'SNL' Cold Open Ruined Due to Major Error

By Daniel S. Levine

Technical glitches are one of the risks of live television, which makes it impressive that Saturday Night Live usually airs each week without one. When a glitch does happen, it's noticeable, like the odd sound sync issue that plagued the Dec. 10 episode featuring Steve Martin and Martin Short. The audio was out of sync for many viewers during the cold open and into the comedy legends' monologue.

The audio appeared to be out of sync with the visuals for the entire "Blocking It Out for Christmas" cold open, some viewers reported on Twitter. The error appeared to continue into the monologue, which began with a quick photo montage counting the times Martin has hosted. (For the record, it's 16.) Then, there was a quick photo montage counting the number of times Short has hosted. (For the record, it's three.) Twitter viewers reported the sync issue continuing at least about one minute into the monologue.

NBC did not comment on the issue, but the network appears to have caught it early on. However, some Twitter users reported the problem continuing through the rest of the night. SNL viewers can see the entire cold open and monologue without the issue on YouTube. The show is also available to stream on Peacock.

'Will watch what I can tolerate'

The monologue did include a special cameo. Selena Gomez, who stars on Hulu's Only Murders in the Building with Martin and Short, popped in at the end. During their eulogies for one another, Martin wondered, "Now that Marty is gone, who will I work with?" Gomez then showed up to remind him about her and reunite with her co-stars. Gomez also appeared in the "Father of the Bride – Part 8" sketch with Kieran Culkin.

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'That was a weird delay'

Scroll on to look at some of the frustrated SNL viewers on Twitter.

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'What's with tonight's audio?'

SNL airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET. The final episode of 2023 will air on Dec. 17 and feature host Austin Butler and Lizzo as musical guest. Yeah Yeah Yeahs were set to perform, but they canceled because guitarist Nick Zinner was hospitalized for pneumonia.

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'What is happening on SNL??'

"I know Covid has messed up supply chains but I thought we were still able to do sync sound," one viewer wrote. "What is happening on SNL??"

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'Makes it unwatchable'

"My recording of last night's SNL had the audio out of sync with the video for the first several minutes. It was so bad, while one person was talking, another person's lips were moving," one viewer wrote. "I thought it was just another bit I didn't get, and not funny at all."

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'Only lip sync in the building'

"Once SNL got its sync together, I loved Steve Martin and Martin Short reading the eulogies they wrote for each other's funerals. Love them," one viewer wrote.

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