Saturday Night Synergy
By Scott Keith on 11 December 2020
Hey Scott–
A phrase you used in your most recent SNME review caught my eye:
“they continue sleepwalking through this end-of-SNME time filler.”
Saturday Night's Main Event was used as an occasional replacement for Saturday Night Live, which has a well-earned reputation for the last third of the show being a parade of… less than stellar comedy.
Or, to use Krusty the Clown's words, “Actually, the last half-hour is a real garbage-dump. *ugh*”
Dick Ebersol had his fingerprints on both shows. Is making the last 30 minutes of both shows worthless “Vintage Ebersol!” or did Vince absorb his NBC buddy's pacing of shows through osmosis?
They probably had detailed ratings info that told them that the audience dropped like a rock at the one hour mark and adjusted accordingly. That’s why the show was so front loaded.