On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 9:44 AM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> I've been trying to think of what, specifically, disappointed me about > Betty White's SNL. Over the years, I've likened SNL's sketch stylings > to Jay Leno's monologue stylings: The same jokes rehashed with a few > names and pop culture references changed to give the illusion of > relevancy. I'm used to that and expect it, though I didn't expect > exactly how much the series would steal from itself. > > The Spanish talk show was basically "Sprockets" (right down to the odd > dancing between "guests"), which wasn't that funny a premise to begin > with. The NPR sketch was a total recycle of the one they did (could it > be 15 years ago?) with Baldwin; they just changed the specific > innuendo. The MacGruber sketches are exactly the same EVERY time. That > leaves us with a few sketches where the "comedy" came in the form of > an old woman saying inappropriate things. But the recycled material > wasn't even what most disappointed me. > > My primary disappointment was this: None of the sketches I saw Betty > White in had anything to do with Betty White. It could have been Julia > Louis-Dreyfus or William Shatner reading from the cue cards. They made > seemingly no attempt to utilize the range of Betty White's comedic > talent. She played the village bicycle on "Mary Tyler Moore," the ditz > on "Golden Girls," and the quick-witted comeback queen on "Match Game" > and "Password," but the SNL writers didn't tap any of that experience. > Yes, she's an old woman, but she's more than that, and they didn't > take advantage of what they had. > > Genuinely funny women are rare and more precious than gold. SNL had > one and they didn't know what to do with her. And that is > disappointing. > I think you are using a atom bomb to swat a fly by comparing SNL to Leno, but I see the point. When they try to do political or social satire they almost always come up in the light weight division (compared to heavy weights at the TDS/CR Hour). They are drawn to formulaic stock characters and sketches that can be filled in like Mad Libs. But none of this is new - they have been problems with the show for most of the seasons it has been on the air. The early seasons were edgy mostly because it was so new and unlike almost anything else on TV. I think you are mostly wrong about their use of Betty White - almost all of the sketches and bits with her turned on the persona she has been relying on in recent years (and that no doubt brought her to the attention of the young people on the Facebook). Those guys grew up watching reruns of the Golden Girls they way I grew up watching I Love Lucy reruns I guess, so they had a reference to that, but nothing to MTM or Password. That both SNL's fake social commentary and Betty White's fake naughtiness are no longer new or edgy is a testatment to the longevity of each, but not a fatal flaw. I think you are right that the Spanish Talk Show sketch was the weakest link - that is one of their stock bits that I rarely enjoy. Your comments on McGruber are simply that you don't think it is funny - the repetition is part of the bit. I have to confess that I don't hate those pieces, and liked the ones with BW in them. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
