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Saturday Night Live at Homewas by no means a complete disaster.
Still, there was something fundamentally awkward about theSaturday Night Live at Homeexperience that couldnt be avoided.
That didnt make it less repetitive.
Colin Jost and Michael Che made the decision to include a laugh track, a.k.a.
Zoom audio of a handful of staffers cracking up at their jokes about Bernie Sanders and Rudy Giuliani.
My grandmother has never seen this show, he said.
I just wanted you to do that.
Fallon is able to be more charming by incorporating his wife and his daughters into his show.
OBrien, Kimmel, and Colbert can still have fun back-and-forths with guests over Zoom.
Saturday Night Liveis a different animal.
In a socially distanced format, the show cant be polished.
There are no real costumes.
Sets and backdrops in Saturday nights episode consisted mostly of homemade signs.
And because all the bits are pretaped, the unpredictability that comes from going live is missing.
That energy cant be replicated when the players are not in the same space.
It just cant, even when a valiant, technologically supported effort is made.
Multiple cast members, current and past, appeared on video to pay tribute to Willner.
BecauseSaturday Night Liveis a tradition.
Because, as dysfunctional as its climate has often been, its cast and alumni feel like family.
Because you want to see all the faces in that family to ensure theyre all doing okay.
Trying to makeSNLlook like usualSNLis just not possible right now.
Instead, maybe Lorne Michaels & Co. should plan to do a combination of clip show and new content.
Maybe put together an episode of nothing but sketches that were filmed in dress rehearsal and cut for time.
I would 100 percent watch that every week.
This seems like a moment forSaturday Night Liveto do exactly that.
