Since its first air date on Oct. 11, 1975, Saturday Night Live, or SNL, has been a TV hit. With famous actors such as Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Andy Samberg starring in skits, SNL has had a versatile, strong comedic background.
Many of my favorite actors have left the show to pursue their acting careers, which is great for them, but not so great for SNL viewers. One of the biggest let downs for me was the day Samberg left the set.
To me, Samberg was one of the top actors who really held the show together. His witty character and willingness to “go where no man has gone before” on the set clearly was shown in each episode.
His trademark on the show was The Lonely Island digital shorts — “Jack Sparrow,” “I’m on a Boat” and “Threw It on the Ground” are among the most popular I have seen. A good majority of my friends have most of the digital short soundtracks on their iPods and know the lyrics verbatim, which goes to show just how popular they have become.
When The Lonely Island came out with their first official album, “Incredibad,” it not only promoted SNL, but promoted the digital shorts as well. In all honesty, who doesn’t like watching music videos when you’ve already seen 10 other comedic skits throughout the episode? The music videos and digital shorts were a nice break and enhanced the quality and creativity of not only the actors, but of the screenwriters and producers as well.
To me, the only act holding the show together now is “Weekend Update,” hosted by Seth Meyers with the occasional appearance of city correspondent “Stefon,” played by Bill Hader. These men give an attempt at a serious news report that brings a sense of humor into the everyday activities and happenings that are going on in the world. Without them, I truly believe SNL would go completely down the drain.
So, what does SNL need to do to stay successful? Bring back the humor in digital shorts such as “People Getting Punched” that was loved on the show. Bring back the cast that created a larger SNL fan base, or at least have the current actors more skilled in their skits.
SNL has lost its touch as of now, but hopefully SNL isn’t lost for good.