On this wonderful St. Patty's Day I probably should be doing an Irish themed Top 5. That's what would make my mother proud. Top 5 Irish beers. Top 5 Irish Actors. Top 5 Whiskey's. Top 5 Shades of Green. But I wasn't feeling any of these, so I'm letting the St. Patty's Day themed Top 5 go this year. I did, however, read that one of my favorite comedians, Norm McDonald, is going to have a stand-up special and a new TV show next month on Comedy Central. It got me thinking of watching Norm in college on SNL, which led to this week's top 5... Top 5 SNL Weekend Update Anchors...
5. Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon
When these two popped up on the scene, Colin Quin had pretty much killed the Weekend Update segment. It had gone from the one part of the show you would stay up for to the one part of the show you couldn't stay awake through. Lorne Michaels decided to freshen it up by going back to the early two anchor format, pairing the guy who couldn't stay in character with some chic with a scar on her face. Little did we know it would be one of his best moves ever. Jimmy and Tina were gold together and breathed new life into the update. The most important thing that came out of this was Tina Fey becoming a star. Without this move there is no Mean Girls or 30 Rock.
4. Kevin Nealon
Nealon's stint on Weekend Update was probably more famous for the corespondents he had on then his performance, people like Cajun Man, Opera Man, David Spade's Hollywood Minute, but without Nealon playing the straight man so well, I not sure how well these guys would have gotten over. The fact is Nealon stood out on his own as well. Looking back on some of these old episodes, you can't help but notice Nealon's clever word play. Nealon had his own style that both separated him from the other the other SNL anchors and kept the laughs coming.
3. Chevy Chase
You can't ignore the guy who got it all started with one of the most famous catch phrases in SNL history, "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not." People seem to forget, or don't realize, that Chase was only on SNL for one season before his ego got in the way and he left. Yes, from all accounts he's an asshole, but he's a funny asshole and an asshole that made a huge mark in one short season. Along with his prat falls, the Weekend Update is where Chase put his stamp on the show. Without Chase's performance this list would have never happened.
2. Dennis Miller
To really analyze Miller's Update you have to try to remove his present day reputation from your mind. If you think of Miller as the right wing snotty blowhard that he is painted to be now, it's easy to ignore the work he did on SNL. The fact is, Miller's politics were much more left of center back then and, yes, the humor was more high brow then we are use to on SNL, but that didn't make it any less ground breaking. If you watch Miller's Update you can't help but see the seeds of John Stewart's Daily Show. Miller was skewering politicians in a smart and funny way years before Stewart even dreamed of having a show. Yes, the jokes may feel dated if you aren't familiar with the politics of the time, but what do you think is going to happen with the Stewart and Colbert stuff that is being made today?
1. Norm McDonald
There has never been a more polarizing anchor on Update. I've heard just as many people say it was the most horrendous period in Update history as say it was the most hilarious. For me there is no question. I've never laughed harder during any moment in all the years I've watched SNL then the 10 minutes each week Norm did the "fake news." Sometimes it was all those people who didn't get it that made it that much funnier. I lost it each time Norm dropped a punchline that the live crowd didn't laugh because his reaction was so great. It was like he was trying to offend them. Of course Norm's greatest accomplishment on Update was his perfect usage of the word "whore." Never has one man made one word so damn funny. And he was never shy about using it. At times he leaned on the word for a laugh like a 80 year old with a hip replacement leans on a cane to get from place to place. And I laughed the whole time.
Honorable Mentions: Jane Curtain and Dan Akroyd, Seth Myers and Amy Pohler
No comments:
Post a Comment