Digital Shorts: A New Tradition

Just recently SNL showed its 100th digital short. If you are unaware of these prerecorded comedy bits, they are created by the team of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. They call themselves "The Lonely Island", and have released two CDs featuring many of their songs from the shorts plus new ones that have not been shown on SNL. If you want more info on them, check out my post I did like a century ago called Digital Shorts and Beyond!  So who cares? Why do these silly digital shorts get so much attention?

First of all, they're on SNL for gosh sakes! These young guys created something SNL has began to feature every single episode. This may not seem like a big deal to people who never really watch the show and don't understand its rich history. The success of digital shorts, I think, is monumental. This show has been around for decades (this is not a hyperbole!). With the coming of The Lonely Island, a whole new segment was added to the show. Something that has been shown in every episode since than, joining  the traditions of the monologue, "Weekend Update", and a musical guest.

But the digital short has been done before. In the first season, SNL featured short films by Albert Brooks. They were good, but didn't really last very long, probably because they were too long and they didn't feature the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" (the main cast at the time). So the short films went away, and were replaced later by random prerecorded clips including the cast and hosts. For a long time these were not shown on a regular schedule, but more intermittent throughout the seasons.

A new era began when Andy, Akiva, and Jorma were all hired. They had been friends for a long time, and were already making small videos on their own. Their first big success was "Lazy Sunday" and the next year they created one of their most well known shorts, "D*** in a Box." Yes, their content is not child friendly, and can be quite grotesque sometimes, but they are really smart and for the most part funny.

One of the biggest catalysts for their digital short success is the internet. Because SNL sketches are so short, they have been perfect for internet usage. More people will invest 3 minutes to watch a video than people who will sit down and watch for 30 minutes. Plus, the internet is filled with mainly younger users, looking for entertainment. Finding a Lonely Island video, most are probably saying, "Hey! There's something catchy and funny that was made by guys that are younger and more adept to youthful comedy! I like this!"

So the 100th episode was shown on SNL last night. It mentioned all of the most popular shorts and of course had some of the featured people come back to celebrate. I can't believe the trio and others have put together so many successful shorts. Some have fallen in unpopularity, but others have become really well known. I hear people at school singing them, they are referenced on TV, they are a new television and cultural element. Just one of the many that SNL produces for our entertainment pleasure.

Oh I suppose I'll share the clip. Viewer discretion is advised. Enjoy!