For regular SNL I find there is maybe one or two sketches that are really funny every couple weeks, with the vast majority terrible. Even in its very short run so far, however, SNL UK had many of them that were funny as hell (dadswap was brilliant, but you forgot to mention the gen-z remake of the famous five which is probably my favorite). Yes some sketches the jokes were very specific that only the British would understand, but for the most part I feel like there were enough jokes that would land for an international audience.
The only thing that I do not understand is that for a genre that the British essentially invented, why would they copy an American format and not just create a new sketch comedy? They would only have to change a few more details to do so, they would not have to answer the question that was on everyone's minds of why they are doing this and they would not have to be bogged by down by association of its parent form that for the most part can be just awful.
I wonder if the SNL format itself was useful because – let’s put our conspiracy theory hats on – they realised that there would be hostility to it from the off, and that would get people to pay attention in a way that a totally new show with all these comedians wouldn’t have done?
Yeah perhaps you have a point there; people took a glimpse thinking this could not possibly work and then realized it actually was pretty funny. But the Mitchell and Webb look did well for its run, so it is not unheard of that sketch comedies become popular from very little.
It also probably would be for the best if it runs for say five or six years or so, quits while it is ahead like Monty Python and then the cast and writers can move to other things, rather than go on for decades like the original SNL.
For regular SNL I find there is maybe one or two sketches that are really funny every couple weeks, with the vast majority terrible. Even in its very short run so far, however, SNL UK had many of them that were funny as hell (dadswap was brilliant, but you forgot to mention the gen-z remake of the famous five which is probably my favorite). Yes some sketches the jokes were very specific that only the British would understand, but for the most part I feel like there were enough jokes that would land for an international audience.
The only thing that I do not understand is that for a genre that the British essentially invented, why would they copy an American format and not just create a new sketch comedy? They would only have to change a few more details to do so, they would not have to answer the question that was on everyone's minds of why they are doing this and they would not have to be bogged by down by association of its parent form that for the most part can be just awful.
I wonder if the SNL format itself was useful because – let’s put our conspiracy theory hats on – they realised that there would be hostility to it from the off, and that would get people to pay attention in a way that a totally new show with all these comedians wouldn’t have done?
Yeah perhaps you have a point there; people took a glimpse thinking this could not possibly work and then realized it actually was pretty funny. But the Mitchell and Webb look did well for its run, so it is not unheard of that sketch comedies become popular from very little.
It also probably would be for the best if it runs for say five or six years or so, quits while it is ahead like Monty Python and then the cast and writers can move to other things, rather than go on for decades like the original SNL.