He Used to be a Caveman. But Now He's a Lawyer.

So, for some reason I have found myself referencing early 90s Saturday Night Live sketches
in conversation a lot. So much so that girlfriend has come to wonder what I spent my whole childhood doing other than watching comedy. Part of that is because in the same way that when you learn something new you see it referenced a lot all of a sudden, I've found it also true that once you bring up a topic it can come up again and again in your own mind for a little while. But it's also true that I did watch a good deal of SNL when I was younger. And I'm happy I did.

The early 90s...that was the original cast for me. My parents used to wonder how I could be entertained my that crowd while all the good originals were gone. Fair enough. I just look back so fondly on Chris Farley, Mike Myers, David Spade, Phil Hartmann, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Victoria Jackson, Julia Sweeney, Chris Rock (briefly), Kevin Nealon, Ellen Cleghorne, Dana Carvey, and Tim Meadows.

Sketches off the top of my head: Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, the Denise Show, the Tim Meadows Cyrano Debergerac skit with Alec Baldwin, the Chippendales sketch, Chris Farley Show (it had its moments), Middle Aged Man, Wayne's World, Deep Thoughts, Mr. No Depth Perception, Frank Sinatra Meets Sinead O'Conner, Opera Man, Nat X, The Hollywood Minute, The Chris Farley Weekend Correspondent who said everything in quotes, Van Down by the River, Mike Myers' Hyperactive Kid, Simon, Joe Montana as the really honest guy, Hot Button, and so much more.

I knew someone who claimed that the rule of thumb was that if the title of the sketch described the whole joke of the sketch, that meant it sucked. Generally true. But sometimes that's what made it funny. Like Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. You knew what was going to happen every time, but Phil Hartman carried it off so well.

Some of those sketches are only funny in retelling. They're kind of boring to actually watch.

I have heard that SNL is good again. I'm skep. I haven't watched it in ages, though. I flicked it on the other night but lost interest and did something else while it was in the background. It seemed boring. I do want to see Michael Phelps when he hosts, though.