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Saturday Night Live:
The Y2K season (1999-2000)
A Techtite
Review...of the cast!
An ensemble show is only as good
as its ensemble. Sure, writers create half the laughs
(as well as half the boos), though the cast is the core
of the show. So, how do you review the most recent (1999-2000)
season of Saturday Night Live? By reviewing it's
end-of-season cast, one by one. Ready? Here we go:
Jimmy Fallon Best Nickname:
Adam Sandler groupie Season Summary:
At times, Fallon doesn't know if he wants to impersonate Adam
Sandler, or perhaps just Rob Schneider. Most of his work is easily
traced to one or the other's former skits. While Fallon has good
potential, too many of his skits seem "cloned" from
older Sandler/Schneider routines. High Point: Nick Burns the "company computer guy"
is an acceptable spin on Schneider's similar "office geek"
character Low
Point: singing songs
during SNL news, just like Sandler used to...yet not half as
funny. Approval
Rating: 
Near Miss.
Will Ferrell Best
Nickname: Lord of the
(Sidekick) Dance Season
Summary: Ferrell has coasted
through this season the same way he has for years; on the coattails
of female SNL talent. Whether he's the male cheerleader standing
next to Cheri Oteri, or the organ playing "husband"
next to "Mrs. Cope" Ana Gasteyer, he's the parsley on
the SNL plate! High
Point: Whenever Oteri,
Shannon, or Gasteyer can save his sorry a$$. Low Point: Whenever he does a skit alone. Approval Rating: 
Burnout. Sorry.
Ana Gasteyer Best Nickname:
Not-so-plain Jane Season
Summary: Gasteyer has
made a whole SNL career out of being the plane-Jane of the skits.
Whether she's a soft spoken AM radio talk show host, or Martha
Stewart herself, she has such roles down pat, and plays them
acceptably well. High
Point: Whenever poking
fun at Martha Stewart Low Point:
Singer-and-wife Bobbi Mohann Cope; sure, it puts Will Farrell in a skit...it's not a funny skit, though Approval Rating: 
Small Crater.
Darrel Hammond Best Nickname:
A Clinton look-alike...ewww! Season Summary:
It's not uncommon for a comic to impersonate the Prez on SNL.
However, it's rare for this to be their best work on the show.
Hammond is the reigning "Bill Clinton" impersonator,
yet apparently, not much else. High Point: Playing Bill Clinton in his vacation cabin...with
guest star Monica Lewinsky! Low Point:
As Clinton, begging New York to take Hillary off his hands. Approval Rating: Clinton's too easy a target:
Near Miss.
Chris Kattan Best Nickname:
The man of a thousand faces...all of them the same! Season Summary: Chris is hilarious as a skit comedian,
yet has his moments of cockiness; he feels he can impersonate
the latest Hollywood Hunk du jour, without any make-up.
Each week, it's a guessing game: Is he supposed to be Antonio
Banderas, John Claude Van-Damme, or...who? It's like having Leonardo
Dicaprio impersonate Arnold Shwartzenegger! He's funny, though
impersonation is not his strong point. High Point: Acting like Oteri's randy boyfriend in those "dirty
talking lovers" skits. Low Point:
letting Juliana Margulies spit half-chewed food into his mouth.
Yuck! Approval
Rating:
Small Crater...that
half-chewed food skit was a bit too much.
Tim
Meadows Best Nickname: SNL's "token COMEDIAN!"
Season
Summary: Every few seasons,
SNL's sole ethnic performer outshines nearly all other cast members.
Not unlike Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy in their day, Meadows
will surely go far...if the show's writers let him. How funny
is funny? On the show airing May 20th (2000), his opening skit
of "Who Wants to be My Skank?" --a parody of The
Dating Game-- made me tempted to watch the whole rest
of the show, even though the entire rest of the show totally
sucked! Such is the power of a great comic. High Point: As the Taxi-Driver of an "HBO's
Taxicab Confessions" skit, distracted by sexy passenger
Christina Ricci...and promptly running over pedestrians! Low Point: Whenever he's not used enough. Approval Rating: 
Large Crater.
Tracy Morgan Best Nickname:
Tim Meadows' understudy Season Summary:
He's good, does solid work, and has potential. However, he needs
better skit characters. Unfortunately, with Meadows the more
seasoned comedian, he's often doing the lesser skits, while Meadows
does the tougher ones. If Meadows puts him under his wing, he
could go far. High
Point: In a commercial
parody, as Aunt Jemima's husband. Low Point: No recurring skit characters...yet. Approval Rating:
Near Miss.
Cheri
Oteri Best Nickname: The Ready for prime time player...you
go, girl! Season
Summary: Take a lesson
from prior female comediennes on SNL; the longer you stay, the
less chance you get of ever doing anything else! With every passing
episode she is put in worse SNL skits...and, after 6 years, it's
not like she's getting any younger. It's
time she kicked her agent in the backside (or, wherever), and got
the lead actress sitcom/movie roles she deserves...before it's too late!
High Point: All those hilarious "dirty talk"
skits, with Chris Kattan as her boyfriend Low Point: ...as Joy Lipton, the nerdette during SNL news skits, selling
geeky "sensual aids." The character is too pitiful
to be funny. Approval
Rating:
Large Crater
(Used to be Deep Impact...go, girl, while
it's still up there!)
Chris Parnell Best Nickname:
"Who?" Season
Summary: The problem
with impersonation comedy is, if you do too good a job, with
too much make-up, nobody recognizes you. That said, Parnell might
as well be a Klingon on Star Trek; I can't place his face at
all. High
Point: Being noticed
as the "French digger" in that skit where so many men
were digging to the center of the Earth. Low Point: Being part of that skit! Approval Rating:
Near Miss, until he's given a good skit!
Colin
Quinn Best Nickname: MTV's loss, SNL's gain Season Summary: As SNL's current "newsman,"
Quinn does a better job than anyone has in years. It seems like
an easy gig, just reading the teleprompter; however, Norm MacDonald
and other news "anchors" have proven otherwise. Quinn
makes a few flubs, yet knows how to keep the skit rolling. High Point: A Sense of humor; when mentioning
on May 13th that Paula Jones would be in Penthouse, an
audience member groaned as if dying from deathly fear. Quinn
paused to laugh...as did the audience. Low Point: Mentioning Paula Jones again. Approval Rating:
Large Crater
Horatio Sanz Best Nickname:
Talented Heavyweight Season Summary:
This chubby comic is so likeable, even Sarah Michelle Gellar
gave him a big spontaneous hug after a skit. This is a guy who
could possibly be a cross between John Belushi and Chris Farley...and
that's a very good thing. High Point:
when acting like one of many fans approaching Gellar, he's seen
half-done eating the box of chocolates he brought her. His "guilty
expression" to the camera was classic. Low Point: Acting like the Asian star of "Martial Law"
in front of Jackie Chan! Approval Rating: Large Crater
Molly Shannon Best Nickname:
"Superstar" in training Season Summary: I guess the most avid of SNL fans just "lovedit
lovedit lovedit" when Shannon's trademark character, Mary
"Catholic School Girl" Gallagher, was put in a movie.
SO, why is that character such a no-show this season? Instead,
we get Molly Shannon as the middle aged "joyologist"
Helen Madden, whose trademark line is "I lovitt I lovitt
I lovitt Iovittt!" (YAWN). Her potential is great,
yet she went through the season on cruise-control. High Point: Her charisma, which shows she enjoys
her work; a big plus Low Point:
impersonating Angelina Jolie (with Chris Kattan as her brother),
and making sicko incest "jokes." Not funny, kids! Approval Rating:
Small Crater.
Robert Smigel (as in: "Cartoons by...")
Best Nickname: The Best reason to revive Mr. Bill Season Summary: Sure, his cartoons were funny...two
years ago. Now, Robert's formerly biting, humorous sarcasm has
been replaced with weak, humorless clichés. Yes, we all remember
how Jon Lovitz became popular with his "Yeah, that's the
ticket!" motto, though showing the lifespan of this running
gag seemed to last for hours! Other recent animations are for
mere soft-porn shock value. High Point:
Poking fun at Madonna, who is a very easy target! Low Point: Not even a return of The Ambiguously
Gay Duo, late in the season, could generate any laughs anymore.
Approval
Rating:
Burnout.
Time to put Smigel cartoon reels on a storage shelf, next to
Mr. Bill.
Rachel Dratch
Best Nickname: Creepy Kid Sister Season Summary: Dratch is a new comer, with little idea of where
to put her. She has no big skits of her own, and often only impersonates,
well, freaks! The first time I noticed her was as Christina
Ricci's "sister," in an opening skit that was ridiculous (Ricci's sister?
So what's the joke?). Most recently
(shown here; she's the one on the right), she played the "inbred
love child" of Angelina Jolie (Shannon) and her brother
(Kattan), complete with drooling mouth. She's a good sport, yet
deserves much better. High Point:
Sadly, she hasn't been on long enough for a high point. Low Point: Acting like Jolie's "inbred love
child"...and I can't believe I had to mention that twice!
Approval
Rating:
Burnout;
get a more likeable skit character, and ditch the "freak"
skits!
Maya
Rudolph Best Nickname: The Wallflower with potential. Season Summary: Rudolph is the comedienne who's got
"the look," yet hasn't been offered the chance to show
it yet. Often, she's put in a skit which required a woman who's
less pasty-white than the rest of the female cast. Such skits
are often shown near the end of the show. If I was Maya, I'd
demand better. High
Point: As Jackie Chan's
wife, in an amusing spin of the classic "Ancient Chinese
Secret" Calgon commercial Low Point: Being in not many more skits than that! Approval Rating:
Small Crater.
Final Grade?
all told, the above ratings average smack dab in the middle,
just between "Marginal Thumbs Down" and "Marginal
Thumbs Up." So what to choose? Well, with guest stars like
Britney Spears, Sarah Michelle Gellar, John Goodman, Jackie Chan,
Ben Affleck, and many others, I'd say that pulls the show just
barely into the thumbs-up category. This isn't as much of a compliment
as you'd expect, however. It's time for a big overhaul; one or
two new faces, and new writers. Get to it!
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