I feel the same way about SNL as I feel about Star Trek. The series with the original cast was the only time that it was watchable. I gave up on SNL sometime around 1982.

I don't subscribe to the cliché view that it was only funny the first season. It's been funny in rolling waves, and it has certain endemic flaws that have dogged it over the years. The last half hour, for instance, is almost always skippable. Almost every sketch lasts too long. Almost every sketch that gets a good laugh is turned into a recurring sketch (well, you can't blame them, but sometimes the jokes just don't travel that well). But I think the Tina Fey era was consistently watchable, I dearly miss Phil Hartman, and when you look at the sheer number of careers that launched there, whether they were noticed at the time or not, it has been pretty influential overall.

They have always hit .250 to .300 on sketches. There have been some casts which were better than others, but they also have tended to flog some of them to death (such as "Pat," the cheerleader skit, Belushi's samauri schtick, and Kristen Wiig or Rachel Dratch playing people with various hilarious disabilities).

Saturday Night Live consists of two eras:

The Belushi era and the Eddie Murphy era.

I can't understand the appeal of any other period.

I am inclined to agree with dhartung. Also, great read!

It's a very good look at the whole SNL micro climate they've created. And it makes 30 Rock's satire even more sharp. My favorite running joke is that TPS is a *bad* but somehow venerable show. Surely that came from Tina Fey's experience at SNL.

I agree with dhartung. There has been a lot of funny shit out of SNL over the years. And a lot of, well, shit. I don't think any era has a monopoly on either.

s/TPS/TGS

I hope Janeane Garofalo lives long enough to write a scathing, 'You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again' memoir about her life in the entertainment business.

My favorite era was Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Cheri Oteri and Ana Gasteyer.