The upcoming season of “Saturday Night Live” will be its 50th.
As you may have heard, “Saturday Night Live” will begin its 50th anniversary season on Sept. 28. So I thought I’d share some thoughts on a show that meant a lot to me, in its early years, and still does.
When the first SNL was broadcast — on Oct. 11, 1975 — I was 14 years old, and my less-than-robust social life meant my Saturday nights were pretty much free. So I watched that first episode, and continued to watch regularly through high school.
“Saturday Night Live” became a New York magazine cover story in December 1975.
At first I felt like it was an obscure, magical thing I had stumbled upon. I remember seeing this New York magazine cover in December 1975, and thinking, “Well, the secret’s out now.”
Of course, I loved the comedy of John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner et al., and the high-quality musical acts. (Some of the musical numbers in that first season were by Simon & Garfunkel, Patti Smith, Gordon Lightfoot, Gil Scott-Heron and Phoebe Snow.) It seemed like a new, exciting world — the world of nightclubs and concert halls and artists willing to take chances — was opening up to me, from the music and the antics of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players to the even edgier humor of people like George Carlin (the episode No. 1 host) and Richard Pryor, the oddball performance art of Andy Kaufman, Jim Henson’s bizarre puppets, and the quirky short films. I’d watch something like Leon Redbone, with his strange look and equally strange voice, warbling his way through “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” (episode No. 15) and think, “How could this even exist? And why didn’t I already know about it?”
There will be lots of articles written about the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live.” And most will make the same point: There was nothing like it on TV before. Well, it’s true. And for this 14-year-old in suburban New Jersey — just starting to become interested in music and movies and books — it was just what I needed.
Those first few years were revelatory. But I haven’t been a consistent viewer through the years. From 1979 (when I entered college) to 2015 or so, I barely watched at all. Oh, I’d occasionally catch a show if I knew one of my favorite musicians was going to be on. And once the internet was invented, I’d see some highlights, here and there. But I was not anything close to a SNL regular for those 36 years.
But then something unexpected happened, about 10 years ago. I showed some classic SNL clips to my then-teenage daughter, and we watched some new episodes together. And I got hooked again. I now watch all the time — on Saturday night, if I can, but if not, checking out some highlights online the next day.
Raye on “Saturday Night Live.”
It’s different for me now. While SNL musical segments used to feel like bringing nightclubs into your living room, now they seem, a lot of the time, like they are shrinking arena-pop spectacles down to TV-friendly size, with elaborate sets and lots of posing, choreographed dance moves, and lip-syncing. Occasionally, someone will really impress me — Raye, for instance, was a standout, last season. But for the most part, the musical segments have become, for me, the least interesting parts of the show.
Of course, the humor is very hit-or-miss. (In reality, it always was; I’ve rewatched some of those first season episodes, and there were plenty of clunkers along with the gems). But “Weekend Update” is almost always good. And enough of the sketches work, I feel, to make it worth my time.
Basically, as long as “Saturday Night Live” continues to take chances — and it still is doing so, even at 50 — I’ll still be interested.
Jean Smart will host and Jelly Roll will be the musical guest of the first “Saturday Night Live” of the 2024-25 season, Sept. 28.
Also, “Saturday Night,” a movie about the 90 minutes immediately before that first 1975 episode, will be released on Oct. 11. Here is the trailer:
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