When they rebooted MAD Magazine a decade or so ago, I said at the time that if I liked the new iteration, the magazines was doomed to fail, because MAD was always a hit with teens (and even preteens), so if I liked it, they wouldn’t. I liked it. And MAD went out of business.
I feel the same about SNL. I’m an old fart; I’m not supposed to like it. In fact, SNL is supposed to be mocking the failings of my generation in a way that appeals to 18 to 24 year olds. I think SNL fails on both fronts. I dislike it AND it fails to resonate with the young’uns. There seems to be a core group who watch the show almost as an obligation, and there is a segment of mainstream media that obsesses over the series to an unhealthy extent. That’s what keeps it going. When Rush Limbaugh was alive, liberal media salivated over every bigoted and moronic thing he said, and then when he died it became apparent those were the only people paying any attention to him. I suspect when Lorne Michaels is put in the ground, we will learn the same is true of him (at least in the last few decades). He’s being propped up by critics. I think it was Mark Twain who defined a “classic” book as one that is often talked about but never read. The same seems to be true of TV. Kevin M. (RPCV) On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 9:08 AM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > It’s deeper than that. The originators of SNL tapped a subversive comedic > history from Paul Krassner, Terry Southern, Dick Gregory, Lenny Bruce, and > others. They were also shaped by MAD Magazine, underground comix, and > especially the National Lampoon. SNL didn’t specialize in political comedy > early on. Chase’s Ford sketches were just slapstick and Aykroyd’s Carter > only appeared rarely. > > By the late seventies that type of comedy just ran out of gas and then hit > a wall when Reagan was elected. It took SNL years to get back on its feet > and the humor was no longer subversive. > > I agree with the article that today’s SNL can’t do political satire very > well. It’s mostly because the writers don’t come from a tradition of sharp > political satire and the network fears going over a line. > > On Fri, Dec 13, 2024 at 5:37 PM John Edwards <[email protected]> wrote: > >> In other words: “A young man is now old and I am MAD ONLINE about it: MY >> COLUMN” >> >> John >> >> On Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 9:14 AM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> From the left-leaning American Prospect, author Siddharta Mahanta says >>> that Lorne has become "the very sort of out-of-touch, too-comfortable >>> elitist the Lorne Michaels of 'Saturday Night' (the recent movie) was >>> railing against" (Note: Mahanta is pretty much a member of the Bernie left >>> who throws around "neoliberal" and isn't wild about Obama): >>> >>> >>> https://prospect.org/culture/2024-12-13-requiem-for-comedy-dream-saturday-night-live-movie/ >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/bcbefabb-9130-43d5-a668-8e50896df64dn%40googlegroups.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/bcbefabb-9130-43d5-a668-8e50896df64dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJLXtMLXm3AAby4nsfnPUPGM2PCXbH2tgf-Uca9qPjQk1KZObw%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJLXtMLXm3AAby4nsfnPUPGM2PCXbH2tgf-Uca9qPjQk1KZObw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHLo6wq9bXXxdzKBeH8yUK7dytgDH%2BEQEnY_cEc%3Dz9Bjw%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHLo6wq9bXXxdzKBeH8yUK7dytgDH%2BEQEnY_cEc%3Dz9Bjw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4DYNx0nCch8SqCQDPo_Wa9u%3DKCDEKsGoaHU3P0J17vrqw%40mail.gmail.com.
