When did SNL get funny again?

[falafel]

Oh- and Phil Hartman beats Will Ferrell.

So you're saying that Phil Hartman was the best SNL cast member of all time? I can't get on board with that.

[Commando]

So you're saying that Phil Hartman was the best SNL cast member of all time? I can't get on board with that.

No- he beats Will Ferrell, though. I would probably say Carvey should get the nod as the best.

[falafel]

No- he beats Will Ferrell, though. I would probably say Carvey should get the nod as the best.

Dana Carvey has the Robin Williams thing about him where he can't turn it off. Its unpalatable to me. Also, he hasn't really been relevant at all since he left SNL, which tells me that people got tired of his shtick like I did.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

So you're saying that Phil Hartman was the best SNL cast member of all time? I can't get on board with that.

There were a couple seasons where Hartman, Carvey, Myers and Farley were all there and Dennis Miller was doing the Weekend Update. I think it was probably overall the greatest cast the show ever had. Carvey was the most beloved in that bunch. It went beyond his reoccurring characters (George Bush, Church Lady, Hans and Franz), watch Carvey do Carson, Casey Kasem, Regis Philbin, John McLaughlin, etc and then watch him in all-time classics like Massive Headwound Harry.

Hartman was the other guy that made that cast as great as it was. The show was still pretty good the year and a half when Hartman was there without Carvey, but it fell apart after Hartman lost.

The four greatest cast members of all time were John Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Dana Carvey and Will Ferrell. The second four are probably Kristin Wiig, Phil Hartman, Dan Aykroyd and either Farley or Murray. As I mentioned earlier however, Farley and Sandler headlining that show during that one season was a disaster. SNL was a must watch during my freshman and sophomore years in high school, slightly less so as a Junior (93-94) and then I lost total interest in 94-95.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Grantland has been doing a SNL cast member bracket. They break down the four regions according to the era -- 75-85, 86-95, 95-06, 06-current. Not every bracket works out to an even ten years; rather, they look at when there was a massive change in the cast due to a decline in quality or a change in the showrunner. They couldn't do that every time since there was obviously a big change from the original cast to the Eddie Murphy cast. But it does work out to more or less ten years per due to the massive shakeup prior to the 86-87 season and the 95-96 season.

Most of the voting has been agreeable with a few exceptions --

First, Bill Murray, a #3 seed, beat out John Belushi, a #2 seed. Bill Murray overall has had the best career of any SNL cast member, but John Belushi's actual production on the show eclipses that of Murray's IMO.

Second, Chris Farley, a #4 seed, beat Dana Carvey, a #1 seed. Let me tell everyone born after 1982 or so, that you don't have the slightest clue how great Dana Carvey was if you're voting for Chris Farley over him. SNL has waxed and waned over the past four decades, but possibly the lowest it sunk was the season before Carvey and Hartman arrived. Carvey left at the beginning of 93 and Hartman left after the 93-94 season. The show became semi-unwatchable when it was left to Farley and Sandler to carry things. They fired almost everyone at the end of the season and the Will Ferrell cast was brought in the next year as a result.

The final two are Will Ferrell against Phil Hartman.

Speaking of Hartman, I found one of my personal favorites online the other day:

https://screen.yahoo.com/sassys-sass...+Hartman+Sassy

There is absolutely no argument that can be made for Farley over Carvey. Also, the Dana Carvey show was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Dana Carvey has the Robin Williams thing about him where he can't turn it off. Its unpalatable to me. Also, he hasn't really been relevant at all since he left SNL, which tells me that people got tired of his shtick like I did.

Carvey was great on the show, his type of humor was perfect for SNL. It's not the type of humor that can carry a movie however. But if you look at guys that could carry movies (good movies at least), the only ones that fit the bill are Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell and, for a time, Chevy Chase.

[falafel]

SNL was a must watch during my freshman and sophomore years in high school, slightly less so as a Junior (93-94) and then I lost total interest in 94-95.

I suspect that this is a common statement among people of all ages.

[falafel]

Carvey was great on the show, his type of humor was perfect for SNL. It's not the type of humor that can carry a movie however. But if you look at guys that could carry movies (good movies at least), the only ones that fit the bill are Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell and, for a time, Chevy Chase.

Are we talking about carrying a movie post-SNL, or having a career? The last I heard from Dana Carvey was that he was back on the stand-up circuit, playing along side Rob Schneider and Dave Coulier at the South Point.

Edit: Also, Eddie Murphy has gone the way of Chevy Chase. He hasn't made good movies for a long time.

[creekster]

Carvey was great on the show, his type of humor was perfect for SNL. It's not the type of humor that can carry a movie however. But if you look at guys that could carry movies (good movies at least), the only ones that fit the bill are Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell and, for a time, Chevy Chase.

No love for Mike Meyers?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Are we talking about carrying a movie post-SNL, or having a career? The last I heard from Dana Carvey was that he was back on the stand-up circuit, playing along side Rob Schneider and Dave Coulier at the South Point.

Edit: Also, Eddie Murphy has gone the way of Chevy Chase. He hasn't made good movies for a long time.

We're talking about how great they were on the show itself, something you seem to be ignoring. Jay Mohr has had a better movie career than Dana Carvey, was Mohr a better cast member on SNL than Carvey? Sandler has had an infinitely better career than Carvey, again, was he better than Carvey on SNL? Not even close.

As for the comment about everyone outgrowing SNL once they're a senior in high school -- the relative ratings from season to season and NBC's reaction to them provide a fairly objective measure. Namely, the show fell apart in 94-95, the rating dropped and NBC fired nearly every cast member from the show.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

No love for Mike Meyers?

Myers had a decent career, it didn't last incredibly long, kind of Chevy Chase's career. The reason I mentioned Eddie Murphy is because there was a time in the early to mid 80s when he was one of the biggest stars around. A similar thing can be said of Chase I suppose between Caddy Shack, Vacation and Fletch. To me, it never really seems like Myers reached that point that Chase and Murphy got to in the early to mid 80s. Really the only guy to have a decades long solid movie career is Bill Murray.

Then you have Adam Sandler who insists on making terrible movies when he actually has the talent, as seen in Punch Drunk Love, to have a Bill Murray type career.

[creekster]

Myers had a decent career, it didn't last incredibly long, kind of Chevy Chase's career. The reason I mentioned Eddie Murphy is because there was a time in the early to mid 80s when he was one of the biggest stars around. A similar thing can be said of Chase I suppose between Caddy Shack, Vacation and Fletch. To me, it never really seems like Myers reached that point that Chase and Murphy got to in the early to mid 80s. Really the only guy to have a decades long solid movie career is Bill Murray.

Then you have Adam Sandler who insists on making terrible movies when he actually has the talent, as seen in Punch Drunk Love, to have a Bill Murray type career.

I am not too worked about this debate. But between the Shrek Franchise and the Austin Powers movies, as well as the Garth movie, he did sell some tickets for a few years. But any ranking is fine with me.

[Sullyute]

Then you have Adam Sandler who insists on making terrible movies, and lots and lots of money, when he actually has the talent, as seen in Punch Drunk Love, to have a Bill Murray type career.

FIFY

[falafel]

We're talking about how great they were on the show itself, something you seem to be ignoring.

Then why did you bring up carrying a movie?

[Northwestcoug]

I suspect that this is a common statement among people of all ages.

You're absolutely right. This is how Farley wins over Carvey in that bracket.

And by the way, the Carvey/Hartman/Miller years were the best ever, case closed.