What's wrong with SNL

In a quick word, ditch the cue cards.

in the 70's what made the for the best Carol Burnett episodes?
- The Tim Conway and Harvey Corman chemistry made for great entertainment. We never knew when one would throw the other off we waited for it and usually were rewarded once or twice per show.

What made the best Kids in the Hall episodes?
-bizarre unexpected cuts to tragic characters in distress

What made the best SNL episodes?
-Comedians performing well honed characters and impersonations, fake TV commercials, and show openers that are politically and socially timely and cutting.

What made the best Johnny Carson shows?
-the unscripted and unpredictable moments with guests, along with his opening monologue and precise comedic timing.

MAD TV ?
-pop culture parodies galore from running gags like Spisshack and Lowered Expectations, Kenny Rogers, Stephen Segal, Oprah and wild Dr Phil impersonations

For SNL, i have a feeling that the rigours of executing a safe and predictable live show along with the desire to keep employed at a high profile show, and fall in line with the acceptable limits of NBC's humour are enough pressures to bevel the edge off any performer.

I wonder what would the show look like if the current cast owned it and had full control of its content without corporate breathing down their backs?

Tracy Morgan, I watched him on SNL years ago and i wasn't sure what i was witnessing. A funny guy mechanically reading cue cards staring at them like a life line. Similar to what he did tonight.

Watching him on 30 Rock has been pure joy, he is hilarious and over the top. On Jimmy Fallon last week i could see that the crazy character he plays on 30 Rock is a subset of who he really is. Why did it take Tina Fey's admiration of Tracy to give him the justice on screen he deserves? Why SNL failed Tracy Morgan points to a long history of the cardboard box execution of the live show and heavy reliance on cue cards.

On the Fallon Late Night Show Tracy said going back to SNL was like going home. No doubt, I'm sure the whole week developing the show with co-writers, comedians, familiar staffers, and Executive Producer Lorne Micheal's is a fantastic and celebratory High School Prom Night experience, topped off with a night long Saturday evening post show party on the town. I assume the creating of sketch ideas and characters is like a frat house of pranks, inside jokes, and all the good stuff that makes for lifelong friends and memories, but the night of the show, as a viewer I often feel that the final product is probably more important to the performers memories of the week making the show than to the audience who tunes in expecting to witness a history making performance or two as it happens live.

As a kid i watched the first episodes on TV. I don't remember all the episodes but in particular i do cherish the memory of John Belushi impersonating Joe Cocker, even though as a child i'd never seen Joe Cocker. Intense, electric and over the top, a slow walk in the park turned into a run for your life tornado all in a short performace. Later in life i did meet Mr Cocker in person when i worked at Kingswood Music theatre in 1987, the insane impersonation from Belushi still lived with me and i chuckled quietly to myself every time i saw Joe and his organized clipboard notes speaking in his prim and proper soft, educated English voice, while discussing performance particulars with the brass section, i waited for him to freak out in a spasm at any time, it never happened then and only briefly during the performance did he stand on his toes and clench his fists, thanks SNL for dementing me at a young age.

When i watch the show more often than not i feel that most performances are stale and teleprompter driven combined with old fashioned stiff directing and unionized switcher operation.

As a viewer/observer this is how it appears: the switcher/show director will punch in the person about to speak, the actor will clearly be staring into the distance at the cue cards or teleprompter, standing or sitting still, they begin a stale delivery with a 'look-at-me-everybody' smile, finish the sentences then the switcher will punch up the second person, a brief pause occurs while the second person finds their spot on the teleprompter and they begin reading their lines with a similar 'hello mom' smile. Out to a brief two shot, back to the reader, out to a two shot again then back to person #1 to deliver stale teleprompter lines again. If there was a need for a prerecorded flashback there is almost always a 2 second delay of uncomfortable silence combined with the source not cued to the proper point. This is a digital world people, BAM it should be ready to go like a keyboard player hitting a sampled note.

Am i alone or is the "VTR" or playback operator clearly a union employee with a malicious obedience problem?

Ya... shows like Mad TV, and Comedy Inc, do a zillion takes and let comedians go nuts which makes for a great package after the editing process. But... if Lorne Michael's is listening i would urge him to let down his hair in his old age and allow for some unscripted shenanigans during performances in the spirit of Carol Burnett, Harvey Corman and Tim Conway.

What would happen if actors knew that one sketch would be steered off track gradually into an all out improv but never knew when or who it would happen to? What is wrong with watching actors experience uncomfortable moments not knowing how to respond to surprises then waiting for an even better comeback or being rescued by others? We are all having fun then aren't we? The viewers, audience members and cast are all part of a flowing performance that we know ends with a break to a commercial, but take us there in a Ferrari on a roller coaster please.

General show observations.

Tracy Morgans safari sketch could have used some more prerecorded prep materials, more flashbacks, less lip makeup, and better stage setup with both actors positioned more closely instead of appearing to be performing in different rooms. I thought it was at first promising but quickly became stale, badly timed delivery, interaction, and cueing of premade elements made for an all round dud.

Killer John Malcovich impersonation on the News Segment.

Suppress-ex was well done with the exception of Tracy reading cue cards held too high. Sitting still with little animation, hands on knees.

One of the things that Chris Farley did very well was that he always appeared to be moving and doing something within character that contributed to the performance regardless if it was his turn or not to read cue cards.

So where does SNL consistently shine?

#1 the News Segment. Allows for everyone to bring their A game impersonations, musical talents and comical observations to the viewers. The News spawned and showcased many people that went on to great career successes, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Gilda Radner, Norm MacDonald, Adam Sandler, and Tina Fey to name only a few.

#2 Killer character(s) that are allowed to milk it week after week.
Eddie Murphy doing James Brown, and the Kill my Landlord character in my opinion was the ultimate pinnacle of SNL, also Will Ferrel cheerleader sketches, Chris Farley doing Coach Ditka, the motivational speaker, Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin and others who have finely crafted comical clones.

#3 Game show gags.
When all else fails fall back to a game show parody with clued out contestants, pissed off straight man host, and malfunctioning props.

#4 Animated shorts,
from the old Mr Bill bits that were so terrible they were brilliant, to Ace, Gary and their two codpieces, fun with audio, Scooby Do ripoffs.

#5 Prerecorded parodies, fakes tv commercials, and skits, Dick in the Box, I'm on a boat, Colon Blast cereal, and more.

where do you think SNL could do better?