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I watched the first episode. It struck me as a female version of 12 Years A Slave. One of my facebook friends from my hometown is descended from black Canadians and she has a treasure trove of their history and photos which she posts regularly.

Now that is a very true observation. Due to the speed at which we throw away pop culture we are not seeing very many "superstars" anymore. That's an whole other discussion and definitely an important one. There really hasn't been a break out store since the advent of twitter and facebook. We've seen more viral sensations than consistent starpower... I tend to say in regard to Tracy Morgan that if it weren't for Martin he would be still doing small comedy circuits. I think his Hustleman character was parlayed into SNL, but he never created a character as memorable as Hustleman on SNL. His "Pick up the Pieces" skit on Martin is still hilarious. I can't even remember his comedy from SNL. I will give you Jim Carrey's performance on SNL as one of the best moments in the last ten years. His impression of McConaughey was genius.

BOOK OF NEGROES,IS A MINI SERIES ON BET/.BOOK OF NEGROES BY LAWRENCE HILL IS ABOUT AFRICAN GIRL KIDNAPPED WITH OTHER AFRICANS FROM WEST AFRICA ,FORCED ON A SLAVE SHIP THAT VOYAGED OVER THE OCEAN, CAME TO SOUTH CAROLINA I THINK....DIFFERENCE FROM ALEX HALEY'S ROOTS/MAIN CHARACTER LEARNS TO READ AND SPEAK ENGLISH///THIS I ASSUME ,LIKE ROOTS AND OTHER BOOKS,MOVIES ABOUT AFRICANS SLAVED FORCED TO AMERICA,HAD BLACK PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER TO SURVIVE..SOMETHING THAT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO,NOW,,NOT JUST DEMONIC WHITE SUPREMACY,BUT LACK OF BLACK UNITY/////BOOK OF NEGROES ON BET, ANYONE SAW IT,////.//

Mike Myers and Dana Garvey are both outside of that ten year window. I'm not talking recognition, I'm talking about creating memorable characters and then lucrative film careers which is what SNL used to do. The awards and small shows are good but the most memorable skits in the last ten years were Tina Feys palin and not much else. We can agree to disagree. But as far as being relevant to all ages the only reason it is still slightly relevant is it's musical guest and the digital shorts. Hence the rise of adult swim, the boondocks and Dave Chappelle (which was also over ten years ago...almost). Mad TV collapsed and In Living Color collapsed but Saturday Night Live continues on because of its legacy and only because it's easier to leave it in that time slot than it is to find something else to fit. Also people will literally stay up to see what foolishness the host will do. I wouldn't hesitate to say that the hosts are primarily the reason the show has been able to continue forward since the lack of a church lady, lying guy, Mr Rogers, or waynes world is non existent. I will agree that the live factor is a bonus but that is negated by the fact that the ore recorded digital shorts are the most memorable excerpts from the last few years. I do concede that the show is a powerful cultural factor because we are discussing it on a black message board when there are only three blacks featured.

Eddie Murphy's super stardom stemmed from his SNL career, but not Chris Rock who was just a featured player on the show for one season. Rock's comedy specials on cable are what catapulted him to the A-list. And I don't consider Chevy Chase or Bill Murray or Dan Akyrode any more successful than Mike Myers or Dana Carvey whose church lady character was voted the most popular by the viewers. Mike Myers' Austin Power/Dr Evil movies were box office blockbusters, and his Wayne's World ones teaming him with Dana Carvey as the Wayne and Garth characters they made famous on SNL also scored. Tina Faye won the prestigious Mark Twain comedy award and she and Amy Poeler are a hot twosome because of their hosting the Golden Globe, and they also had a hit movie with "Mean Girls". They are probably the most successful of all the women to emerge from SNL. Mya Rudolph was also a very popular during her tenure and Kristen Wiig now has a thriving movie caree. Anybody who has been a member of the SNL cast is recognizable whether they became big names or not. It depends on what your looking for in judging SNL. What makes it unique and what has contributed to its longevity is that it's shot live; it's not canned like the prime time sit-coms that have been edited and cut and re-done. What you see is what you get. It also has retained the skit format. It has immediacy and is as timely as the night it appears. It's not always hilarious, but even when it misses the mark, it is interesting to watch an unfunny skit flop. Finally it's the last of its kind. With the demise of "In Living Color", it has no peer. It appeals to people of all ages, tackles all subjects and ridicules everyone.

I couldn't bring myself to watch it Harry. I just didn't feel like another slave story.

Will Ferrell was last on SNL in 2002 as a main cast member. That's more than 10 years. Jimmy Fallon was last a full time cast member in 2004. I know it's close but it's not 10 years, lol. Seth Meyers just got the Late Night job because Fallon moved up. I wouldn't consider him on the same level as Bill Murray, Chevy Chase or Eddie Murphy at all. He isn't even on Adam Sandler's level. Tina Fey took off after her Palin impression, but she hasn't had a major movie yet. Her biggest success is a SNL vehicle in 30 Rock. No where near the career of Chris Rock. I think the others you kind of get my POV of what a huge star is. I'm talking Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Will Ferrell, or any of the old guard like Chevy Chase, or Dan Akroyd. Those guys have/ had huge movie and film careers. In the last ten years no one has really developed from the SNL family into a huge star. Andy Sandberg had several flops in film and Brooklyn 99 isn't exactly tearing up the ratings. SNL used to literally guarantee success for their prime time people. It just isn't producing the type of careers it once did or maybe I'm expecting too much. I watch the show in chunks on Hulu and it's primarily the digital skits or the musical artists on the show. I would say the funniest skit to me on the show and a lot of people would agree are the digital skits featuring Sandberg and Timberlake. They are the most succesful bits from the show as of late. Those along with the Lonely Island skits are the funniest. But are there any memorable characters that have been created on the show? When you think about SNL you automatically think about Belushi's Samurai, Eddie Murphy's James Brown, John Lovett's Lying Guy or Akroyd's characters. The only person who has an even remotely memorable character is Tina Fey. Here are a couple of those digital shorts from SNL I meant to say that they just got their first full time Black woman primetime player. I guess I'm letting on that I have tried to watch it, but the show is really missing a lot. I do think this was one of the funniest skits: