Every so often (because I loved it growing up) I try to watch Saturday 
Night Live to see if by some miracle it's gotten funny again. So when I heard Michael Phelps was hosting, I steeled myself and gathered my courage to watch the September 13, 2008 season premier all the way through.
I did, but not without help.
Maybe it was my extreme disappointment that Ohio State having just minutes before lost to USC so badly, but I doubt it. Even Senator Obama (as it turned out wisely.) bailed at the last minute,
The only laughs were the faux Palin/Clinton spot at the beginning and the surprisingly funny "Michael Phelps" diet commercial at the end. William Shatner was tapped for a cameo appearance, but wasted doing a shameless and self-promoting priceline.com commercial from the audience. Phelps’ mother should sue for defamation because of the way she was portrayed; that she sat there and took it was as amazing as the forced laughter.
In between the two high points of the show was some of the most unentertaining junk that I've unfortunately come to know Saturday Night Live all too well for in recent years. The poorly conceived "Charles Barkley" talk show was ridiculously dumb, the music video for the "Space Olympics" made no sense. Bobby Moynihan's waiter skit was... I can't find words to describe how stupid it was... a total waste of time?
Michael Phelps bravely slogged through the swim team skit, playing a high school kid afraid to jump off the blocks and into the water until the coach pulled out an inspirational tape in the locker room of some of the most ridiculous music I’d ever heard. He then proceeded to go into a flailing and to put it bluntly; inexcusable dance routine that the team walked out on... with the exception of Phelps.
More than once, the champion athlete/hero looked like the proverbial "deer caught in the headlights," and at times appeared to be searching for his mom in the audience to ask, "is this really funny?"
The audience actually laughing at all during an extremely dull skit involving a family with two retarded kids amazed me. Minutes into it, I suspected that the audience is either green-screened in, or that prerecorded laughter must’ve been employed to augment their lack of response, because real people (no matter how stoned) just would not laugh at that.
It's been a long time since I've used the Picture-In-Picture feature on my TV, but tonight I thanked God for it, as the commercial breaks seem to go on forever.
On occasion, I've chastised myself into giving Saturday Night Live "another chance" and I've put my proverbial hand on the stove to be burnt once too often. Unfortunately I'm the victim of being spoiled by the likes of Eddie, Gilda, Dana, Chevy, and John.
I'd considered titling the piece "Someone come and put Lipstick on SNL!"
...as for the actual title of this piece,
Well maybe it wasn't THAT bad...
...but Lord it wasn't good!
Night Live to see if by some miracle it's gotten funny again. So when I heard Michael Phelps was hosting, I steeled myself and gathered my courage to watch the September 13, 2008 season premier all the way through.I did, but not without help.
Maybe it was my extreme disappointment that Ohio State having just minutes before lost to USC so badly, but I doubt it. Even Senator Obama (as it turned out wisely.) bailed at the last minute,
The only laughs were the faux Palin/Clinton spot at the beginning and the surprisingly funny "Michael Phelps" diet commercial at the end. William Shatner was tapped for a cameo appearance, but wasted doing a shameless and self-promoting priceline.com commercial from the audience. Phelps’ mother should sue for defamation because of the way she was portrayed; that she sat there and took it was as amazing as the forced laughter.
In between the two high points of the show was some of the most unentertaining junk that I've unfortunately come to know Saturday Night Live all too well for in recent years. The poorly conceived "Charles Barkley" talk show was ridiculously dumb, the music video for the "Space Olympics" made no sense. Bobby Moynihan's waiter skit was... I can't find words to describe how stupid it was... a total waste of time?
Michael Phelps bravely slogged through the swim team skit, playing a high school kid afraid to jump off the blocks and into the water until the coach pulled out an inspirational tape in the locker room of some of the most ridiculous music I’d ever heard. He then proceeded to go into a flailing and to put it bluntly; inexcusable dance routine that the team walked out on... with the exception of Phelps.
More than once, the champion athlete/hero looked like the proverbial "deer caught in the headlights," and at times appeared to be searching for his mom in the audience to ask, "is this really funny?"
The audience actually laughing at all during an extremely dull skit involving a family with two retarded kids amazed me. Minutes into it, I suspected that the audience is either green-screened in, or that prerecorded laughter must’ve been employed to augment their lack of response, because real people (no matter how stoned) just would not laugh at that.
It's been a long time since I've used the Picture-In-Picture feature on my TV, but tonight I thanked God for it, as the commercial breaks seem to go on forever.
On occasion, I've chastised myself into giving Saturday Night Live "another chance" and I've put my proverbial hand on the stove to be burnt once too often. Unfortunately I'm the victim of being spoiled by the likes of Eddie, Gilda, Dana, Chevy, and John.
I'd considered titling the piece "Someone come and put Lipstick on SNL!"
...as for the actual title of this piece,
Well maybe it wasn't THAT bad...
...but Lord it wasn't good!
© 2008 by Jet Gardner
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