Was SNL ever truly funny?

[JVS]

Or did its funny periods just happen to coincide with eras of increased drug consumption?

[WoodrowFan]

1. yes, in the 1970s (NT)

[JVS]

4. That's just all the coke talking

[WoodrowFan]

10. didn't do coke

did Mt Dew and Peppermint Schnapes

[JVS]

12. Then it's all the Mt. Dew and Peppermint Schapps talking

:-)

[Catch22Dem]

2. SNL used to be insanely funny

At least I thought so. Every few years they get great cast members who then go on and leave the shitty ones behind. I think their best talent right now is Maya Rudolph and Tina Fey.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Yes. Late '70s, early '80s.

I used to laugh my ass off watching SNL in those days, and I wasn't stoned at all.

[7th_Sephiroth]

5. when they had mike meyers, dana carvy, chris farley, david spade

norm mc donald and hartman together

[agingdem]

6. The first season...

Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtain...after that Billy Crystal, Bill Murray...hit or miss since.

[agingdem]

9. I forgot...

Eddie Murphy

[charlyvi]

16. I used to love the Andy Kaufmann

appearances too. Loved it when Richard Pryor would guest host.

[gristy]

23. Jane, you ignorant slut.

And landsharks. :D

[Deja Q]

7. Good point!

And a point I agree with. While some comedians were consistently good (Rock, Murphy), the drug use did help the show.

This is not to say people should use drugs. This is to say that Lorne Michaels should stop being anally retentive and ALLOW ad-libs. Then the jokes might become funny.

[DustMolecule]

8. In the beginning........

yup, it was truly funny. Not ALWAYS, but very often, yes!

[tridim]

11. It was extremely funny in the mid-80's

The Billy Crystal, Chris Guest, Harry Shearer, Martin Short era.

I wasn't a big fan of the 70's shows. Loved the cast, but I didn't really like the humor all that much.

[miss_kitty]

13. yes

the early stuff, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, and Mike Meyers' tenures there were quite funny. Eddie Murphy was never funnier. In a fear of a black planet move, they totally squandered Chris Rock.

[Old and In the Way]

14. To understand why SNL was so funny, you'd have to know what

was the baseline for comedy prior to it. There were great comics, but nobody had their pulse on the issues like SNL....and they did it week after week. I can tell you that Saturday night was usually an early night in the bars for most of my friends...SNL was "must see" TV.

[DebJ]

15. Jane Curtain ripping off her blouse as a news anchor to get

attention and ratings.....
was this the first comedy show to parody the 'real' news.?

[charlyvi]

18. Oh Yeah....

Acroyd and Curtain parodying the old 60 minutes thing.....

Jane, you slut!

[NYCGirl]

21. Did you know that Al Franken wrote all the Ackroyd/Curtin news sketches?

He actually came up with the line "Jane, you ignorant slut!"

[charlyvi]

22. LOL

I knew he was an SNL writer; acutally, that line sounds like Franken, doesn't it? I knew he wrote the skit with Jimmy Carter at Three Mile Island--one of the funniest, I thought. Democrats are funny, huh?

[NYCGirl]

29. As Franken says in his "Lying Liars" book:

"We have to fight back. But we can't fight like they do. The Right's entertainment value comes from their willingness to lie and distort. ours will have to come from being funny and attractive."
:thumbsup:

[miss_kitty]

28. no

The one I remember was TW3-That Was The Week That Was-an American version of a British show, with an extremely young, almost infantile David Frost, and others. 1964 see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057789/ It was cutting edge. Buck Henry, who wrote for SNL was involved w/ TW3. We did't miss one. It only lasted a year or two. :cry:

[Kahuna]

17. The drug consumption funny period was with the original cast...

I had to be high to get Belushi. :shrug: I must admit. He was funny as hell when I was stoned.

[FlashHarry]

19. It has been sporadically funny ever since its inception

Every season had its duds--some more than others, I grant you. But each cast--barring perhaps the Jean Doumanian era--has had its standout performers: Belushi, Radner, Murray, Murphy, Piscopo, Guest, Hartman, Carvey, Farley, Sandler, Ferrell, et al. Even today, I see great potential in Fred Armisen and Will Forte.

[alphafemale]

20. Oh Yes. It was pleasure snuck with Dad. Mom the religious freak woulda'

Had both our skins nailed to a pole outside.

You CAN learn to laugh silently AND keep a pillow handly for the vocal outbursts.

My Dad LOVED good comedy or even a good cheap poke.

DAMN I really miss him sometimes.

[starroute]

24. The 1970's in general were a high point for comedy

Actually, the run of really good stuff started about 1968 and extended through the 70's.


Monty Python (tv show 1969-74, Holy Grail 1975)

Firesign Theater (early albums 1968-71)

Richard Pryor

Lily Tomlin

Robin Williams

Billy Crystal

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

(what am I forgetting?)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I still think it's funny.

[Dukakis88]

25. I only really loved it 84-85: Martin Short, Billy Crystal, Shearer, Guest

The Dana Carvey/Jon Lovitz/A. Whitney Brown/Victoria Jackson/Dennis Miller (ew)/Kevin Nealon/Nora Dunn/Jan Hooks/Phil Hartman era was a close runner up.

[Lisa]

26. the episode hosted by Al Gore was excellent ...

I hope he makes a return appearance.

[ScreamingMeemie]

27. It was very funny.

I miss Gilda Radner. :(

[BiggJawn]

31. The Belushi years.

John, not Jim...Jim was tradin' on his name.