Live From New York...

Tina Fey is a small contributor to my horrible posting habits. A small one. Most of it can be attributed to laziness and an uninspired existence.

I spent much of this weekend ignoring my homework by watching episode of episode of 30 Rock on Netflix. Though I watched all of these episodes when they originally aired, they're just as entertaining the second time around.

Perhaps it was this Tina-filled marathon that prompted me to further ignore my homework by watching a documentary-ish feature on VH1 (for some reason?) about Saturday Night Live in the years 2000-2010. Knowing Tina was a writer during some of this time, I had to watch it.

I've always kept up relatively with SNL, but haven't been a faithful watcher since Tina departed. I mostly tune in now when there's a host a like (Elton John on April 2nd!); I'll catch the popular sketches on the internet later. But this documentary renewed my fallen interest in the variety show.

SNL, having been around for a bazillion seasons, is much more culturally relevant than jumpstarting the careers of some our most popular comedians. Each episode serves as a time capsule of sorts. The people and events the show parodies weekly are very topical and very temporary. I won't get many of the jokes from the episodes in the 80's, because largely, you had to be there. Even Tina Fey's famous Sarah Palin sketches aren't as funny if you haven't seen the original (and hilarious in their own right) incidents.

Yet, reruns of SNL are a Saturday television mainstay and many of the characters and lines stay in the pop culture conscious long after the events that spawn them.

The documentary suggested that this was because SNL serves as the people's voice. Like my favorite Molly Ivins said, "Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful."

This is illustrated best by the first episode after the tragedy on September 11th. SNL was particularly affected, being so close to Ground Zero. Nobody felt very funny that week, especially those who were still breathing the smoke on their daily commutes.

But SNL had to go on. The first joke was told by none other than Rudy Guiliani, surrounded by a few firemen (with ashes from the site still clinging to their clothes), and the tension broke, and the funny could happen again. Though the laughter may have felt unnatural for awhile, SNL pushed the nation a little further towards normalcy.

People say SNL sways elections, which they vehemently deny, and they tend to occasionally piss off Mark Walhberg. But there's no denying that it's been on air for so long for a reason. Maybe they don't sway votes, but they get people to google "David Paterson." And in this day and age, that's a pretty good accomplishment.