Saturday Night Live : There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

That was not a comedy sketch but this is supposed to be a comedy sketch show. There is absolutely no excuse for allowing that performance. Unreal. By the way, I did not vote for Trump. That is not the point before you try to suggest that I am a Trump supporter. I tune into SNL for comedy sketches, not preaching. I am officially done with this show. It was a fun few decades but the fun ended when Wiig and Hader left and they still haven't found decent replacements despite having almost a decade to do so at this point. Kate McKinnon is the closest they have come to replacing Wiig/Hader but while she is very talented she lacks the high-wattage spark and edge that Wiig and Hader both had. I hope they get their act together at some point but in the meantime I will not be watching. The song for our dear departing leader was the last straw for me.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

So lame. Also, Cecily Strong was flat.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

Flat and fat

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

Kind of like that Hallelujah crap after the election. Grow up SNL you're suppose to be unbiased-ly funny. Make fun of everyone or close up shop.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

Iove her but she was flat and that was kind of pathetic to do a sad song.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

I agree, they all act like Obama passed away. Cecily likes Obama because Cecily got invited to the white house to give a speech to Obama and everybody else, at the white house.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

Why is SNL "supposed to be unbiased"? They're supposed to draw as many viewers as possible to the target demographic. That's it. If anything, their "bias" should be known in advance, and deviate from that as little as possible. Their only obligation is to the advertisers. Give the advertisers a sense of what types of viewers they can attract, and then do whatever they need to do to attract as many of those types of viewers as possible. They need to get past the censors, but other than that, they're home free.

If an advertiser is expecting viewers that prefer a "biased" show, what good does it do to give them an "unbiased" set of viewers? Suppose it's a company that sells school supplies. Do you want them catering to retirees? Or, do you want them catering to students?

Where did this "unbiased" rule come from, and why does it continue to be repeated as though it is gospel. Do you believe that retirees are just as likely to buy pencils, folders, and notebooks as are students and/or parents of students? Do you have a basic understanding of how network television and advertising work? If not, I would recommend that you watch the television show "Mad Men".

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song


Why is SNL "supposed to be unbiased"?


Because that is what comedy is supposed to be, especially when you make a huge part of your show about politics.

Once you start protecting one side and only bashing the other, you've stopped becoming a comedy show and started becoming an opinion program.

There is a reason why SNL was a huge deal in the past and how getting on it pretty much meant that you were going to be a success after you were off the show.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

Why is it so important to you to develop an audience of people who like Donald Trump? Is he trying to sell them something? If he wants to do that, he should first focus on shedding his reputation of not delivering on his word. Once he develops a reputation as someone who can deliver on his word, he can then worry about finding an audience to advertise to.

Unless Donald Trump needs an audience to advertise to, I'm not sure why it matters whether or not an audience generating device like SNL caters its message towards people who will buy from him.

I'm glad that you are an expert on what is and is not comedy. There are many opportunities in the comedy field, although it is also very competitive. I wish you luck in your endeavors.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song


Why is it so important to you to develop an audience of people who like Donald Trump?


So what you are saying is that you really don't understand what comedy is and you hate Trump.


I'm glad that you are an expert on what is and is not comedy.


Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

Is there a rule that SNL needs to satisfy your definition of "comedy"? If IMDB have to re-classify it, would that require it to be taken off of the air?

It needs to provide eyeballs in the appropriate demographic to its advertisers, otherwise it will be replaced with something that is more cost effective. It has no obligation to satisfy your definition of "comedy".

I'm not sure why you feel the need to put words into my mouth in order to make your point that comedy requires presenting both sides of an argument. Is that still your point? Can you have comedy without bending over backwards to present both sides of an argument? Can you have comedy without catering to a constituency whose only characteristic is to claim that it is never catered to? Do you feel as though that is a good way to provide eyeballs in the target demographic to your advertisers?

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

A couple of years ago, I suggested that SNL should have Larry David play Bernie Sanders. Then, when it happened, I was happy. It was very memorable to me. I did not simply go on and on about how SNL never caters to my needs as a viewer.

However, Republicans are different. When they complain about how SNL never attacks Democrats, I try to counter to them by referencing sketches where SNL attacked Democrats. But, they don't seem to even get the references. Why should SNL design sketches for people who clearly won't remember them?

Late last year, I suggested that SNL do a joke about Standing Rock. Then, they did a joke about Standing Rock. Then, I stopped saying that they should do jokes about Standing Rock, because they had already done one. Does any of this make any sense whatsoever?

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song


Is there a rule that SNL needs to satisfy your definition of "comedy"?


Oh, sugar-t!ts, you have issues.

My point, as anyone with more than 3 active brain cells understands, is that SNL used to be very proud that they weren't afraid to skewer anyone. It was a big thing to tune in on Saturday night to see SNL's take on the events of the week. Everyone knew they were a target, and often times they'd join in on the skits. Why? Because it was straight up COMEDY.

Now they are becoming an attack show and part of the problem. They complain about the country being so divided, and yet they are helping with the divide.

If they want to do that - fine. They just shouldn't try to say that they are a comedy show where everyone is fair game. Instead, they should say they want to stop Republican's at all costs, with a few jokes made at the expense of dems when we can't avoid them.

You seem to advocate pandering to the demographic as being a noble thing or the ultimate goal. It isn't, and it isn't even good business. At some point, this generation of snowflakes will enter the real world and not find this humor funny any more, so SNL will have to find a new audience. If they stay in the middle where both sides get treated the same way, they'll have an audience which continues to grow.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

I'm not sure why it took you so long to come up with a reply, only to have one start with name calling. I get if you needed time to cool down, but what purpose does name calling serve? Is that part of your definition of "comedy"?

"Pandering" to a demographic should theoretically be a "conservative" goal. I define "conservative" as letting rich consumers get the maximum value for their dollar. I try to stay away from what is and is not "noble".

I thought that comedians were supposed to "pack the house" by getting people to come, and keeping them in their seats. At least, that's what Dana Carvey said on the interview that I heard. Andrew Dice Clay didn't believe any of the crap that spewed out of his act, but he kept it up, and it lead him to a gig hosting SNL. When he tried to do "Bless this House", no one wanted to watch.

Which SNL actor/writer/crew member, etc. has publicly complained about the country being so divided? Who is "they"?

They skewer Democrats all the time. You just choose not to acknowledge it. You should be happy with what you get, instead of always demanding more. Heck, I remember a "Weekend Update" joke about my home town from more than 20 years ago, that I still feel holds up.

"In (insert name of your home town here, if it helps), 3 students were suspended for giving a 4th student a wedgie so hard that the underwear snapped. Of course, when they return to school, the 4th student will receive the worst punishment of allmore wedgies!!!"

Now, SNL does far more jokes about NYC than they every do about my home town. Heck, they do more jokes about NYC than all 3 STATES that I've lived in. But, so what. I listen for the comedy, and I remember the things that I like. Should I demand that half of their jokes be about the places I've lived? And then ignore it when they actually do tell them?

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song


I'm not sure why it took you so long to come up with a reply,


You posted yesterday. I replied yesterday. Are you in a time warp?


They skewer Democrats all the time. You just choose not to acknowledge it.


No, moron, I have acknowledged it. What you don't get is they do it differently. They are pushing an agenda with their cr*p about singing to Hillary and 0bama, using someone who admits to hating President Trump to do the impersonation of President Trump, and use the BS excuse of "0bama was hard to make fun of" as to why he got treated differently than President Trump and President Bush.


Now, SNL does far more jokes about NYC than they every do about my home town. Heck, they do more jokes about NYC than all 3 STATES that I've lived in


Are you retarded or something? How do you equate jokes like that with political jokes which push an agenda?

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

I don't know anyone who's tuned into SNL to watch it since the 90s when Sandler was on and those were teenagers. They're ratings are really not that good. They're target audience is really anyone awake at midnight on Saturday who'd would bother to watch this garbage. And actually that is probably older people who don't watch youtube or Netflix or Adult Swim for comedy. You also think candy companies base their advertisements on political preferences. And you keep repeating something about retirees versus students.

The reason that these people are supposed to be unbiased is because they're turned they're show into political commentary so they're doing the same as fox news. But even more so it's because they're writers and the idea of taking a political side wherein you preference one politician or party as a comedy writer is stupid. All politicians are creeps and jerks and they can all be equally lampooned. When they literally say "I'm unlikable" but then continue to kiss her butt through out a sketch, I have to smh. At this point they've done two songs acting like leaving office and losing an election is equivalent to death. That is music, not comedy. It comes off like they can't work at all.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the real reason for this was that they think their $h!t doesn't stink and they've made some kind of crazy leap to attempting to brainwash the public.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

They do make fun of everyone.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song

Yeah, not so much. They've never sang a "Goodbye" song to any out-going POTUS, and they sure as hell never sang one to a losing candidate.

They also claimed that 0bama was "hard to make fun of."

Also missing is any jokes at the expense of the snowflakes having melt-downs and rioting. Those should be easy targets as well.

They USED to take pride in lampooning both sides, but now they've decided to go for easy ratings by simply pushing their agenda.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with paying respect to an outgoing president.

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It's not the right forum, and they have never done it before.

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That's asinine. They've done serious/heartfelt moments before.

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It's one thing when a major real world tragedy (which kind of makes things hard to make fun off) happened shortly before an episode like say 9/11, the Sandy Hook school shooting, or the Paris terrorist bombings. Or when somebody who was important to the show passed away like Gilda Radner dying the day of the 1988-89 SNL finale. It's absolutely another to do so for an outgoing head of state (whom not everybody supported) on an otherwise satirical TV show. In effect, it was way too partisan.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

It's their forum, and neither comedy nor music are about doing only what has been done before. It was a touching tribute to a class act, and I'm glad I recorded it.

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They didn't have a song for Bill with dancing Monicas, or one for Bush with homeless people singing. Why now?

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.


There's absolutely nothing wrong with paying respect to an outgoing president


I love that song and the movie (To Sir With Love). Maybe you had to see the movie to get it. They were acting out the last scene when their black teacher leaves.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

For one, even though I like her, she sung horrible. She tried but dang it was painful to watch. And on paper there is nothing wrong with paying tribute to an outgoing president. But I have never seen them do this to any other president. Add to this then never really make fun of Obama and don't ever go low on him like they did others, it shows their bias towards the man and how much they love him. We all know they are all liberals, so I guess I should not be surprised they did it. I'm sure they will pay tribute to Trump in an equally respectful way in 4 or 8 years..

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She didn't sing horribly. She actually has a nice singing voice. It wasn't painful for me to watch at all she came across as a shy schoolgirl singing sincerely (if a little awkwardly) a song that is a tribute to someone she truly admires. The harmonies were also good.

Yes, they're biased toward the man because they love him. If Trump and his Cabinet of Kleptocrats surprise all of us and turn out to actually improve the lives of the majority of Americans as much as Obama did, perhaps he'll earn a tribute too. So far, all signs point to four years of lining the pockets of the 1% while thumping bibles to distract the footsoldiers of the Redneck Revolution while their pockets are picked, their national parks are auctioned to the highest bidders, their air and water becomes dirtier so CEOs can squeeze out a bit more profit while paying workers less than what they were formerly paid, and they shut up and take it because if they don't a robot will happily do their job for nothing.

Time will tell.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

no one should care about the message, they should care about the offensive singing. that was brutal

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

who kept us in war for eight years? The only two term president in history to never know a day of peace while in office?
How many soldiers died under his watch?
How many civilians did the US military kill with bombs and drones?
He promised to end two wars and left us in three.
He signed the NDAA into law which attacks our civil liberties.
He continued warrantless wiretapping.

"Insults are the arguments employed by those who are in the wrong." J.J. Rousseau

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

If you are holding Obama's feet to the fire, I admire that.
If you are excusing what Cheney has dumped on our feet, I don't admire that. Cheney/W created a culture of war we may never break out of.

I'm not a woman much less Deanna Durbin, but the old-time glam-shot appeals to me.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

Would you link me to where they did that for Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter or Ford?

Thanks!

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That was weird.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

Shut up.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

They've done serious stuff plenty of times before dummy.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

With just cause dummy.

They wouldn't care one way or another if anyone else was taking over the presidency except Trump so they act like it's a national tragedy, just like they tried to rope in some marginally famous, b-musician's death, and tried to politicize it with imposter Hillary singing his one recognizable song.

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It reminded me of Kate McKinnon signing "Hallelujah" as Hilary Clinton after her election defeat. In other words, it was done w/ absolutely no sense of irony and was actually meant to be sincere. But instead of "laughing w/ SNL" so to speak, we're laughing at them and rolling are eyes.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

It felt too partisan, and I despise Trump.

What a grip! That's from counting money.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

It sets a very uncomfortable and even somewhat dangerous precedent when we hero-worship elected leaders - even ones you or I support. That simply shouldn't be our relationship with elected officials. The whole thing ultimately came across as Cecily and Sasheer's embarrassing schoolgirl crush exposed on national television.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

This. I don't know when it happened exactly, but Obama was turned into a celebrity. By doing this, it's my belief that it reduces his respect as president. I know I'm probably in the minority, but I truly would feel this way about any elected official. It blinds people to what the job actually is. SNL went over a line. Not to mention one of their writers sent out a hideous tweet about Baron Trump. They have lost their minds over hero worship.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.


This. I don't know when it happened exactly, but Obama was turned into a Messiah.


Fixed that for you.

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Thanks! That' is what I meant to say :)

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It was tacky.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

They don't need any excuse to bid farewell to a class act. The show is (and has always been) comedy and music. This was a musical number with a comedy ending, and had the added bonus of a touching personal message.

I'm happy to hear you're officially done with the show, because there's nothing lamer than the parade of people who tune in just so they can go online and moan about how bad the show has become.

I watched the original show in the student lounge when I was in college. I've watched it on and off ever since. Now that I'm in my 60s, it's frankly the only reason I'm consistently up as Saturday turns into Sunday.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

What, exactly, makes Obama a "class act"?

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

For one thing, the fact that he didn't stoop to responding to all his Tea Party detractors and their racist jokes. He was able to rise above that pettiness, unlike his thin-skinned successor, who is still vocally butthurt about a decades-old comment about the size of his hands.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.


For one thing, the fact that he didn't stoop to responding to all his Tea Party detractors and their racist jokes


But he did show his own racism and was fully accepting of liberals referring to Herman Cain, Dr. Ben Carson and all other black Conservatives as "Uncle Tom's.


He was able to rise above that pettiness,


There have been a lot of things written about his temper tantrums.



Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

Are you serious? He didn't have to. His human shields and attack dogs in the press did it all for him.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

He doesn't tweet some ridiculous response every time someone criticizes him?
He hasn't been involved in multiple lawsuits over business dealings?
He's been married to one woman throughout his life?

I'm not a woman much less Deanna Durbin, but the old-time glam-shot appeals to me.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

It was silly. They're too ignorant to realize how foolish they're being.

Re: There was no excuse for that goodbye to Obama song.

It is easier for the writers to praise their liberal god than to write a genuinely funny sketch. It was the easier route to take.
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