The Long Tail hits big-network tee-vee

Last week I did the solid guy thing and picked up my buddy Scott from the airport in Richmond so he could surprise his daughter on her birthday. It's about a 90 minute trip, and we talked the whole way about things guys talk about when we're alone---feelings, relationships, and, of course, Jane Austen.

Seriously, we talked comic books, tee-vee, pop culture, and blogs. We talked a lot about the long tail phenomena, and one of the ideas that came to me was that the first indicator that the toe-hold had been established of the long tail in the tee-vee world would be if youtube or its equivalent began to cause problems for Saturday Night Live, much as Netflix destroyed Blockbuster's business model.

Anyhoo, trouble on the set of SNL, and these aren't your typical SNL doldrums. My prediction: within the year there will be a tee-vee show---probably not on network at first, but soon to be emulated there---which will morph SNL, youtube, and America's funniest home videos that will be edgy, creative, and drop-dead funnier than anything that's come out of the venerable institution in years.