Saturday Night Live Goes Commercial

In the beginning, there was sketch comedy. And it was good. And the comedy Gods, distrustful of those poll-taking, focus-group-loving marketing God/punks said, "let there be parodies of vaunted super brands." And it was better.

Even in years when Saturday Night Live lost some of its punch - its flair for biting the hand that fed it, and waiting for that hand to come back for more - one thing has remained consistently funny: SNL's commercial parodies. Seemingly, these parodies have managed to lampoon every aspect of the advertising world. From Dan Aykroyd's bungling delivery of the `Bass-O-Matic,' burlesquing the Ronco / Ron Popeil line of products, to that refreshing after-work all-natural domestic water `Swill' resembling something more akin to slime than Evian. But wouldn't you know it, SNL's Bill Murray just loves it.

Many will remember these sketches as old friends: Phil Hartman atop the ever-growing pyramid of bran as he narrates the exact number of bowls of his `regular' cereal would take to equal just one bowl of `Colon Blow,' (and now *NEW* `Super Colon Blow'. Roseanne (Barr? Arnold?) deadpanning her concern for a credit card customer's plight: Roseanne `I told him he could take out a check, roll it real tight, and cram it!' Hartman `She gave me a lot of options.' Others are more obscure, but nevertheless timeless: `The Network Battle of the 'T's and 'A's. The biggest T s and the hottest A s.' An SNL commercial parody from the 70s era, which may have inspired FOX's current lineup of `television.'

Whatever you're memories of SNL, chances are, the sketches have made you giggle, but the parodies have made you laugh so hard, it made you take a look at the real commercials, and wonder Which is more amusing? The parody, or the fact that Madison Avenue hasn't figured out the punch line?

Do yourself a favor, and add this to your home video/DVD collection. It'll make you feel like you just discovered SNL again.