> going back and re-watching episodes with my favorites, they are still full of duds. Sure, but the hits were massive. You had everybody doing Steve Martin or

> going back and re-watching episodes with my favorites, they are still full of duds. Sure, but the hits were massive. You had everybody doing Steve Martin or Billy Crystal catchphrases back in the day, for example. SNL has the same problem as everything--there are simply way more options in entertainment. Consequently, a modern "hit" has nowhere near the ubiquity of a "hit" from days of yore.