SNL & NBC, WTF?

Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Gilda Radner, Mike Meyers, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock, Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, Jimmy Falllon, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, The Blues Brothers, A Night at the Roxbury, Wayne's World...

There is absolutely no denying the comedic genius that has sprung forth from the Saturday Night Live stage in New York. Yet, the show has ebbs and flows that rival the Atlantic Ocean.

I tuned in for the first time in about five years on Saturday to see Ellen Page host. Having not seen an episode since the departure of Jimmy, Tina and my favourite, Maya Rudolph - arguably the ones keeping the show alive in the new millennium - it was a bit of a shock to see the how weak the material was. While I found Ellen's monologue pretty funny and Weekend Update still able to crank out the laughs (thanks to Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers - very funny people who don't get enough air-time anymore), the rest was pretty dismal. Let me tell you, if I'm staying up until 2am I had better be peeing myself laughing. LITERALLY PEEING - if not, I would rather be asleep.

That brings me to my way of watching SNL - waiting until people sift through the show's crap, pick out the good bits, and post them for my online viewing on Monday. That way, I'm rested enough to have a sense of humour. This is exactly how SNL maintains any mainstream impact whatsoever - by cranking out one or two outstanding sketches a year and enjoying their viral spread throughout pop culture. Who hasn't heard the phrase, "more cowbell"?

Andy Samberg is carrying the cast of SNL in this department. His digital shorts are the only bits besides democratic candidate cameos that seem to have even made it to YouTube these days. Samberg is responsible for the monster hit, Dick in a Box and my personal favourite where he just punches people who are eating.

But now here's the twist, even though SNL's relevance is fading, NBC has the audacity to think that they can harness and control the virality of their videos. That's my fancy way of saying that SNL videos on YouTube are few and far between. Instead, they have their own video section on the NBC.com website where they boast full episodes of the show, fan favourites, and behind-the-scenes clips.

I'm not sure if it's just me, but there definitely are no full episodes online. I wanted to view one part of the Ellen Page show but was only offered seven or eight highlight clips. On top of that, the site is difficult to navigate and dictates very specifically how and which of their videos are distributed. You may notice that I didn't link to or embed any of the videos I've been talking about...that is because their site isn't loading for me and I probably wouldn't be able to find them on their even if it did. So stupid and so frustrating.

Sorry SNL but I really hope you figure it all out soon.