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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
""Saturday Night Live," the unspoken model for these shows, stopped being the generator of fresh comedy and the showcase for new comic actors a long time ago. (Arguably it never was; did Chevy Chase, John Belushi or Dan Aykroyd ever make movies that really lived up to their hyped status as comic geniuses?) "
That's a bit of selective memory isn't it, mentioning only Chevy Chase, John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd. What about Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Mike Meyers and Will Ferrell? Those guys were new comic actors who showcased on SNL and went on to make some pretty successful and pretty funny movies and at least one genuinely *great* movie (Groundhog Day). Didn't Ben Stiller do a season on SNL as well?
And, of course, Chase, Ackroyd and Belushi were variously in Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Animal House, The Blues Brothers, National Lampoon's Vacation and Trading Spaces. Those movies may have their flaws, but they are among the most popular and beloved comedies of the last 30 years.
I do agree with Rob Anderson, though, that the years Tina Fey was 9(co)head writer were probably the worst years in the show's history. Is it just a coincidence that this year SNL is funnier than it's been since Will Ferrell left?
Glad to see you show up, TRT.
Would write more, but it is difficult to type at the mo', as I am suffering from a touch of gout.
If I make a photo montage where I choose to put the white people--like me--in the foreground in a flattering light and then choose to but the black person--not like me--in the background and then choose to add a ring through her nose and horns on her head, casting her in a most unflattering way (especially as compared to my two white choices)...and then add a headline that makes it even more clear who is funny and who isn't IMHO...then that doesn't make me, um, racist, does it?
Gosh, some of my favorite TV stars are black, so I'm no racist!
I eagerly await the character assasinations from HH's fans: the sycophantic legions of confirmed bachelors and their fruit flies.
A) Being unflattering to a black person is racist? The article made it clear that she thinks Baldwin and Fey are funny, and Banks evil. Horns aren't so inappropriate.
B) I'd be surprised if the writers were responsible for the artwork.
Because you made several.
A) Being unflattering to a black person is racist?
**Yes, it can be, especially in a comparative light. "Unflattering" is the word you chose. Yet a sentence later...
The article made it clear that she thinks Baldwin and Fey are funny, and Banks evil.
**"Evil." Hmm. So you see "evil' and 'unflattering' as synonyms? Syllogism #2: Thanks for making my point. She does quite clearly think the two white people are funny and the black person isn't. It's easy to say that without literally demonizing the black woman, isn't it? It's not enough to say she doesn't like Tyra Banks, she has to cast her as literally one with Satan. A bit overkill, if you ask me. Finally, if she makes it clear in the article, that proves the point I raised, moron.
Horns aren't so inappropriate.
**No, they're entirely appropriate if in the article you have to make anything you dislike evil and then you wish to further drive home the point with the photoshop equivalent of graffiti. You're not getting this, are you white boy?
B) I'd be surprised if the writers were responsible for the artwork.
**Ta-da! And we end up with a 'pass-the-blame' after thrice defending the author's choice. Yeah, I'm sure Salon's layout artist 'just happened' to have a montage as posted lying around and 'what a coincidence' someone happened to write an article favoring the two white performers and demonizing the black one. I'll bet you believe in astrology, too.
Thank you, theross, for proving you don't have to be a homophobic redneck to be a racist.
but they didn't doctor it in any way by "adding" the ring and the horns. It's from ANTM. Every episode Tyrant has a challenge photograph of herself posted before judging just to show all the model hampsters how much more fabulous she is than any of them. The horns and ring picture was from the Bullfighting challenge.
I do agree ANTM has been disappointing this cycle. It really seemed done on the cheap and not enough diversity among the judges and the photographers. Absolutely stupid phot shoot concepts. Nigel looks bored and acts snappy. Twiggy just takes up space and makes me long for Janice Dickenson or even Kimora Lee. Tyrants clowning, especially after the Flamenco demonstration, reminded me of the woman who used to do Ophrah impersonatioms on Mad TV, the one who was briefly on TV Watercooler I think and who was way better than Teresa Strasser of whose name I might have just butchered the spelling.
I love this column, and eagerly look forward to each and every one, but this one surpassed all the others in sheer brilliance and hilarity. I actually laughed out loud while reading it, and I generally don't do that when reading, maybe a chuckle, usually just a bit of a grin, but never actual laughing. Until now. I also don't usually write gushing fan letters either, but this one warranted it. So, thanks for a very humor-filled Sunday morning.
It'd be easy to say that '30 Rock' works and 'Studio 60' doesn't because Tina Fey is actually a comedy writer who doesn't just know how to write comedy, but knows *how* comedy writers write comedy.
Actually, no: that's pretty hard to say.
Anyway, comedy writers in teams are vicious bastards with a keen sense of the absurd. When they're working to strict deadlines, they resemble pack animals: artificially stimulated and sleep-deprived and willing to pounce on anything weak and defenceless. I find it hard to believe that Aaron Sorkin has ever been up at 4am trying to come up with something even more outrageous and unbroadcastable than his co-writers.
I was so afraid that after '60' got the full season, '30 Rock' would be abandoned. At least NBC isn't compounding its idiocy.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
