SNL calls gamers fat and ugly, gamers download clip on Internet. Hmmm.

by Vladimir Cole { Dec 7th 2005 at 3:01AM }

Here's a transcript of this 11-second clip from Saturday Night Live: "Many of the first people to buy the Xbox 360 are returning the system because of crashes and glitches and maybe—just maybe—a long, hard look in the mirror."

TV shows attack gaming? Nothing new here. Are these lashouts par for the course, or are they born of a desperate need to plug holes in the sinking viewership of network television?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Pyronite @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

And people who watch enough TV to even really care about SNL anymore aren't fat?

Greg O. @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

"Are these lashouts par for the course, or are they born of a desperate need to plug holes in the sinking viewership of network television?"

Ouch..

Allen @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

SNL is right! Because I fit that criteria quite nicely. Though saying that ALL gamers are fat and ugly is truly preposterous, seeing as how I've had to deal with a bunch of well fit loud mouths from madden on xbox live throughout my years of playing.

danny @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Yes, it's playing upon a stereotype... and yes, stereotypes can be hurtful. However, an inability to laugh at ourselves just makes us look weirder and more antisocial to outsiders looking in. Many of us are far from the common "gamer" image. However, there are plenty of gamers who fit it to a tee.
So, we can either fight it, argue, and generally look like jerkwads for taking ourselves too seriously, or we can just admit we are a fairly dorky group of people, and that playing video games doesn't exactly lower your cholesterol, or help you move out of your parents' basement.
Remember John Cusack's character in High Fidelity? Remember what a huge dork he was? Remember how totally awesome he was anyway?
Exactly.

Omega2k3 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

The joke wasn't even funny. Gaming is a fast growing form of media, and it's becoming more comonplace every day. The writers did a piss-poor job, and the people who laughed in the audience are complete tools.

SNL got very shitty, very fast, about six years ago.

Gaye Mann @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

The sketch never actually said "gamers are fat and ugly"

But I don't think this so much insults gamers as a whole so much as the rabid fanatic dweebs that do camp out for these things. I mean there are a lot of people who watched Star Wars but only the ones who lined up in full costume were probably deserving of Triumphs mockery.

Or she might be a Sony fangirl...

(guy) @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

You're probably forgetting that Tina Fey herself used to be about 30 lbs overweight. She lost weight so she could appear on SNL (she was the head writer for years before ever appearing on the show).

OSUblake @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I'm sorry, but does anybody actually watch SNL anymore?

Watching my cat go to the kitty litter is more entertaining than SNL. It's amazing how this show is still on the air. It's also amazing how they try to make fun of people who play video games, yet the video game industry is much larger than Hollywood. Do they ever make fun of people who watch movies? Nay! Hopefully SNL will be replaced by another stupid reality TV show.

elerra @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

"Do they ever make fun of people who watch movies?"

Ain't It Cool News takes care of that by itself.

hey lush @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

"Do they ever make fun of people who watch movies? Nay!"

They bash on tons of fans of movies like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and more of the type. The Xbox360 Gamers who came out ripping on their blogs about the glitches fall into these same categories. YOU ARE FANS. Most of you guys are way to antisocial to take a joke from a parody-sketch show. Do you think Star Wars fans flipped out when Triumph the Comic Insult Dog went around the line-ups for Episode II in the classic scene from Conan? Nope, because they are less geeky than most gamers.

miguel @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

SNL is still on the air? Wonders never cease.. who did lorne michaels have to blow? Tina Fey?

BenR @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Did I mis something? Where's the "fat and ugly" comment? All I see is a hackneyed joke setup about looking in the mirror.

The people who queued up all night and fought to get an XBOX 360 really did ought to take a look at themselves and ask why they are so susceptible to advertising hype, anyway.

OshKosh @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Seriously have you guys actually seen gamers on TV? They're creepy as hell! You wonder how they could even manage to rub two coins together to buy any current gen console let alone an Xbox 360.

Just watch Training Day (I think that's the name--on Tech TV)or got to any convention. Chances are you'll spot a lot more unwashed ogres with frightening grammar and appalling social skills than you will normal, healthy-looking, well adjusted young adults. I love games, so much so that I write novellas like this in their defense, but man, do I avoid most "hardcore" gamers like the plague.

The gaming culture, with the exception of a strong few, just isn't something to be proud of. It's like being proud of the audience members at an Adam Sandler movie or, even worse, at an SNL live taping.

OSUblake @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

hey lush wrote.... "Most of you guys are way to antisocial to take a joke from a parody-sketch show"

That's your opinion. Here is mine... SNL sucks. Ever since "In Living Color", SNL has sucked huge juicy kawk.

Antisocial? No. But I understand humor, i've helped build a gaming community around humor... http://five-hole.com/forum

TeddyN @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

lol'ometer low:::::::::::::[]:high
I love it when the gaming masses rise up and smite the evil forces of bourgeois television.
Really; gaming nationalism r0xxor

BlackYoshi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Meh, who cares? It wasn't funny, just like most of the show (except Dane Cook's monologue, since it was part of his stand up act.)

Jeff @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

"But I don't think this so much insults gamers as a whole so much as the rabid fanatic dweebs that do camp out for these things."

Yeah. And I mean, come on, people. You all need thicker skin. And a sense of humor. Whether or not you think Tina Fey's funny, I mean why are you offended by this? It's called a joke. You don't have to laugh at it, but is it really worth sitting at your keyboard and complaining about it? This is pretty much exactly the same kind of behavior she's making fun of. You're proving the point.

Anyway, I think you should all be focusing on the fact that she even noticed the Xbox launch and subsequent glitches. She's been keeping up on a tech story that's well below the radar of most average people. Doesn't that say more to you than the joke itself?

(And yes, Tina Fey writes her own material.)

Zaki @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Amazingly, I have yet to see SNL bash anime, manga, and their fans. It'll be wacked to see & hear some SNL jock mocking those "creepy big eyes!"

Mike Fast @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

You would be surprised. I've seen anime and manga fans mocked and bashed already. nothing new. Everyone gets their turn on SNL.

Sense @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I can take a joke, but SNL has gone down hill. If it wasn't for Weekend Update, there would be no reason to watch.

Some of the new cast members are okay, they have promise. Tina Fey and Amy Pohler are awesome. But they really need to cut the dead weight that is Horatio Sanz.

jacob harvey @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Hey I've got a thought... maybe SNL is still on... because... what the hell else is on at 11:30 on a Saturday night?

Basically I find that it goes in cycles. It's been around forever, so if you look at it from the perspective of more than a few years you get a different view.

Even back in the "old days" it had the circle. A few years of bad, sometimes terrible, talent. Other times terrible writing. Sometimes both.

And then every few years they get a good cast and some good writing and it's hillarious.

Personally I thought Dane Cook was f'n funny and I pretty much just watch when the host looks like a good bet.

I've just always found it funny that there are always naysayers who complain about the show, n matter how funny it actually is. I guess they think it's cool.

OK, enough ranting, about the gamer joke. So what... don't take it so personal.

Ebola @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

ahahaha it's funny cos it's true!!!, I like how no one said here I'm skinny or pretty good looking, but bash SNL instead, lol!
cmon!

ZaBlanc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Oh come on, it's comedy. :-)

Don't sit there and laugh at jokes at the expense of others, then get all offended when one goes at you. Lighten up.

mat @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

#20, Sense:

Weekend update isn't even funny anymore. Hasn't been since Norm McDonald left.

How many Bush jokes can you recylcle?

KilgoreTrout XL @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

SNL is a travesty these days.

"Paging Dr. Kevorkian, Paging Dr. Kevorkian. Your patient, Lorne Michaels, is about to press the button. Paging Dr. Kevorkian..."

That being said, AM I fat and ugly?

Ocho @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Hell, I think it's funny.

But I know better than to turn against the first people that bought the Xbox 360 -- they're the ones getting the crappy first batch of manufacturing, the ones paying outrageous prices, the ones subsidizing a price drop to the console once it actually has some games out.

So march on, you brave guinea pigs.

Martez @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Weekend Update wishes it was The Daily Show.

"Are these lashouts par for the course, or are they born of a desperate need to plug holes in the sinking viewership of network television?"

Well done, Joystiq. Well done.

ZaBlanc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

"But I know better than to turn against the first people that bought the Xbox 360 -- they're the ones getting the crappy first batch of manufacturing, the ones paying outrageous prices, the ones subsidizing a price drop to the console once it actually has some games out."

Can you say, melodrama? We're in a war...early XBox adopters aren't quite heroes, ya know?

I love it how gamers attack Jack Thompson for saying violent video games have an effect on young kids -- and then you prissy boys whine like babies when an SNL joke is aimed at you. Get over yourselves.

Omega 666 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

There are so many people still pissed they did not get one. If you stood in line you deserve one. I waited 11 hours or so and I am not a social outcast. I am sorry to hear most gamers were too lazy to wait for the system. You know the real gamers because they are on 360.

Touque Guy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I thought it was funny because everyone and their dog was freaking out over the Xbox 360 and lining up outside of Best Buy and getting all eager and frantic because there's only like thirty systems at that location and they get one and they bring it home and they fire up Gun and it catches on fire THEN they get made fun of on SNL.

bd @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Well, I'm skinny and good looking, but still this proves how rock bottom SNL is right now.

After Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade and Rob Schneider stopped being on SNL, the show went downhill.

Ocho @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

ZaBlanc, I actually agree with you. That was not melodrama, it was sarcasm.

ill trooper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

"Looking in the mirror" can be allegorical for 'realizing you are doing dumb things like waiting all night in line for the 360' (hey, no judgements from me, that's how I got my 360) - no real literal mention of 'fat and ugly' in anything but Joystiq's overly-sensitive reaction to something that is pretty funny.

Before 'Attack of the Clones,' my friends and I went by the Zeigfield theater line here in NYC (the location of the infamous 'Triumph' "Star Wars Fan Dis" and my friend, promoting some CDs he does, was dressed in costume. He got into an argument with the Triumph guy about how this stuff is super-serious to some people and so on, and he wasn't in the final edit. The point is: My friend got so upset about it that he couldn't see the reality of it: Most people outside of the circle of fans are fascinated (not always in a derisive way) by the devotion the hardcore audience exhibits. For many 'normal' mainstream people, It's funny to see, and it's only harmful if you as a fan can't take it with a grin and realize you are devoting more resources and time to your hobby than the average person.

Face it, some gamers are dorks, eat poorly (http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000577060231/), and having 'sitting around on the couch' as one of the major aspects of your hobby can be condusive to weight gain and obesity.

Break out TEH DDR PAD, GAM0RZ!

john gardiner @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

who cares thats funny stuff... weekend update is hilarious... you dont see other people getting this offended from what is clearly a joke..

Maniac @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

SNL is on the rise! In the same episode, the taco town commercial aired, easily the best spoof ad of all time.

Its joke, get over it.

Unless you do... stare into the mirror... tears streaming down your cheeks...

then...

get help.
or something.

The ZeroCorpse @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Who cares? I'd still give up my collection of 2600 carts for a night in the sack with Tina Fey.

Some things are just more important than gaming!

rafa @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Tinas Fey nipple is showing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lith @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Mad TV RULES!!! DOWN WITH SNL!!!!

Russell Stover @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Well. Lets see. So are people who also watch tv fat??? Whats the difference of watching tv for hours on end and playing videogames?? I hate it when people who watch tv for hours (average 5 hours a day) make fun of people who play videogames in thier spare time.

Ohh and by the way.... SNL was funny in the early and mid 90's. When Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, and Chris Farley was on. It sucked as soon as Farley died.

Meshyf @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

SNL really hasn't been funny for a couple of years. Neither has MAD Tv. Sketch humor is pretty dead. This 'joke' wasn't even funny. Sure gaming is pretty dorky and I am for that matter but come on, that joke wasn't even all that funny.

#35 I don't see it :(

Danny Knives @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Im a gamer, I saw it, I thought it was funny

Awesome O @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

who cares what SNL thinks, i mean its not like anyone watches it. If SNL was even remotley funny anymore they wouldnt be making fun of video games

scott @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

People who are actually offended by this need to develop a self-identity more encompassing than "gamer." Boo hoo.

Levi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I laughed at the joke, and I laughed at everyone who bought a Xbox360 at launch. I didn't laugh at Joystiq's response to the joke. Stop being farking little Eminems and laugh at yourselves a little more guys.

Dave Provost @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Wow. I really pity all the people out there who can't laugh at a joke at their own expense. Regardless of the current level of SNL, you need to have a sense of humor about yourself. And if you think that a comment about "taking a look in the mirror" is automatically a dig about being ugly and fat, well, I think that says more about you than it does about Tina Fey.