Word: snl
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...surprisingly, such spoofs of pop culture are a staple of Mad TV's lineup, and some of its filmed movie parodies have been especially clever. Gump Fiction set America's most beloved dumbbell in the world of Quentin Tarantino, and unlike so many famously unfunny SNL skits, it actually gained momentum as it went along: See Forrest dance awkwardly with an Uma Thurman look-alike; see him assassinate President John F. Kennedy...
...despite shortcomings, the presence of Mad TV has made the battle for late night livelier than anyone might have anticipated. Nearly each week Fox and NBC issue press releases pointing to a triumph in one ratings category or another, and Mad's impressive performance has shown that SNL's supremacy may not be tenable any longer. Night Stand, a syndicated faux talk show, has acquired a small but devoted following since it made its debut in late night last fall. In it Tim Stack (who describes Night Stand as "Must Find TV") assumes the role of indulgent talk-show host...
...SNL's creator, Michaels, remains confident that he will win any present or future ratings fight. "The more people who will be watching late-night TV, the more people who will be watching us," he says, sounding like an abandoned NBC ad campaign. He professes to be unconcerned that the buzz surrounding his show is at the moment dangerously quiet. "We will prevail. As more and more people connect to the new cast members, more and more people will be talking about us." Or, as ostensibly patient NBC entertainment chief Don Ohlmeyer reminded reporters in a speech last month...
What still plagues SNL this year is a penchant for sketches that don't seem to have any point. The show's new, unexplainable fixation is with characters who yell at faceless crowds. One has Cheri Oteri in a housecoat screaming at children from her front porch. The skit is too redolent of a scene from Vicki Lawrence's Mama's Family to watch comfortably in its entirety...
...genuinely unbearable past seasons have worked to SNL's advantage--as well as Mad TV's--in the sense that our expectations for sketch comedy have diminished. "People are happy if they get one or two funny skits in a whole show," notes Fox's Corrao. Disconcerting words from a TV executive. But at the same time, it should be understood that sketch comedy has become increasingly difficult to produce. What does it mean to produce alternative comedy when mainstream pop culture has become so self-mocking? When Miller Lite commercials do smart send-ups of kung fu movies, when...