Lorne, that is.
Anyone who has had any sort of in depth conversation with me has probably heard me quote something from SNL. I'm pretty sure I've inserted SOMEthing into every conversation I've ever had. With anyone. Ever. If that's an exxageration, well excuuuuuse me!
I've been proudly on board since day one and I've stuck it out through the downswings and reveled in the upswings. And I may be in a minority when I say, even the universally agreed upon low points had some redeeming qualities.
Last Saturday, Justin Timberlake did a surprise cameo. This was not a low point. Not at all.
Now here's the thing: I don't love Justin Timberlake. So anyone who is currently singing (out loud or just in your head) "Tammy and Justin, sitting in a tree..." can just stop it right now. 'Cause it's not funny. It's like - Horatio Sanz levels of unfunny. I don't like his music and I've never really seen his serious acting. But when he's on SNL? Oh my goodness. This week he had me laughing so hard I couldn't see straight. I had to re-watch his Weekend Update sketch because I was laughing so hard the first time I missed good stuff. He is just gold on this show. Gold I say! A match made in heaven.
So. If I were the queen of SNL - here's how I'd distribute hosting duties for a 4 week month:
Week 1: Justin Timberlake
Week 2: Alec Baldwin
Week 3: a former cast member
Week 4: some flavor of the month hawking their latest project
I'd ditch athletes altogether. Maybe I'd allow them to do cameos sometimes. I don't know. I'd have to think about that on a case by case basis. Peyton Manning was pretty funny... Politicians doing relevant cameos will always be welcome.
I think it would work! And I'd love to see former cast members. There sure are enough of them, enjoying various degrees of success.
Well, I'm not the queen of SNL, of course, so I don't reckon we'll be seeing my plan go into action any time soon. And it's just possible that Mr. Timberlake and Mr. Baldwin wouldn't be as enthusiastic about performing monthly hosting duties as I would be about sitting on my couch watching them perform them.
So I'll content myself with whatever the real king of SNL sees fit to offer me. And I'll continue to get warm and fuzzy every time I see the Mr. Bill Mastercard commercial.
Also: I mourned Gilda longer and harder than I mourned a few people I actually knew. Maybe I should've saved that for Post Secret...
4 comments:
Personally, I'd like to see them do something with the musical guests. I'd love not to have to "make picture go fast" through this portion of the show and see and hear something worth listening to.
It's a good point - and one I considered - but I don't know what I'd change or how I'd change it. How would you go, if you were the king of SNL? Or even just a jester who had the kings ear?
I think they should go back to taking chances. In the early days, they had The B-52's and Elvis Costello on before anybody really knew who they were. They had Ornette Coleman playing free jazz. I'd like to see something other than the latest, greatest, sure to go platinum hip-hop artist.
I'm not sure you're being fair here. They still feature indie bands pretty regularly. And there isn't all that much hip-hop (maybe you're thinking of MadTV?). There are more pop stars than necessary, and I totally feel ya on giving unknowns a chance to be heard. But you've said (jokingly - acknowledged) more than once, "I've never heard of this band, they can't be any good". Picture go fast. It just might be that we're not exactly the target demographic the new unknown stuff is being aimed at.
I don't know.
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