Shocking Revelations from the First Ever SNL Broadcast You Won’t Believe!

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Fun fact: I’m quite fond of Saturday Night Live, although I don’t usually catch it live since I’m more of an early-to-bed person, typically hitting the sack by ten most nights. However, I do make it a point to catch up on it the following morning with my cup of coffee.

For quite some time now, I’ve found enjoyment in Adam Sandler’s humorous quotes and SNL skits on YouTube. Once Saturday Night started streaming on Netflix, I knew I had to give it a watch. Upon doing so, I made an interesting discovery – I had never watched the original broadcast before.

Despite watching numerous episodes from both past and present, none of them were the first one that kickstarted everything. In celebration of SNL50, I finally chose to watch it following Saturday Night’s teaser, and it certainly wasn’t what I had anticipated at all.

There Have Been So Many Changes Made Since The Beginning

A program that’s been airing for half a century is bound to undergo various transformations, but the extent of these alterations took me by surprise.

When I discovered that Jim Henson’s Muppets were featured in the show at some point – thanks to Saturday Night Live – I almost burst out laughing, wondering how this collaboration came about. Being a huge fan of anything Jim Henson touched, particularly Labyrinth (which unfortunately didn’t get the recognition it deserved), I was excited to see how well the puppets would perform on air.

It was quite terrible, and I almost burst into awkward laughter. Frankly, I’m puzzled as to who considered using puppets suitable for adult entertainment, but clearly, they were ill-suited for this context.

What’s new is the role of the presenter. Initially, the presenter for SNL was comedian George Carlin; however, he didn’t participate in any skits. Instead, he only performed stand-up during intermissions and occasionally appeared on stage while the rest of the cast handled the skits.

In the popular TV show SNL, current hosts are typically tasked with more than just delivering skits; they’re expected to excel at it. It’s amusing to recall that the early episodes featured hosts who primarily limited themselves to stand-up comedy.

As a movie enthusiast, I found myself pondering over the decision to incorporate four musical performances by a single artist. Don’t get me wrong, the artist was fantastic, but those minutes could have been utilized for longer, more engaging skits instead. On the subject of skits, I must confess that I felt a bit overwhelmed by the numerous fake drug commercials. While they were amusing, I believe one or two might have sufficed – any additional ones seemed excessive.

I’m glad it made the changes it did to evolve from what it originally was.

Chevy Chase Was Honestly The Star For Me When I Thought It Would Be Belushi

I’ve only heard amazing comments about Jim Belushi’s stint on SNL. People rave about him being an exceptional cast member, and from what I’ve seen of his earlier performances, I couldn’t agree more.

But I have to say he did not make me laugh this time around.

Instead, I laughed much more frequently with Chevy Chase, who often seemed to play a secondary role compared to many of the others. To be fair, Chevy Chase is one of the few cast members from that era who went on to achieve stardom, starting with his National Lampoon films and continuing through his work on the Community series. It’s evident that his humor has carried him to success.

Funny enough, I found myself chuckling more during this episode with him compared to Belushi. It could be his Weekend Update performances that really got me, or maybe it’s time for a reevaluation of Belushi’s work on the show. Frankly, I’m still pondering whether it’s him or Belushi who deserves more attention from me.

Some Of These Jokes Would Probably Not Fly Today

Yeah, some of these jokes would not fly today. Whatsoever.

Initially, I had high expectations given its premiere in 1975, but surprisingly, it wasn’t as terrible as I anticipated. That being said, there are still some segments that might not fly nowadays, considering the sensitivity and awareness surrounding social media.

One early illustration focused on a female character recording actions taken against her in a courtroom during a sexual assault trial, which circulated among the jury members. Initially, one woman, who had been asleep throughout, failed to comprehend its significance and made a light-hearted comment about it. This scenario might not be appropriate today.

Additionally, there was another amusing skit featuring the SNL actors cruising around, asking folks to display their firearms. It was essentially a lengthy sequence of people unexpectedly producing guns – from purses, behind wedding gowns, and seemingly materializing them out of thin air.

To put it simply, I don’t take offense easily, and I never have. But I understand that such humor might hurt some folks nowadays. So, perhaps it’s wiser to consider this broadcast as a thing of the past.

Regardless of how it turned out, I had a blast watching. It was a nostalgic trip back to our origins and realizing that after fifty years, we’re all here, partaking in this extraordinary SNL50 special. Despite some people grumbling about Bill Hader not appearing, we wouldn’t have made it this far without the initial broadcast.

Indeed, I appreciate it very much, SNL. This show has been instrumental in helping me understand certain connections and I’m grateful for that. However, I believe this might be the one and only time I watch it, unless it’s for SNL60. We’ll see how things progress then.

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2025-02-20 00:10