'SNL': 10 Ways to Fix It

[TMC]

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Hot young hosts there mainly to plug failed movies? An utter dearth of
great pop-culture parody? No more! See our sure-fire ways to help
NBC's weekend staple raise its game

By Margaret Lyons, Annie Barrett | Nov 20, 2009

Enough with the parade of sexy young startlets!
Buzzed-about twentysomethings with current projects to promote don't
always make the best SNL hosts. Instead of a tepid Megan Fox or an
abysmal January Jones, why not try Jane Lynch, who's massively popular
on Glee, or Mo'Nique, star of sleeper hit Precious? Throw Nathan
Fillion in there for some geek cred. It'd be less work for the writing
staff, too, because these people are...(gasp) actually funny!

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Leave the policy dissections to The Daily Show: SNL needs to go wacky
and use its imagination in covering politics.
The great political sketches in SNL's history have rarely been biting
commentary; instead, they've been goofy send-ups (Clinton, anyone?),
silly prat-falls (Ford, duh), and over-the-top parodies (Bush, Bush,
Gore, and — flashback time! — Ross Perot). Let The Daily Show take
jabs at Fox News and CNN and bring SNL's political focus back toward
energetic absurdity.

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There is, in fact, such a thing as too much Kristen Wiig.
We've enjoyed Gilly, Penelope, Suze Orman, Target lady, closeted field
reporter, and many of Wiig's other characters over the years, but even
her biggest fans must be hitting a wall of fatigue. How can we
appreciate the woman if she never leaves the screen? Not every sketch
needs to center around a neurotic character with a verbal or facial
tic. ''Sorry.''

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Give us more frequent and more sharply focused pop-culture parodies.
Spoofs of popular shows and movies — those are the things that ought
to be SNL's bread and butter. It a way to tease and be part of the
specific cultural moment, plus it's funnier than yet another Target
Lady trainwreck. Exhibit A: That wicked Twilight spoof starring Taylor
Swift!

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A multiplatinum CD shouldn't be a requirement for musical guests.
We miss the days of having to Google the artists we'd never heard of
until just before they started rocking the SNL stage. Be a tastemaker,
not a follower! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Regina Spektor: Yeah. U2: Nah.
Consider up-and-coming indie acts like Florence and the Machine
instead of having the Black Eyed Peas perform three songs. Bonus: You
won't have to fight with Live With Regis & Kelly to book the bulk of
your bands.

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Set Seth Meyers free!
The ''Weekend Update'' anchor and head writer has, in recent stand-up
acts and late-night appearances, offered up would-be SNL lines that
were too racy or strange to air. Guess what? They're hilarious.
(''According to a new study, college students put on six to nine
pounds during their freshman year because of dramatic increases in
beer-drinking and decreases in physical activity ... which means the
rest of your 'freshman 15' is probably a baby.'') When ''Update'' gets
aggressive, it's Meyers at his best. Unleash it! Let that jerk flag
fly!

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Not every black female character can be played by Kenan Thompson.
Ugh, do we even have to explain this one? We'd say the show's writers
could have the guest host play, oh, Beyoncé or Michelle Obama, but
only three black women have hosted the show in the last 10 years.
Anyone spotting a ridiculous problem here?

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More surprise guests during Weekend Update, please!
Any time Amy Poehler can find time to leave her important post at the
Parks and Recreation Dept. to drop in on her old co-host Seth Meyers,
it's a hit — and SNL should pencil in honorary cast member Justin
Timberlake whenever possible, too. We loved when Star Trek stars
Leonard Nimoy, Chris Pine, and Zachary Quinto popped by to convince
longtime hardcore fans that it was okay to go and see the reboot. More
surprise guests = a livelier show.

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Easy does it on the '90s nostalgia.
It's sort of funny sometimes, but surely there's a funnier bit than a
Natalie Merchant impression, or a riff on Beauty and the Beast.
Topical humor is SNL's trademark; leave the ''hey, do you guys
remember this?'' jokes to Family Guy.

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Whatever happened to your great commercials?
The days of Schmitts Gay, Woomba, and Bad Idea/Mom Jeans seem long
gone. We would argue for one new commercial per episode, but the ones
this season (Bunny Business?!) have been so not funny, we confused
them with real commercials. Make some more. And make them good.

[Schmoopie]

I can sum up how to fix SNL in one word... CANCELLATION!

[browneyes106]

I like Kristen Wiig but she is used too much on SNL. I think Abby Elliott should be in more sketches she is funny and does great celebrity impersonations. Her impersonations of Anna Faris and Christina Hendricks were hilarious. SNL needs to do more pop culture parodies. Their parody of Twilight with the digital short Firelight was hilarious.

[70s show watcher]

Originally Posted by browneyes106

I like Kristen Wiig but she is used too much on SNL. I think Abby Elliott should be in more sketches she is funny and does great celebrity impersonations. Her impersonations of Anna Faris and Christina Hendricks were hilarious. SNL needs to do more pop culture parodies. Their parody of Twilight with the digital short Firelight was hilarious.

it sure was i agree about abby too she has her many detractiors on snl boards but i think she is very funny and way underused