Saturday Night Live entered our living rooms via the television on October 11, 1975 (IMDB, 2009). This ninety minute long show was billed as a quick replacement for the beloved Johnny Carson show that had just stopped airing its re-runs. Thirty four years later it’s still a major powerhouse in television programming, and it’s as popular as ever. Set in downtown New York City, the show featured the best and newest talent available (2009). New comedians, new musicians, and the most popular celebrities of the time, all combined to create a hit show that mocked our society and current events, staying funny consistently throughout the years.
One of the many things that kept the show so fresh was allowing for up-and-coming new talent to be on the show weekly. New comedians gave new life to the scripts each week, and there was rarely any repetitiveness in the shows. The comedians would also add their opinions and help with the scripts, so that they reflected a piece of themselves that they would be acting out in the scenes. The show has given us so many comedic geniuses; it’s hard to think what we would have done without this show: John Belushi, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, and Will Farrell. Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Steve Martin, Dana Carvey, David Spade, these are just a few of the major comedians this show presented to us (IMDB, 2009). It may be debatable if they would have become as famous without SNL, but they certainly helped make the show a hit for viewers.
Adding to the success formula was the newest hottest celebrity of the time. Whether it was a movie star, model, or politician, the famous personality would act as host of the show, and then act in some scripts that poked fun of themselves later in the program. Showing that they were not afraid of being parodied helped the celebrity become more loved by the audience.
The last factor of the formula was that the show brought on the most popular musicians to play live on the show. Viewers received a great live performance from the most current musicians to end the show each night. This is a genius formula that SNL creator Lorne Michaels created and it has worked magic for 34 years now, with no end in sight (IMDB, 2009). He certainly understood the formula needed as he created a recipe for comedy, music, and pop culture personality, mixing thoroughly and serving immediately (Browne, 2009).
References
Browne, R. (2009). Profiles of Popular Culture. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.
Saturday Night Live. (n.d.) Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved on June 16, 2009 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072562/
Picsearch. (n.d.). Pictures. Retrieved on June 3,2009 from http://www.picsearch.com/
One of the many things that kept the show so fresh was allowing for up-and-coming new talent to be on the show weekly. New comedians gave new life to the scripts each week, and there was rarely any repetitiveness in the shows. The comedians would also add their opinions and help with the scripts, so that they reflected a piece of themselves that they would be acting out in the scenes. The show has given us so many comedic geniuses; it’s hard to think what we would have done without this show: John Belushi, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, and Will Farrell. Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Steve Martin, Dana Carvey, David Spade, these are just a few of the major comedians this show presented to us (IMDB, 2009). It may be debatable if they would have become as famous without SNL, but they certainly helped make the show a hit for viewers.
Adding to the success formula was the newest hottest celebrity of the time. Whether it was a movie star, model, or politician, the famous personality would act as host of the show, and then act in some scripts that poked fun of themselves later in the program. Showing that they were not afraid of being parodied helped the celebrity become more loved by the audience.
The last factor of the formula was that the show brought on the most popular musicians to play live on the show. Viewers received a great live performance from the most current musicians to end the show each night. This is a genius formula that SNL creator Lorne Michaels created and it has worked magic for 34 years now, with no end in sight (IMDB, 2009). He certainly understood the formula needed as he created a recipe for comedy, music, and pop culture personality, mixing thoroughly and serving immediately (Browne, 2009).
References
Browne, R. (2009). Profiles of Popular Culture. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.
Saturday Night Live. (n.d.) Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved on June 16, 2009 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072562/
Picsearch. (n.d.). Pictures. Retrieved on June 3,2009 from http://www.picsearch.com/
I loved your analysis of this show. You are right about how good the show is and how many different celebrities have gotten their starts on this show. I love to watch it and see all the new and up coming comics that are on. Keep up the good work.
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