The last great SNL sketch
I understand it’s not exactly bold nowadays to declare that “Saturday Night Live” is no longer funny. To the contrary, it’s rather common. Well, because I haven’t been involved in one since like the fifth grade, I intend to pig-pile.
Let me catch you up to “SNL” in the post-Will Ferrell era: It blows. In fact, in Ferrell’s last season or two, you could definitely tell the writing was slipping. I blame head writer Tina Fey, mainly because she’s a woman. Face it, Jerry Lewis was right — women just aren’t funny.
Seriously though, the current version of the show wouldn’t be able to survive without sex jokes, racial jokes or gay jokes. For middle school students or Jimmy Kimmel these might be fine, but for what was once regarded as a cutting-edge comedy show, it’s sad.
And don’t even get me started on “SNL“‘s lack of bite when it comes to political humor in times like these. “The Daily Show” basically blew it away in this area years ago, so maybe “SNL” has just accepted defeat.
For me, the show hasn’t produced a funny sketch in two seasons.
So, you might be asking, what was that last funny sketch? Do chest hair and crazy-cool medallions ring a bell?
No? Well, I’ll just tell you then. The last great SNL sketch, and one of the greatest in the show’s 30-plus years, was without a doubt “The Barry Gibb Talk Show.”
To give you a sense of just how out of touch “SNL” has been in recent years, the original airing of “The Barry Gibb Talk Show” was buried as one of the last sketches of the show, if not the last. It starred Jimmy Fallon as Barry Gibb and Justin Timberlake (who was hosting) as fellow Bee Gee Robin Gibb. I know, I know, there’s no fucking way Fallon and Timberlake could anchor one of the strongest sketches ever, right? Well, they did, probably because Fallon was born to play Barry Gibb and Timberlake drew an uncanny resemblance to Robin.
So here’s the gist of it: Barry and Robin do an awesome intro with a theme song, spoofed off the Bee Gees’ “Nights On Broadway,” that features the chorus…
Talkin’ it up
On The Barry Gibb Talk Show
Talkin’ about issues
Talkin’ about real important issues.
… then the two talk hot news topics with guests that are political figures. Meanwhile, Barry projects his self-loathing on to his guests, telling them that he’ll “put them in the ground” if they should ever talk to him in a way he doesn’t approve. All this time a depressed Robin sits in near silence, only showing life when it’s time to sing a guest’s name.
The sketch only ran that one time that season, and Fallon left to do huge movie projects like “Taxi” soon after, so “The Barry Gibb Talk Show” was destined to be a one-hit wonder.
Fortunately though, the very next season Cameron Diaz was called on to host and that meant Timberlake was around to rekindle the sketch with Fallon, who surpisingly had a free schedule himself at the time. So we were blessed with the second and final “The Barry Gibb Talk Show,” in which Barry threatened to gut New Mexico governor Bill Richardson “like a fish.”
Both the first and second versions of “The Barry Gibb Talk Show” can be viewed at MilkandCookies.com. You can also read a transcript of the original sketch here.
May “SNL” rest in peace.
November 8th, 2005 at 11:12 pm
This sketch is pretty cool but I feel like its kind of misleading. In the theme song they say that they are going to talk about “chest hair” and “crazy cool medallions” but they never do!
What about the people who really do love talking about “crazy cool medallions”….we were cheated!
November 9th, 2005 at 11:45 am
“I almost gave a Kangaroo a heart-attack JUST BY STARING AT IT!” - Classic.
November 9th, 2005 at 5:58 pm
The one nice thing about this sketch is that it calls back to the insanity of the McKay/Ferrell sketches. It also seems to fall in line more with what actually is sort of on the edge funny, instead of the what-marketing-thinks-is-funny approach that seems to be the case in any sketch not involving Will Forte or Fred Armisen nowadays.
February 21st, 2006 at 4:09 pm
It is in deed on of the greatest skits in the SNL history - Fallon does not crak up 4 1 sake, and his insane behaviour is f’ing funny - A Car Battery on my sack…