Saturday Night Live

I recently purchased the first season of Saturday Night Live. It's amazing to think how long this show has been on the air, even more amazing because I remember watching it when it first came on. I would have been in high school when it first started, has it been that long ago? Watching this first season is revelatory, it's been so long since these shows first came on I'm more used to seeing them in reruns and out of order so watching them in the order of their creation helps to see the creation process that went into this show. The second show was so unlike the first show, it was more of a music special with Paul Simon. The cast had very little to do in that show. By the fourth or fifth show they had the format that was to be used for the rest of the series down pretty much. Watching the performers create characters that have went on to become icons is amazing. They all looked so young, but I guess we all did than.

Watching the first season nudged me to go find the copy of the book I have on Saturday Night Live and re-read it. It's one of those warts and all tellings, but it's fascinating to read the behind the scenes as the show was created. How quickly egos took over. It also highlighted some of the reasons I was never a big Chevy Chase fan. He had a certain smugness to him, that I think carried over to most of his sketches. He was sometimes funny, but I never thought brilliant.
Today the show has become the very thing it started out fighting against. An institution. I find a lot of the jokes on the newer shows to be unfunny or aimed at the lowest common denominator, which could just mean I'm too old for what they're going for. Still I think the cast for the first five years is the best, while later casts had a few stand-outs, none come close to those original Not Ready For Prime Time Players.