“Saturday Night Live” kicks off its 50th season this weekend, a momentous event sure to bring back fond memories for generations of fans.
Since 1975, Lorne Michaels' weekly show has starred Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Conan O'Brien, Dana Carvey, Mike has appeared. Myers and countless other comedy greats.
And decades of sketches like Wayne's World, Roseanne Roseanne, The Love Us, James Brown, Coneheads, Jeopardy!, and The Lawrence Welk Show (“And I'm Dooneys!'') is baked into our cultural consciousness. Whether I was living for them or not.
But along with the joy of nostalgia comes the pain of sadness.
“SNL” is not what she used to be. And there's no way this legendary show will ever return to its unassailable spot atop the comedy mountain.
The NBC sketch series that once pioneered boundary-breaking humor (as its impressive alumni list attests) has struggled to keep up with TikTok, social media memes, and revived stand-up specials as the show's provider. As a result, it is currently lagging far behind that momentum. American laughter.
In 2024, a hot joke will last only a few hours, not a week.
Once or twice a season, the show breaks through the noise with extraordinary creativity. For example, we all watched Bowen Yang's hilarious “Weekend Update'' Titanic iceberg interview, and we can't miss watching Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day perform their terrifying transformations into Beavis and Butt-head. Dew.
However, these are rare exceptions.
Today's “SNL” is far from edgy and mostly feels cozy and niche.
What happened to the powerful recurring characters? Dana Carvey's Church Lady, Ferrell and Anna Gasteyer's Music Teacher, Rachel Dratch's Debbie Downer, Tracy Morgan's Brian Fellows, Chris Farley Think Matt Foley, motivational speaker and wig Gilley.
It's hard to name a current staple other than perhaps Ego Nwodim's Dionne Warwick.
Gone are the days when cherished “SNL” productions were instant laughs. Perhaps it's because Americans move on too quickly. But considering I've seen 34 Marvel movies and Grey's Anatomy is in its 21st season, I suspect there's more to it than that.
Another obvious issue is politics.
“SNL” has experienced unrelated downturns in the past, and satirizing foolish leaders has generally kept them going. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin was perhaps the last must-see feature on “SNL.” From 2008 to 2017, NBC sometimes aired “Weekend Update: Summer Edition” in prime time on Thursdays to capitalize on election fever and other newsworthy stories.
The problem now is not the long-standing complaint that SNL is friendlier to Democrats than Republicans (which has been true for a very long time), but that it has lost sight of how to make either one interesting.
Lately, sketches have been more concerned with so-so impersonation than with witty pointing out how stupid and self-absorbed our elected officials are. Donald Trump looks like an old man (and everyone in the world would do that at a party).
Michaels said earlier this year that the show would “reinvent” the 45th president, played by James Austin Johnson. I'll believe it when I see it.
Maya Rudolph played Kamala Harris brilliantly, and she brings it back this season. However, her acting is rooted in endearing mannerisms and kindness, the complete opposite of satire. Sharp Shaw can't pull any punches against any presidential candidate.
Who knew that the diminutive Michael Dukakis, played by Jon Lovitz, responded to Dana Carvey's George H.W. Will I be able to forget?
But my favorite election cold open on “SNL” was the 2000 debate between Ferrell's George W. Bush and Darryl Hammond's Al Gore. Please take a look.
All Hammond, ever the genius, had to say to get a laugh was, “Well, Jim, Governor Bush, and I have two very different plans.” That's all you need. Sure, his rhythm and voice were perfect, but more energetically Hammond watered down how Americans saw Gore as the Eeyore of the donkey party.
Comedians often say it's hard to send Democrats away. How lazy are you? The gore wasn't oversized or overtly cartoonish, but Hammond caught his NPR-ness and made him hysterical.
On Saturdays, you can hear the great Hammond's voice as the announcer reading out the names of the current cast.
Many of them will be unfamiliar to you. A long list of SNL veterans have left the show over the past few seasons, but as Michaels says, there's a hopeful atmosphere of reinvention.
And fear of the unknown.
I'm a big fan of the rising “SNL” players like Bowen Yang, Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day, and Marcello Hernandez. And with all the freshness, there is an opportunity to dust off the old show and rediscover its cutting-edge essence.
The new film, Saturday Night, is a reckless comedy based on the original 1975 episode, starring actor Gabriel LaBelle as 30-year-old Michaels.
When a skeptical studio executive asked him what “SNL” was, he responded with an impassioned speech.
“It’s all about what you think will happen if you move to the city,” he says. “It's 'Saturday Night.'”
And that's the energy that “SNL” must rediscover to survive: being young, carefree, and taking risks (including elections) with nothing to lose.
I haven’t lived in the same rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side for 50 years.
