SNL 50
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Been watching the SNL 50 Documentary Series and when you look at who wrote and was on the cast it's pretty much a whose who of everyone famous in comedy over the last 50 years. Just an unprecedented star making machine.
Also insane that they start every Monday during the season with a blank slate, from writing, to costumes, to sets, and then go live Saturday to millions of people at 11:30 ready or not.
Adam Sandler
Al Franken
Amy Poehler
Andy Samberg
Anthony Michael Hall
Ben Stiller
Bill Hader
Bill Murray
Billy Crystal
Brian Doyle-Murray
Chevy Chase
Chloe Fineman
Chris Elliott
Chris Farley
Chris Rock
Christopher Guest
Colin Jost
Colin Quinn
Conan O'Brien
Damon Wayans (fired on set after he ad libed a sketch)
Dan Aykroyd
Dana Carvey
David Spade
Dennis Miller
Eddie Murphy
Fred Armisen
Garrett Morris
Gilbert Gottfried
Harry Shearer
Jane Curtin
Jim Belushi
Jimmy Fallon
Joan Cusack
Joe Piscopo
John Belushi
John Mulaney
Jon Lovitz
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Kate McKinnon
Kevin Nealon
Kristen Wiig
Laraine Newman
Martin Short
Maya Rudolph
Michael Che
Mike Myers
Nora Dunn
Norm Macdonald
Paul Shaffer
Pete Davidson
Phil Hartman
Randy Quaid
Rob Schneider
Robert Downey Jr.
Sarah Silverman
Seth Meyers
Tim Robinson
Tina Fey
Tracy Morgan
Victoria Jackson
Will Ferrell
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: fishcane
McCartney played Bowery last
McCartney played Bowery last night and is playing again tonight ahead of the special
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: dimethyllovebeam
I love that George Carlin was
I love that George Carlin was the first host.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
There's a new "rental" movie
There's a new "rental" movie out now about the lead up to the first show with Carlin. Not really a documentary -- more of an entertaining re-creation of events.
It's ok for a snowy night. Not a must-see, but pretty amusing.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: It's me Dave open up!
Amazing list, but, where's
Amazing list, but, where's Gilda Radner?!
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Jane......You ignorant slut
Jane......You ignorant slut
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
>>Amazing list, but, where's
>>Amazing list, but, where's Gilda Radner?!
Missed her wasn't an easy list to import into zoner friendly interface. There were tons more that I didn't list because I didn't recognize their name, but are famous too like Bob Odenkirk who is best known as Saul on Breaking Bad.
Each of the 50 year SNL docs episodes views it from a different angle like the music one. There is one episode on the More Cowbell skit that was originally written as more Wood Block. It's a great episode that includes a lot of interviews with Blue Oyster Cult and their producers. Christopher Walken declined to be interviewed but he did tell Will Farrel that it ruined his career because people would bring Cow Bells wherever he showed up.
There is an episode that just follows the writers and another that brings back famous cast members and talks about how they got on to the show including showing them their audition tapes which many of them had never seen before.
The only weak episode was the one that focuses on season 11 which was a really bad season and when the show almost got canceled.
The one through line is what a terrifying, hyper competitive creative boot camp the show is. Almost everyone said they loved doing it but are so glad not be doing it anymore.
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(((((((((gilda)))))))))
(((((((((gilda)))))))))
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
>...that focuses on season 11
>...that focuses on season 11 which was a really bad season...< Hey, wait a minute....
Me in the background (far left) standing by the door as a lost Jay Leno gets a quick tour of Studio 8H from “executive producer” Tommy Flanagan (Jon Lovitz).
Opening sketch (pre monologue) February 22, 1986: Jay Leno host / The Neville Brothers (S11E11)
my only national tv appearance lasted a mere second or two
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: cultivate kindness
Maureen Dowd profile of Lorne
Maureen Dowd profile of Lorne Michaels. Gift link will get you through the paywall:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/arts/television/lorne-michaels-saturd...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: fishcane
Devo.....
Devo.....
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: cultivate kindness
> I love that George Carlin
> I love that George Carlin was the first host.
And that Andy Kaufman (also not on the list above) was a guest on the first show.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mike Dalton
We watched the SNL concert
We watched the SNL concert last night. Lots of meh, but a few highlights including Nirvana with Post Malone, Cher, David Byrne with Robyn, Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. And Lady Gaga singing Dick in a Box.
It was too long but perfect since it was pretty icy out and we weren't going anywhere.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: fishcane
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NBC aired the first SNL
NBC aired the first SNL episode last night. I had forgotten quite a bit, and it was very enjoyable.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Dr. Benway
but are famous too like Bob
its pretty crazy how much work odenkirk put out before hitting it big on BB. he's got minor roles in countless big name 90s comedies and sitcoms, writing credits on some of the biggest comedy shows on TV, wrote and directed a bunch of his own movies, created one of the best sketch comedy shows of all time, and tons tons more. dude even directed some indie rock music videos from bands likeyo la tengo and built to spill.
and that is all BEFORE his career really hit its commercial peak with BB/saul. just a monstorously large and impressive body of work, most of which was created long before most of america knew his name.
im not really the type to be into specific actors or consider myself a fan of some actor or another - IMO the truly impressive roles to be played in film are roles like director and cinemetographer, and those are usually the names that i follow regarding tv/film, but i do have a real soft spot for comedic actors turned serious, like jim carey and robin williams, and odenkirk certianly fits into that mold.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Druba
Watched the SNL special on
Watched the SNL special on musical guests last night. Lots of interesting tidbits of information shared, a lot I already knew about, some I didn't.
It reminded me how much the "Good ol days" really were great! Fantastic! It wasn't always a top pop star or up and coming pop star like today, they had all kinds of diverse music (Sun Ra, ex). And everyone played their instruments and actually sang.
Interesting that they had so much Jack White on it (interviews / performances). Folks like Jerry Garcia, Willie Nelson, Zappa, etc, barely got a full second, and while Tom Petty was mentioned, don't recall seeing a pic of him. It'd be interesting to see a full list of all the musical acts over the years!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: cultivate kindness
> Watched the SNL special on
> Watched the SNL special on musical guests last night.
Same here. I thought the behind-the-scenes stuff was fun to watch, but the short clips of most performances made me wish they'd devoted more time to the music. That said, the one thing that really worked for me came right at the end. It was a 1993 performance by Paul McCartney of the Hey Jude Coda overlaid with rapid fire graphics of probably hundreds of other SNL performers from over the years. There were a number of moments when things synced up, and it seemed the other performers were right on the beat with McCartney.
I also watched the rebroadcast of the very first episode last night. I had just turned 15 when it originally aired, and watched because my dad, who was a big George Carlin fan, suggested it. Parts of that first show were pretty brilliant, like the scene with Michael O'Donoghue teaching English to John Belushi's immigrant character ("I would like…to feed your fingertips…to the wolverines"), and Andy Kauffman's bit with the phonograph playing the Might Mouse theme song while he lip-synced the Here I come to save the day! part, while others only hinted at the brilliance yet to come.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
Mike you might like the
Mike you might like the rental movie of that night:
Saturday Night is a 2024 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman, about the night of the 1975 premiere of NBC's Saturday Night, later known as Saturday Night Live. The film stars an ensemble cast portraying the various Saturday Night cast and crew...Saturday Night had its world premiere at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2024, and began a limited theatrical release in the United States on September 27, 2024, before its wide release by Sony Pictures Releasing on October 11, the 49th anniversary of the show's premiere. The film received positive reviews from critics,...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: treat island
Wolverines are rare in
Wolverines are rare in western Oregon but we had one in Eugene last year. My friends and I thought of John Belushi saying, "I would like…to feed your fingertips…to the wolverines" and said it to each other for a couple of days.
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I'm watching the special and
I'm watching the special and wishing it were different. I hoped it would be skits from the earliest years when I thought it was funny. Oh well.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: cultivate kindness
The special's had a few
The special's had a few good moments, but I hear you, judit. The scared straight skit with Kenan Thompson and Eddie Murphy got my biggest laugh so far with their twisted riffs from Harry Potter. Expecto fellatio!
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I watched most of S1E1 last
I watched most of S1E1 last night too.
I have strong memories of staying up late to watch the entire first season with slumber party friends.
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Paul Simon opening the show
Paul Simon opening the show with Homeward Bound, and Paul McCartney closing it with Golden Slumbers > Carry That Weight > The End was pretty sweet. Home words coming and going.
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Yes, the musical "book ends"
Yes, the musical "book ends" were sweet, especially Paul McCartney and friends for me.
I haven't watched the show in years and have fond memories of how it was both funny and poignant the first few years. I was sad that I didn't notice any straight on comments about the state of the country today.
It was slightly endearing, and I tried to watch the whole thing but failed; I saw a lot.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Druba
https://www.youtube.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@SaturdayNightLive/videos
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
I don't think I have laughed
I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time. From the opener when Paul Simon said I first performed this song on SNL in 1975 and Sabrina Carpenter said I wasn't born in 1975 and let that hang for a second and then said and my parents weren't alive then either.
Eddy Murphy doing Tracy Morgan next to Tracy in Black Jeopardy. I refuse to ingest three cheese pizza. And Will Ferrell making him break in the scared straight episode coming out as Big Red. "Expecto felatio!"
Meryl Streep as the alien mom. "My carpet and my tarpit"
John Mulvany saying there have been something like 800 hosts of SNL and he can't believe only two of them were murders.
They sat Al Sharpton next to Rob Schneider in the audience.
Keith Richards looking for his scarf, and Galifinakis wearing it.
They even got Jack to come out
So many little moments like this too. Jane and Laraine holding Gilda's picture up at the end. And the Bulishi skit that I remembered from the time as the last surviving member of the original cast visiting them all in the graveyard - because I dance.
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I think I might have enjoyed
I think I might have enjoyed it more (gotten more jokes) if I'd known who some of the people were, no, a lot of the people. I don't recognize a lot of celebrities.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Joe Buck is Back
it took a minute for me to
it took a minute for me to recognize Lorraine Newman.