"30 Rock is brilliant" vs "SNL has sucked for decades"

[darkstar]

OK. Just catching up with this show on DVD. I personally like it a lot. The writing is fantastic and the main leads of Fey, Baldwin and Morgan are pretty engaging. It seems to be fairly critically acclaimed.

But the conventional wisdom seems to be that SNL "has not been funny" since "xxxx and xxxx left cast in 19xx." Whichever the case, it surely includes Fey's tenure as head writer from what Wiki tells me is 1999 to 2005.

So....

What do you think. Is there anyone here that loves 30 Rock but was in the "SNL sucks" camp while Fey was head? How do you reconcile this? Was it the cast? Was Fey just not as skilled in the sketch format as she is in the sitcom? Has she simply gotten better at what she does?

I'm not up on SNL too much, but I did like the Ferrel, Dratch, Sanz, Fallon, Rudolf, Morgan etc years when I would happen to catch the shows.

:hi:

[JTG of the PRB]

1. I don't think it was Tina Fey so much as it might have been everybody else.

Tina Fey is a very talented writer. She is smart, she is funny, and she has very good timing. Anything on SNL I ever watched that had Tina Fey in it (which was mostly Weekend Update) was perfectly funny and entertaining.

Dratch I never had a strong like or dislike for her. She just didn't make me laugh that much. Sanz was pretty good, but there were times when it felt like he was trying too hard to be another Chris Farley. Jimmy Fallon... Ugh. The only character he could EVER play with a straight face was himself. Whenever he actually had to ACT or PRETEND something WASN'T funny, he couldn't do it. He just couldn't do it.

Will Ferrell was brilliant in just about everything he did on SNL. His George W. Bush is still the best I have ever seen by anybody.

[darkstar]

2. So you would say the writing was good

but the cast was weak? I get this b/c my wife never liked Dratch and Fallon too much either. I thought they were OK.

More specifically, I guess, is the question of the writers, the sketch premises, and the characters they helped to develop.

How did you feel about the material then?

Oh, and Ferrell was just a workhorse then, wasn't he? Sometimes, it seemed he was in nearly every skit, support or lead.

:hi:

[pokerfan]

3. I blame the producers

They got tired of seeing stars like Chase, Belushi, and Murphy and then making millions in film or even TV.

So these days the contracts that potential Not Ready for Primetime Players are asked to sign border on indentured servitude. They agree to low fixed salaries and only modest raises. Everything is negotiated up front and they are ridiculously long term. Of course the talent can be "let go" at any time.

Talent also agrees to do any NBC TV series if asked, for a set $20K per episode.

Talent also agrees to appear in up to three feature films. Again for relatively low salaries are in the contract: $75K for the first, $150K for the second, $300K for the third. And of course, no share of the box.

Many industry analysts believe that these over reaching contracts are driving away the better talent.

[darkstar]

5. Interesting....you've got some good observations there

and lots of knowledge to back it up. I was completely unaware of these things.

Thanks for sharing your take on it.

[pokerfan]

6. It's bothered the hell out of me for years

I don't claim any insider information. I'm just sick that a show I used to love has fallen so far.

Couple of articles on the contract subject:
http://www.saturday-night-live.com/snl/news/1999/august/killer-contracts.html
http://www.saturday-night-live.com/snl/news/1999/july/contract-angers.html

It's all so fucking petty. And they are literally cutting off their noses to spite their face. They had Eddie Murphy for four great seasons. With these 12 year indentured contracts, they will never see another Eddie Murphy.

And I guess that they are willing to live with that.

[mduffy31]

9. Another guy is Sandler

He purposly didn't do some of his characters when he was on the show because Lorne then owns half of them right away.

[JTG of the PRB]

4. I think that sounds like a fair assessment.

SNL has always had some very funny, very unique, very original sketch and character ideas. Some actors pull them off brilliantly. I thought the writing for that time period was very solid, but the execution was largely lacking sometimes. As you said, that's more about the weakness of the cast than about the quality of the writing.

Ferrell was just a beast when he was on that show. So many characters, so many different things to remember, and he pulled it off so well, week in and week out.

[MrsMatt]

7. I love 30 Rock

but actually haven't regularly watched SNL for years - too old and tired to go past 9:30 even on a weekend!

[Snarkturian Clone]

8. re: SNL

Mad tv has been funnier and edgier for the last 2-3 years.