I’m not old enough to have seen the first episode but Saturday Night Live was a staple when I was growing up. Any GenX will feel nostalgic when they hear that famous line “Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night!” late at night. Staying up late and trying to stay awake for the whole episode was a right of passage as a kid. If 50 years of SNL has taught me anything it’s that sometimes a good laugh is all you need, even if it’s at your own expense.
I was too young to see Chase, Belushi, Radner, Curtain, and Aykroyd pave the way for future generations. Although the first cast was the best, the cast from the 90s brought me the best memories.
“Well Isn’t That Special”
We loved to “Party On” with Wayne and Garth, bob our heads to “What is Love,” and pray for sinners with the Church Lady. They had us laughing so hard at Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri’s cheers and Matt Foley living in a “VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!”
We cried when we lost Farley and Hartman.
No matter who was in the Oval Office, they wrote skits about them. Some skits were more scathing than others, depending on who was in office, but that’s ok, they were funny nonetheless.
SNL launched careers for people like Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, and Mike Myers. I hope it continues to launch acting careers and I hope the younger generation is watching. I hope the skits they watch are as funny as ours were, even if my generation doesn’t get the joke.
The rumor is Lorne Michaels will retire after this season. It’s well deserved. If you haven’t already, check out the movie Saturday Night. It tells the story of the 90 minutes (in real-time) leading up to the first airing of SNL and how it almost didn’t happen. Lorne’s determination paid off and created a one-of-a-kind show that will never be duplicated.
Here’s to another 50 years!
/cheers
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