Best SNL Weekend Update anchors

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

If we're talking about best weekend update hosts, let me throw in my ideas.

 

1) Dennis Miller-Just overall funny with a sharp wit and good delivery. He was caustic and cynical and revolutionized the position as most people had used the deadpan, straight laced style that Chevy Chase pioneered up to that point. As Miller said to chase at the SNL anniversary show, "You might have knocked the girl up, but I married her."

 

2) Aykroyd/Murray and Curtain-They had great chemistry and I think brought WU more into the realm of poking fun at topical issues, where a lot of Chase's stuff was just weird bits and pseudo news.

 

3) Norm MacDonald-I used to hate Norm, but he's grown on me in reruns. He's a good combo of the Miller and Chase styles while doing his own thing with it. I still feel that he used OJ and Hasselhoff jokes as too much of a crutch at times.

 

4) Chevy Chase-I probably don't like him as much as most, but you can't deny that he was the guy that really got SNL and WU over in their first years.

 

5) Kevin Nealon-I think that Nealon got shafted by coming after Miller and going back to a more dry style. He let the jokes stand on their own, at a time when the writing was getting a bit clunky, when he would have been better off trying to pad the material and show a little more personality.

 

6) Fey and Fallon-I know this will hurt Bob, but I really can't stand either one of them. I like Fey as a personality and as a writer, but she comes off as way too smug and full of herself as an anchor while Jimmy seems amazed at the fact that he isn't taking orders at a Long John Silver's somewhere.

 

7) Colin Quinn-He just never fit into SNL as someone said in the other thread. Quinn has good ideas and material, but sometimes he's at a lost in his execution and delivery to get them over. His characters that he played on WU while Norm was still host were all very funny by playing on his strengths. As anchor, I don't think he ever wanted the job and felt bad about displacing Norm.

 

8) Christopher Guest-In the two or three updates I've seen from him, he was so bland he was practically in a coma. Granted that he was on the show during one of it's lowest ebbs between the Murphy/Piscopo era and the '86 cast. He was doing that whole "worked shoot" thing that he does so well in his films, but it just didn't seem to take with WU.

 

If there have been other WU anchors, I'm not aware of them enough to comment.

[Guest bob_barron]

You forgot some of the anchors of the early 80s but that's alright.

 

Norm is my all time favourite cast member. He's the reason I became a fan of SNL and I can still watch his Updates and laugh my ass off. The guy was not afraid to make fun of anything which is something that really hurts Fallon Fey.

 

His delivery was perfect and the guy could make even the worst joke get a laugh just by his expressions.

 

Tina and Jimmy do have their problems- Jimmy is pretty bad most weeks but Tina is terrific. I think they're too sensitive- there are a lot of things they can easily make fun of but don't seem to want to offend people.

 

I wouldn't rank Miller #1- He was just there forever. Chevy was good but only stayed for one year.

 

I like Colin a lot- I think his first half a year he was put into a very difficult position and I think his Updates suffered because of a result. Later on I think he became much more comfortable behind the desk and his Updates improved

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

You forgot some of the anchors of the early 80s but that's alright.

 

As I said Bob, if I missed someone, it was because I wasn't aware of them. And the early eighties was such a black hole. Who were the other WU anchors?

[Guest bob_barron]

Brad Hall, Charles Rocket, Mary Gross and Gail Mattitus

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Dennis Miller had a trump card none of the anchors had:

 

A. Whitney Brown

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

Brad Hall, Charles Rocket, Mary Gross and Gail Mattitus

Thanks Bob. That doesn't sound like the most auspicious list there, though. Although I found Rocket to be decent in some of the other things I've seen him in.

[Guest bob_barron]

Rocket is most famous for saying the 'f' word and getting fired

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I liked Norm the best...he could deliver the worst jokes in the world and make them funny. Plus his blatant O.J. hate was golden.

[Guest dreamer420]

Kevin Nealon was the shiznit. He was always very funny and could pull off the news anchor look.

 

The worst was Norm McDonald as so many of his jokes got no laughs and he tried way to hard when he wasn't funny.

[Guest bob_barron]

It's Macdonald.

 

That's what made him so great- Norm tried hard to try and get every joke to work no matter how bad. And the crowd may have not felt him but most of his jokes were friggin hilarious

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

MacDonald, Miller.

 

That's all...

[Guest dreamer420]

It's Macdonald.

 

That's what made him so great- Norm tried hard to try and get every joke to work no matter how bad. And the crowd may have not felt him but most of his jokes were friggin hilarious

I have to disagree with you. I don't think McDonald tried very hard at all to be funny and that is why most of his jokes fell flat.

[Guest The Czech Republic]

Dennis Miller, Norm MacDonald, Kevin Nealon.

 

Honorable mention to Jane Curtin.

 

How can you not love MacDonald's running gags? "you guessed it....Frank Stallone."

[Guest bob_barron]

It's Macdonald.

 

That's what made him so great- Norm tried hard to try and get every joke to work no matter how bad. And the crowd may have not felt him but most of his jokes were friggin hilarious

I have to disagree with you. I don't think McDonald tried very hard at all to be funny and that is why most of his jokes fell flat.

It's Macdonald.

 

He would do his joke and if it got a tepid response he would make a face or add a comment to try to reach for the laugh. There was one joke that bombed once so he actually went out and explained why the joke was funny- it was one of the funniest things I've seen.

 

He also had THREE hilarious running gags and he wasn't afraid to make fun of anything

[Guest Dangerous A]

I'll take Nealon, Miller, or McDonald as a triumverate. Fey/Fallon are terrible, IMO. Fey does have talent and I think in a year or two, we may speak of her in the same breath as the triumverate above. Fallon is hopeless and I can't stand him. I think he is the worse cast member in a really long time. He looks like he can barely deliver lines in skits or on Weekly Update without cracking up like a little fucking school girl. He just can't keep it together. I think Chris Parnell should replace Fallon in the Weekly Updates and just fire Fallon's fuckin ass!

[Guest RevEvil]

Well first of all, Brian Doyle-Murray, Mary Gross, Christine Ebersole, Brad Hall, and Christopher Guest either hosted SNL News or Saturday Night News. Second, there was a period where the show host would do the news.

[Guest starvenger]

He also had THREE hilarious running gags and he wasn't afraid to make fun of anything

Let's see... Frank Stallone, OJ and Germans loving David Hasselhoff, right?

 

1. Norm Macdonald. He brought that requisite Canadian sarcasm to the desk. Plus his intro theme was a take off of the "Hockey Night in Canada" theme - how can you hate that? Anyways, that year he was removed midseason was probably his worst, since he was just coasting at that point.

 

2. Dennis Miller. Viva le mullet!! If it weren't for Norm he'd be number one. I liked his HBO stuff better though. Must've been the ranting.

 

3. Ackroyd and Curtin. Chevy (Vacation movies aside) has never made me laugh, so I say that A&C set the standard - and they were the harbingers of the oldest running gags in SNL history.

 

4. Kevin Nealon. A tough job following Dennis Miller but he found a good style and made the segment his own. It was a bit more subtle but in retrospect it was what was needed between the blatantly sarcastic styles of Miller and McDonald.

 

5. Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. To be honest just about any of the male cast members could be in Jimmy's spot for the jokereading, but to his credit he has a good chemistry with Tina and that's what keeps him there. They're starting to rely a bit much on the external stuff though.

 

6. Colin Quinn. I'd probably rank him higher if it weren't for his 'fill-in' half-season. Yeah, I shouldn't hold it against him, but it happened, and I am.

 

The rest I really don't give a crap about.

[Guest starvenger]

Rocket is most famous for saying the 'f' word and getting fired

That must have been around the same time that Damon Wayons portrayed a gay cop and got fired...

[Guest bob_barron]

Rocket was 1980

Damon got fired in 1985.

[Guest bob_barron]

I'll take Nealon, Miller, or McDonald as a triumverate. Fey/Fallon are terrible, IMO. Fey does have talent and I think in a year or two, we may speak of her in the same breath as the triumverate above. Fallon is hopeless and I can't stand him. I think he is the worse cast member in a really long time. He looks like he can barely deliver lines in skits or on Weekly Update without cracking up like a little fucking school girl. He just can't keep it together. I think Chris Parnell should replace Fallon in the Weekly Updates and just fire Fallon's fuckin ass!

It's Macdonald!

 

NOT MCDONALD!

 

M-a-c-d-o-n-a-l-d

 

If they're gonna fire Jimmy they should replace him with Seth Meyers. Parnell's pretty much cooled since coming back and is pretty awful on WU. Seth always brings the funny and would be a perfect replacement for Jimmy on Update

[Guest bob_barron]

He also had THREE hilarious running gags and he wasn't afraid to make fun of anything

Let's see... Frank Stallone, OJ and Germans loving David Hasselhoff, right?

 

1. Norm Macdonald. He brought that requisite Canadian sarcasm to the desk. Plus his intro theme was a take off of the "Hockey Night in Canada" theme - how can you hate that? Anyways, that year he was removed midseason was probably his worst, since he was just coasting at that point.

 

2. Dennis Miller. Viva le mullet!! If it weren't for Norm he'd be number one. I liked his HBO stuff better though. Must've been the ranting.

 

3. Ackroyd and Curtin. Chevy (Vacation movies aside) has never made me laugh, so I say that A&C set the standard - and they were the harbingers of the oldest running gags in SNL history.

 

4. Kevin Nealon. A tough job following Dennis Miller but he found a good style and made the segment his own. It was a bit more subtle but in retrospect it was what was needed between the blatantly sarcastic styles of Miller and McDonald.

 

5. Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. To be honest just about any of the male cast members could be in Jimmy's spot for the jokereading, but to his credit he has a good chemistry with Tina and that's what keeps him there. They're starting to rely a bit much on the external stuff though.

 

6. Colin Quinn. I'd probably rank him higher if it weren't for his 'fill-in' half-season. Yeah, I shouldn't hold it against him, but it happened, and I am.

 

The rest I really don't give a crap about.

Stallone, the Germans and note to self were the three

[Guest starvenger]

Rocket was 1980

Damon got fired in 1985.

gotcha.

 

If they're gonna fire Jimmy they should replace him with Seth Meyers. Parnell's pretty much cooled since coming back and is pretty awful on WU. Seth always brings the funny and would be a perfect replacement for Jimmy on Update

They should steal Steven Colbert from the Daily Show...

[Guest bob_barron]

I'd rather they just put Seth in the role since everytime he's on WU- it's awesome

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Norm Macdonold. The Frank Stallone alone makes him the best.

[Guest DerangedHermit]

1) Kevin Nealon: great delivery, great jokes

2) Jane Curtin (with Murray or Aykroyd): Tina Fey is Jane Curtin II

3) Norm MacDonald: very different

4) Dennis Miller

5) Tina Fey (by herself, Fallon drags her down)

6) Chevy Chase: very overrated -- not a surprise, since it's Chevy Chase

7) Brad Hall - decent but I'd have to see more

8) Colin Quinn

[Guest LooseCannon]

Norm Macdonald was the funniest in my opinion. Dennis Miller was way overrated. I've never laughed at a single thing that guy said.

[Guest teke184]

1. Norm MacDonald- Sorry, this is a sentimental pick. Norm was capable of taking some horrible material and making it funny by his delivery. Contrast this with King Midas in Reverse himself, Colin Quinn, who turned gold into shit.

 

2. Dennis Miller- Great delivery, great material, just not as good as Norm.

 

3. Akroyd and Curtin- Four words... "Jane, you ignorant slut."

 

4. Chevy Chase- Chase set the standard for the show and had a lot of great material at a time when they couldn't go for obvious jokes (IIRC, there was another show that went on earlier that already made a bunch of the easy jokes, so they had to work harder and it showed)

 

5. Kevin Nealon- Chevy Chase without the charisma. Nealon was very good but he was the sandwich guy between Miller and MacDonald. That's like having to be an All Star shortstop in the AL between Cal Ripken and Alex Rodriguez.

 

6. Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon- They were funny the few times I've seen them.

 

7. Colin Quinn- He sucked when he took over for Norm and it got worse when he started doing his 5-minute diatribes that went nowhere in the preview to Update. Do we care about something being compared to a Puerto Rican family on SNL if it doesn't lead to a freakin' JOKE?

 

 

On Norm's last half-season, he was on cruise control at the start of the year and relying too much on the Note To Self and OJ routines. However, "What the Hell were you thinking?!?" and "in this month's scientific journal 'Duh'" were still great. And, in fairness to Norm, the entire CAST was in a rut at the beginning of that season. He just got singled out because Don Ohlmeyer is a stupid vindictive asshole who wouldn't know funny if it bit him on the ass.

 

Funny story about Norm and Ohlmeyer... Ohlmeyer got Norm his gig on Update in 1995. It was because Al Franken was the other guy up for it and Ohlmeyer hated him but didn't really know much about Norm.

[Guest bob_barron]

Don had it in for Norm and James Downey since one.

 

Norm's last WU is one of my all time favourites. I don't recall his 97-98 WUs as being subpar- I know everyone slags on the Fraser WU but I don't remember that one.

[Guest Crazy Dan]

I really liked Kevin Nealon. He has to be one of my favorites. I get his brand of humor.

 

I like Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon. Call them a guilty pleasure. I especially like their "Rant on America."

 

Norm was da man. He would crack me up.

 

Colin Quinn I found not funny. He is much funnier on his new Comedy Central show.

 

Dennis Miller is more funny when he can swear and not worry about what he is saying. His HBO show is more funny to me.

 

I didn't like any of the early 80's anchors from what I have seen.

 

And the original anchors were good, but I haven't really seen much to make a sound judgement.

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

Well first of all, Brian Doyle-Murray, Mary Gross, Christine Ebersole, Brad Hall, and Christopher Guest either hosted SNL News or Saturday Night News. Second, there was a period where the show host would do the news.

I actually remember seeing a rerun on comedy central real late one night where BOB FREAKING EUCHRE was doing the news.