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Learn Who Hosts The First SNLs Of The New Decade!!
I am – Hercules!!
How to kick off a new decade of SNL?
NBC'S “SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE” RINGS IN THE NEW YEAR WITH BACK-TO-BACK SHOWS IN JANUARY
UPCOMING SHOWS:
January 9 - Charles Barkley/ Alicia Keys
January 16 - Sigourney Weaver/ The Ting Tings
New York, NY - December 30, 2009 - "Saturday Night Live" rings in the New Year with original shows on consecutive weekends, beginning January 9 with Charles Barkley and Alicia Keys returning to studio 8H.
Charles Barkley, who played basketball for sixteen seasons in the NBA, is an eleven time NBA All Star, an NBA Most Valuable Player, a two-time Olympic gold medal winner with Team USA Basketball, one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in History, and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Upon his retirement in 2000, Barkley began a new career in television, as an Emmy Award-winning studio analyst for the NBA on TNT. Known for his outspoken and humorous personality, Charles has written several books, including two New York Times best sellers.
Alicia Keys' newest album, "The Element of Freedom," released on December 15, adds to her four chart-topping albums that has made her a worldwide success: "Songs in A Minor" (2001), "The Diary of Alicia Keys" (2003), "Unplugged" (2005) and "As I Am" (2007). Throughout her career, the New York City native has built an unparalleled repertoire of hits and accomplishments with over 30 million albums sold worldwide and numerous awards including twelve Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards and fourteen NAACP Image Awards.
Academy Award nominated actress Sigourney Weaver takes her second turn at hosting on January 16. Weaver most recently starred in James Cameron’s critically acclaimed film and box office smash “Avatar,” which has already been nominated for four Golden Globe awards. Weaver’s recent film credits include “Infamous” alongside Sandra Bullock, “Vantage Point” with Dennis Quaid and Forrest Whitaker, the animated feature “Wall E,” and the Tina Fey/Amy Poehler comedy “Baby Mama.” Weaver can next be seen in the upcoming films “You Again” and “Paul.”
With a cutting edge, electro-indie-pop sound, The Ting Tings have taken the UK and America by storm. Comprised of Katie White and Jules De Martino, the Grammy-nominated duo’s debut album, “We Started Nothing” released the multi-platinum single “That’s Not My Name,” which climbed the charts in America and reached number one in the UK. The group is nominated for the 2010 Grammy for Best New Artist.
"Saturday Night Live" is from SNL Studios in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. Steve Higgins and Marci Klein are producers. Ken Aymong is supervising producer. Seth Meyers is head writer. Don Roy King directs.
Prior decade launchers:
Jan. 26, 1980: Teri Garr/The B-52's
Jan. 13, 1990: Ed O'Neill/Harry Connick, Jr.
Jan. 8, 2000: Jamie Foxx/Blink 182
Was SNL at all funny over the last decade? Was it even on?
Submitted:
Some Sketches From The Last Decade:
The A-Holes
Airport Security Seminar
The All New Adventures of Mr. T
The Ambiguously Gay Duo
Annuale
Appalachian Emergency Room
Astronaut Jones
Aunt Linda
The Barry Gibb Talk Show
Bear City
Bearologist
Beauty and the Beast
Blue Christmas
Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet
Carpool
Celebrity Jeopardy
Centaur Job Interview
The Census
The Continental
David Patterson
Dear Sister
Debbie Downer
The Delicious Dish
Dick in a Box
Dirtball and Burnout Convention
Divertor
Donatella
Doorbells and More
Exclusive Connections
The Falconer
Festive Thanksgiving
Firelight
Future Lohan
Game Time
Gilly
A Glimpse Of Our Possible Future
Goodnight Saigon
Grady Wilson
Grandkids in the Movies
Hamas Party
Hogwarts
I Drink Your Milkshake
Inside The Actors Studio
Iran So Far
Jacob Silj
Janet Reno’s Dance Party
Jizz In My Pants
Journey to the Disney Vault
Kuato
Laser Cats
Lazy Sunday
Live Lounge
The Lovers
MacGruber
Mark Wahlberg
Martin Vs. Baldwin
Michael Jackson
Michelle Dison
Mike and Kanye
Mistress 15
Moleculo
More Cowbell
Napster Testimony
Natalie
National Douchebag Championships
The Needlers
Oprah
Penelope The Party Pooper
Potato Chip Thief
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince Show
The Rock Obama
Russian Brides
Sarah Palin
Save Broadway
The Scorpion Prince
Sex and the City
Shazzang
Sith Audience
Summertime
Superman, Master of Disguise
Tales of Valour
Teens Raising Awareness About Awful Parent Drivers
300
Tiger
Tim Calhoun
Torboto
Trina & Thomas
Under Under Ground Rock Festival
Vinny Vedecci
Virginia Horsen
Wake Up, Wakefield
Weekend Update
What Up With That
Woomba
The X-Presidents
Z105
(All photos derived from the incredibly useful SNL archive.)
11:30 p.m. Saturday. NBC.
Follow Herc on Twitter!!
New From Darth Vader’s Daddy!!
Some “Saturday Night Live” season sets, $42.49 last month and $25.99 weeks ago, are for the moment $19.99 each!!
Cheapest SNL ever!!
UPCOMING SHOWS:
January 9 - Charles Barkley/ Alicia Keys
January 16 - Sigourney Weaver/ The Ting Tings
New York, NY - December 30, 2009 - "Saturday Night Live" rings in the New Year with original shows on consecutive weekends, beginning January 9 with Charles Barkley and Alicia Keys returning to studio 8H.
Charles Barkley, who played basketball for sixteen seasons in the NBA, is an eleven time NBA All Star, an NBA Most Valuable Player, a two-time Olympic gold medal winner with Team USA Basketball, one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in History, and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Upon his retirement in 2000, Barkley began a new career in television, as an Emmy Award-winning studio analyst for the NBA on TNT. Known for his outspoken and humorous personality, Charles has written several books, including two New York Times best sellers.
Alicia Keys' newest album, "The Element of Freedom," released on December 15, adds to her four chart-topping albums that has made her a worldwide success: "Songs in A Minor" (2001), "The Diary of Alicia Keys" (2003), "Unplugged" (2005) and "As I Am" (2007). Throughout her career, the New York City native has built an unparalleled repertoire of hits and accomplishments with over 30 million albums sold worldwide and numerous awards including twelve Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards and fourteen NAACP Image Awards.
Academy Award nominated actress Sigourney Weaver takes her second turn at hosting on January 16. Weaver most recently starred in James Cameron’s critically acclaimed film and box office smash “Avatar,” which has already been nominated for four Golden Globe awards. Weaver’s recent film credits include “Infamous” alongside Sandra Bullock, “Vantage Point” with Dennis Quaid and Forrest Whitaker, the animated feature “Wall E,” and the Tina Fey/Amy Poehler comedy “Baby Mama.” Weaver can next be seen in the upcoming films “You Again” and “Paul.”
With a cutting edge, electro-indie-pop sound, The Ting Tings have taken the UK and America by storm. Comprised of Katie White and Jules De Martino, the Grammy-nominated duo’s debut album, “We Started Nothing” released the multi-platinum single “That’s Not My Name,” which climbed the charts in America and reached number one in the UK. The group is nominated for the 2010 Grammy for Best New Artist.
"Saturday Night Live" is from SNL Studios in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. Steve Higgins and Marci Klein are producers. Ken Aymong is supervising producer. Seth Meyers is head writer. Don Roy King directs.
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After Will Ferrell Left, not so much, but Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte make it watchable again.
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Keenan does the Charles Barkley Show, the actual Charles Barkley shows up on the show, the skit is retired from future episodes. How many times are they going to follow that cheesy formula?
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What have those guys been up to since they were on the show last? I can't remember the last time they had a new cd. Lazy rich musicians.
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He looked so uncomfortable, and with that material...I'd kill myself too. Also, Jesus, Novoselic is taller than Barkley!
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for shame.
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I kid
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That seasons-spanning joke of various celebrities owning restaurants: Derek Jeter's Taco Hole to the tune of Beach Boys, Trump's House of Wings using the Pointer Sisters' Jump, and Rev Al Sharpton's House of Sushi.
"Derek Jeter's Taco Hole off of I-5; if you pass Al Sharpton's House of Sushi, you've gone too far." -
BECAUSE THEY BLEW BOTH WAAYS! Toooo sooon!
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Because it is so bandwidth/browser intensive/on a shitty uotdated platform THAT THE PAGE TAKES FOREVER TO LOAD. Goddamn I feel sorry for those with CrapComps and slow connections, this would slay them like the mighty conan.
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For Sigourney Weaver. She's hot. Yeah I said it.... What's up?
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brilliant sketch. actually, SNL has been quit brilliant over the past decade, as this list demonstrates.
it's cool to bitch and say, "SNL hasn't been good since [belushi] or [murphy] or [hartmann], but what you must remember is that much of this memory of these so-called "classic" seasons comes from repeats on E! or comedy central, where they cut the episodes back to 44 minutes and drop the stinkers altogether, so you really get a "best of" situation. if you sat and watched an entire SNL season from, say, 1977, you'd see plenty of shitty sketches, believe me. -
Get off of dial-up you douche. Your joke was better when it was Krista Mccullough.
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Thanks for the heads up Herc. Started going through it last night and found myself laughing outloud at not only skits but fashion statements. Great stuff. Still, Dr. Sid makes a good point. With every season you can find your stinker sketches. Season 4 can be counted in that same vein. But one thing is for sure. I laughed more with that season than the current one. This season is suffering.
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Wow - lots of funny moments in that list. The problem is that for every funny sketch there are 4-5 clunkers, but guess what ... it's always been that way! People who say "it hasn't been funny since...." forget that fact. Colonel Angus and "Andy and Reba" should be up on that list too! And Peanut Butter Slut, my decade old computer with the slow bandwidth connection loaded this page just fine. Time to invest in better equipment.
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I may be wrong, but I believe Weaver's first job hosting was on the very first Dana Carvey / Phil Hartman era episode.
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included the classic "Chopping Broccoli" sketch...I can only hope for equal greatness from her new episode.
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I'll guess it's Conan O'Brien, on his way out of NBC.
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With Rainn Wilson (and Arcade Fire) http://tinyurl.com/5ed6hl. Loved that one.
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"q...q...q...q...q...q...q..."
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EDIT FUCK!
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It's been a while.
I was going to challenge Hercules on including Debbie Downer on that list. But on rereading, the heading is "Some Sketches From The Last Decade:", not "The Best..." or "The Funniest...". I guess I was confused, as most of those are examples of the good stuff from the past 10 years, and Debbie Downer was downright dreadful. Although, I guess I can see where one might find it funny if one thought it was supposed to be a parody of the worst kinds of sketches. But it wasn't. It simply WAS the worst kind of sketch. Almost as bad as "Carole" -
I didn't see his original hosting gig on SNL, but I assume we'll be seeing plenty of misread lines, flubbed sketches, and lots of auience silence. So yes, I'll definitely be watching.
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That shit is hilarious and I don't even know why. "Talking bout..chest hairs, talkin bout...crazy cool medallions" The best Fallon has ever and will ever be. Love that skit to death.
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That was the best skit of the decade!
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Fucker
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Big Jim - it has been too long.
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the new millenium started at jan 1, 2001, but the new decade started Jan 1, 2010. decades are groups in 10s, as in 20s, 30s 40s, etc.
the question to ask is something like, "was 1980 part of the 70s?" Nope.
2010 is the start of the 'teens' decade or whatever it should be called. -
Was everybody else busy? He's entertaining in small doses on the TNT basketball show but as host for an hour and half on SNL? The potential for this to a disaster is large.I can see the jokes already, DUI arrest, golf swing, gambling, all the skank he's banged and losing out to MJ in the NBA finals.Maybe they can get Kenny Smith to cameo and rip on the Chuckster that's usually pretty funny.
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http://tinyurl.com/moleculo - I could never find clips of that particular show until now. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Great sketch.
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I hope they do something like that again!
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http://tinyurl.com/543uep
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At first it was a big WTF at Barkley but then I realized that could be a good WTF and that show could turn out to be beyond awesome; anyone can top January Jones at this point, no?
As for Sigourney, I'm just so happy she's in the limelight right now, happy face. -
Told you all herc wasn't done with this decade thing. I told you he would still use it. Poor predictable herc
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I just cannot take it anymore. Is is a Sir Charles spoof? Why do you make it so hard?
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A more relevant discussion would be the number of talkbackers that have a hussy about it. Like just happened. Do you not even think that he might count them every time? And you are number 1. Congrats!
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No Jon Bovi with Bon Jovi. The formula is funny, lack of use is more disturbing.
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Seriously!
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It'll be on forever.
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get the fuck over it already
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No Jean K. Jean on this list?
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Fact.
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It's not a new decade. It's not a new decade. It's not a new decade. It's not a new decade. It's not a new decade. It's not a new decade. It's not a new decade.
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Sign me up.
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does he have a reality show or something? don't the hosts usually have something to promote?
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...fucker.
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Whenever a number other than the last one rolls over, it's the start of something new imo. No one really gives a shit, if you want to be the 0.00001% of the population still considering this the aughts decade, go for it. Just so we're clear though, you're calling this year 'oh-ten' right?
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Rather relying on his, if any, journalistic skills or the story to generate thread hits he is trying to bait the readers of this site by posting a 'decade' headline you jack ass
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Is 10 years.
00-09 is 10 years, hence it is a decade.
No one considers 1990 part of the 80's, and if you do you should be beaten to death. -
No, actually you got that backwards, only the jackasses would be stupidly baited into fluffing his response count. Actual readers don't give a shit about this nonsense, and came here to discuss SNL, not what decade it is. If anything, the real baiting was the "Some Sketches From The Last Decade:" pics which more than likely was thrown in to point out who actually reads his articles and those that just skims them for things to complain about.
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Please please please.
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Believe in your dreams
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Samberg is a talentless hack who has yet to make me crack a smile. Bill Hader is coming along as my new favorite. Kristin Wiig is a roll of the dice.
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with idiots arguing about the decade thing?
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To win an event, one comes in first or as symbolized by (1). One does not come in (0). In order to signify the first year life, one is 1 year old not 0. Zero is nothing. It cannot be the first because 1 is the first. There is no year zero because it is nothing. The first year is 1. After one is a rookie in any sport, their next year is their 2nd year, not first. Zeros is not the first. 1 is the first. Ten is after nine, not before. This reason is why most Americans suck at math.
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What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
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Dumbass. Stay in your country. Thanks for not visiting ours.
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for making Americans looks so good.
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For you brilliant smart people. Following your logic, if someone is born January 1, 2000, come January 1, 2010, they will be 9 years old. If you tell me they are 10, then, you agree that 2010 is NOT a new decade but the 10th year of the 2000's. A decade is 10 years, not 9. if you tell me that they are 9 years old, which is what those who believe 2010 is a new decade, believe. You are an excellent reason as to why American education is so bad.
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Has actually been OK. Not nearly as great as the past, but the writing and the stars was better than. Most of the troupe then was did Second City, correct? Maybe some did that today, I don't know.
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I thought of attempting to explain it to you but I honestly feel it would not do any good. If you can't even see the stupidity contained within your own post, there's no way you'll be able to follow even the simplest of logical arguments.
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I can't help but respond to what NudeandAroused just posted.If someone is born Jan. 1 2000, on Jan. 1 2010 he is 10 years old, because 10 years have passed (10 - 0 = 10.2000, the "zero" year, is the FIRST year, at the end of which, he is 1 year old.On Jan. 1, 2010, he is 10 years old, meaning he has finished his 10th year. So, really, 2010 is his ELEVENTH year. Today is January 9, 2010. According to your logic it should be the 20th Century. Guess what, it's actually the 21st. I think it is the quality of your education that is in question.
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Has anyone else gone that long?
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McGruber---you complete me! Pepsi-Pepsi--Pepsi-Pepsi------McGruber!
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Me wanna Miata!
http://tinyurl.com/ydkhfss
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is gold. Like he's constipated or something. It cracked me up more than anything in that sketch.
I need to try and find the James the Gentleman Masher Cochran sketch from the same episode. Why do I get the feeling that Conan wrote a lot of that ep?
"I'll butter your bean and serve it to you cold, I will!" -
....from what I'm guessing was a dress rehearsal during the NFL preshow? Looks like it's gonna be good. Also, with the way the game's going now, I doubt SNL will be delayed, but if they are, how long has it been since something like that has happened? It's gotta be back before they lost the NFL to Fox back in '95.
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Your first sentence agrees with me. 2000-2001 is the first year. From the date birth in 2000 to 2001 to the same date in 2001 is one year. 2001-2002 is the second year and so on. You are not born at 1 year old. You must age one year. You complete your 10 year in 2010, not 2009.
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It says Barkley hosting tonight, THEN right below, "ALL NEW January 9, Sigourney Weaver" I am assuming they mean January 16...good grief.
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NudeandAroused, think about it this way.
1 year = 365 days
10 years = 3650 days
A decade = 10 years OR 3650 days
Would you agree with that?
3659 days have elapsed since the year 2000 began. That's ten years and then some. We're in a new decade. -
...will local news push it back thirty minutes?
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is wrong.
"2001-2002 is the second year and so on."Ok, let's complete the "so on".Using your previous example of birth date as January 1, 2000, the year 2000 is his first year. On January 1, 2001 he turns 1 year old and 2001 is his second year 2002 = third year 2003 = 4th 2004 = 5th 2005 = 6th 2006 = 7th 2007 = 8th 2008 = 9th 2009 = 10th.When buddy hits his 10th birthday on January 1, 2010, he is 10 years old - he has lived a full 10 years. One could even say he has completed the first decade of his life. Once he hits that 10th birthday, the journey known as his 11th year (also his 2nd decade) begins.2010 = 11thYou complete your 10th year at the end of your 10th year. For someone born 12:00 am January 1, 2000, their 10th year would have been completed at midnight December 31, 2009. -
So I'm guessing a 12:45 start time for SNL.
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look, is 1980 in the 70's? no. this is a new decade. shut up.
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was the premiere night of Vince McMahon's XFL.
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Good thing I stayed up to catch the start of the show and didn't preprogram the DVR to record - I would have missed half of the show! How late is the show starting, anyway?
And for Nude and Aroused - there are 10 digits on my phone and my calculator. Wanna guess what they are? That's right, 0 through 9. I was the big nerd who was right there 10 years ago saying "the 21st Century doesn't start until 2001" but even I'll face it, 2010 started a new decade. Cheer up and look on the bright side, maybe this decade you'll be Nude and Aroused with another person present! -
Is Herc kind of a comedy retard?Answer is "yes" in both cases.
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What is this bullshit? I can't believe local news is pre-empting SNL. Who gives a shit aout all this dumb local crap on a Saturday night. No one has anything to do tomorrow.
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They didn't do much of a post game show.
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Weather and cancellations are far more important.
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who cares about snl. the big news today is Art Clokey's passing. where's the talkback for that?
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Why is this opening Local news spoof going on for so long, it got stale after the first 5 minutes
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...clearly the best thing to ever happen to SNL.
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Gigooo!
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What a fucking Black Hole of pop culture SNL has become.
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Okay, that's hilarious because it's Charles Barkley saying it.
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VH1's I Love the ___'s
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"If you say anything, you'll beg me to die - 'cuz I'll make you suck my dick, then I'll nut in your eye."
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Was HILARIOUS.
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"He will come?" Man you fail at life
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Barkley thinks he's a legend.That's why it's funny.It's irony.
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"While walking through his cornfield, Ray hears a voice whisper, "If you build it, he will come" (often misquoted as "If you build it, they will come")" Or did they change your script once again?
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way better than the result ever is.
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a few years ago.
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MOVIN' THE CHAINS!!!
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So hot.
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I'm at 30 rockafeller right now watching the filming live behind the scenes, get a life you jag off
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Jan 09, 2010 11:50:51 PM CST
I'm hoping Barkley will wear the same outfit as Alicia
by taking_up_space
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A kingly impression
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Why would Costner care about the team showing up?
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that's actually a good vocal impression.
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Will anyone under the age of 25 even get the jokes in this movie? I 'm guessing not.
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What did we do to deserve this bountiful occasion?
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I lived in New jersey for 2 years while i researched my script for the sopranos, i loved the state and i only moved after i steped down as sopranos show runner and i moved back to La to work on other movies
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or Keanu Reeves?
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Much of a difference at this point?
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in recent memory. LeBron was pretty good, but Barkley is doing a great job.
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What, they don't use him anymore? :-P
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Sorry Alicia.
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Especially outside of the Jay-Z sample.
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Highlight of the show for sure. And how often can you say that about the music acts they get on the show nowadays?
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is a goddess.
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I shouldn't love this sketch, but I do.
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Jan 10, 2010 12:26:56 AM CST
God dammit, they aren't gonna do the Alicia Barkley sketch?
by shermdawg
Scared Straight with Barkley might be good though.
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Let's see if Hader cracks up again in this one.
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Christ - has anyone been given less to do since Dean Edwards?
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Blow me for free?
WOW. -
what?
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Did they run out of time and cut the skit short?
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Jan 10, 2010 12:40:11 AM CST
Good performances by Alicia Keys, the rest was meh.
by flim springfield
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that is all.
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Jan 10, 2010 2:49:49 AM CST
Who was the female "audience member" during the monologue?
by kirbymanly
I've seen her before and it's driving me crazy!
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hands down the funniest sketch of the past decade.
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I think she used to be on The Showbiz Show with David Spade.
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was hands down the best part of the episode.
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...Next month.
It's five minutes long, and actually includes every single appearance she's made on the show. But there's a three hour preview of Andy Samberg's documentary, "I WISH I WAS BLACK!" on the same disc, so there's no wasted polymer. -
HornOrSilk, et al...
thank you all for NOTICING the date discrepancy, and voicing it.
i've seen this error so much lately i'd begun to think the world had slid in an extra year whilst i was away. -
It should be in here.
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just answer me this question, yes or no. no horrible strained examples, no convoluted idiotic metaphors. just say yes or no...
If I made a "Greatest Hits of the 70's" music compilation, and I included songs from 1980 and excluded songs from 1970, would that make sense to you?if you say no, then perhaps FINALLY you will all see the completely asinine tortured logic you've been spewing for what it is.if you say yes, well...at least you're sticking to your guns. the only problem? they're toy guns because you don't let retards use real guns. here is a more eloquent skewering of your drooling argument than I could muster, quoted from forbes.com:
"The bozos insisting that the decade does not end until December 31, 2010 usually base this on the observation that "there was no year 0". True, the calendar begins in 1 AD (though it was adopted some 16 centuries later). But all that the start date of the calendar means is that it would be technically incorrect to refer to 2000-2009 as "the 201st Decade". But, when we talk about "the decade" it's clear that we're not talking about ordinal decades, because nobody ever talks about ordinal decades. I cannot think of a single instance where someone referred to the 1990s as the "200th Decade."It ought to be blindingly obvious, to even the most slathering of idiots, that the 1920s refers to 1920-29. The year 1930? It is not part of the 1920s. The Twenty-Twenties? They will begin on 2020. Obviously. 2030? It will not be part of the Twenty-Twenties. (Nor will anyone ever call this decade "the 203rd Decade").
When we say the decade, we are not referring to the period of time that would correspond with some ordinal decade numbering system. Nobody uses an ordinal numbering system when talking about decades. People are talking about the digit in the tens column.
Insisting that the decade ends on December 31, 2010 is not pedantic. It is dumb. And wrong. Spare yourself the embarrassment and don't do it."so now can you all just admit you were wrong/confused and we won't have to hear this anymore? -
Well quoted! However, Talkbacks are the only way some people actual communicate with the outside world - outside world meaning beyond their parent's basement. Obviously they have no real "human" friends - you'd get punched in the face if you attempted to continue that conversation in real life!
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She was on "Michael and Michael Have Issues" with Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black and a commentator on Best Week Ever.
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"... is not pedantic. It is dumb. And wrong."Technically, it isn't wrong. Say you're at a party talking to your friends about your buddy, Steve. Some dude overhears you, says to himself, "hey, I know Steve", and joins the conversation. Soon, he's arguing with you, saying "Steve never did that", "he's never been there", "he's not that old", etc. He questions you even knowing Steve because nothing you are saying sounds remotely like his friend Steve. Never once does it ever occur to this guy you might be talking about a different Steve. It's the same thing with this argument. The 00's decade ended December 31, 2009; the 201st decade, the first decade of the 21st Century, the first decade of the 3rd Millennium, ends December 31, 2010. They are two separate things - two ways of defining decades using two different sets of parameters. They are two completely different guys who just happen to both be named "Steve".
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Just to be clear, your argument is that 1920 belongs to the '20s because the third digit starts with a 2. So, by that logic the years 1900 - 1999 belong to the 19th century because they start with a 19? Here's another little trick: count to 10. I'll wait. Did you start at 0 and end at 9?
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from 1920 through the end of 1929 is Nineteen TWENTY (something). It's all about the number 20, and has nothing to do with the non-existent Year Zero, or counting.1900 - 1999 is not the 19th Century (well, 1900 is). With the exception of 1900, those years are part of the 20th Century. However, 1900 - 1999 is the "Nineteen Hundreds". For example, the year 1901 can be pronounced "Nineteen Hundred and One"; 1945 is pronounced "Nineteen Hundred and Forty-Five"; 1999 can be pronounced "Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Nine". Again, nothing to do with counting. It all depends on the terminology you use in defining your time periods.Counting to 10, one starts at the first item and gets to 10 at the tenth. So, if I start counting at the beginning of 2000, by the end of 2009 I get 10. I was born in 1967; in 1977 I had my 10th birthday. I did not need to wait until 1971 before I started counting to my 10th year. However, in a way, when you count to 10, you do start at 0. Before you have 1, you have nothing. For example, if you are counting on your fingers, before you flip up that first digit, 0 fingers are showing. The concept of zero is a funny thing; for something that's not there, it's ever-present.
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...but thanks for the explanation anyway. I was just questioning the logic and semantics of the argument. Another way to look at it is this: start a stop watch right now, and stop it in 60 seconds. You've just documented a minute. From that minute, can you tell me what time it is? Of course not. The "1920's" is the same thing -- it's a collection of 10 years, nothing else. However, when people talk about the turn of THE century, or THE millennium, or THE decade, actual timekeeping is implied. Centuries start and stop every second, but THE 21st century started in 2001. Same with decades. I do, however, take issue with starting at zero to count to 10. If you're going to identify 10 things, you're not going to first acknowledge that there's a scenario where zero things exist. At least I don't think you are...
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That's really been the root of what this "decade" argument. Hercules says "the decade" meaning the "00s". Some assume that's what he means, even though he didn't actually say it, because 2009 was the end of the 00s. Others assume he's referring to the 201st decade, or the 1st decade of the 21st century, or the 1st decade of the 3rd millennium. Working under that belief, they remind Herc he's a year early. The proper terms, along with context, make all the difference.
"The "1920's" is the same thing -- it's a collection of 10 years, nothing else."
The very definition of a decade. It's not about keeping track of time, it's simply a point of reference, an easy way to differentiate one 10-year period from those around it. When one says "the 90s", you automatically assume the person is talking about the 1990s, right? If I asked "where did you live in the 90s?", would you reply "I wasn't even alive in the 1690s"? No, because it is safe to assume, based on the context of the question (such as the date on which it was asked), I mean the 1990s. It's the same with saying "THE decade". If I make reference to the end of the decade at the end of 2009 it's a safe bet I mean "The 00s decade". Next December, when Hercules once again starts making vague "end of decade" article titles, we can all assume he means "the end of the 201st decade". If the terms used aren't definitive, one must look at the context of the statement.
It's the same for "THE century", or "THE millennium", although with those the assumption is more often weighted towards the cumulative count (20th century, 3rd millennium, etc.) as they are the terms more commonly used. No one refers to the period of 1981 through the end of 1990 as "the 199th decade". Sure it's the 199th decade AD, the 99th decade of the 2nd millennium, the 9th decade of the 20th century, but do you know anyone who refers to that decade as "the 199s", "the 99s", or even "the 9s"? Probably not, as it is not the common way of referencing decades. However, if someone were to say "the 1900s", they don't mean the 19th century, nor do they mean the 20th century. They are referring to the century, that hundred year period, from the beginning of 1900 to the end of 1999.
As for zero, it's not that I "first acknowledge that there's a scenario where zero things exist", however that doesn't mean that scenario doesn't exist, because it does. I don't count "0, 1, 2, 3, ... 10", but I am aware that before there can be "1" there must be "0". You don't count zero, but it's still there, even though it's not. Zero is funny that way.
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