Sack SNL? For Shame!

October 20th, 2005

The New York Post is calling for the head of Saturday Night Live. Not an original idea, but Post writer Chris Erikson’s venom is noteworthy: “Watching the sketches these days is like seeing modern-day Muhammad Ali shadow box, a sad spectacle made all the more painful by considering the knockouts of years past.”

There’s even a hint of mass psychology:

“That sense of loss is a common sentiment expressed by former fans, for whom the show is akin to an old friend who’s abandoned them.” [NY Post]

Canceling the show, as Erikson demands, is a truly foolish idea. SNL is one of the last live entertainment programs on television. (One-off episodes of Will & Grace and the upcoming West Wing don’t count.) It’s the only example of one of the most challenging applications of the TV medium. Mr. Erikson, have you seen what NBC has been programming lately? I assure you that the late-night Saturday slot would be quickly handed over to “encore presentations” of programmatical fumbles like Surface and E-Ring.

(Before I go any further, a full disclosure: I’m a huge fan of the show. I watched it with my Dad as a little boy, so I have many fond childhood memories associated with SNL. Also, I worked as an extra on the show three times about two years ago. So I welcome any and all allegations of bias that might stem from this blog post.)

The loss of 90 minutes of weekly sketch comedy on broadcast television would feel worse than “a sense of loss akin to an old friend who’s abandoned them.” It would feel more like the estranged old friend had been murdered last night in a back alley after wasting the last five years of his life on a barstool. Like him or not, that friend is never, ever coming back. (Also, you never called him to say hello before he died.) The show sucks right now, yes. But that’s not breaking news. Have a little faith. And let some ladies have some babies, for pete’s sake.

I have a theory that Saturday Night Live has always mostly sucked, and that’s part of that show’s charm. When longtime fans (like the improv disciples quoted in the story) reflect on their glory days of dormitory life, they only seem to remember the best SNL sketches — the ones good enough to mimic to classmates before a Monday morning chemistry lecture.

Condensed reruns on E! haven’t helped matters. They’re edited to preserve the best stuff and discard the yawners.

Full-length reruns that air on NBC in the wee hours of Sunday morning tell a different story. Drawn from every era of the 31-year-old show, these “classic” episodes are surprisingly hit or miss. In fact, it seems like each episode only features one or two really good sketches. That’s about par for the past few years.

I do agree with the Post that Lorne Michaels may be part of the problem. No series can be faulted without the executive producer shouldering some of the blame. The show has been playing it safe by retaining reliable (and in the case of Horatio Sanz, not so reliable) longtime veterans for too long. The best thing Michaels and the show can do is draw fresh talent — writers as well as cast members — into the comedic gene pool. But canceling the show would be a mistake. What “cutting edge” sketch comedy would we turn to, particularly on broadcast TV? Blue Collar TV? Please.

UPDATE: The WB has put Blue Collar TV on hiatus. Need I say more?