THE 42nd LAW OF SNL

Saturday Night Live has become an icon, an American television institution. And like any good institution, there are certain rules that have to be followed.

For instance, the 42nd Law of SNL, which reads as follows:

"Should a cast member decide not to renew his contract, and decides to pursue movie superstardom, said cast member is automatically entitled to his own special, entitled "The Best of INSERT NAME OF DEPARTED CAST MEMBER." Said special will air way before loyal audiences have had a chance to miss the departed cast member, or before that cast member's box office bankability has been proven. Depending on the talent and range of said cast member, said special will either create an instant nostalgia for him or reaffirm the conviction of the audience that maybe he wasn't really that good to begin with if he couldn't get through an entire sketch without cracking up."

There is a corollary to this law:

"If said departed cast member is a woman, no effort will be made to remember their work in any meaningful way. No 'Best of' compilation will be produced or aired. And they will be on their own to achieve based on their merits. SNL will take all credit for any post-show meteoric rises of former female cast members (see also 'The Julia Louis-Dreyfus Effect'), but will not be held responsible for any crash-and-burn acting attempts (see also 'The Mary Gross Effect')."

THE 42nd LAW OF SNL

Saturday Night Live has become an icon, an American television institution. And like any good institution, there are certain rules that have to be followed.

For instance, the 42nd Law of SNL, which reads as follows:

"Should a cast member decide not to renew his contract, and decides to pursue movie superstardom, said cast member is automatically entitled to his own special, entitled "The Best of INSERT NAME OF DEPARTED CAST MEMBER." Said special will air way before loyal audiences have had a chance to miss the departed cast member, or before that cast member's box office bankability has been proven. Depending on the talent and range of said cast member, said special will either create an instant nostalgia for him or reaffirm the conviction of the audience that maybe he wasn't really that good to begin with if he couldn't get through an entire sketch without cracking up."

There is a corollary to this law:

"If said departed cast member is a woman, no effort will be made to remember their work in any meaningful way. No 'Best of' compilation will be produced or aired. And they will be on their own to achieve based on their merits. SNL will take all credit for any post-show meteoric rises of former female cast members (see also 'The Julia Louis-Dreyfus Effect'), but will not be held responsible for any crash-and-burn acting attempts (see also 'The Mary Gross Effect')."