What the cast and crew achieve on a weekly (by broadcast TV season schedule standards) basis is nothing short of a miracle -- pulling together a live, 90-minute show replete with moving sets, a studio audience, mini-concerts by musical guests, and the occasional breaking of character as well as Lorne Michaels and crew do is a wonder to behold. And why do they do it? Because real life and politics just keep giving them layers and layers of material. Can SNL thus last forever? You betcha!
Never miss SNL but in my opinion they leave way too much on the table..... The current crop of GOP candidates are a bunch of narcissistic, bombastic hypocrites.....
The only people who ever calls out BULL$&t on the hypocrisy are The u defused Michael Che and the amazing Kate McKinnon.....
.....and on a different note, more Leslie Jones please! She's got the genius and comedy chops of the great-greats..... If I were Lormr, she'd be in every scene.
The only people who ever calls out BULL$&t on the hypocrisy are The u defused Michael Che and the amazing Kate McKinnon.....
.....and on a different note, more Leslie Jones please! She's got the genius and comedy chops of the great-greats..... If I were Lormr, she'd be in every scene.
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Even though there a few factual errors, it shows what a great, New York heart Larry David always has.
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Is it a coincidence that Michael Myers' "Dr. Evil" character is an impression of Lorne Michaels' voice?
Chick magnet? That's surely a joke.
Great piece.
I guess you've never heard the old saw: The most expensive seat on any flight is the middle seat. Those are the people who bought their ticket the night before and had no choice.
I guess you've never heard the old saw: The most expensive seat on any flight is the middle seat. Those are the people who bought their ticket the night before and had no choice.
Unless it was on Southwest - in which case they were the last to buy and the last to board.
SNL's caricature of Sanders via Larry David is avuncular and likable. But they offer nothing likable (or accurate) in their caricature of Hillary. They depict her as greedy and ambitious. I wonder if this contributes to the venom people sometimes express toward Hillary. The reality is Hillary is smart, an advocate for people of all backgrounds, including children, trustworthy and will be the strongest candidate to beat the republicans in the general election.
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"Donald’s giving voice to what polite society has sort of sat on for a while, things that are felt but that no one is articulating." Including Trump.
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Would it be possible to parody Trump's New Hampshire victory speech?
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With any luck, our international enemies will interpret this election insanity as a disguised secret military weapon rather than political buffoonery.
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I wish Bill Murray would come back to play Ted Cruz, as he is gifted in his portrayal of the smugly egomaniacal.
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Dear Mr. Michaels: Begging you to offer Mr. David a contract for the duration of Bernie's administration!
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Hard to satire the American political process these days.
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There is a verb for satire: SATIRIZE.
But one can hardly satirize Donald Trump; he is himself a parody of seriousness.
But one can hardly satirize Donald Trump; he is himself a parody of seriousness.
Comedy this year is easy. All you have to do is have two uniformed winged monkeys saluting any time you are doing Hillary and the laughs will be there.
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Reagan hard to get a handle on? The late, great Phil Hartman did the *perfect* Reagan:
"PRESIDENT REAGAN, MASTERMIND. President Reagan (Phil Hartman) acts hopeless and clueless in public, but in private he's an evil mastermind who knows every detail about everything happening in his administration. [Season 12, 1986]"
Lorne - watch it here and refresh your memory!
"PRESIDENT REAGAN, MASTERMIND. President Reagan (Phil Hartman) acts hopeless and clueless in public, but in private he's an evil mastermind who knows every detail about everything happening in his administration. [Season 12, 1986]"
Lorne - watch it here and refresh your memory!
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Yes, but there were mis-starts for Reagan. Harry Shearer doing the Reagan-in-dottage, around the 1980 primaries.
Saturday Night Live : The best political rallies ever!
Why? Because it takes the reality of the insanity of politics and puts it into perspective - humor. SNL lifts our choice burdens for a few minutes. SNL makes us laugh not only with and at the candidates, but at ourselves.
On Saturday nights we get to take a break from the misconceptions, and the promises that will never come true. We get to see our candidates with the SNL twist, we smile, and we feel good - even if it's not for very long or for real. It feels temporarily so good.
Thanks, Mr. Michaels and all you SNL wonders. We're depending on you for another ten months. Make this political year real for us - the SNL way!
Why? Because it takes the reality of the insanity of politics and puts it into perspective - humor. SNL lifts our choice burdens for a few minutes. SNL makes us laugh not only with and at the candidates, but at ourselves.
On Saturday nights we get to take a break from the misconceptions, and the promises that will never come true. We get to see our candidates with the SNL twist, we smile, and we feel good - even if it's not for very long or for real. It feels temporarily so good.
Thanks, Mr. Michaels and all you SNL wonders. We're depending on you for another ten months. Make this political year real for us - the SNL way!
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Was wondering about that Sarah Palin jacket ... Thank you, NYT!
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Sunshine definitely exists for a reason.
There is never too much satire, covert or overt. History has proved, over and over, that satire has immense power.
Nothing in the world is as honest and brutal as satire. Satire is life itself.
There is never too much satire, covert or overt. History has proved, over and over, that satire has immense power.
Nothing in the world is as honest and brutal as satire. Satire is life itself.
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Lorne Michaels seriously talented and we are lucky that he found a chance to use it in media.
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Dowd's always great but I miss the acid.
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Is the 2016 Election Beyond Satire?
It is hard to satire something that is already a satire.
If anyone (anything?) can do that it's SNL.
It is hard to satire something that is already a satire.
If anyone (anything?) can do that it's SNL.
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My curiosity was piqued by the mention of Vermin Supreme, which was news to me, for which I'm grateful.
I should mention that I looked up Vermin Supreme on wikipedia.org and noticed that the descriptions in Ms Dowd's piece and that in wikipedia are nearly identical. Perhaps Ms Dowd was one of the contributors to the wikipedia article (under a pseudonym), but it struck me as odd that neither mentioned nor credited the other. I look for a higher standard of journalism from the sources in which I place my trust.
I should mention that I looked up Vermin Supreme on wikipedia.org and noticed that the descriptions in Ms Dowd's piece and that in wikipedia are nearly identical. Perhaps Ms Dowd was one of the contributors to the wikipedia article (under a pseudonym), but it struck me as odd that neither mentioned nor credited the other. I look for a higher standard of journalism from the sources in which I place my trust.
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Could someone ask Lorne Michaels never to make reference to or book Sarah Palin on SNL ever again. Please stop with the Tina Fey imitation of her already.
Old material hacked up over and over. Sarah Palin is not amusing. Move on.
Old material hacked up over and over. Sarah Palin is not amusing. Move on.
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you all should see Bernie play a rabbi bemoaning the Dodgers move to LA. Hilarous and good acting. Its on youtube
2
Tina Fey nailed Palin using Palin's own words and gestures, where Larry David inserts his own mean spirited persona into his Sanders impression. Looking alike only takes you so far.
And David shouting 'racist' at Trump from offstage as a rehearsed joke was horrible. Was that some attempt to be evenhanded to all candidates?
Somewhere over the decades SNL lost its raison d'etre, only recapturing it here or there.
And David shouting 'racist' at Trump from offstage as a rehearsed joke was horrible. Was that some attempt to be evenhanded to all candidates?
Somewhere over the decades SNL lost its raison d'etre, only recapturing it here or there.
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TIna did not use Palin's own words; that is simply not true. Palin never, for example, said "I can see Russia from my house" that was Tina Fey, and was used relentlessly in the media to attack Palin. Show at least a little bit of intellectual honesty
David said he was paid to do that and Trump said he understood that.
Nice to see that Lorne is wearing his Order of Canada pin!
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As long as we're at it, tell me Gary Shandling wouldn't make a great John Kasich.
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Brilliant! Had not thought of that, but now that you have put it in my mind I cannot stop seeing it. GREAT.
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We have young people (and maybe not so young people, too) who get their news from comedy shows, make legal arguments spoon fed to them partisans (how many have read and/or understood decisions like Roe v. Wade or Citizens United?), and follow closely the political opinions of entertainment figures. I think Lorne Michael may be thinking about Americans as they existed twenty or thirty years ago, but not today.
Bloomberg? Beck Bennett.
Despite my love of politicians who provide great entertainment value, I hope we elect someone who can actually run the country. Ronald Reagan's biggest issue wasn't that he was an actor, but that his policies hurt students, the mentally ill, put us in danger in the air, and ran up an unprecedented deficit. Oh, yeah, and there was that whole arms-for-hostages-contras thing.
Despite my love of politicians who provide great entertainment value, I hope we elect someone who can actually run the country. Ronald Reagan's biggest issue wasn't that he was an actor, but that his policies hurt students, the mentally ill, put us in danger in the air, and ran up an unprecedented deficit. Oh, yeah, and there was that whole arms-for-hostages-contras thing.
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God bless Lorne Michael. Because of him and SNL we are able to laugh at the politicians - both portrayed and real. I am sure that politicians themselves enjoy their foibles seen by public in the setting of the American institution SNL.
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Dear Ms Dowd: Lorne Michaels saying current election is beyond satire? Now that's satirical, or at least laughable. His TV show has taken satire to unprecedented influence on our nation and culture for many years. Rush Limbaugh once said Chevy Chase impression of Gerald Ford made Jimmy Carter's election possible and he is right. If Donald Trump becomes president maybe he could deport Mr. Michaels back to Canada. Now that would be satire we would all laugh at.
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Sorry, Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon made Jimmy Cater's election possible.
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Chase's impression of Ford is so god- awful bad that it is embarrassing to watch. The fact that someone like Limbaugh thinks it made a difference kind of proves my point.
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