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* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Most Weekend Update anchors, the snarkiest of which being Chevy Chase, Dennis Miller, [[Tina Fey]], Norm McDonald, and Seth Meyers (both with and without [[Amy Poehler]]).
* [[Didn't We Use This Joke Already?]]: "[[Winter's Bone]]! [[Heh Heh, You Said "X"|This joke]] has been done three times."
* [[Dueling Shows]]: ABC's ''Fridays'', ''[[SCTV]] Network 90'', ''[[In Living Color]]'', ''House of Buggin'', ''[[The WB|WB]]'s Hype'', FOX's ''Saturday Night Special'', and FOX's ''[[Mad TV]]'', to name a few — all of whom were canned for one reason or another
** ''Fridays'', despite being panned by critics for being the ''Cracked'' magazine to ''SNL'''s ''MAD'', did manage to find some success with audiences when ''SNL'' was struggling with its 1980-81 cast. Unfortunately, ''Fridays'' ended up suffering from a timeslot change and a failed attempt at trying to beat ''[[Dallas]]'' in the ratings as a primetime sketch show and was cancelled after its second season.
** ''SCTV Network 90'' ended due to cast exhaustion.
** ''In Living Color'' was [[Screwed by the Network]] from [[Executive Meddling]] over censorship and eventually died of seasonal rot when the Wayans siblings left and [[Jim Carrey]] pursued a movie career.
** ''House of Buggin'', ''Saturday Night Special'', and ''Hype'' weren't received warmly by critics and ended up being canceled as quickly as they premiered.
** ''[[Mad TV]]'' — serving 14 years as ''SNL'''s worthiest late-night sketch show rival — was canned in 2009 due to seasonal rot and low ratings. There was word of ''[[Mad TV]]'' coming back as a cable show, but apparently, the show is gone for good, unless one were to count the Cartoon Network sketch show ''MAD''.
** ''[[Almost Live]]'' lasted 15 years and kickstarted [[Bill Nye]]'s television career, but got cancelled as ratings dropped heavily in later years.
* [[Early-Bird Cameo]]: A handful of cast members appeared on the show before they became full-fledged cast members (featured and repertory). Among them:
** Denny Dillon: Performed a stand-up routine on the Rob Reiner episode (season 1). Despite unsuccessfully auditioning for the show in 1975, Dillon was chosen for the 1980-81 cast.
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