Revisiting ‘Entertainment Weekly’s 1994 Rules for Fixing ‘SNL’

“SNL sucks now” isn’t as fresh a complaint as you might think. This sentiment was even a matter of public discourse way back in the early ‘90s, as evidenced by the not-so-cleverly titled 1994 Entertainment Weekly article, “Is Saturday Night Dead?”

The magazine wasn’t alone in expressing concern for the long-running comedy series during its 19th season. The New York Daily News noted that SNL would have to try and “find a desperately needed fresh sense of identity” following the loss of Dana Carvey and Chris Rock, and the announced departures of Phil Hartman, Julia Sweeney and Rob Schneider. 

So EW offered up “20 suggestions” for “how to fix the show.” Looking back at this list, it’s amazing how spot-on some ideas are in retrospect — while others are laughably dated and arguably awful.

For starters, writer Bruce Fretts (who sadly passed away in 2020) suggested handing over the reins of Weekend Update to David Spade, which is an interesting idea, but obviously Fretts had no way of knowing that Norm Macdonald, then in his first season, would rise from the ranks to become one of the most beloved fake anchors in SNL history just a few months later. 

He also suggested enforcing a “moratorium on SNL films” following the disappointing Coneheads and the desperate attempt to “stretch” out a “one-joke character” with It’s Pat. He may have been right on this front. After a glut of forgettable comedies like Superstar, A Night at the Roxbury and The Ladies Man, we did get an unofficial pause on SNL movies for a whole decade until MacGruber was released in 2010.

EW also proposed producing a new fake commercial in every episode (which did basically become the norm) and ensuring that Adam Sandler performs a new song each week.

“Sign up the brilliant cast of Fox’s failed Ben Stiller Show” was another entry on the list. While Andy Dick never got the call, and Bob Odenkirk only worked at SNL behind the scenes, Janeane Garofalo was hired as performer for the following season. Although she did call her time at SNL “the most miserable experience of my life.”

Fretts also claimed that they should “quit wasting Tim Meadows and Ellen Cleghorne” who were mostly given “insulting token roles.” Cleghorne ended up leaving SNL in 1995 to star in her own show, while Meadows went on to play memorable recurring characters like Leon Phelps and Lionel Osbourne, host of Perspectives.

Perhaps most presciently, the article urged the show to air “more short films,” citing the past successes of Albert Brooks and Mr. Bill. Just over 10 years later, SNL’s Digital Shorts gave the show a sense of relevancy at the dawn of the YouTube era.

Less presciently, EW harshly proposed forcing guitarist G.E. Smith to get a haircut, and making “cracking up on the air a fireable offense” (had Lorne Michaels taken that advice, Jimmy Fallon probably would have ended up on the streets). Similarly harsh: The article argued that SNL should “require Farley to keep his shirt on,” which sounds kind of mean, but Fretts’ complaints sound not so dissimilar from the viewpoint espoused by Odenkirk concerning the controversial Chippendales sketch.

As for the tip to “use more politicians,” well that may have been a mistake.

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