I'd go with SNL 1990-1995, Chris Farley,Adam Sandler,David Spade,Kevin Nealon,Norm Mcdonald, Tim Medows ( Although he was like in 10 seasons, maybe?), Phil Hartman, Rob Scheider,Sarah Silverman,Mike Myers,Chris Rock Dana Carvey,Al Franken,Julia_Sweeney, Victoria Jackson just to name a few.
Probably the late 90s/early 00s. In before the "SNL has sucked since the early 90s, yet I'm still a loser who watches it every Saturday night because, well, I'm a loser" post.
SNL has always sucked. Even in its best years there where still only 1-2 skits an episode that where funny. If you watch a 'best of ....' video it can be enjoyable.
It's funny how Sandler and Farley were such a big part of what people loved about the show and both were fired. Sarah Silverman never did anything on SNL so I'm not sure why you included her and neither really did Al Franken in that time period. All Chris Rock ever did was angry black men which is why he quit. HBO then made him a star. Will Ferrel is the funniest cast member they have ever had and I've seen all of the 90s SNLS when they used to show them on syndication on Comedy Central. I think it would be interesting to ask who everyone's favorite host was. I think Alec Bandwin has been able to maintain quality even has the years have changed.
Joe Montana going upstairs to rub one out. <iframe width='640' height='360' scrolling='no' frameborder='0' src='https://screen.yahoo.com/sincere-guy-stu-000000784.html?format=embed' allowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' allowtransparency='true'></iframe>
I thought she did pretty good in one of those weekend update segments with Kevin Nealon and Al Franken's Stuart Smalley? That **** was funny, the one where MJ hosted was a great episode. I remember seeing all these live in the 90s on tv and watching it back then before any of them got famous was pretty neat. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uYPc-dPVbow?list=PLOWd34aPLJ5yVio5FTW3UdHVZ6EEyUW5b" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Wow, I didn't even realize this. I thought they left because their movies were getting popular. Looked it up and Sandler did an interview back in September about this very subject and says he's he still not sure why they got fired.
72' cast members.... Dan Aykroyd John Belushi Bill Murray Jain Curtain Gilda Radner Garrett Morris Laraine Newman Spoiler John Belushi as Beethoven/Ray Charles!..:grin: It doesn't get any better than that!!... ....... ....... .......
SNL has dropped off so hard in quality. I'm hoping it gets cancelled and some comedy show with less draconian contracts replaces it.
Late 80s early 90s. Hartman, Myers, Carvey, Macdonald, Rock, Sandler, Farley. Franken and O'Brien in the writers room. They even had an actual black woman in the cast. Interesting. What's your opinion on The Simpsons?
I stopped watching and it has been losing money for years. When the "cast" got huge contracts it became a loss leader only valuable for the name. SNL doesn't have this advantage because what other shows ratings does it boost for NBC? The idea of a comedy sketch show isn't hard to replicate. I guess most people just watch it for the big name hosts.
I guess I was a weird kid. When I was maybe 10 I would rent 'best of SNL' for the 75-82(?) seasons at Phar Mor (!) because that's all that existed at the time. And those seasons were before I was even born; I would only get half the jokes and kind of guess what the inference was about the famous people they lampooned. I've always had a crazy fascination for the show, not just as a viewer but the history, the behind the scenes, etc. Just like rock music, people always say it's dead. Sure the show ebbs and flows in quality, but it still produces great talent. I know people don't think much of the current run, but I think the Good Neighbor guys are killing it right now. They make those weird end-of-show stuff but gets run in the middle. Several of the current cast will have good careers and we'll look back at them just like Wiig, Armisen, Hader, etc. As for favorite cast, I'm going w/ the majority. The early 90's where Hartman, Carvey, Myers overlapped with the newcomers Spade, Farley, Sandler, Rock. BTW interesting interview by Bill Simmons w/ Lorne Michaels just came out.
Still produces quality talent with every single cast regime (Hader, Sudekis and Wiig from the most recent "graduating" class... Fey, Poehller and Fallon from the class prior). And they're still getting quality hosts and musical acts... so its still somewhat of a worthwhile vehicle for promoting reasons. They still have 1-2 sketches per month that go viral on social media... and lately, their pre-recorded stuff has been expanding more and more. Lastly, like you mentioned, they have no fear of cancellation... as long as they maintain their ratings with zero competition in a dead-zone time-slot, they'll continue the regime... its one of the last institutions in network TV.
They get boosts from big guest lineups like Prince and Rock, but each season has been down and this season has been especially rough.
As long as they continue to produce culturally relevant material, with the occasional sketch/digital short going viral, they'll be fine. Anybody who really appreciates the show couldn't care less who the actual host is (unless its a former cast-member, or somebody like Timberlake who could be a cast-member if he wanted). In many ways, they're like a sports teams... gonna have some up and down years, and every so often they run into a talent that just can't be ignored.
SNL has always been hit and miss, but I really enjoyed this cast from 2011-2012. Also, am I the only one with a celebrity crush on Vanessa Bayer? Fred Armisen Abby Elliott Bill Hader Seth Meyers Bobby Moynihan Nasim Pedrad Andy Samberg Jason Sudeikis Kenan Thompson Kristen Wiig Vanessa Bayer Paul Brittain Taran Killam Kate McKinnon Jay Pharoah
The long contracts have been keeping the talent the previously drafted off the show. Tons of young comics don't want to be on the show and in today's market they don't need to be in order to get widespread recognition and success. Being in those horrible movies will probably hurt your career.
Former SNL cast member Julia Sweeney on Marc Maron Podcast. http://wtfpod.libsyn.com/episode-553-julia-sweeney#1JYmhFJbTaRcDOcy.01
