SNL at 50

wrapping it up at the end of the 50th Anniversary special

The past few weeks have felt like the lady in your office who declares "it's February and I celebrate my birthday... all... month... long..."  And when you don't usually celebrate your own birthday, it can feel like a lot.  

NBC has decided that Saturday Night Live's 50th Anniversary is at least as important as a general election, and so it's been non-stop hype for the anniversary and for the special that aired Sunday night (02/17/2025).  Former cast members appeared on talk-shows, in the media, and in general.  And it's been great seeing former stars of the show make appearances promoting the event and maybe reclaim some of their glory while talking to, say, Savannah Guthrie or Andy Cohen.

And I do think Saturday Night Live is an institution - maybe not the one demanding respect the way it's been insisting on for the past couple of months, but certainly SNL is the U.S.'s hub for comedy, a constant, there week after week.  It's the mountain to reach for young comedians, and it's the launching off point for some brilliant careers, and the high point for others.  It manages to comment upon culture, politics, and the zeitgeist of the moment in a way that even the late night talk shows rarely achieve with their monologues and bits.  It's hard to know how many ideas and catch-phrases that are tucked away in all of our brains as easy reference points were sourced from SNL.

The first time I ever saw any SNL, I was in 4th grade (circa 1984), and it was the night we were literally moving into our house.  My parents were assembling my bed and told us to watch TV while they quickly got furniture and blankets together.  I was about 9.*

I do have vague memories of Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest sketches from the time, so I must have caught the show somehow during that year.  But, of course, my first real cast was Jan Hooks, Nora Dunn, Phil Hartman, John Lovitz, et al.  I didn't understand that casts came and went.  I did not know that Ghostbusters had its origins with the original cast(s) of SNL.  

But around 1988, SNL started putting videos of the first season for rent at video stores, and we caught up on some of the most famous sketches - even if I'm 70% sure I'd seen the movie of The Blues Brothers before I saw old footage of them.

Some people love SNL and make it their hobby (I am married to one of those people).  I like SNL well enough, and through osmosis have picked up some of the backstage lore, but it's not an active pursuit of mine.

None of that is to say I don't enjoy the show - I do.  I am in no way too cool for SNL.  And I am certainly not a person who thinks "after Jan Hooks left it was never funny again".   That said, we miss you, Jan.

I see Saturday Night Live as a giant, mutating beast that adapts and changes and fits with the times, for good or ill.  It's not exactly cutting edge comedy, but it does a lot to shape what younger people will find funny, reflect what they think is funny, and try to sometimes still be funny for us olds.

I am on the wrong side of 45, so when the show does sketches about TikTok or videogames, I am reminded the show is not worse than it used to be - this is a show written by people who were born after I graduated college.  And there's odd ways the generational gaps in humor surface - for example, there was a season a few years ago where for some reason they thought they had to explain the jokes after they made them (which I guess The Youth enjoyed or found necessary), and I basically quit watching for the rest of the season.  The show corrects and fixes things that don't work.  But other things just work - and you can almost always count on Weekend Update to be worth a YouTube viewing.

I've seen some great musical performances on the show, and some truly forgettable ones (it happens).  I was watching when the Ashlee Simpson thing happen live.  Just this season, both of Chappell Roan's songs killed. But we've seen Bowie, Elvis Costello, Radiohead...   Kylie Minogue's performance in 2002 made me a fan.  Pauls Simon and McCartney like to show up.  I was watching when Sinead had her moment, and it was while watching Dave Matthews Band in 1994 that I realized... man, I do not like Dave Matthews Band.

The musical legacy was on full display if you happened to watch the SNL Concert from Radio City Music Hall on Friday 2/14.  I literally don't know what other show could pull together so many storied musicians into one room - because it ain't the Grammy's.  A ticket to this thing should have commanded at least Super Bowl prices.  Where else were you going to see David Byrne play with Arcade Fire and St. Vincent in one set, and then come back out to do two songs with Robyn?  See Post Malone front Nirvana (and kind of kill it)?  See Cher come out and remind you that she's Cher?  Lady Gaga sing "Dick in a Box"?

I don't think there's much new to say on the format of sketch comedy intermingled with music and short films.  Especially right now when everyone is clickbaiting around SNL's 50th anniversary.

In every era, I have favorite performers, and people I wonder why they weren't huge after they left SNL.  I have many I kinda/sorta remember.  Some drive me/ have driven me nuts doing the same bit over and over.  I am not sure I miss the era of the catch-phrase.  

Not everything lands, but in general I think the hit rate is as good as it's been in a while.  Stuff I like is not always topical and can run broad, like "Liza Turns off a Lamp'.  Or McCarthy's guest spot as Barb Kelner with a pizza plan.  My current nom for fave like this was Wiig's guest spot and not wanting to play board games.    

Some hosts are unexpectedly great - I was watching live when Joe Montana hosted.  Some are complete duds. But I think it's a crucial part of the format.  We've all watched other sketch shows, and they're good.  But I like how the chaos of a host and musical guest seems to keep everyone on their toes.  And some feel like they're just part of the cast, and that's amazing (shout out to Bad Bunny).  

But, yeah, I have massive respect for the talent that drives the show.  Tragedy is easy - you write about someone dying or losing everything, and that's sad.  Comedy, though?  What is funny?  And what is funny to everyone?  How do you make a Paula Pell who is funny behind the camera for years and then gets in front of the camera at last and kills?  Why is the weirdly specific humor of John Mulaney popular?  Why is Kenan Thompson the low-key-est funniest dude in America?  

I did watch both the concert and the 50th Anniversary special, and I deeply enjoyed both.  The special I was not looking forward to as I thought it was going to be a walk down memory lane with testimonials and teary remembrances.  And it touched on that, but remembered the job was to remind people the show was still funny and relevant while respecting the past.

That said, I never saw Dan Aykroyd, who may have not shown up.  Or several other cast members, past and present.  A star-studded audience is nice, and was definitely game for participation.  It was a fun show that could have been a slog.  They even owned their past mistakes, which was mind-boggling.

All-in-all, it went pretty well.  And managed to not feel like too much of a self-congratulatory clip show, and more of a sort of controlled chaos of a very long episode.  

Fifty years is a very long time for a show to run.  It's also too much to discuss.  

As someone who is turning 50 this year, I am about the same age as the show.  It has always existed in my world.  I cannot relate to it as something new, made for me - a young person.  And by the time I was in college and right after, if I was home on a Saturday, I felt like something had gone wrong.  Now I lose my Sunday mornings to the show as Jamie is turning in just as it's coming on.

It's an amazing run, and if it's still on in 30 years, I won't be shocked at all.

*There's a whole separate story here about how the gigantic fireplace in this house had an ash trap you could empty from the outside, and as we watched the show, a skunk stuck it's head up out of the ash trap *inside the house* and for a very tense few minutes, we thought our house was about to get sprayed *inside*.  But my quick thinking dad ran outside, opened the trap door and sprinted away, and in the morning we found little paw prints in the mud, leading away from the house.