Entertainment

'SNL' Sucks? Blame Video Games Says Taran Killam

by Alicia Lutes

If you're one of those "OMG Saturday Night Live totally sucks right now!" types, two of its stars, dance machine Taran Killam and drunk uncle Bobby Moynihan, have unearthed the place of blame. And, well, you're not going to like it. It's video games' fault.

Video games. And not, not the Lana Del Ray video of the same name (though, comically, that might make a bit more sense), but honest-to-goodness, never-got-the-stuff gaming. Because nerdery! And also boys or whatever. (Just kidding — there's enough sexism as is in the gaming industry, no need to pile on, even in the name of satire.) And also because the capacity for a game-induced timesuck is very, very real.

"Well, we’re very into the Lego Marvel game right now, for Xbox 360. Because we’re adult men," explained Moynihan, causing the interviewer to muse on the difficulties of leaving games behind... to work (as professional goofballs). Something that Killam highlighted in his response "For all the people who think that S.N.L. hasn’t been funny, it’s 100 percent our fault for playing too many video games."

But, see, that's mean — and unfairly puts the impetuous on the games. They're just toys! Playthings! But they do have a (clearly) very real hold on humans — especially those that go KABOOM! in the night. If we're going to go around blaming video games, we should at least distribute the blame evenly. Take a look at the history of sucking on Saturday Night Live — it's been a criticism bandied about for as long as Studio 8H has been lit — and you'll see that video games cannot take the heat alone.

Which means, you, too, should feel ashamed, bathroom breaks. And Internet — especially kitten videos. Also delicious snacks, the fact that Magnolia Bakery has an outpost on the ground floor of Rockefeller Plaza, coffee runs, naps, trips to the vending machine, Lorne Michael impersonation breaks, planking, that one hair you can't pluck that you see out the corner of your eye all the time, lines, Miley Cyrus, what happens when, that guy on 7th avenue who asks for beer in a creepy voice, the writers' room smelling vaguely of pee, the allure of spying on Brian Williams, why women love laughing while they eat salad, more naps, the make-up lady's endless pictures of her baby, noses, how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, other people, the mating habits of peacocks, gawking, mismatched socks, dance breaks, owling, accidental sharts, that secretary's weekly flower delivery, drinking when it feels right even if its wrong, Twinkies, the authenticity of the reverse Oreo, and crabs. Both kinds.

So take it easy on the video games, you guys. We're ALL to blame.