OT- SNL 5 best all-time

[ihatepants]

oh come on, fallon and sanz had the most classic breaking character scene in the history of the show.. http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/debbie-downer/n11825

In sketch comedy, breaking is considered a cheap way to get laughs and it also draws attention away from the other performers. Fallon did it all the time on normal dialogue and some of the other cast members hated it, most notably Tina Fey. He and Horatio tried to make each other break on purpose. Completely unprofessional. It's also not like they didnt perform/practice the sketches before, either. At least when Hader broke during Stefan, it was because it was his first time hearing the jokes himself.

One of the reasons that Chris Farley was so great was because he was so good at causing the other cast members to break. Such as Sandler in the Zagat's sketch and everyone in Matt Foley sketches and the Gap Girls.

 

[CallMeBruce]

In sketch comedy, breaking is considered a cheap way to get laughs and it also draws attention away from the other performers. Fallon did it all the ing time on normal dialogue and some of the other cast members hated it, most notably Tina Fey. He and Horatio tried to make each other break on purpose. Completely unprofessional. It's also not like they didnt perform/practice the sketches before, either. At least when Hader broke during Stefan, it was because it was his first time hearing the jokes himself.

One of the reasons that Chris Farley was so great was because he was so good at causing the other cast members to break. Such as Sandler in the Zagat's sketch and everyone in Matt Foley sketches and the Gap Girls.

I know I'm just another person blowing Hartman here, but one of the reasons those Foley sketches worked so well is because Hartman NEVER broke. He was such a pro.

 

[Dove]

I couldn't put him in my top 10 but Fred is underrated probably because he's so peculiar. His creepy Italian guy in Euro Trip was hysterical

He did a native american comedian bit that was hysterical.

 

[BoatShow]

He did a native american comedian bit that was hysterical.

That was a great character too. He was pretty funny in The Californians (although Hader usually stole the show) but that sketch always want on way too long.

 

[David 76]

Oh, and don't forget that Miller went full-right wing fascist and RS is about as liberal a rag as you'll find, and that ain't gonna help him in the voting. Some other rag voted him best Weekend Update anchor ever, BTW.

Which is why I said, humor, like music, is very individual.

Miller's arcane references were pretty funny for a while but he is a one-trick pony. To me, he lost it around the time of the NFL. But don't confuse vocabulary with brilliance. Carlin and Stewart are brilliant.

Then Miller made the mistake of becoming conservative. And for reasons I don't understand, conservatives are incapable of being funny. Strange but true. They have Miller & PJ O'Rourke. Compare that to Carlin. Stewart, Cobert, Maher, Lewis Black, Louis CK etc, etc.

 

[superjohn]

Miller's arcane references were pretty funny for a while but he is a one-trick pony. To me, he lost it around the time of the NFL. But don't confuse vocabulary with brilliance. Carlin and Stewart are brilliant.

Then Miller made the mistake of becoming conservative. And for reasons I don't understand, conservatives are incapable of being funny. Strange but true. They have Miller & PJ O'Rourke. Compare that to Carlin. Stewart, Cobert, Maher, Lewis Black, Louis CK etc, etc.

Obviously there are more funny liberals but saying conservatives can't be funny is ridiculous, also PJ O'Rourke is very funny and bright. Comedy is definitely subjective, as far as I'm concerned Norm McDonald is a genius and was by far the best fake news guy, I think Seth Meyers is one of the least funny people I've ever seen and he's now the host of The Tonight Show.

 

[David 76]

SuperJohn
I don't see PJ as particularly funny or bright.
But the statement was a joke. I don't really think it is impossible for conservatives to be funny.

 

[Cheeky]

But don't confuse vocabulary with brilliance. Carlin and Stewart are brilliant.

Never met a person with below brilliant intellect who had the ability to use very high end vocab. It's not just the vocabulary - any English major can have that - it's the ability to use the perfect word in the perfect spot - diction, as it were. Carlin was brilliant, and I love his later years stuff, but he wasn't nearly as smart as Miller (IMO). Stewart is a talented and funny man with a lot of good writers but not (IMO) particularly intelligent.

 

[Cheeky]

Norm McDonald is a genius and was by far the best fake news guy, I think Seth Meyers is one of the least funny people I've ever seen and he's now the host of The Tonight Show.

Agree that Norm was and is hilarious. His Daily Show humor on the Crocodile Hunter's death was epic.
Also agree on Seth Meyers. I don't get him at all.
Also agree on Hartman - brilliant and a tragic loss. Loved him on the radio show.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Never met a person with below brilliant intellect who had the ability to use very high end vocab. It's not just the vocabulary - any English major can have that - it's the ability to use the perfect word in the perfect spot - diction, as it were. Carlin was brilliant, and I love his later years stuff, but he wasn't nearly as smart as Miller (IMO). Stewart is a talented and funny man with a lot of good writers but not (IMO) particularly intelligent.

While we're on the subject of big words, this sounds like the apotheosis of style over substance. I'll acknowledge that Miller is adept at the rapid-fire obscure references, but with respect to vocabulary, literally anyone can memorize flash cards. I don't think it is any indication whatsoever of "brilliance."

 

[David 76]

Carlin was brilliant, and I love his later years stuff, but he wasn't nearly as smart as Miller (IMO). Stewart is a talented and funny man with a lot of good writers but not (IMO) particularly intelligent.

Wow!

 

[Cheeky]

but with respect to vocabulary, literally anyone can memorize flash cards. I don't think it is any indication whatsoever of "brilliance."

IQ and vocabulary are tightly correlated. Obviously, one counter argument to this is, "well, how do you measure IQ?" And so on.
I completely disagree that "literally anyone can memorize flash cards." I tutored for test prep for a national company for quite some time. Most people have a physical limit to how much they can store and recall. I've seen students spend hours upon hours attempting to "memorize flash cards" to expand their vocabulary, only to move the needle very little.

Again though, it's not Dennis Miller's per se use of words, it's the context in which he uses them, and other references. It's not some flash card act. When I listen to his live show, he's doing it on the fly, for hours on end.

Perhaps I find his comedy more funny than it is because I'm so impressed with his ability to utilize the language at an incredibly high level.

 

[Cheeky]

Wow!

I phrased that poorly.
When I wrote that Stewart is "not particularly intelligent," I meant, "not exceptionally intelligent." He's clearly very intelligent.

 

[tentoes4rings]

Really liked Martin Short, but he was already known for his work on SCTV (which included John Candy, Etc.) so I don't really think of him as a SNL guy. I know a lot of cast members either had a sketch or comic background, but they're usually relative unknowns when they join SNL - not the case for Martin Short.

Well that season was very unique in that regard. They added A lot of veteran comedians for that one season, including Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and of course Short. It was a short lived thing but that season was full of comedic brilliance.

 

[David 76]

That was the Dick Ebersol years.
Lorne Michaels left in the early 80s. The new producer lasted half a season then Dick Ebersol took over. He played up Murphy & Piscopo and the show was saved for the moment. When both Murphy and Piscopo left he went out and got headliners as you mentioned above. Julia Louise Dreyfus (not a headliner) and Larry David were there that year too.
Ebersol quit when they wouldn't allow him to tape the whole show (Saturday Night Dead?) and Lorne came back