The beloved show “Saturday Night Live” is one of the longest running American TV shows in history. The first episode aired on October 11, 1975 and it has since been one of the most well-known shows in the country.
“Saturday Night Live” currently includes 50 seasons and 939 episodes. Each week, two celebrity guests hosts, one of them performs in a few comedy skits, and the other is titled as the “musical guest.” The singer will perform a couple of their songs for the live audience.
The show is most known for their hilarious skits and comedic cast. However, in the past few years, their humor has fallen off. The disappointment America feels when they turn on their favorite show only to be met with mediocre performances and unfunny jokes is vast.
“Saturday Night Live” has gone on so long that it’s no longer live or just Saturday night. It’s anytime of day, any day you want. This is a reason for the unassuming productions each week. However, I believe that the reason it’s gone on so long is because it’s a household favorite and there is still potential. I think there are ways that the show can improve to keep it going and live back up to its legacy.
Mr. Vittorio Cresta, Urbana’s tech ed teacher and JV football coach, used to be into SNL, but his feelings have since changed. Like many, he has a strong opinion on the writers.
Cresta said, “If the writers are different, then the skits will be different whether funnier or not.” What this means is that the characters written for the guests are never guaranteed to be liked by the audience.
The viewers shouldn’t have to wonder if the skits or characters are going to be funny. It’s a comedy show, entertainment should be guaranteed and we should always have a laugh.
Cresta also stated, “I am sure it is just as funny, just a different era and different types of jokes.” Many people feel this way as well, regarding the difference in jokes and their relevance to separate generations. The show has been around since the 70’s, so the viewer age range varies.
Urbana’s ML program teacher, Ms. Rachel Sorenson, agrees that the material is lacking humor that can relate to everyone, which is why the skits are so hit or miss.
Sorenson said, “There are a lot more actors now and sometimes I have no idea who the musical guest or even the regular guest is. I think they [the writers] lost that connection.” She also stated “They aren’t coming to a place of humor that is universal for all generations.”
The age gap in their audience causes a dilemma for the writers and crew. Many people who grew up with “Saturday Night Live”, back when they would tape it or stay up late to watch the show every Saturday night, now have no clue who these guests are.
However, our generation gets either extremely excited to see our favorite celebrities on the show, or annoyed when an older guest appears. But when these older guests come on the show, the older generation loves it.
Though we get to see our favorite people, we get mediocre skits and it makes the audience want to watch the show even less. This brings us to the shows biggest issue. Repetition.
SNL used to have people like Chevy Chase and Eddie Murphy. They would play multiple different characters every week. Just like Chase and Murphy, people love Maya Rudolph and Keenan Thompson. But watching them play Kamala Harris and a game-show host over and over again gets unbelievably boring.
The repetition isn’t just within characters though, it is with themes as well. Whenever Sydney Sweeney guest starred, quite literally all of her skits related to her looks, body, and over-sexualizing her.
Her showing up as a Hooters waitress seemed funny at first. However, the entire skit was about her body and how many tips she got from male customers.
Then, the skit titled “Air Bud” consists of five straight minutes of Sweeney flirting and making sexual comments to a dog. It was outright disgusting to watch someone make passes on a golden retriever.
Freshmen Stella Thomas stated, “It was unbelievably uncomfortable to watch. Really, all of her skits were. Shame on the writers for making her do that.”
Thomas also stated “Sometimes SNL has a good premise for their jokes but the execution is bad. But her [Sweeney] skits weren’t just written bad, but the whole idea was awful.”
The writers did the same thing with Jacob Elordi. All of his skits related to his attractiveness and height. We all know he’s nice to look at, but it’s tiring getting reminded all the time.
In my opinion, SNL has completely fallen off, all of their jokes are flat. Even the “Domingo” skit with Ariana Grande was terrible, and that was one of the shows best in a long time.
Just this past weekend, Charli XCX replaced Grande in the skit. They performed another “Domingo” sketch taking place at a baby-moon instead of a wedding. We do not need to see these characters three weeks apart. It just proves that they are running out of ideas.
“Saturday Night Live” is dying but among many others, I believe that there are ways to save the show.
It’s time for the writers to get cut.
