Notable blips up on the "funny" trend line: The Eddie Murphy years and the Phil Hartman years. For the latter, there were many players who worked well individually and in an ensemble, and who's skits still make me laugh.
Martin Short was my favorite.
Past tense...they WERE funny, now it’s cheap shots.
There was a span from the late ‘80s through the mid ‘90s that was consistently great. IMO those years were nearly on par with the early SNL.