Random Thoughts

There can’t be anything cooler than being able to get onto national television and yelling the words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

My TV viewing last weekend featured a bunch of “Saturday Night Live” stuff. With the NFL season now in the past, what else is there to watch?

Originally called “Saturday Night,” the show has become a cultural pillar of the United States. In many ways, it is a historical record of the country, showcasing music, fashion, lifestyle and politics, both by setting the standards for these things as well as mocking these things.

You can quickly tell what generation a person belongs to simply by figuring which SNL cast is their favorite.

I’m just a few years older than the show itself, which means I was too young to take in the very early years. However, I’m old enough to have experienced fairly directly the cultural impact of the “Not Ready For Primetime Players.”

My first viewings of the show were during the “lost years” of 1980 to 1985, when the show became a shadow of itself following producer and creator Lorne Michaels’ exit. Eddie Murphy single- handedly saved the show. Starting on the show at just 19 years old, he was a force of nature. He was not alone, however, with folks like Joe Piscopo, Tim Kazurinsky, Brian Doyle-Murphy, Gilbert Gottfried, Brad Hall and others contributing. Many during that time lasted for just one season, and many of those performers are forgotten compared to the original players and the stars of later era. Even Robert Downey, Jr., now best known as Iron Man, had a season.

For one magical season, the cast included Billy Crystal, Martin Short and Christopher Guest, as well.

My era was in the mid- to late-1980s, as I went through high school and college. That group included A. Whitney Brown, Dana Carvey, Al Franken, Phil Hartrman, Jan Hooks, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller and Mike Myers.

There are people who feel that the original cast can never be topped. I’m not sure that’s accurate. So many great talents have started their careers at SNL. It’s difficult to compare eras. The original cast set the standard and built the foundation upon which 50 years of entertainment and commentary have been built. There have been good seasons and bad, and multiple cast reboots. In the fall of 1995, the size of the cast was cut, and only a few members survived the turnover. That new cast gave us Jim Breuer, Darrell Hammond, Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, Chris Kattan and Colin Quinn. That’s a solid group. Within a couple of years, the cast included Ana Gasteyer, Tim Meadows, Tracy Morgan and Molly Shannon.

That is a heck of a lineup.

The three-hour live show on Sunday night was very good. My very favorite sketch was “Black Jeopardy,” with brought back Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan playing a character named Darius, and Murphy playing Morgan. It was comedic brilliance.

“You gotta have a lot of money if you gonna live like I live!” Murphy said in a spot-on Morgan impersonation. “I eat four cheese lasagna! If it only got three cheeses, I ain’t eating it.”

Friday night, there was a great live concert from New York’s Radio City Music Hall. The lineup include older and contemporary artists like the B-52’s, Robyn, Fugees, Bad Bunny, Jack White, Nirvana, David Byrne, Devo, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, Backstreet Boys and Jelly Roll. Lady Gaga and Andy Samberg sang a famous digital short song that can’t be printed in this paper. Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes tore it up. Bill Murray appeared as Nick Valentine, the lounge lizard.

There is a documentary on 50 years of music. And on Saturday night and at its normal time, NBC aired the original episode from 1975.

The show has not been perfect. It offends a lot of people politically, but that’s the point. Get a sense of humor.

It has pushed boundaries and made missteps. The show historically was slow to embrace the diversity of the country. “In Living Color” on Fox did a lot to force SNL to catch up to the times.

The “In Memoriam” did not celebrate deceased cast members, but instead took a historical look at characters that have not aged well, including performers in black face. If nothing else, today’s show is aware of its past failings.

It was quite the celebration of a show like no other. The best part is, the show feels like it has another 50 years to go.