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LemonMacPhisto said:


I loved that cast, but my other favorite cast that's never mentioned (from the '84-'85 season):

Martin Short, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Two of the best skits ever came from that group: Jackie Roger's 100,000 Jackpot Wad and the Synchronized Swimming bit. Oh man.

I love SNL.

Jackie Rogers 100,000 Jackpot Wad is fantastic, agreed. The thing I love about Martin Short is his total commitment to his characters....and he was committed to that one. :)

The Synchronized Swimming Bit is even better..."hey, you....I know you, I know you.

I just think that the mid-80's cast were phenomenal. They had great chemistry, and were really smart, skilled people. They helped drag that show out of ratings hell. Ferrell might be my favorite cast member of all time, but if he is, Hartman is a close 2nd. And Miller doing the News was great as well. But that's just me, we all have our favorites, obviously. I'm sure people 10 years younger than I am would be shocked to hear that I found the post-Hartman, pre-Ferrell seasons not all that great. :shrug:
 
namkcuR said:
There are only two SNL casts that are worth watching:

1.The original cast in the 70s, with Chevy Chase(for a year), Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtain, etc.


Did you forget Belushi, or was he just "etc." :wink:
and Garrett Morris too
 
Lila64 said:


Did you forget Belushi, or was he just "etc." :wink:
and Garrett Morris too

Namkcur likes to make sweeping statements but forget all about the details, Lila. He also leaves off the "in my opinion" part at the end of "only two casts worth watching" because that's obviously an absurd statement.
 
No spoken words said:


Jackie Rogers 100,000 Jackpot Wad is fantastic, agreed. The thing I love about Martin Short is his total commitment to his characters....and he was committed to that one. :)

The Synchronized Swimming Bit is even better..."hey, you....I know you, I know you.

I just think that the mid-80's cast were phenomenal. They had great chemistry, and were really smart, skilled people. They helped drag that show out of ratings hell. Ferrell might be my favorite cast member of all time, but if he is, Hartman is a close 2nd. And Miller doing the News was great as well. But that's just me, we all have our favorites, obviously. I'm sure people 10 years younger than I am would be shocked to hear that I found the post-Hartman, pre-Ferrell seasons not all that great. :shrug:

Good to see we agree on both parts, I hate seeing anything from '93-'97, it's nearly all awful or too juvenile, kind of like the post-Ferrell years.

Norm MacDonald is probably my favorite news-guy, with the Curtin/Aykroyd duo at a close second.
 
Miller is clearly my favorite news guy, though, I did enjoy McDonald as well. I had seen Mcdonald do stand up on Comedy Central before he was cast, and I figured he'd be good behind that desk.

I like when the cast make each other laugh now and then, but it was way out of hand in the mid 90's. Just not what the show was supposed to be, and that's of course why they eventually cleaned house and started all over again. Every writer and producer there probably got on their knees and thanked G-d when Ferrell was brought in as opposed to trying to write for the previous cast.
 
Chevy Chase/Jane Curtin were the best hosts for Weekend Update. After that, I'd have to say Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey. Other than Kevin Nealon, I'm just not a big fan of WU in the single anchor format. Amy Poelher and Seth Myers are ok, but not on the level of Chevy/Jane or Jimmy/Tina. The original cast, the late 80s/early 90s cast, and the late 90s/early 2000s cast have been my favorites. Andy Samberg, Darrell Hammond, and Kristin Wiig are what's saving it for me right now. I am really looking forward to seeing Tina host tonight. I'd been wondering when she was going to, and I was thrilled to find out she's be doing the first episode back from the strike.
 
I have watched one full episode since Ferrell left. I have no idea if the show is good or bad. When Rian Wilson hosted and Arcade Fire were the musical guests, I watched, and was shocked at how fucking bad it was. Maybe it's better right now, I have no idea. I do know that I wish it were good cos I always have enjoyed SNL.
 
No spoken words said:
Miller is clearly my favorite news guy, though, I did enjoy McDonald as well. I had seen Mcdonald do stand up on Comedy Central before he was cast, and I figured he'd be good behind that desk.

I like when the cast make each other laugh now and then, but it was way out of hand in the mid 90's. Just not what the show was supposed to be, and that's of course why they eventually cleaned house and started all over again. Every writer and producer there probably got on their knees and thanked G-d when Ferrell was brought in as opposed to trying to write for the previous cast.

Definitely, I think the only major holdover was Tim Meadows, who wasn't that great until he got The Ladies Man, holy shit. Jimmy Fallon couldn't keep a straight face either - his only great thing was Barry Gibb.

My three favorite Ferrell sketches:

1. Space, the Infinite Frontier w/ Harry Carey
2. The Angry Boss (he kills Chris Parnell with a trident)
3. The Doctor Who Lost a Baby - friggin' classic
 
The Angry Boss is insane. That's with Pierce Brosnan. We would watch that at work at least once a week

"Ohhhhh, Scott Jurgensen, that's just what I wanted to hear! I am literally going to kill you!!!"
 
I don't recall it being Chase/Curtain behind the news desk - it was Aykroyd/Curtain, you ignorant slut. :wink:

And I liked Dennis Miller back when he was anchor. Then he changed his world views, and that was the last I liked of him :shrug:

Phil Hartman was great during is day (R.I.P. :sad: )
 
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No spoken words said:
The Angry Boss is insane. That's with Pierce Brosnan. We would watch that at work at least once a week

"Ohhhhh, Scott Jurgensen, that's just what I wanted to hear! I am literally going to kill you!!!"

"Come here you crazy black man, I'm gonna make you drink my piss!"

That line fucking kills me every time.

Bill Murray and Jane Curtin were alright together, never as good as Dan Aykroyd was though.
 
I think Weekend Update has been one of the saving graces of the show during its various crappy seasons. Some hosts/hosting duos have been stronger than others, but overall, IMO, they've been consistently good over the years. Throw in a good host and a good musical act along with WE, and I can sit through some crappy sketches. Well, except for the past few years I haven't.

Phil Hartman was a genius. He was born in my hometown. :)
 
Chevy definitely was one of the hosts too. He was the original, of course. I know he was technically the host before Jane and then Dan was brought on with her, but I have seen episodes where Chevy appears on some episodes with Jane. What I should've written was Chevy/Jane/Dan and even Bill Murray, I suppose. That whole era was the best.
 
I recognize the importance and the skills of the original cast, but to be honest, only Bill Murray makes me laugh, now, when I watch it. I think they were amazing, and very brave/intrepid, and obviously funny.....but right now, it feels dated to me. Just to me. I know this is subjective and not a widely agreed with opinion.

Phil Hartman was amazing, be it on SNL, Simpsons, etc. That was such a sad thing, his death.
 
LemonMacPhisto said:


"Come here you crazy black man, I'm gonna make you drink my piss!"

That line fucking kills me every time.

Bill Murray and Jane Curtin were alright together, never as good as Dan Aykroyd was though.

At work, daily, for like a year, one of us would say "I wouldn't have done this.....this looks like you took a crap or a dump in the printer". That skit, good lord.
 
No spoken words said:
I recognize the importance and the skills of the original cast, but to be honest, only Bill Murray makes me laugh, now, when I watch it. I think they were amazing, and very brave/intrepid, and obviously funny.....but right now, it feels dated to me. Just to me. I know this is subjective and not a widely agreed with opinion.


I completely agree with that, about being dated, and not as funny as it once was. The one thing I notice about that era when watching reruns now is that they were a hell of a lot edgier in what they covered comedically back then than they have been in any other era.
 
No spoken words said:


At work, daily, for like a year, one of us would say "I wouldn't have done this.....this looks like you took a crap or a dump in the printer". That skit, good lord.

Shit son.

"I AM THIS CLOSE TO RAPING YOU!"
 
VintagePunk said:


I completely agree with that, about being dated, and not as funny as it once was. The one thing I notice about that era when watching reruns now is that they were a hell of a lot edgier in what they covered comedically back then than they have been in any other era.

That is true....there was no political correctness then. I have mixed feelings about that, actually. On the one hand, it freed them up to really go for the kill at times, but on the other hand, it could be really insulting. Eh, fine line, I guess.

Someone find Cori a link or whatnot to that Brosnan sketch. It has to be out there somewhere.
 
No spoken words said:


That is true....there was no political correctness then. I have mixed feelings about that, actually. On the one hand, it freed them up to really go for the kill at times, but on the other hand, it could be really insulting. Eh, fine line, I guess.

Someone find Cori a link or whatnot to that Brosnan sketch. It has to be out there somewhere.

I know exactly what you mean, and I suppose that can only come from people from our age group, knowing how things used to be back then. Sometimes I cringe at the shit they did, but the way I view it is, comedy was probably the one arena where they could tackle the issues that they did, in order to display prejudices and mindsets, and hold them out there to be mocked, till it was safe to view them in other contexts.

Also, see - All In The Family.

Am I even making sense? I don't think so.
 
VintagePunk said:


I know exactly what you mean, and I suppose that can only come from people from our age group, knowing how things used to be back then. Sometimes I cringe at the shit they did, but the way I view it is, comedy was probably the one arena where they could tackle the issues that they did, in order to display prejudices and mindsets, and hold them out there to be mocked, till it was safe to view them in other contexts.

Also, see - All In The Family.

Am I even making sense? I don't think so.

Of course you're making sense. All in the Family is a great example, too.

Hey, I watched Eddie Murphy Delirious a few weeks ago and was blown away at some of the material. I had forgotten how many gay jokes were in there. And everyone ate it up. I wonder how that would go over today. Not that Eddie was holding a mirror up, and I'm not comparing his act to All in the Family, but still.
 
No spoken words said:


Of course you're making sense. All in the Family is a great example, too.

Hey, I watched Eddie Murphy Delirious a few weeks ago and was blown away at some of the material. I had forgotten how many gay jokes were in there. And everyone ate it up. I wonder how that would go over today. Not that Eddie was holding a mirror up, and I'm not comparing his act to All in the Family, but still.

That and Raw could be called Eddie Murphy Thoroughly Hates Gay People... and Bill Cosby.

http://thetravisty.com/Saturday_Night_Live/wmv/Space_the_Infinite_Frontier.htm
 
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