Saturday Night Live’s 37th Season is Funnier Than Ever

The current season of Saturday Night Live and its cast led by Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis and Andy Sandberg is one of the most hilarious and entertaining in the show’s thirty-seven year history.

If you ask anyone over the age of 45 about Saturday Night Live, they’ll probably tell you it’ll never be as good as it was when Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Gilda Radner were Not Ready for Primetime Players. And if you ask anyone over the age of 35, they’ll say the show will never be as good as when Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman and Mike Myers were cast members.

The myth about SNL is that it’s just not the cast that makes the show or season great, it’s always how a particular host jells with the cast of the moment. The first half of this season has had its share of phenomenal hosts. Emma Stone, Jimmy Fallon, Steve Buscemi, and the always dependable, go-to for the show, Alec Baldwin, all did amazing jobs hosting.

The writing seems sharper and more willing to take comedic risks than in season’s pasts. They’re excelling at pocking fun at more taboo topics. On the final sketch of the night, this past Saturday, they made fun of Denver Bronco’s Quarterback Tim Tebow’s Christianity. An overzealous Tebow and the Broncos got a locker room visit from Jesus, played wonderfully by Jason Sudeikis. Jesus tells Tebow, “I love ya, but take it down a notch.”

On the Steve Buscemi hosted show they did a great sketch about a coach who was being accused of being a pervert by his school’s coaches just on the way he looked. Buscemi was faultless, and you have to admit, Buscemi just has a Pete Lorre-like, creepy look about him. It may have been a little too soon, but it was Buscemi who made it work. The sensitive subject matter of the sketch made it edgy, and I, like a lot of viewers, found myself laughing out loud.

Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig seem to elevate the laughs in every sketch their in. I hope this isn’t the last season for the two gifted stars. Wiig is already a movie star after last summer’s box office smash “Bridesmaids”; for her to even return to SNL this year is a gift for viewers and Executive Producer Lorne Michaels. She and Hader are in their seventh year as cast members.

Andy Sandberg has done some funny and interesting Digital Shorts, but he’s really shined this season in sketches, for the betterment of the show. His impression of Nicholas Cage on the Weekend Update segment titled “Get in the Cage” is side splitting funny. His line as Cage, “How am I not in that movie!” has become a memorable catch phrase.

The election year hasn’t officially begun, but since premiering in September the show seems as relevant and political as it was during the 2008 election year. No Tina Fey as Sarah Palin but the show’s take on Herman Cain, Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry have been just as hilarious in my book. Every Republican debate sketch was written and performed with a razor-sharp wit and an attention to detail that no other comedy team on television could come close to if they tried.

What’s also fun to watch is how the young talent on the show is making their mark. Some of the season’s best moments have come from the featured players Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah and Vanessa Bayer. Is it just me or does it seem like every time Pharoah (who does a perfect impression of Denzel Washington) says something in a sketch the studio audience howls with laughter? He and the tall, rubber faced Killam could be the future stars of the show.

My only criticism of this season is that Fred Armison’s Barack Obama doesn’t seem fresh anymore. And as talented as Wiig is, she doesn’t have to be in so many sketches. You can tell if the show has a weak host, Lorne Michaels and the writers will put Wiig in every sketch that week. Less of Kristen Wiig can sometimes be a good thing. And they don’t use Abbie Elliott in enough. She hasn’t found a character yet to really showcase her talent; she does do a great Meryl Streep and Khloe Kardashian. What happened to the riotous “What’s Up with That?” sketch?


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