[TV] Alas, Poor Horatio! I Knew Him Well

I've been a fan of NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) since the late 80's when I was old enough to understand some of the humor of the show. It's something that I will attribute to my biological father, of all people, who also introduced me to comedy shows like Monty Python and even The Benny Hill Show, albeit to a very limited extent given my age at the time, haha.

Naturally the show changes cast members over time. Careers rise and fall and people move on to bigger and better things or perhaps just fade into the background. For the current crew, things have had to go through a more forced transition into the current season with the departure of several personalities.

It has been announced that SNL will be dropping five cast members from their regular roster in line with recent budget cuts. Based on the current reports, the show is officially dropping stars Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, and Finesse Mitchell. Two other stars had previously announced that they're leaving show, namely Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey, who is leaving the show to focus on 30 Rock, another NBC situational comedy created by Tina. You probably remember her best as
Amy Poehler's co-anchor of the Weekend Update segment on SNL. Her seat is said to be filled this coming season by Seth Meyers.

I've never been that big a fan of Horatio Sanz when you get down to it. He's noted to be the first Latino cast member of the show thus he gets stuck with most if not all Hispanic stereotype characters. His pretty funny, I have to admit but it's not the kind of funny that makes you really keel over laughing. All the same, it's somewhat sad to see him go but everyone has to move on sooner or later. Sanz originally joined the show way back in 1997.

Chris Parnell joined SNL at the same time Horatio Sanz did back in 1997. He's probably best known for his impersonations rather than any original characters he played on the show. Personally, I've always loved his version of NBC News' Tom Brokaw along with Senator Lieberman and of all people, AI's Simon Cowell, hahaha! I'm fairly certain that he and Horatio are definitely going to be seen around here and there considering their talent and significant experience from the show. In fact, it is reported he is already shooting a new sitcom called Thick & Thin.

Finesse Mitchell was a bit of a surprise choice considering all previous rumors were pointing at Kenan Thompson, formerly of Nickolodeon fame, to be the third man to be axed from the show. He's only been on SNL for three seasons and has eked out his own part in SNL history with his impressions of OJ Simpson and Bobby Brown. Personally, he didn't quite strike me that significantly just yet, but then again it does take a certain amount of time before SNL players get really memorable sketch characters that end up defining how the public will remember them forever after.

Rachel Dratch is a bit of a personal favorite of mine along with Fey. First of all, she has a face built for comedy. I know it seems mean, but when you get down to is she is pretty weird looking and those bulging eyes alone give her character. Throw in her own talent and comedic flair and you get yourself one very funny girl. I love her characters so much, ranging from Debbi Downer to her role as the call center girl trying to date people. I know, it's a mean stereotype of the industry that supports me, but it's still funny. I'm glad she's sticking with Fey for 30 Rock - they're going to accomplish a lot together.

Well, that rounds off the list of people leaving the show this season. You're bound to catch the reruns here and there given how syndicated SNL has become over the years.