<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4611.1300" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>I usually don't take SNL too seriously, for obvious reasons. But last night, on the Weekend Update segment (the "fake news," as ex-anchor Norm MacDonald once called it) was a shitty commentary by another ex-anchor, Colin Quinn. Now, I know Quinn from years ago, when he used to emcee at the Comedy Cellar in MacDougal Street. It's a small club, and the comedians must work almost literally in the faces of the customers. Quinn was great. He'd take the mike, lean back against the wall, beer in hand, and riff for 30-40 minutes. His main topic was the Irish of  New York, and he'd go off on Irish wakes in a way that would leave tears in your eyes. Fucking funny. I always admired Quinn's ease and rough humor, and marveled at how he segued from bit to bit while sipping from his beer -- like a witty relative in the corner of a dull party. He was <EM>that</EM> good.</DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV>Well, the Big Time called, and he eventually landed on SNL. His prime moment was Clinton's Impeachment, and Quinn's take was predictable and pedestrian. He also did a bit called "Colin Quinn Explains The New York Times" which, for anyone who'd read "Manufacturing Consent," fell a few miles short of the mark. Two years ago he left the show. But last night, as bombs rip through the flesh of Afghan women and children, Quinn returned to give his "view," and it's clear that he's read his Hitchens (or perhaps Richard Bernstein in the Times). Not only did he say that the terrorists hit us because they hate Britney Spears' bellybutton, but he threw in a slam against "Professor Chomsky" for good measure. It was cheap and easy and far from the point (and I'm curious how many of SNL's teen fans, who make up a majority of the audience, got his reference). It made me pine for the late humorist Bill Hicks who, during the Gulf War, was one of the few (if not the only) major comedians who criticized the national war frenzy that fueled the slaughter in Iraq. Hicks would never have made it on SNL -- too direct, too honest, too <EM>hard</EM>. He went for the root in an age of surfaces. His satire wasn't meant to reassure you, it was meant to wake you the fuck up. Quinn, on the other hand, wants you to see him as The Expert. He should go back to riffing about drunken Irish uncles who piss in the flower pot. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>DP</DIV></BODY></HTML>