Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Sometimes Now, Later

SNL has a running game show sketch (yep, another one) called Secret Word.  They pulled it out last weekend.  Part of the bit is it's an old show and the particular episode was originally broadcast in 1964.  Okay, great, we'll mock social conventions of the day.  I'm ready.

But right off the bat, they get it wrong.  First, the show is in color.  1966, sure, but not 1964. Then, in the latest, the host came on and made a joke about his wife going to a bra burning.  Bizarre.  No one even talked about that until 1968.  Next, Kristen Wiig's character, a stage actress, quoted a Rex Reed review.  Even assuming she'd quote Reed, this is also too early.

Imagine a sketch set in 1974 with a bunch of jokes about Jimmy Carter.  No one wants research to get in the way of good jokes, but when the sketch is about an era, should the writers figure "'64, '69, what's the difference?"

3 Comments:

Blogger New England Guy said...

Only old bastards like us care if the the 1960s references are accurate.

5:17 AM, January 18, 2011  
Blogger LAGuy said...

The early 60s and the late 60s are two completely different eras. In fact, the mid-60s might be a third. Is it too much to ask they at least keep up with Mad Men?

12:50 PM, January 18, 2011  
Blogger QueensGuy said...

The color/b&w part hit me right away. I'll confess I didn't catch the rest of the anachronisms. In part because I was focused on how un-funny the skit was.

11:20 AM, January 19, 2011  

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