DC Tom Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 He's kidding. I suspected. I figured the rant would feel good anyway. I was right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 I suspected. I figured the rant would feel good anyway. I was right. I just lost a little respect for your intelligence. Just to let you know I do have a lot of respect for your intelligence despite our disagreements now and again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 I just lost a little respect for your intelligence. Just to let you know I do have a lot of respect for your intelligence despite our disagreements now and again. The feeling is mutual. That is, I have a lot of respect for my intelligence as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 The feeling is mutual. That is, I have a lot of respect for my intelligence as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 He was mostly a WRITER and not an actor, and if you knew that then your comment doesn't make too much sense. Some of the best SNL material was when he was writing for the show... Yeah, because his "the '70's were the 'Me decade', what will the '80's be? They'll be the AL FRANKEN DECADE" was friggin' hilarious. You are correct, some of the best SNL material occurred when he was on the payroll there. Considering the schlock that he put out as an actor, (Franken & Davis skits, Stuart Smiley, his Weekend Update commentary) I really doubt much of the good stuff was his. Or maybe he just gave the good stuff to other actors, and in his infinite humility decided to keep the cruddy stuff for himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Yeah, because his "the '70's were the 'Me decade', what will the '80's be? They'll be the AL FRANKEN DECADE" was friggin' hilarious. You are correct, some of the best SNL material occurred when he was on the payroll there. Considering the schlock that he put out as an actor, (Franken & Davis skits, Stuart Smiley, his Weekend Update commentary) I really doubt much of the good stuff was his. Or maybe he just gave the good stuff to other actors, and in his infinite humility decided to keep the cruddy stuff for himself. He was on the NBC payroll for years.now hes going to write your laws-enought said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Yeah, because his "the '70's were the 'Me decade', what will the '80's be? They'll be the AL FRANKEN DECADE" was friggin' hilarious. You are correct, some of the best SNL material occurred when he was on the payroll there. Considering the schlock that he put out as an actor, (Franken & Davis skits, Stuart Smiley, his Weekend Update commentary) I really doubt much of the good stuff was his. Or maybe he just gave the good stuff to other actors, and in his infinite humility decided to keep the cruddy stuff for himself. I don't know much about Franken so he must suck even if I thought his stuff, which I don't know if he wrote or not, was funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 I don't know much about Franken so he must suck even if I thought his stuff, which I don't know if he wrote or not, was funny. Why does the fact that you post you don't know his stuff but yet like it not surprise me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Why does the fact that you post you don't know his stuff but yet like it not surprise me? Ok, the post was showing how you think. I'm sorry you can't understand that. So take the word "I" and replace it with "you" and you might get it then. Ruminate on it for a couple of hours and it will begin to make sense. What a maroon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Linkage (CNN) -- Democrat Al Franken has pulled ahead of incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in Minnesota's still unresolved U.S. Senate race, according to a running tally on the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Web site. Late Friday morning, the newspaper's tally put Franken ahead by 102 votes. Coleman's lead had fallen to single digits Thursday evening. But the race remains fluid: The results reported by the newspaper are ongoing, with hundreds of challenged ballots still to be reviewed. Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has said that he and four other members on the Canvassing Board will not end their workday until all remaining challenges have been reviewed. One major wild card that remains are roughly 4,000 ballots that were originally challenged by the campaigns, who have since withdrawn those challenges. The secretary of state's office has yet to declare how or when those ballots will be awarded to the candidates. About 3 million votes were cast in the election, and the close result tripped an automatic recount. Franken, a former "Saturday Night Live" comedian and writer, gained several hundred votes Thursday night as the board ruled on ballot challenges from both sides, the newspaper reported. "When the recount is over and all the votes that were legally cast are counted, Al Franken will have won this election and will be declared the winner," Marc Elias, Franken's lead recount attorney, told the newspaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Ok, the post was showing how you think. I'm sorry you can't understand that. So take the word "I" and replace it with "you" and you might get it then. Ruminate on it for a couple of hours and it will begin to make sense. What a maroon. Except that I actually saw (far too many of) his skits back in the late '70's and early '80's and when he came back on the show w/ the Stuart Smiley era crud. Actually, he wasn't funny in 'Trading Places' either. His Air America rants bordered on Randi Rhodes venomous as well. So, how exactly does your inane post show how I think? If anything, it seems to indicate, once again, how you don't appear to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Yeah, because his "the '70's were the 'Me decade', what will the '80's be? They'll be the AL FRANKEN DECADE" was friggin' hilarious. You are correct, some of the best SNL material occurred when he was on the payroll there. Considering the schlock that he put out as an actor, (Franken & Davis skits, Stuart Smiley, his Weekend Update commentary) I really doubt much of the good stuff was his. Or maybe he just gave the good stuff to other actors, and in his infinite humility decided to keep the cruddy stuff for himself. Except that I actually saw (far too many of) his skits back in the late '70's and early '80's and when he came back on the show w/ the Stuart Smiley era crud. Actually, he wasn't funny in 'Trading Places' either. His Air America rants bordered on Randi Rhodes venomous as well. So, how exactly does your inane post show how I think? If anything, it seems to indicate, once again, how you don't appear to. Get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Get it? How many writers did they have on staff when he was there? 20 or so? They've been pretty consistent in that regard to having a large contingent of writers. If they have 20 writers, and each produces about the same amount of material, then each writer is responsible for ~5% of the shows that make it to the air. Considering every skit Al was in sucked, (if you disagree w/ this assessment, please point out what you think he was in that DIDN'T suck, I've already provided several examples of what DID suck) it isn't hard to extrapolate that his writing wasn't responsible for the funny bits that made it to air. And what you are neglecting to acknowledge by pointing out my comment that "some" of the best writing occurred while Al was on staff, is that a lot of good writing occurred while he wasn't on staff. Get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 He was on the NBC payroll for years.now hes going to write your laws-enought said. Now I have to quote myself- WHO CARES WHAT JOKES HE WROTE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Not sure what it has to do with his Senatorial bid, but Franken is (or at least was) considered to be a very good comic writer. The fact that he was with SNL twice, for a total of 15 years says something, I think. While SNL has many writers at any one time, not many have that kind of longevity with the show.. I'm not crazy about most of Franken's performances (although some of the stuff he did on SNL was fairly funny), but that doesn't say much about his talent as a sketch comedy writer. The supremely unfunny Conan O'Brien is also supposedly a very good comedy writer (about 3 years at SNL and one or two with the Simpsons), and I don't know if he has ever made me laugh as a performer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Now I have to quote myself- WHO CARES WHAT JOKES HE WROTE! You really think he'll actually sponsor bills? He might. But I would not be surprised to see him be a loud-mouthed follower like Kerry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Not sure what it has to do with his Senatorial bid, but Franken is (or at least was) considered to be a very good comic writer. The fact that he was with SNL twice, for a total of 15 years says something, I think. While SNL has many writers at any one time, not many have that kind of longevity with the show.. I'm not crazy about most of Franken's performances (although some of the stuff he did on SNL was fairly funny), but that doesn't say much about his talent as a sketch comedy writer. The supremely unfunny Conan O'Brien is also supposedly a very good comedy writer (about 3 years at SNL and one or two with the Simpsons), and I don't know if he has ever made me laugh as a performer. And Tim Meadows was on that show for 10+ years and Darryl Hammond has probably been around that long as well. A long tenure actually can imply hitting a journeyman status, where a person was good enough to get in, but not move on. (And part of being good enough to get in sometimes is going to the right school, etc. My opinion of Franken is that he was at the right Ivy League school at the right time and kissed the right butt to get in. The guy NEVER made it on his own, provided Governer Ventura's subjects don't throw this one to him.) As I wrote earlier, please tell me what he's done that was funny. I didn't find his Franken and Davis skits funny (although some of Davis' lines were funny; if Al wrote them, I'll give him credit for that), nor did I find his WU commentary funny. Stuart Smiley was PAINFULLY unfunny. Al, as a typical politician, has always appeared to be about himself. Considering he has never DONE anything tangible (other than self promote), I truly hope he does not end up in the "exclusive club". If he HAS done something other than self-promote under the radar, please let me know. I've seen no evidence of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Not sure what it has to do with his Senatorial bid, but Franken is (or at least was) considered to be a very good comic writer. The fact that he was with SNL twice, for a total of 15 years says something, I think. While SNL has many writers at any one time, not many have that kind of longevity with the show.. I'm not crazy about most of Franken's performances (although some of the stuff he did on SNL was fairly funny), but that doesn't say much about his talent as a sketch comedy writer. The supremely unfunny Conan O'Brien is also supposedly a very good comedy writer (about 3 years at SNL and one or two with the Simpsons), and I don't know if he has ever made me laugh as a performer. Exactly, I'm just saying calling out Franken for being unfunny when he worked in an era that has already been called the best years of SNL is ridiculous. BTW, I love Conan O'Brien's show. His writers do well and his monologues are pretty good. Triumph is the best thing on there and that makes the show worth watching alone. Taro T. you seem to be under the impression that one writer does a sketch and that's it. A writer comes up with an idea and then many of them work on it together. Saying 5% is his is ridiculous. Not every writer gets his/her stuff in every week. The best ideas are what get in. So one writer may be getting 25% or more into the show one week and none the next. As Deano pointed out Franken worked there for 15 years and I'm sure that's not because he sucked. My point is that your political feelings about him are entering into every facet of his work. Just admit he probably made you laugh once in a while and leave it at that. What the hell does his comedy have to with his politics? I'll admit Rush Limbaugh has given me a chuckle or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 And Tim Meadows was on that show for 10+ years and Darryl Hammond has probably been around that long as well. A long tenure actually can imply hitting a journeyman status, where a person was good enough to get in, but not move on. (And part of being good enough to get in sometimes is going to the right school, etc. My opinion of Franken is that he was at the right Ivy League school at the right time and kissed the right butt to get in. The guy NEVER made it on his own, provided Governer Ventura's subjects don't throw this one to him.) As I wrote earlier, please tell me what he's done that was funny. I didn't find his Franken and Davis skits funny (although some of Davis' lines were funny; if Al wrote them, I'll give him credit for that), nor did I find his WU commentary funny. Stuart Smiley was PAINFULLY unfunny. Al, as a typical politician, has always appeared to be about himself. Considering he has never DONE anything tangible (other than self promote), I truly hope he does not end up in the "exclusive club". If he HAS done something other than self-promote under the radar, please let me know. I've seen no evidence of it. So writing best selling political commentary books isn't doing anything? Having a radio show isn't doing anything? You're criticizing for the sake of criticizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 You really think he'll actually sponsor bills? He might. But I would not be surprised to see him be a loud-mouthed follower like Kerry. Can not help you on that one- this Midwest liberal thing has always puzzled me, I am not sure what they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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