October 11, 2002
Give me that old time religion
Some of us go to church on Sunday morning, but others of us go to church on
Saturday night.
Saturday Night Live
premiered on October 11, 1975 with host George Carlin. It has become such a
cultural institution over a quarter century plus that we often fail to
appreciate what a radically old and new and totally unique creature was born.
They reached way back to the dawn of television for the unique demands and
rewards of a live variety show, thrust way forward into modern sensibilities
with very pointed and sometimes macabre [ie Mr.
Mike] social satire. No show before -not even All
in the Family- gave such truly cutting mockery of political figures. Few
have managed to equal the insight and sympathy for the geeks and outsiders that
comes through SNL characters ranging from the Murray-Radner nerds to Mary
Katherine Gallagher. They have also provided the best live music forum in
television history.
Some combination of the rigors of the format and the unique talents of Lorne
Michaels et al have made it a show that has really never been successfully
imitated. Mad TV has been
about the closest thing that has survived, but it's not really in a league with
SNL. Nor is it live, thus lacking the distinctive edge coming from that special
pressure.
People often say that the first cast era was the best. I certainly wouldn't want
to take anything away from Gilda
and Belushi et al. They
came up with a whole new thing, and they were brilliant.
However, the show arguably peaked creatively in the late '80s to early '90s. For
starters, Phil Hartman was
probably the best sketch comedy actor ever- though Darrell
Hammond for one cannot be denied. Add Dana
Carvey, Jon Lovitz, Mike
Meyers, Chris Farley, Chris
Rock- and we haven't even gotten to the girls. [Got to give a special love
shout-out to Victoria
Jackson, my all time SNL sweetheart.] Certainly Carvey as Bush the Elder
went far beyond Chevy Chase's
bumbling as President Ford in de-constructing a president. Nor could we forget
the wicked Al Franken's
definitive affectionate mockery of the self-help movement as Stuart Smalley. [Stuart
Saves His Family made -by a good margin- the best movie ever based on SNL
material.]
None of which takes away from the brilliance of the more recent casts. Ana
Gasteyer in particular did brilliant work, especially playing the uptight
white chicks ie Hillary and Martha Stewart. [With all due respect to a fine
professional actress, she'll make you forget all about Jane Curtin.] Will
Ferrell's Dubya was particularly good, especially as he became more
distinctly sympathetic after 9/11, with moments such as the "dumb"
president's promise to cast Osama Bin Laden as the subject of his own personal
Where's Waldo. And of course, there's the phenomenon that is Darrell Hammond.
So keep the faith, brothers and sisters, because -like rock and roll- Saturday
Night Live will never die.
We leave this obsessive fan's tribute with a nod to the best one sketch in the
show's history- a dissection of obsessive fandom, "The Guy Who Plays Mr.
Belvedre Fan Club."
Doug: Yeah, I'd like to say, partly to talk about it, and partly to let the new
guy in on the mood here a little bit. Uh.. Mr. Belvedere is.. the light of my
life. Um.. I know I speak for the others.. uh, when I say he is.. so
amazing.. you know? And, uh.. he's just.. I wish.. you know.. I wish I could
know him more, you know? Because.. he.. he is one of a kind, you know? He's.. I
think about him all the time, and.. well, I'm wondering - should we kill
him?
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE PHOTO GALLERIES
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton 9-13-2008
Sinead O'Connor Pope Incident, 1992
April 10, 2004 - Janet Jackson
October 29, 2005 - Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow
TRANSCRIPT: "The Man Who Plays Mr Belvedere Fan Club" 5-9-1992
Andy Kaufman-Elvis 1977 SNL Images 1 2 3 4 5 6
SPARTAN CHEERLEADERS-PAULA ABDUL
Candice Bergen as Anne Boleyn, 1987
Gwen Stefani-No Doubt photos 1996
Gilda Radner 1978 SNL Candy Slice Images 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Paul Simon Turkey Suit Monologue, 1976 Picture Gallery
******************
Lorne Michaels offered the Beatles $3000 for a re-union concert on SNL
A couple of weeks later he had to explain to George Harrison that the $3000 offer was only good if it included all four Beatles
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