Al Gore on SNL

[Vong]

I watched SNL last night (as I try to every Saturday), and was surprised to see Al Gore give a mock address to the public commenting on Bush and his government's past failures.

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/SNL-Al-Gore-5-14-06.wmv

Good stuff.
He also had a mock debate with Amy Pohler about the global warming debate. I couldn't find a video for it, but i'll just say that it was a barrel of laughs and symphony of truth.

**Edit**
Ok, I've been trying to link the video, but the site is being a pain in not letting me link it. So just scroll down the page until you see the post with Al Gore's picture. :rolleyes:

[echo_bravo]

A barrel of laughs?!

Riiight. It was the first time in awhile that I stayed in on a Saturday night and I tuned into SNL to see what the show is like now. All I can say is the show has hit the absolute bottom. How can anyone find any of that shit remotely funny?
Are they pandering to 14 yr old girls now? Al Gore was painfully unfunny. I would of expected him to go on a rant about finding ManBearPig. Now that would of been funny.

[Vong]

Its true that the show has lost most of its lustre, but I still find some of the shorts and Weekend Update really funny. The Digital Shorts, "Lazy Sunday" and the Natalie Portman rap are hilarious.

[The Postmaster General]

Cool - I didn't know you were an SNL fan, Vong. I usually can't catch them on Saturdays and have to find an episode download - haven't gotten to see Saturday's yet, but I did catch the last part with the 70s game show - that was great!

"Licking two ice cream cones!"

Anyway - Yeah, the show's been in a slump for about 13 years, but TV Funhouse, Weekend Update, and now the Digital Shorts are all consistently funny, and their musical guests are always good - the U2 episode was one of my favorite moments on TV - period.

Do you have the book "Live From New York"? If not, I recommend picking it up.

[echo_bravo]

Definitely agree there on "Lazy Sunday" that shit was clownin. Those two guys are the bright spots of the show.

[Lynn7]

The cast of SNLis one of the best ever but the writing is horrible! I can barely watch the show anymore it is so bad. I saw a few bits of Saturdays show and it wasn't funny at all. I didn't see Al Gore. I loved lazy Sunday too. I think the writers had nothing to do with that one. They should clean house over there with the writing staff.

Even Mad TV is starting to go downhill. The first half of that show used to be a riot and then the second half would be bad but lately it is all bad.

[Vong]

I liked the beginning as well with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with Jason Alexander and Jerry Seinfeld doing cameos. When was the last time Jerry was on TV? He looks so damn different now, with the glasses and short hair.

And its true that MAD TV has also gone downhill. Ever since Will Sasso left, its been crap.

[The Postmaster General]

I get the impression that there are too many Ivy League writers on the show. The writing is best described as overly-sophisticated, maybe it's even fair to go so far as to call it precocious. This show NEEDS silliness. It's no wonder that the now highlights of the show's writing are some young guys from the West Coast who ran a website highlighting their own brand of comedy. That was how the show started (minus the website) and that's what's always made the show great. It needs to find it's performance art and theater roots again, and lay off the sly commentary.

[Vong]

I started getting into SNL because of the political and social commentary, especially with Weekend Update. A while ago I used to only watch Weekend Update because I didn't find anything else in the show funny or interesting (other than the artist performing, if I liked them). Now I try to watch through its entirety, but there are some really stupid sketches that are annoying. One of my favorite though is "Debby Downer". That's funny shit. :D

"MEOW! MEOW!"

[The Postmaster General]

Yeah, good characters have always been their forte. (No pun intended) They do best, I think, when rolling out good catch phrases or doing imitations.

[someguy]

They need to get Tina Fey off of the show as head writer, replace her with another person as head writer or simply wipe out the entire staff and bring in a new one.

[Lynn7]

Originally posted by Vong
I started getting into SNL because of the political and social commentary, especially with Weekend Update. A while ago I used to only watch Weekend Update because I didn't find anything else in the show funny or interesting (other than the artist performing, if I liked them). Now I try to watch through its entirety, but there are some really stupid sketches that are annoying. One of my favorite though is "Debby Downer". That's funny shit. :D

"MEOW! MEOW!"

I have always hated these dopey characters that they create and keep throwing out week after week: church lady, cheerleaders, Debbie Downer etc. It is always the same skit with maybe different characters. Yawn....

SNL is at its best when they are doing parody and current events or situations.

[The Postmaster General]

Originally posted by Lynn7
SNL is at its best when they are doing parody and current events or situations.


I agree with that. Although with the exception of the cheerleaders, I think good situation characters have always been a strong suit too. John Belushi's samuri, Eddie Murphy's Mr. Robinson, Jon Lovitz pathological liar, Mike Myers' Middle Aged Man....

I just think there recurring characters of late haven't been as strong. Though I do like Mia Rudolph and (can't remember his name) as the foreign art freak couple with all the weird furniture, and the spanish talk show.