saying “look a falling star” doesn't infer malicious intent, but if the offended minority party feels racially maligned that should be enough.

[janea4old]

[janea4old]

I wrote this song a few months after Roe v. Wade was overturned. It seemed like overnight, people were saying “what can we, as a collective force, do about this…”  For me, it was to write a song.
It took a while because I was on the road. Then early one morning I was watching the news on TV and a certain newscaster said something that felt like she was talking to me~ explaining what the loss of Roe v. Wade would come to mean.  I wrote the song the next morning and recorded it that night.
That was September 6, 2022. I have been working on it ever since. I have often said to myself, “This may be the most important thing I ever do. To stand up for the women of the United States and their daughters and granddaughters ~ and the men that love them.
This is an anthem.

~ Stevie Nicks

 

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[j swift]

I thought Bowen's Moo Deng as Chapel Roan on Update was very funny.

But, the cold open was just a run through of guests who can do vague political impressions, without much bite or a point of view.

It felt like they were trying to be very “both sides” all night.  While, their best lines were mostly at Trump's expense.  It also seemed as if they were trying to avoid criticism by finding the most miniscule takes on VP Harris's campaign. 

The other sketches were unmemorable, and Jean Smart felt wasted in everything but the romance writer math scene. 

[j swift]

Andy Samberg's take on Doug Harris is dumb and juvenile.  Is the joke that the VP's husband is docile because he is taking on a feminine role? 

And between the cold open and that gross hamburger eating contest sketch, the whole episode seemed to rely on the actor's breaking character to laugh.  Which is an old trick to try to convince the audience that something is hilarious, even though it is not. 

Finally, haven't we learned that stand-up comedians, with no background in improv humor, are poorly suited to host SNL?

[Franko]

@DRW50, am I reaching too far with this one, or does "Charades With Mom" from last night's show feel like a spiritual successor to Phil Hartman's "badass mother-in-law" sketches?

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[DRW50]

@Franko I can definitely see the comparison.

(I wonder if Ariana is meant to look like Patti Lupone).

@Vee Stevie's performances. I actually think that Lighthouse song sounds better here.

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[Vee]

Thanks. I don't dislike the original track, even with the rather obvious lyrics (it's still an important issue). I thought she did well with it live, though I thought Edge of Seventeen was fairly rough. Her voice has come down quite a bit since I heard her do Gypsy on AHS, or maybe it's just she can't do the heights of Edge anymore. Still, I'm very glad she got to perform.

[Franko]

James Marsden apparently tried out for SNL in the early '90s. He was 18 in the fall of 1991, but I'm wondering if the audition was actually in 1993, for the featured player slot given to Jay Mohr.

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[DRW50]

That would make sense. He was too likeable for that era of the male cast.

He would have been a fun host. I guess he falls into that too famous/not famous enough middle ground which stops many from hosting.

[Franko]

Yeah, the idea of James being part of the "Bad Boys" era at its worst is not a pretty one. I feel like he would have been a decent host in the early '00s.

[Franko]

Most of the New York talk shows will have someone from SNL (past or present) on this coming week.

Today -- Amy Poehler and Laraine Newman on Monday (Amy's also co-hosting the 10 a.m. hour), Ana Gasteyer (who's co-hosting the 10 a.m. hour), Nora Dunn and Paula Pell on Tuesday, Rachel Dratch, Mikey Day (the 10 a.m. co-host), and Bowen Yang on Wednesday, Molly Shannon, Heidi Gardner, and Cheri Oteri (10 a.m. co-host) on Thursday, and Kevin Nealon and Chloe Fineman (10 a.m. co-host) on Friday

Seth Meyers -- Paula Pell on Monday, Bill Murray and James Anderson on Tuesday, Emily Spivey on Wednesday, and Harper Steele on Thursday

Andy Cohen -- Cecily Strong, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Cheri Oteri, and Laraine Newman on Tuesday

Jimmy Fallon -- Fred Armisen on Tuesday, and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on Wednesday.

The View -- Cheri Oteri and Laraine Newman on Wednesday

[Contessa Donatella]

What's up with Private YTs?