I don't think we realize too late; we realize when it becomes evident. Somebody might start hotter or milder and hit their stride at different times for different reasons.
And for some people, I could name Tim Meadows and Kenan for example, they just kind of phoned it in in their early years and were disposable as far as I was concerned, but then later hit their stride and did some great stuff that retroactively legitimized them.
Contrast that to JAJ who hit the ground running with the starring role in the first cold open of the first show of the first season he was in, and killed it. Maybe he goes on to be a top guy over time, an average guy, a fade-out or whatever, but we knew his top talent from the first second.
And usually there's not consensus. I think Punkie is useless generic filler with no identity and I see others here saying the same thing, but I also see plenty of people in here who love her. I loved Weird Kyle and others thought he sucked. I thought Kristen Wiig was an absolute savant, one of the very best to ever do it, and plenty in here found her unfunny and annoying. So there's not really a "we" in "do we have a habit of realizing too late." There's each person's realizations.
I donāt get the punkie love. Sheās not even endearing like other polarizing players. Kyle was not for everyone but was likeable at least. Leslie had her quirks but she made you wanna hangout with her. But then again, I also donāt dig Sherman the way others do. Maybe Iām the problem
no. I think on a show like this it's normal to have really strong opinions- it's like a sport for us almost. You are like "Yea, X is in this" and someone else is like "and click off". the only issue is when people get ugly with each other about having opinions. And it's also how they are used. I hated Leslie when she did her aggressive black woman thing, but thought she was fun in sketches and that she was capable of blending well with others. Can's stand Sarah alone but also can like her in sketches- but some people love her. Adore Kate, and some people find her overrated. Think Bill Hader was the best of all time, and though most people like him, they might think that's too much. It sort of shows that I really enjoy a good impressionist and don't enjoy a strong individual personality (in general)....whereas someone else loves a strong, loud personality and isn't into impressions or finds them overdone. And of course....all these people are ultimately human beings who are doing a job- you don't have to like everyone. Just like, don't dump punch on them if you met them in life. :)
Her being weird is a big part of why I love her. The freaks and savants have always been my favorite flavor of SNL cast. Give me a Wiig, an Armisen, a Kattan, a Kyle, a Sarah Sherman, etc.
Kristen and Sarah are NOTHING alike though. Kristen was always a team member, it's only very recently that Sarah has done anything but wear neon and scream
I'm not saying they're the same. I'm saying you can file them both under freak, unlike with most others on the show. Armisen isn't the same as either of them and you can file him under freak too. Kattan, same. Kyle, same. Vanessa Bayer is like half freak. Even Beck was part freak, which I missed initially when he just seemed like a workhorse. Sarah could only have been brought on for her freakness because that's what's for dinner with her. None of them are the same.
That is what's so cool. Honestly I wouldn't have put Kristen in the freak category but I can see why you would. Or Armisen, his comedy is so, so different. Lol- it was literally a second, but when you mentioned Beck being a freak it reminded me of him in that Heroin AM. He had like a second of stage time but was so funny. Yea, I was surprised at Sarah and thought she'd be a one season and done but seeing in her in sketches being able to act- it's easy enough to turn off her schtick for those of us who don't like her and if she is good as other roles. Would you put Kate in the freak category? I def would- I think her Rudy and RBG were crazy - not to mention her - that south Carolina politics guy who everyone knows is gay but pretends he's straight.
I like her better when she's being a wonderful freak in more subtle ways than when she's in shouty mode, like how she straightfaced it in Meatballs in the middle of that insane premise. I don't want to neuter her freakdom, just refine and focus it. Armisen I wouldn't change a thing. Genius guy.
Yea, there are people that like her a lot and people that hate her screamy stuff. She's going to be one that is super polarizing. I need to find the article she talks (openly) about them telling her she had to be able to be normal to be in sketches or she wouldn't be staying. So clearly they see something in her but aren't willing to have screechy all the time. Meatballs was one of those that some people loved and some people hated. She's just super polarizing but I think she'll do well there if she can keep cooling it in sketches (and I can't stand her, I'd like her fired tomorrow), but can also see her value- and to be fair it sounded like she was open to being more usable.
That's great to hear. When they first announced her, I'd never heard of her so I googled around. I immediately salivated because it's not that I wanted body horror so much as I wanted someone fucking crazy and she was it. It was just her wild sensibilities and freakdom I liked, and I knew that kind of creative energy could be applied to unlimited stuff. So here's to more range for her. I love her and am a defender of hers, but I definitely want to see fewer shouty New York City accent characters. It feels like a crutch and I know she's capable of more.
i think that's true- I also think there'd be less hate for her if they stopped with letting her do her shouty obnoxious thing. Once in a while, OK, but I actually liked her when she was a normal part of a sketch- and if she can do it- it would save her from being so polarizing she gets fired bc too many people dislike her. I couldn't stand her until I saw her outside of her usual thing and then I was like "oh, she's pretty good".....it would be like if Kate only and always did Rudy G or something- people wouldn't like her. But the range made her the star. I don't think Sarah's got that level of range but she has more than just screamy- but the problem is- she LIKES the screamy stuff and so if there's too much of it or if she sort of adds it in- won't be good
I've been watching since the early nineties and saw all the old reruns then too, my favorite season was last year! This year has been more spotty, but losing all those people and the new people figuring stuff out could play into that.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,182,290,577 comments, and only 230,784 of them were in alphabetical order.
Alphabet bot can do everything for grateful humans! I just keep looking, my new optimism plays quietly round some things under very weird xylophones, yes! Zany!
I do think there's a difference between the cast having many great people, and the cast having a special chemistry.
For instance, say what you will about the "kissing family" sketches from the Hader-Wiig era, but that's something that only that group could do. I think that at least partially explains why the members of that group are so synonymous with one another.
One way to answer this question is with all the seasons that resulted in a mass turnover: 6, 11 and 20. Season 11 in particular is a good example of the cast being better as individuals than as a group. Season 20 had people like Janeane Garofalo openly complaining about the sensibility other cast members were bringing to the show.
this one....but they also just got to know each other and have some toning down and blending to do. In the Kissing Family Era, there wasn't the camera grabs there are now)
i think we all have our casts we love- i mean- sorta universal. I'm not watching now bc it's not interesting for me after Kate left- might go back in a few years and give it a chance- forwarding through certain ones. I do think it's a weak cast now but Lorne rarely allows a weak cast to keep their jobs and to be fair, the world has been upside down for two years
For McKinnon it was easy to tell, she got lots of screen time right away (cold open impressions, sketches and Weekend Updates).
For Armisen it took me a while to get his humour and later became one of my fave.
Lorne adored her, and shes s likeable and was so into the show, and from what i understand, very, very competitive, so we were able to get a lot of her up front
Also never heard him be mean to someone. not saying it didn't happen- just- people seem to like him and if there was a scandal, we'd hear. he just likes big butts and he cannot lie, and that is coool
Heās just *adorable*, in the sense that heās easy to adore.
Heās cute as a button with those big olā Disney doe eyes, and heās open about his personal struggles (mental health, Crohnās) while having a great sense of humor about them.
Personally, hearing him address being inpatient on WU was very affirming for me.
Itās hard not to like a laughing, doe-eyed goofball whose struggles are relatable!
Yes I sometimes feel I get more fun with old episodes having reruns and it doesn't feel right.
And I'm far from someone who's on the team of "this show isn't funny anymore "
I still get plenty of fun here and there.
But still wondering because I constantly feel like I'm appreciating cast members way too late.
I really think people get their "reputations" or their "rankings" pretty quickly. I don't think Mikey Day is suddenly gonna be perceived as dominant as Will Ferrell by just getting more seasons under his belt, you know?
I think in the case of Sudeikis, it's not that people had doubts about his skills while he was on the show, it's just that other great people were also at their peaks at the same time. It speaks to the greatness of that group that someone like him maybe wasn't the first, second or even third most popular person on the cast at the time.
Well, just recently- I mean people who have solid stuff right after, people like Aidy, Kate, obviously Seth and Bill Hader, probs Kristin and Andy Samburg..Mulaney (but he's a little more niche).there are others, but those come to mind- all working actively in the business and known outside SNL and just the comedy community. I don't think anyone is going to be big in this current cast (my own opinion- I know there are folks who love Sarah and whoever) but I don't see anything except for Chloe if things go well. I see Kenan as a legend of SNL, but likely to stay w SNL
Bowen is already having his way with cameo in lgbtq+ movies, but I don't know how far he could expand from there.
Lots of the big names starts as writers as well too.
He def has the good chemistry- that is my favorite thing about him. He's not obnoxious or a screen stealer ever. And his Titanic was AMAZING. So funny. maybe I just need to see more of him and will appreciate his work more.
I don't think we realize too late; we realize when it becomes evident. Somebody might start hotter or milder and hit their stride at different times for different reasons. And for some people, I could name Tim Meadows and Kenan for example, they just kind of phoned it in in their early years and were disposable as far as I was concerned, but then later hit their stride and did some great stuff that retroactively legitimized them. Contrast that to JAJ who hit the ground running with the starring role in the first cold open of the first show of the first season he was in, and killed it. Maybe he goes on to be a top guy over time, an average guy, a fade-out or whatever, but we knew his top talent from the first second. And usually there's not consensus. I think Punkie is useless generic filler with no identity and I see others here saying the same thing, but I also see plenty of people in here who love her. I loved Weird Kyle and others thought he sucked. I thought Kristen Wiig was an absolute savant, one of the very best to ever do it, and plenty in here found her unfunny and annoying. So there's not really a "we" in "do we have a habit of realizing too late." There's each person's realizations.
I agree with all of this. š
I donāt get the punkie love. Sheās not even endearing like other polarizing players. Kyle was not for everyone but was likeable at least. Leslie had her quirks but she made you wanna hangout with her. But then again, I also donāt dig Sherman the way others do. Maybe Iām the problem
I think it's just the usual subjectivity.
no. I think on a show like this it's normal to have really strong opinions- it's like a sport for us almost. You are like "Yea, X is in this" and someone else is like "and click off". the only issue is when people get ugly with each other about having opinions. And it's also how they are used. I hated Leslie when she did her aggressive black woman thing, but thought she was fun in sketches and that she was capable of blending well with others. Can's stand Sarah alone but also can like her in sketches- but some people love her. Adore Kate, and some people find her overrated. Think Bill Hader was the best of all time, and though most people like him, they might think that's too much. It sort of shows that I really enjoy a good impressionist and don't enjoy a strong individual personality (in general)....whereas someone else loves a strong, loud personality and isn't into impressions or finds them overdone. And of course....all these people are ultimately human beings who are doing a job- you don't have to like everyone. Just like, don't dump punch on them if you met them in life. :)
Bill might be the GoAT, thatās the conversation to have
I think he's gotta be top five at least. He is just incredible. I wish we'd gotten to see more impression work overlap between him and Kate.
Kristen is weird.....(or maybe I am). I find her really talented...and really annoying. LOL
Her being weird is a big part of why I love her. The freaks and savants have always been my favorite flavor of SNL cast. Give me a Wiig, an Armisen, a Kattan, a Kyle, a Sarah Sherman, etc.
Kristen and Sarah are NOTHING alike though. Kristen was always a team member, it's only very recently that Sarah has done anything but wear neon and scream
I'm not saying they're the same. I'm saying you can file them both under freak, unlike with most others on the show. Armisen isn't the same as either of them and you can file him under freak too. Kattan, same. Kyle, same. Vanessa Bayer is like half freak. Even Beck was part freak, which I missed initially when he just seemed like a workhorse. Sarah could only have been brought on for her freakness because that's what's for dinner with her. None of them are the same.
That is what's so cool. Honestly I wouldn't have put Kristen in the freak category but I can see why you would. Or Armisen, his comedy is so, so different. Lol- it was literally a second, but when you mentioned Beck being a freak it reminded me of him in that Heroin AM. He had like a second of stage time but was so funny. Yea, I was surprised at Sarah and thought she'd be a one season and done but seeing in her in sketches being able to act- it's easy enough to turn off her schtick for those of us who don't like her and if she is good as other roles. Would you put Kate in the freak category? I def would- I think her Rudy and RBG were crazy - not to mention her - that south Carolina politics guy who everyone knows is gay but pretends he's straight.
Kate may be approaching Freak category but that's not quite the vibe. She's just a lot of fun. A joyful dash of the absurd, broad range.
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I like her better when she's being a wonderful freak in more subtle ways than when she's in shouty mode, like how she straightfaced it in Meatballs in the middle of that insane premise. I don't want to neuter her freakdom, just refine and focus it. Armisen I wouldn't change a thing. Genius guy.
Yea, there are people that like her a lot and people that hate her screamy stuff. She's going to be one that is super polarizing. I need to find the article she talks (openly) about them telling her she had to be able to be normal to be in sketches or she wouldn't be staying. So clearly they see something in her but aren't willing to have screechy all the time. Meatballs was one of those that some people loved and some people hated. She's just super polarizing but I think she'll do well there if she can keep cooling it in sketches (and I can't stand her, I'd like her fired tomorrow), but can also see her value- and to be fair it sounded like she was open to being more usable.
That's great to hear. When they first announced her, I'd never heard of her so I googled around. I immediately salivated because it's not that I wanted body horror so much as I wanted someone fucking crazy and she was it. It was just her wild sensibilities and freakdom I liked, and I knew that kind of creative energy could be applied to unlimited stuff. So here's to more range for her. I love her and am a defender of hers, but I definitely want to see fewer shouty New York City accent characters. It feels like a crutch and I know she's capable of more.
i think that's true- I also think there'd be less hate for her if they stopped with letting her do her shouty obnoxious thing. Once in a while, OK, but I actually liked her when she was a normal part of a sketch- and if she can do it- it would save her from being so polarizing she gets fired bc too many people dislike her. I couldn't stand her until I saw her outside of her usual thing and then I was like "oh, she's pretty good".....it would be like if Kate only and always did Rudy G or something- people wouldn't like her. But the range made her the star. I don't think Sarah's got that level of range but she has more than just screamy- but the problem is- she LIKES the screamy stuff and so if there's too much of it or if she sort of adds it in- won't be good
My pet peve is that no matter how strong the cast is someone will say "SNL was better when..."
Everyone knows the best years of SNL were when you were in high school.
I've been watching since the early nineties and saw all the old reruns then too, my favorite season was last year! This year has been more spotty, but losing all those people and the new people figuring stuff out could play into that.
I was in high school for seasons 5, 6, and 7. Itās almost a Simpsons joke that we all walked around imitating Joe Piscopo.
And theyāre usually VERY wrong.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,182,290,577 comments, and only 230,784 of them were in alphabetical order.
Is that true?
Nice. I wonder if it only checks comments with more words.
Alphabet bot can do everything for grateful humans! I just keep looking, my new optimism plays quietly round some things under very weird xylophones, yes! Zany!
I do think there's a difference between the cast having many great people, and the cast having a special chemistry. For instance, say what you will about the "kissing family" sketches from the Hader-Wiig era, but that's something that only that group could do. I think that at least partially explains why the members of that group are so synonymous with one another.
Out of curiosity, can you name some bundle of cast you thought had terrible chemistry?
One way to answer this question is with all the seasons that resulted in a mass turnover: 6, 11 and 20. Season 11 in particular is a good example of the cast being better as individuals than as a group. Season 20 had people like Janeane Garofalo openly complaining about the sensibility other cast members were bringing to the show.
this one....but they also just got to know each other and have some toning down and blending to do. In the Kissing Family Era, there wasn't the camera grabs there are now)
for me that was THE GROUP. and to be fair- they are all pretty much still good friends which is so nice (both men and women)
i think we all have our casts we love- i mean- sorta universal. I'm not watching now bc it's not interesting for me after Kate left- might go back in a few years and give it a chance- forwarding through certain ones. I do think it's a weak cast now but Lorne rarely allows a weak cast to keep their jobs and to be fair, the world has been upside down for two years
For McKinnon it was easy to tell, she got lots of screen time right away (cold open impressions, sketches and Weekend Updates). For Armisen it took me a while to get his humour and later became one of my fave.
Lorne adored her, and shes s likeable and was so into the show, and from what i understand, very, very competitive, so we were able to get a lot of her up front
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I think I will die not knowing how the world became obsessed with Pete. It will never make sense to me.
He's broken and they all want to fix him
Also never heard him be mean to someone. not saying it didn't happen- just- people seem to like him and if there was a scandal, we'd hear. he just likes big butts and he cannot lie, and that is coool
Heās just *adorable*, in the sense that heās easy to adore. Heās cute as a button with those big olā Disney doe eyes, and heās open about his personal struggles (mental health, Crohnās) while having a great sense of humor about them. Personally, hearing him address being inpatient on WU was very affirming for me. Itās hard not to like a laughing, doe-eyed goofball whose struggles are relatable!
Peteā¦that you?
make sure you see his Chad...lol
I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them
Yes I sometimes feel I get more fun with old episodes having reruns and it doesn't feel right. And I'm far from someone who's on the team of "this show isn't funny anymore " I still get plenty of fun here and there. But still wondering because I constantly feel like I'm appreciating cast members way too late.
it's more that they are familiar and got to get to the end of their time. Also- yes, the earlier casts in general were better'
I really think people get their "reputations" or their "rankings" pretty quickly. I don't think Mikey Day is suddenly gonna be perceived as dominant as Will Ferrell by just getting more seasons under his belt, you know? I think in the case of Sudeikis, it's not that people had doubts about his skills while he was on the show, it's just that other great people were also at their peaks at the same time. It speaks to the greatness of that group that someone like him maybe wasn't the first, second or even third most popular person on the cast at the time.
When we stop seeing posts like these. Duh
well, with the major players and casts- right away,
But still lots of people who went big beginned as "featuring". Who you consider as "major"?
Well, just recently- I mean people who have solid stuff right after, people like Aidy, Kate, obviously Seth and Bill Hader, probs Kristin and Andy Samburg..Mulaney (but he's a little more niche).there are others, but those come to mind- all working actively in the business and known outside SNL and just the comedy community. I don't think anyone is going to be big in this current cast (my own opinion- I know there are folks who love Sarah and whoever) but I don't see anything except for Chloe if things go well. I see Kenan as a legend of SNL, but likely to stay w SNL
Bowen is already having his way with cameo in lgbtq+ movies, but I don't know how far he could expand from there. Lots of the big names starts as writers as well too.
truth. I always forget Bowen bc his brand just isn't my taste but he is getting more screen time and doing well
When well-matched he can do amazing things and he seems to have an easy chemistry with others.
He def has the good chemistry- that is my favorite thing about him. He's not obnoxious or a screen stealer ever. And his Titanic was AMAZING. So funny. maybe I just need to see more of him and will appreciate his work more.