To Whom I May Concern:

A year ago I moved out to Los Angeles in hopes of finding a job and starting a career. One year later I’m in the same place. The only difference is I’ve acquired a few things over the past year: experience, age, and karaoke equipment. So to celebrate, I’ve set up my karaoke equipment and am going to jam out to some Michael Bublè. Happy one year anniversary, Ross!

Congratulations Internet. We did it. We rallied together and clicked our mouses loud enough to get Betty White to host Saturday Night Live. It was the first time I’ve watched an episode on my television in a decade. I’m sure it’s the same for some of you as well.

Why did we watch? More importantly, why did we stop watching? Because it’s 11:30 on a Saturday night? I have TiVo and I’ve still never cared to tune in. Because the cast isn’t good? Not true, you take any of those actors and put them in a web video or a movie and I’d be happy to laugh along with them. Because the show has lost it’s relevance now that sketch comedy has majorly moved to the online medium? Possible, but I remember watching Human Giant on television not long ago enough to declare this to be not true.

I went back and watched some SNL from the days of yore when I first fell in love with the program and realized that as great as Betty White was, the episode was merely “good” not fantastic. It only looked fantastic because a diamond amongst other precious metals can be seen for what it is, but a diamond amongst crap looks like the greatest thing to ever exist.

When it comes down to it, the difference between “good” SNL and what the show is currently, lies within the visible effort being put into it’s execution. Look back to the days of Mike Meyers, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, etc. and you’ll see actors and performers executing rehearsed sketches that have been rewritten until adequacy. Even more recently the Will Ferrel, Cheri Oteri, Chris Kattan cast executed the show as performers.

Today, we wince as we watch Andy Samberg’s eyes dart across a cue card as he emotionlessly recites the lines written for him.

Andy, HOW ARE YOU ALREADY JADED?! You grew up watching SNL and were the chosen through the Internet to join the cast. This is a dream come true, and already you’re bored? Well, you’re sure as hell acting like it. Even the SNL Digital Shorts (which no doubt saved the show by giving it new life on the Internet) seem to have lost your interest.

Here’s a video that opened my eyes to the lackluster of late that the digital shorts have been putting forward:

IN SHORT:

It’s not the lack of talent from this current cast, or even the poor writing from the overstaffed writers’ room, but the sloppily performed sketches “acted” by reading eyes of a careless production that has taken SNL from it’s former pedastal of comedy gold and placed it slightly below a college sketch troupe’s YouTube Channel. You’re SNL. Start acting like it.