https://www.looper.com/973395/the-7-best-and-7-worst-snl-weekend-update-anchors-ranked/

Worst: Brad Hall

After the departure of "SNL" creator and producer Lorne Michaels in 1980, the new
executives at "SNL" struggled to find a proper presentation for Weekend Update on the
show. Settling on such rebranded names as SNL NewsBreak and Saturday Night News, the
segment alternated between several anchors from 1981 to Michaels' return in 1985. One of
these anchors would be Brad Hall, an "SNL" cast member who voiced Saturday Night News
from 1982 to 1983.

Known for his signature sign-off phrase, "Thanks for coming out in the rain," Hall was a
fairly decent anchor on "SNL" who might've fared better had there been more stable
leadership during his days on the show. At the time, "SNL" was still trying to figure out
how to carry on in the wake of Michaels' departure. Hall's youthful delivery and overt
enthusiasm gelled poorly with the largely unfunny scripts he was meant to read off of.

If he'd been an anchor during Michaels' time on the show, he might've thrived, but
unfortunately, like many other aspects of "SNL" in the early 1980s, he merely flopped.
His time as host was a little lengthier than fellow '80s anchors like Brian Doyle-Murray,
but that doesn't mean it was much better.

Best: Jane Curtin

Jane Curtin remains one of the unsung heroes of "SNL." As one of the original cast
members on the show, she brought a good deal of grounded, more sarcastic humor that more
manic cast mates could effectively bounce their energy off of. For an illustration of
just how strong a feature player she was on "SNL," you don't have to look much farther
than her stint as the host of Weekend Update in the late 1970s.

Filling the immense hole left by Chevy Chase after Chase's "SNL" departure in 1976,
Curtin carried Weekend Update from 1976 to 1980. Whether she was reporting on her own or
alongside co-anchors like Dan Aykroyd or Bill Murray, Curtin helped secure Weekend
Update's place on "SNL" with Chase no longer there to headline.

Thanks to Curtin's matter-of-fact delivery of the news, Weekend Update evolved into
something bigger and better by having two anchors co-host. Without Curtin, who knows if
Weekend Update would've survived as long as it has (and of course, we never would've
gotten the oft-quoted "Point/Counterpoint" between Curtin and Aykroyd that has become so
universally beloved today).

Worst: Kevin Nealon

To be fair, Kevin Nealon had a tough act to follow after Dennis Miller, the incredibly
entertaining anchor of Weekend Update after the program's return to "SNL" in 1985. Taking
over the position of host in 1991, Nealon adopted a straight-man approach. However, while
other hosts like Norm Macdonald thrived with their expressionless reading of the news,
Nealon frequently fell flat, lacking the necessary charisma or confidence in his
reporting.

During his time on "SNL," Nealon was always a good supporting cast member, acting as a
natural foil for the cartoonishness of high-strung cast members like Chris Farley or Adam
Sandler. On his own, though, he didn't have the skills to glide through an entire bit as
effortlessly as Miller or Macdonald on Weekend Update.

Nealon did have some shining moments during his tenure as anchor. His regular pairings
with Adam Sandler's variety of wacky characters like Opera Man were consistently
entertaining, even if Nealon was regularly outshined by his cast mates.

Best: Jimmy Fallon

Say what you will about Jimmy Fallon and his at-times annoying habit of laughing in the
middle of a sketch, his stint on Weekend Update remains perhaps the crowning achievement
of his time on "SNL." Co-hosting the program alongside Tina Fey, Fallon helped
reinvigorate the segment with a much-needed dose of silliness after Colin Quinn's dry
take on the program. Their onscreen antics helped make Weekend Update entertaining again,
with the two leads injecting lighthearted humor in the program that rarely failed to get
a laugh (even if it was Fallon's own).

Unlike some prior hosts, they didn't try to strictly play the buffoonish newsreader but
instead tried adding their own spin to their onscreen characters. Between their serious
attire and penchant for breaking down in giggles, it was like watching two kids
pretending to read the news, the two of them having a level of chemistry that has yet to
be fully duplicated since on Weekend Update.

While Fallon no doubt owes a big debt of gratitude to his hilarious partnership with Fey,
he still managed to find the ideal place for his talents with his hosting gig. His
tendency to break character might not have been a good fit for "SNL's" sketches, but his
incessant laughter made the already surreal news stories that much more ridiculous and
hard to believe.

Worst: Brian Doyle-Murray

When producer Duncan Ebersol took over at "SNL" in 1981, he overhauled the usual brand of
programming Lorne Michaels had established in the late '70s. This included repackaging
Weekend Update into SNL NewsBreak, with Brian Doyle-Murray being the first cast member
seated behind the news desk.

The elder brother of former Weekend Update anchor Bill Murray, Doyle-Murray was one of
"SNL's" veteran players during its 1981 to 1982 season. Previously, he'd been a feature
player alongside brother Bill in Season 5 before transitioning to a writing position in
Season 6. When he finally returned in front of a camera, though, Doyle-Murray had a
difficult time filling in the same seat previously held by "SNL" giants like Chevy Chase
or Jane Curtin.

He did a decent enough job making NewsBreak mildly interesting, but it was clear "SNL"
was still struggling to figure out how to present NewsBreak after its rebranding.
Initially, he was partnered with Mary Gross, before acting as sole anchor for a short
time, only to later be paired with Gross once again. Finally, he was teamed with
Christine Ebersole for the rest of the season. As a result of this continuous shuffle of
anchors, Doyle-Murray's hosting suffered tremendously. If "SNL" had doubled down and
taken a chance on him for longer, he might've worked out. But sadly, it was clear they
didn't know how to use him, sticking in partnerships that lacked any kind of onscreen
camaraderie.

Best: Seth Meyers

After a prolonged period that saw several pairs of co-anchors overseeing Weekend Update,
the segment was turned over to Seth Meyers, who acted as the program's first solo host in
nearly a decade. While other, lesser talents might've buckled under the pressure, the
confident, intelligent, charismatic Meyers soared. Whether he was on his own or appearing
alongside co-anchor Amy Poehler (with whom he was initially paired for two years) or any
number of "SNL's" strange breed of recurring characters, Meyers consistently delivered
laughs on a weekly basis.

His solo work is entertaining enough, but it's Meyers' interactions with his fellow "SNL"
cast members on the set of Weekend Update that made him such a strong and memorable
anchor during his five-year stint on the segment. His recurring "Really!?! with Seth"
bits saw him perform opposite such stars as Jerry Seinfeld and Kermit the Frog, all to
tremendous effect.

However, it's his relationship with his onscreen lover, Stefon (played by a side-
splittingly funny Bill Hader) that continues to define Meyers' time on "SNL." Together,
Hader and Meyers pushed the boundaries of Weekend Update characters in radically
different directions, creating an odd, practically cinematic romance story that lasted
for years. It was new, it was weird, but we loved it all the same.

Worst: Colin Quinn

Colin Quinn himself probably summed up his time on Weekend Update best with the first
joke he made upon assuming hosting duties of the segment. "Have you ever gone to a bar
and found that your favorite bartender was replaced with a guy named Steve? Well, I'm
Steve, what can I get you?" Taking over the news desk from his good friend, Norm
Macdonald, Quinn had a tough act to follow and he knew it. And unfortunately, he was
right: few hosts would've been able to measure up to the late great Norm Macdonald.

Quinn has always been a gifted standup comedian known for his everyman characters, but
his comic skills just didn't fit the Weekend Update mold. He tried his best, standing in
sharp contrast to the usual breed of preppy, handsome, sarcastic anchors like Chevy Chase
or Charles Rocket, but it never felt quite right when it came to his new readings.

A wonderful comic and natural storyteller, Quinn excels in front of a crowd; stick him in
a suit and place him behind a desk, and the results aren't nearly as great. Still, you
have to admire Quinn's work ethic and genuine attempt at hosting. Unlike some other
hosts, he tried to do his own take on Weekend Update, nonchalantly shrugging whenever a
joke didn't elicit laughter from his audience.

In article <n5fa83098-3053-4072-a17a-6f346ac7cbf4n@googlegroups.com>,
<tmc1982@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> https://www.looper.com/973395/the-7-best-and-7-worst-snl-weekend-update-anchor
> s-ranked/
>
> Worst: Brad Hall
>
> After the departure of "SNL" creator and producer Lorne Michaels in
> 1980, the new executives at "SNL" struggled to find a proper
> presentation for Weekend Update on the show. Settling on such
> rebranded names as SNL NewsBreak and Saturday Night News, the segment
> alternated between several anchors from 1981 to Michaels' return in
> 1985. One of these anchors would be Brad Hall, an "SNL" cast member
> who voiced Saturday Night News from 1982 to 1983.
>
> Known for his signature sign-off phrase, "Thanks for coming out in
> the rain," Hall was a fairly decent anchor on "SNL" who might've
> fared better had there been more stable leadership during his days on
> the show. At the time, "SNL" was still trying to figure out how to
> carry on in the wake of Michaels' departure. Hall's youthful delivery
> and overt enthusiasm gelled poorly with the largely unfunny scripts
> he was meant to read off of.
>
> If he'd been an anchor during Michaels' time on the show, he might've
> thrived, but unfortunately, like many other aspects of "SNL" in the
> early 1980s, he merely flopped. His time as host was a little
> lengthier than fellow '80s anchors like Brian Doyle-Murray, but that
> doesn't mean it was much better.

Brad Hall was (and is) the husband of Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

> Best: Jane Curtin
>
> Jane Curtin remains one of the unsung heroes of "SNL."

She's hardly unsung.

> Worst: Charles Rocket
>
> When he was hired for the 1980 season after the departure of the
> original cast and producer Lorne Michaels, Charles Rocket was slated
> to become "SNL's" next breakout star. According to Doug Hill and
> Jeffrey Weingrad's "Saturday Night," "SNL's" replacement for
> Michaels, Jean Doumanian, likened Rocket as a comic on par with Chevy
> Chase and Bill Murray. With his natural good looks and his previous
> experience as an actual news anchor, Rocket was the seemingly perfect
> person to take over the Weekend Update news desk for "SNL's" sixth
> season.
>
> For as excited as NBC executives were about Rocket's casting on the
> show, though, "SNL's" 1980 season was nothing short of a disaster.
> Mired by subpar writing and poor direction without Michaels there to
> guide them, the show's new cast received mixed reviews, performing in
> otherwise unmemorable sketches. Rocket himself was an amusing enough
> anchor on Weekend Update, but like many other weaker hosts we've
> highlighted on this list, his time on the show coincided with an
> unstable period in "SNL's" history.
>
> With his gravitas speaking voice and campy annunciation, Rocket
> played a great air-headed reporter that takes himself far too
> seriously. His recurring Rocket Report segments that saw him go on
> mundane trips through New York City also provided some of his
> strongest moments on the show. However, amid disappointing ratings
> and negative reception for the new cast, Rocket's time "SNL" came to
> an abrupt and premature end after he accidentally cursed in a 1981
> sketch parodying "Dallas," leading to his dismissal from the show.

Rocket dropped an f-bomb during the closeout in the aftermath of a Who
Shot J.R.? sketch. IIRC he was still sitting in his J.R. wheelchair.
"I'd like to know who the fuck did it," he said. It shouldn't have
been a big deal, especially at 1 am. ET.

tmc1982@gmail.com wrote:

>https://www.looper.com/973395/the-7-best-and-7-worst-snl-weekend-update-anchors-ranked/

Once again, Ubi the shithead has forged Terrence Clay. Ubi the shithead
IS NOT the moderator of unmoderated Usenet. He doesn't get to decide
that you must crosspost when you thought it was inappropriate.

Stop treating Ubi the shithead like a genuine Usenet participant. This
is Usenet abuse. Nonstop forging of other posters is Usenet abuse.

Stop following up to Ubi the shithead.

>Worst: Brad Hall

>. . .

In article <n5fa83098-3053-4072-a17a-6f346ac7cbf4n@googlegroups.com>,
tmc1982@gmail.com wrote:

> https://www.looper.com/973395/the-7-best-and-7-worst-snl-weekend-update-
> anchors-ranked/
>
>
> Best: Seth Meyers
>
> After a prolonged period that saw several pairs of co-anchors overseeing
> Weekend Update, the segment was turned over to Seth Meyers, who acted as
> the program's first solo host in nearly a decade. While other, lesser talents
> might've buckled under the pressure, the confident, intelligent, charismatic
> Meyers soared. Whether he was on his own or appearing alongside co-anchor
> Amy Poehler (with whom he was initially paired for two years) or any number
> of "SNL's" strange breed of recurring characters, Meyers consistently
> delivered laughs on a weekly basis.
>
> His solo work is entertaining enough, but it's Meyers' interactions with his
> fellow "SNL" cast members on the set of Weekend Update that made him such
> a strong and memorable anchor during his five-year stint on the segment. His
> recurring "Really!?! with Seth" bits saw him perform opposite such stars as
> Jerry Seinfeld and Kermit the Frog, all to tremendous effect.
>
> However, it's his relationship with his onscreen lover, Stefon (played by a
> side-splittingly funny Bill Hader) that continues to define Meyers' time on
> "SNL." Together, Hader and Meyers pushed the boundaries of Weekend Update
> characters in radically different directions, creating an odd, practically cinematic
> romance story that lasted for years. It was new, it was weird, but we loved it all
> the same.

I liked Meyers as an anchor but that Stefon thing and the obligatory
audience freak-out *really* bothered me, I had almost forgotten about it.

The list seems to be pretty spot on.

In article <220820220925395306%nope@noway.com>, nope@noway.com wrote:
> <tmc1982@gmail.com> wrote:

>>
>>
>> Worst: Brad Hall
>>
>> After the departure of "SNL" creator and producer Lorne Michaels in
>> 1980, the new executives at "SNL" struggled to find a proper
>> presentation for Weekend Update on the show. Settling on such
>> rebranded names as SNL NewsBreak and Saturday Night News, the segment
>> alternated between several anchors from 1981 to Michaels' return in
>> 1985. One of these anchors would be Brad Hall, an "SNL" cast member
>> who voiced Saturday Night News from 1982 to 1983.
>>
>> Known for his signature sign-off phrase, "Thanks for coming out in
>> the rain," Hall was a fairly decent anchor on "SNL" who might've
>> fared better had there been more stable leadership during his days on
>> the show. At the time, "SNL" was still trying to figure out how to
>> carry on in the wake of Michaels' departure. Hall's youthful delivery
>> and overt enthusiasm gelled poorly with the largely unfunny scripts
>> he was meant to read off of.
>>
>> If he'd been an anchor during Michaels' time on the show, he might've
>> thrived, but unfortunately, like many other aspects of "SNL" in the
>> early 1980s, he merely flopped. His time as host was a little
>> lengthier than fellow '80s anchors like Brian Doyle-Murray, but that
>> doesn't mean it was much better.
>
>Brad Hall was (and is) the husband of Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

I had totally forgotten about that!

>> Worst: Charles Rocket
>>
>> When he was hired for the 1980 season after the departure of the
>> original cast and producer Lorne Michaels, Charles Rocket was slated
>> to become "SNL's" next breakout star. According to Doug Hill and
>> Jeffrey Weingrad's "Saturday Night," "SNL's" replacement for
>> Michaels, Jean Doumanian, likened Rocket as a comic on par with Chevy
>> Chase and Bill Murray. With his natural good looks and his previous
>> experience as an actual news anchor, Rocket was the seemingly perfect
>> person to take over the Weekend Update news desk for "SNL's" sixth
>> season.
>>
>> For as excited as NBC executives were about Rocket's casting on the
>> show, though, "SNL's" 1980 season was nothing short of a disaster.
>> Mired by subpar writing and poor direction without Michaels there to
>> guide them, the show's new cast received mixed reviews, performing in
>> otherwise unmemorable sketches. Rocket himself was an amusing enough
>> anchor on Weekend Update, but like many other weaker hosts we've
>> highlighted on this list, his time on the show coincided with an
>> unstable period in "SNL's" history.
>>
>> With his gravitas speaking voice and campy annunciation, Rocket
>> played a great air-headed reporter that takes himself far too
>> seriously. His recurring Rocket Report segments that saw him go on
>> mundane trips through New York City also provided some of his
>> strongest moments on the show. However, amid disappointing ratings
>> and negative reception for the new cast, Rocket's time "SNL" came to
>> an abrupt and premature end after he accidentally cursed in a 1981
>> sketch parodying "Dallas," leading to his dismissal from the show.
>
>Rocket dropped an f-bomb during the closeout in the aftermath of a Who
>Shot J.R.? sketch. IIRC he was still sitting in his J.R. wheelchair.
>"I'd like to know who the fuck did it," he said. It shouldn't have
>been a big deal, especially at 1 am. ET.

I am pretty sure I was watching at the time, but have no recollection of him.
I only remember him playing a recurring creepy pedophile on MAX HEADROOM.

--
Let's go Brandon!

super70s@super70s.invalid wrote:
> tmc1982@gmail.com wrote:

>> Best: Seth Meyers
>>
>> After a prolonged period that saw several pairs of co-anchors overseeing
>> Weekend Update, the segment was turned over to Seth Meyers, who acted as
>> the program's first solo host in nearly a decade. While other, lesser talents
>> might've buckled under the pressure, the confident, intelligent, charismatic
>> Meyers soared. Whether he was on his own or appearing alongside co-anchor
>> Amy Poehler (with whom he was initially paired for two years) or any number
>> of "SNL's" strange breed of recurring characters, Meyers consistently
>> delivered laughs on a weekly basis.
>>
>> His solo work is entertaining enough, but it's Meyers' interactions with his
>> fellow "SNL" cast members on the set of Weekend Update that made him such
>> a strong and memorable anchor during his five-year stint on the segment. His
>> recurring "Really!?! with Seth" bits saw him perform opposite such stars as
>> Jerry Seinfeld and Kermit the Frog, all to tremendous effect.
>>
>> However, it's his relationship with his onscreen lover, Stefon (played by a
>> side-splittingly funny Bill Hader) that continues to define Meyers' time on
>> "SNL." Together, Hader and Meyers pushed the boundaries of Weekend Update
>> characters in radically different directions, creating an odd, practically cinematic
>> romance story that lasted for years. It was new, it was weird, but we loved it all
>> the same.
>
>I liked Meyers as an anchor but that Stefon thing and the obligatory
>audience freak-out *really* bothered me, I had almost forgotten about it.

That was long after I quit watching, but I vaguely recall clips of "Stefon".

--
Let's go Brandon!

In article <te31dj$31noa$2@dont-email.me>,
Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

> super70s@super70s.invalid wrote:
> > tmc1982@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >> Best: Seth Meyers
> >>
> >> After a prolonged period that saw several pairs of co-anchors overseeing
> >> Weekend Update, the segment was turned over to Seth Meyers, who acted as
> >> the program's first solo host in nearly a decade. While other, lesser
> >> talents might've buckled under the pressure, the confident, intelligent,
> >> charismatic Meyers soared. Whether he was on his own or appearing alongside
> >> co-anchor Amy Poehler (with whom he was initially paired for two years) or any
> >> number of "SNL's" strange breed of recurring characters, Meyers consistently
> >> delivered laughs on a weekly basis.
> >>
> >> His solo work is entertaining enough, but it's Meyers' interactions with
> >> his fellow "SNL" cast members on the set of Weekend Update that made him
> >> such a strong and memorable anchor during his five-year stint on the segment.
> >> His recurring "Really!?! with Seth" bits saw him perform opposite such stars
> >> as Seinfeld and Kermit the Frog, all to tremendous effect.
> >>
> >> However, it's his relationship with his onscreen lover, Stefon (played by
> >> a side-splittingly funny Bill Hader) that continues to define Meyers' time
> >> on "SNL." Together, Hader and Meyers pushed the boundaries of Weekend Update
> >> characters in radically different directions, creating an odd, practically
> >> cinematic omance story that lasted for years. It was new, it was weird, but we
> >> loved it all the same.
> >
> >I liked Meyers as an anchor but that Stefon thing and the obligatory
> >audience freak-out *really* bothered me, I had almost forgotten about it.
>
> That was long after I quit watching, but I vaguely recall clips of "Stefon".

I gave them a long time out when the Twitter-verse decided to go nuts
because there weren't any Black female cast members (because no Black
females applied possibly?), that was around 2013 I think.

I've since begun watching regularly again the past couple of years --
the whole show not just the cold open.