New SNL is great and you are wrong

[Flack]

The black/queer woman who quit/was let go had several sour grape complaints about the show, one of which was "they wanted me to get rid of my dreads." The other person, who is non-binary and identifies as they/them, complained that they were being typecast as a female.

We raised an entire generation of children, told them they were all special, and now you know what happens as they enter the workforce. SNL is a comedy skit show in which performers are required to play all types of roles -- this is one of the main reasons why, for the most part, the male performers are clean shaven. I've read there was a rule that no cast member was allowed to have a moustache or beard, although there have been enough exceptions that perhaps it is an unwritten rule or simply a cultural request. Regardless, you can't have Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and David Spade playing women who work for the Gap if they have beards. If you have dreads and can stuff 'em up into a bald cap then great. If you can't, you're literally affecting the show. You're taking up a slot and then saying, I only play characters that have dreadlocks. As for the other performer... look, I try to be sensitive, but if you're a woman and you look like a woman and you change your pronoun and then get upset that they give you women characters to play... I'm just baffled that these new additions to the show have no concept of what being part of an ensemble cast means. Imagine getting a job at one of the most visible employers in your field and walking in through the front door with a list of things you won't do. It's just inconceivable to me.

Every great SNL cast member has created memorable characters. These new additions to the show are more about themselves than the characters and when they learn that it's not a vehicle for their own weird standup, off they go. Good riddance.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I remember Dan Akroyd playing Jimmy Carter and Dr. McCoy with his mustache and thinking back, "thus sucks. What is he doing?"

Caesar Romero not shaving his to play the Joker was kind of funny because they could at least cover him in white face paint.

Yeah, I'm with you. Unless they're gonna green screen you love somehow, you gotta be able to be versatile.

[Flack]

The 50th season premiere got some headlines by featuring multiple cameos including Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris, Andy Samburg as her husband, and Dana Carvey as Biden. I watched the episode on DVR and it was... pretty terrible. The opening skit was less about jokes and more about impersonations. I found myself fast forwarding through skit after skit, giving each one a minute to make me laugh and skipping forward time after time. Almost all of the skits were one-joke affairs and while that's nothing new, when the one joke isn't funny, beating it over the head for four minutes is painful to watch. There was a Real Housewives parody and a fake talk show that must have been referencing some "celebrity" I didn't know. There was a style of skit they've done before where an old television show is reimagined, this time it was I Love Lucy with a dramatic actress replacing Lucy. The only thing I found remotely witty was a fake commercial for Spirit Halloween with a "we're making your community better... for six weeks" angle. I thought the host, Jean Smart, was not the big name a show like this deserved on its 50th season opener. She had no memorable skits and brought little to the episode. Throughout the entire episode I thought... this is how other people feel about the show, I guess.

SNL is almost like gambling. There's a chance every week that the fruits might align and something funny might appear, but I sure didn't see it this weekend.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I saw that Dana Carvey was back and my experience was exactly like yours.

I absolutely do not understand the obsession with the political cold opens.

I managed to make it most of the way through "Blonde Dragon People"and boy, I wish I hadn't. There is an edge missing to the show.

[Da King]

That was not a great season premier.

[Jizaboz]

I absolutely do not understand the obsession with the political cold opens.

That's been a problem of mine with the show for YEARS. It doesn't even matter who's in office or what party they are; the shit just usually isn't all that funny. Also, if you happen to be watching with a friend or girlfriend that either has very different political views or just doesn't care about politics it can make for an awkward living room or bedroom haha.

On the other hand, when MadTV used to do political skits it didn't matter which president they targeted yet was always funny. Hell, they would make fun of their own network (FOX).

It almost seems at times as if SNL takes itself too seriously which is odd for a show that should be delivering comedy. I think that's why I generally only find the most random and stupid skits on SNL (like David Pumpkins) truly funny.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I enjoyed what I have seen of the 50th anniversary special so far. I was surprised that Ackroyd, Carvey and Hader were not there. That is all.

[Roody_Yogurt]

I haven't watched the 50th anniversary special so far, but I watched the music concert that came out a day or two earlier and I thought that was pretty good. It's just kind of nice seeing all of these faces and hearing familiar songs.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Confession time. I don't always "get" John Belushi.

[Flack]

I thought the 50th anniversary special was okay. A lot of it felt like a normal episode but just with more celebrity cameos. It's Black Jeopardy... but with Tracy Morgan and Eddie Murphy! It's that same alien abduction skit... but with Pedro Pascal and Woody Harrelson! For me, the biggest laughs usually come from those oddball skits that show up near the end of the show, and there wasn't anything like on that on the special. So it was fun and entertaining but pretty predictable.

Aykroyd , Carvey and Hader aren't officially saying why they weren't there (I think (?) they all officially cited "previous commitments" as the reason). Hader has crippling anxiety and so him not coming makes sense. I don't know for sure but I wonder if Aykroyd and Carvey both pulled one of those "if HE is coming, then I WON'T" things. I know Carvey and Mike Myers hated each other for a long time but I thought they kissed and made up. The lack of a Wayne's World skit was palpable, and Carvey's literally made appearances this season, so it's really odd. You would think it would have to be a pretty big prior engagement to not make the 50th anniversary. I don't remember hearing about Dan Aykroyd on Broadway or anything. The other thing I wondered about Ackroyd was maybe they weren't going to have him perform (like Chevy Chase) and so with that he decided not to come. These are all just guesses. I was looking forward to seeing Colin Quinn, too.

As for Jim Belushi... I get it. I think in real life he was probably a funny guy and did funny stuff and almost none of his SNL skits went over. People remember the ones that did like the superhero party sketch or the samurai deli guy but if you go back and watch some of those early episodes almost all of his skits flop. I think he was one of those guys who did shocking jokes and physical comedy and that stuff is funny for a second but not for 3-5 minutes. My favorite thing Belushi ever did was the Blues Brothers and if you ever read about that he was such a pain in the ass to deal with that set. So yeah, he did some funny things but most of it just didn't work as skits.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I heard that Dana Carvey had the flu. That was very understandable. Also, his son died, like recently. I'm shocked that we ever saw him again. (Dana, I mean.) He has every right to disappear for a decade.

I feel like Belushi was mean. Like, a mean person. I dunno. I have never seen a character of his that I would want to fictionally be around. Ackroyd however seems like the funny nerd / dork type that would fit in perfectly around here, and Belushi was like his best friend. So I dunno. It's me!

[Casual Observer]

I heard that Dana Carvey had the flu. That was very understandable. Also, his son died, like recently. I'm shocked that we ever saw him again. (Dana, I mean.) He has every right to disappear for a decade.

Not mister Naked Time? I gotta look into this.

[Da King]

For me, the biggest laughs usually come from those oddball skits that show up near the end of the show

OMG, I pretty much hate every skit after the second musical performance. They are SO cringy.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I don't know what order the skits are in any more because I watch off YouTube. I think I like the weird stuff?