Monday, May 19, 2014

Best 'Weekend Update' Anchor(s)?



'Weekend Update' is one of the longest running SNL sketches, debuting along with the variety special itself in 1975. Over the last nearly four decades it has featured an assortment of solo as well as paired hosts, some filling the position better than others.
For those of you that may go out on Saturday nights as opposed to staying home with your cats and waiting anxiously for 11:30 p.m, 'Weekend Update' is SNL's parody news desk which features anchors who deliver the week's top stories as well as a variety of recurring special guest characters with well established personas, most notably Roseanne Roseannadanna, Stefon, and Drunk Uncle. 
'Weekend Update' is notoriously one of SNL's most popular sketches and typically features many of each episode's most memorable one liners. Therefore, successfully running the desk takes a certain kind of comic. In this article, Vulture analyzed and ranked the 17 different anchors or anchor teams to sit behind the desk from worst to best. In my personal opinion as an SNL connoisseur, I would have to say that a pair of anchors has tended to lend itself to much better material due to the chemistry, competition, and rhetoric that exists between the partners who each come alive with someone to play off of. 
My top two anchor teams of all time: 
  1. Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin 
  2. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler 
Aykroyd and Curtain were the first team to host 'Weekend Update' and their Point/Counterpoint segment is arguable one of the best in the show's history. Most Memorable Line: "Jane, you ignorant slut."

Fey and Poehler are the only all-female duo to host 'Update' in the show's history and they proved (if it still neded to be proven) that women are just as funny as men. The two real life besties made the audience feel in on all their jokes and like you were sitting around drinking wine with them on Girl's Night Out. Most Memorable Line: "Bitch is the new black!"

1 comment:

  1. I love SNL. Weekend update is probably my favorite part. My favorite anchors would have to be a tie between Seth & Amy, Tina & Jimmy or Amy & Tina. The best episodes are when they all make a guest appears. One thing I loved about these anchors was they are never afraid to cross the line. I think that goes for every anchor). Even when the audience boos to something they said, they will brush it off. I loved the Tina and Amy years. My favorite line from there era was “Bitches get stuff done!” I constantly say that with my sister. :)

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