Friday, November 03, 2006

So Does The NYT Like "SNL" Or Don't They?

The New York Times runs a lengthy essay about political satire -- unsurprisingly, they say shows like "The Simpsons" and "The Daily Show" have long outpaced "Saturday Night Live." (Though they also say that "Simpsons" has "stayed consistently acerbic and funny for more than 16 years." which is something even hardcore fans have stopped saying by now.) But just when you think you know what they're saying, they end with this odd ode to simply sticking around:
“S.N.L.” steers a safer, steadier comic course. Its longevity suggests that even in a dizzy era of streaming video and cable cartoonization, there is merit to mainstream iconoclasm.
Uh, if the show is weak-toothed and unfunny (as the entire essay suggests), then what exactly would that merit be?

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