Maybe it used to be better?

So I've come across something that really annoys the living crap out of me. The performances, both musical and hosting, on Saturday Night Live as of recently. I've decided to make a list of things that are bad about SNL lately, and perhaps a few pros just in case things aren't a total loss.

Things That Suck About SNL As It Currently Exists:

1) When the musical guests suck. Seriously, how can you bring a talented artist on the show, have them perform songs that aren't mainstream...and it sounds bad?? Taylor Swift is a fantastic singer, and her performance wasn't any good. Kanye West is a very talented rapper, and both of his songs on SNL were painful to listen to. Also...why book bands that I've never heard of, ever? I'm fairly tied into pop culture, and if you get a band for SNL that I've never heard of EVER, there's a chance that you probably shouldn't book them. Unless they have a cult follwing that I'm not aware of, some of these bands probably shouldn't be on TV. Because they SUCK.



2) When the skits SUCK. The current cast of SNL (Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Bobby Monyhan, Keenan Thompson, Kristen Wiig, and the rest) are pretty talented. But whoever is writing skits these days (and if it's mostly the actors sorry guys) needs a serious kick in the taint. Occasionally a good one will come across (for example, the Single Ladies video shoot with Beyonce, Paul Rudd, and Justin Timberlake was fantastic.
justin timberlake snl beyonce single ladies video

However, a lot of the skits that I've seen in the past few months have been pretty bad. As in, not funny at all. No amount of talent will help you if your skits suck, guys. I know that the cast members are also responsible for some of the writing, so maybe I just don't get a lot of their current humor, but it seems like the skits just aren't that funny recently.

3) A lot of funny people have left. Since I've been watching SNL, the following people have left: Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Chris Kattan, and Tracy Morgan. Now, perhaps these guys were just slightly better writers that the current cast, and if that's the case than so be it. But there were some HYSTERICAL skits when most of this crew was on the show. The fact that Tina Fey was a dead ringer for Sarah Pailin and that Will Ferrell has a really good GW Bush impression probably helped a lot, but the fact that some truly funny people have left and are no longer writing for the show is definitely noticeable.

Now, this is not to say that I think SNL completely sucks and should end. I think there's a chance that the show will turn itself around. A couple of things give me hope, and a couple of things actually annoy me and lead me to defend the show in it's current incarnation.

Things That Lead Me To Defend SNL As It Currently Exists:

1) People from my parents generation who spout off about HOW GREAT SNL used to be. Ok, I get it...Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murry, and the others from that time are funny guys. But, I don't believe that the cast from the 70's and early 80's are the be-all, end-all of SNL comedy. What about people like Jim Belushi, Billy Crystal, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who are all funny in their own right and went on to have great success as comedians? Or Damon Wayans, Dennis Miller, Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Ben Stiller, and Mike Meyers during the late 80's? Granted I haven't seen a lot of the skits from the 80's but I can't imagine they were all bad with a cast like that. And frankly, most of the people telling me that the oldest skits were the only good ones probably got married in leisure suits, so I'm taking anything you tell me with a grain of salt.

2) Good skits with good hosts. Some of the hosts for SNL are so talented that they really add a lot to the skits. Hugh Laurie and Alec Baldwin are two recent hosts who really breathed fresh life into the comedy. Hugh Laurie is so damn talented that he could probably play a dead guy and it would be fantastic. Sometimes a really good host adds just a little extra to make the skits great.

3) Weekend Update with Seth. Even though Weekend Update with Seth and Tina and Seth and Amy was great, he still does a great job by himself. The dry humor he's able to portray as an anchor is great, and a lot of the one-liners he comes up with are truly funny. Seth doing Weekend Update is one of the reasons that I keep watching, because I know that even if none of the skits really resonate with me I'll get a chuckle out of Seth's take on the news.

So there you have it. With all due respect to the hard work that goes into every episode of SNL, I have to say it...when an episode sucks, SNL can bite my shiny metal ass.

Until next time,
D-Train

This is just the beginning...

So here we go, I'm starting a blog inspired by the greatest robot of all time, Bender "Bending" Rodriguez. If you're not familiar with Bender I suggest you go out and watch every episode of Futurama ever made. According to Wikipedia, which never lies, "Bender is a heavy drinking, cigar-smoking, kleptomaniacal, misanthropic, egocentric, ill-tempered robot." Many a time someone says something to Bender that he doesn't like, and he often responds with one of his taglines, "bite my shiny metal ass!" This blog, intended to be a sort of a foil to Amanda's favorite things blog, is going to primarily be about experiences I have in my daily goings-on that make me want to tell someone or something to bite my shiny metal ass.

This brings us to the first thing that can bite my shiny metal ass...getting laid off. I found out last week that I'm losing my job as a part of the most recent round of layoffs at Pfizer, and I have to say that in the grand scheme of things it's not as fun as I originally hoped. If I can find a job and a roommate and keep my house I think things will work out. Right now I anticipate that things are going to get a little stressful in the coming weeks.

So, to the general concept of getting laid off...bite my shiny metal ass.

That's all for now, but if you keep reading posts on this blog I promise to try to be as funny as clever as possible while not losing my edginess. In the spirit of Bender I solemnly swear to drink beers, smoke cigars, and generally be as obnoxious as possible whenever the mood strikes.

Until next time,

D-Train