The brass at NBC, suffering through a fall season so bad it could qualify for federal disaster relief, must be gratified to see that Saturday Night Live was able to keep its ratings momentum with last Saturday's episode hosted by Paul Rudd. Despite the handicap of its timeslot, SNL has been getting better ratings this fall than all but a few shows on NBC's primetime schedule. Also last week, we learned that SNL has finally outlasted the show that has battled it for fourteen years, Fox's MADtv, which will be canceled at season's end.
But with SNL no longer able to use the election in general and Sarah Palin in particular to drive interest, there had been concern that the good times were coming to an end. Rudd's monologue even alluded to the discomfort of having to host an episode that wouldn't feature any of this season's greatest bits.
There is a widespread sense that SNL is about to enter yet another period of transition -- nothing new for a series currently in its 34th season. The last time that the world of politics was a major draw on SNL was during the 2000 campaign, when the Bush (Will Ferrell) vs. Gore (Darrell Hammond) debate sketch became such a conversation piece that mainstream political pundits felt obligated to deal with it. And in the preceding years, Hammond had frequently scored with his portrayal of a rascally Bill Clinton.
However, Saturday Night Live never has been a reliable source for political humor week in and week out, certainly not in the way The Daily Show or Real Time With Bill Maher are. Outside of campaign season, politics typically goes unmentioned on the average SNL episode outside of the Weekend Update segment. Over the years, the show has been more apt to engage in presidential satire when they have a portrayal that catches on. Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford and Dana Carvey as the first George Bush were reliable winners. But while a few different cast members tried their hand at Ronald Reagan, the 40th president -- such a huge figure in modern history -- was strangely absent from SNL.
So while Fred Armisen's portrayal of Barack Obama has met with generally negative reviews, this is probably not much more than a minor inconvenience for SNL, at least until the 2012 campaign rolls around. Obama will continue to be referenced on Weekend Update, but actual sketches calling for Obama can be avoided most of the time.
A more serious immediate issue for the show is the departure of Amy Poehler at the end of last month, as she gave birth and prepared for a new series project. Poehler's departure left SNL without its most versatile performer, and woefully short on female cast members. To the extent that we could say anyone carried the show in recent years, it was Poehler bearing the load. So who is the SNL go-to star now, its new Ferrell or Mike Myers or Phil Hartman? There isn't one.
Saturday Night Live has had to start over with virtually unknown casts before, most recently when Myers, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and Kevin Nealon all left at once. But what is odd about the current cast is that it is relatively anonymous even though nearly all its members have been around for years.
Outside of the special case of fourteen-year veteran Hammond, whose portfolio is mostly limited to impersonations, the current cast features Weekend Update anchor and head writer Seth Meyers (eight seasons), Armisen and Will Forte (seven seasons for both) and Kenan Thompson (six seasons). Even relative newcomers Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg are in their fourth seasons. All of them have had their moments -- well, all except Thompson -- and Samberg's digital shorts haven taken the show in a new direction, but none have exhibited real star quality.
As for the female shortage, a continual issue for SNL that became acute after Maya Rudolph left, two newcomers joined the cast last week and will hopefully make more of an impression than last year's new arrival, Casey (Who?) Wilson. Michaela Watkins comes from the Groundlings, a proving ground for numerous cast members over the last two decades. After being introduced on last week's show as "Michaela Watson," she has nowhere to go but up.
Abby Elliott is a third generation SNLer: her grandfather Bob appeared on the show along with partner Ray Goulding in the 1970s, and her father Chris was a disgruntled cast member in the 1990s. Yes, fellow '80s era Letterman fans, Chris Elliott has an adult daughter -- scary. Abby got comedy training outside the home at the Upright Citizens Brigade, where Poehler got her first break. She's unusually young for a cast member, so she's either a real prodigy or a leap of faith that will go splat soon enough.
Saturday Night Live is obviously strong enough to survive an off season, and has even battled through off half-decades before. But it would be a shame if the show squandered its current momentum because nobody was looking past Election Day.
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