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Tough NOT to be a good lookign version of Will F.

Despite the occasional funny moment, this show hasn't been good for over 15 years. I don't know what's so shocking about a particular episode sucking. They traded in comic geniuses a long time ago for young mugs who can't keep a straight face during a routine or give smarmy fake newscasts.

There isn't one sketch comedy show that HASN'T been better than SNL. Mr. Show, Kids in the Hall, The State, Upright Citizens Brigade, Mad-TV, you name it.

You really need to see/hear his uncensored stand-up acts. SNL these days is a maelstrom that sucks up the funny and spits out some pale, mutated imitation.

As to who thinks he's funny, about half the twentysomethings out there, including me, which is probably how he got on SNL.

I haven't watched in ages. Seems I'm not missing anything.

Dane Cook is hilarious. How he did on SNL? I have no idea but he is one of the best stand up acts going right now.

Who is this Dane Cook guy? Is he in Waiting? I really don't know anything about him or his style of comedy.

I don't think watching Waiting is a real good representation of his comedy. Buy his cd/dvd.

I missed SNL last night, but Dane Cook is pretty funny. However, SNL is horrid these days and I don't get it. There's some funny people on there (Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Will Forte) and some seriously UNFUNNY people (namely Horation Sanz and Kenan Thompson)...but the unfunny people aren't "in charge." Fey is the head writer for crying out loud.

Here's what I think the problem with SNL is....

1. It's not aimed at "adults" any more. It's aimed at the teen demographic. That's why they keep getting all these shitty hosts and pop acts. I just don't think the show is for my demographic any more.

2. They simply cannot finish a sketch. 9 out of 10 sketches just clumsily wrap up and flounder into commercial. It's like they think they have a really funny premise and that should be good enough. It's not.

I hope the show rebounds but every time I watch it, it's just not funny. The Eva Longoria episode was painful.

Cook has occasionally amused me but he's not much of a talent and highly overrated. I doubt he's going to last long on SNL.

I hope he doesn't last long since he GUEST HOSTED last night.

I can only guess that Lorne Michaels is planning on making a big investment in Dane Cook.

I haven't seen a host simply open the show with stand-up since the first couple of seasons when they were trying to figure out what the show was going to be.

George Carlin/Steve Martin esque.

Less Carlin/Martin, more coked-up slightly balding Ryan Reynolds.

I saw Cook in October and he is a great stand up. I don't think anyone can say whether anyone is good or funny based on SNL. Especially this year.

Stand-ups usually do extended monologues on SNL. Jon Stewart is probably the most recent example...Jerry Seinfeld did too, and Martin Lawrence's was allegedly so off-color that it's been heavily censored in reruns.

Seinfeld's was funny. Lawrence was banned from SNL. Stewart is a stand up?

He used to be.

Used to is a long ago term. I can't tell you the last time I heard Stewart do stand up. Now he's a Liberal whore.

He may be liberal, but if he was a whore he would have taken one of those cushy network shows that were being offered to him.

Say what you will about the politics of the Daily Show, the angrier they get, the funnier they are. The cast of SNL always seems to be in a good mood. Nobody wants to laugh along with someone cheery... they wanna beat em in the head with a hockey stick instead.

It's hard to think we'll ever see greats like Dan "Male Prostitute" Aykroyd, Bill "Noogie Patrol" Murray, Dana "Nah Gah Dah" Carvey and Phil "Fire baaaaad!" Hartman now that the show has been given over to smug, attractive kids who'd rather study "American Pie" than The Marx Brothers.

Of course every now and then a Will "Cowbell" Farrell pops up to remind us it can be done.

I wish Lorne great luck with making the show dangerous again.

Lorne Michaels is middle-aged and doesn't seem to interested in rocking the boat anymore. SNL will only be dangerous again when he retires.

It is true that Horatio Sanz is rarely able to maintain a straight face in any skit. And yet, I find him hilarious. Love those fat funny guys.

Oh, come now, Dave, that wasn't even the worst SNL of the season! Catherine Zeta-Jones was pretty bad, and Steve Carell was disappointing. Although I found the Jason Lee and Eva Longoria episodes both pretty solid.

But you're right, I am left wondering what the big deal is about Dane Cook. The funniest sketches of the night were funny in *spite* of him, not because (particularly that one about the coma, where his sputtering overplaying almost derailed the whole thing). I know everyone above is just blaming SNL and saying his stand-up is really great, but his bits in the monologue were pretty typical hit-and-miss stand-up material. Above-average, maybe, but not great.

Anyway, I'm a pretty staunch SNL defender; it's too easy to say "oh, it hasn't been funny since [Hartman/Mike Myers/Sandler/Ferrell] left." For me, it's like my favorite sports team (since I don't really follow sports). The lineup changes, sometimes they have a bad year, it's hard to sustain greatness for very long, and you have to admit that sometimes they suck, but I always follow them and root for them. In the current cast, Fey, Poehler, Dratch, Rudolph (if she comes back from maternity leave), Forte, Armisen, and Meyers are all very funny. The women in particular I think are some of the best female SNL players ever.

Lorne seems to be pushing the new guys a lot -- compare with, say, Rob Riggle (I know: who?) last year, who is very funny but got only a little to do and was then let go. I wonder if a bigger shakeup is in the works for next year; it really seems like these three new guys (who mostly seem decent if not immediately distinguishable) are being groomed to "take over" once a few more people depart (Sanz and Hammond are way overdue to leave).

I'm surprised by the repeated references to SNL sucking especially bad "this year." This season, so far has, been about on par with last season. A couple of really solid episodes, a couple of really bad ones, mostly the usual hit-and-miss.

im shocked that people still even watch snl.

Amy Poehler is the only good thing on the show this year. The chick's a wild cat. In the great tradition of Gilda Radner and Cheri OTeri.

Compared them to Tiny Fey, who's comedy seems forced and carefully constructed. Like Dennis Miller she wants you think she's smart more than funny. Norm MacDonald had a way of doing both.

With all due respect to Tina Fey she was hired as a writer and not a performer.

One guy got it write above. The show is no longer dangerous. The show is like most other late night shows: pot shots at celebrities, making fun of politicians looks and verbal gaffes. I think Weekend Update is the main problem, when that is strong, the show is strong. When that's weak the show feels worse off.

this is why the Daily Show Rules!!!! it's a league ahead of SNL right now.

The Daily Show isn't sketch comedy.

The Daily Show takes on topical issues and doesn't lower the bar of its intelligence. SNL in 2000 was relevant because the Presidential Debate sketches mocked the candidates but was also informative to their stances on positions and how they were trying to please their base. It was more than "Bush is stupid" and "Gore is stiff".

But you're correct, a sketch show and a news parody show are not the same thing and maybe shouldn't be compared. But you can't argue that SNL is really hitting the skids. I think the Paris Hilton episode last year might be the worst ever, maybe one of the Ashton Kutcher's.

I forgot where SNL was still relevant?

It's a comedy show. It's not ground breaking or cutting edge anymore. It is now just pure business. It's corporate.

I agree, Hopscotch -- comparisons between The Daily Show and SNL are pretty pointless. I think "Weekend Update" is fine this year (though the personal dynamic between Fey & Fallon was a bit more unique), and most complaints against it involve this *weekly*, live, comedy-variety program not being as biting as a 30-minute satire of the news. The Daily Show is great; SNL does not aspire and has never really aspired to do what The Daily Show does -- even within the realm of Weekend Update.

A lot of the best SNL stuff is much more silly and/or absurdist than The Daily Show. If you want to say it's not as good as Kids in the Hall or even MAD TV (UGH), fine, at least that's fair, but Daily Show comparisons are ridiculous.

I mean, while you're at it, why don't you complain that SNL doesn't tell ongoing stories as well as Arrested Development?

I'm still saying that the show could have more bite and still be funny, which the Daily Show does flawlessly. And someone above wrote that they try to hard to go after the teen demo and I agree with that completely. Some of Chappelle's Show sketches did that, some were just low brow, but I thought some, the racial draft in particular struck a real chord.

Comedy can be very revealing of the signs of the times, Blu Stealer. Satire can be very informative of how our culture is responding to its leaders and its entertainment.

I'll miss you Arrested Development. You were the best of your kind in many a moon.

Cook got on because his CD has sold really well. I do agree that Lorne is probably looking to work with him on something.

He looks like Ferrel, sounds like Carrey and moves like Stiller. Actually, he used to look a lot more like that Henson dude who used to host Talk Soup. I was surprised at how out of shape he looked on SNL. If you catch his Comedy Central special from two years ago, he looks totally different. Too much road time with Attell, I guess.

Hopscotch is the one who compared the Daily Show to SNL in the first place. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

Lorne Michaels succeeded. He has people talking and discussin SNL again.

I was just acknowledging that Bruce made a good point, that Daily Show and SNL are different formats. But, I still argue they cover the same territory and Daily Show is light years better, the Longhorns are going to win the Rosebowl, Reggie Bush will get the Heisman, the moon is made of spongecake, everyone should keep glasses of their urine in empty spaces around the house.

USC 49 - Texas 30.

Bush Heisman.

Bush will get the Heisman...I shant debate that.

But the Horns shall take the game.

Texas can't keep up with the Trojans. Texas couldn't beat Notre Dame. The 2007 national champs!

Cook is a good comedian. He does have the highest selling comedy CD since Steve Martin. Don't know if he can do characters or what not but his stand up is funny stuff.

Usc-UT. I think there will be a lot of offense in that. Just a thought.

Horatio Sanz gives Latino comedians a bad name. He is killing the comedy of my people.

Anyone that thinks Dane Cook is funny should have there head examined. This guy is a tool. He brainwashed college kids through his web site to believe that he was the MAN. Which is total bull. This guy has a huge data base of robot fans that will pay to see him , and they only pay $17 to see him , if you don't believe me check out any college he has ever played at, but he has absolutely zero talent. The last time I was in New York I hung out at the "New York Comedy Club" and saw a comedian named "Robert Bella" , a cross between Steve Martin and Rodney Dangerfield , the funniest comic I have seen in years !!!! You want to laugh , see this guy , believe me you will thank me for the rest of your life. Make sure you call to see if he is performing , that way you don't go there just to see the average comedians.

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