The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Dead From New York, It's The SNL 50th Anniversary Special

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 1:13 am

So let me get this straight. They had half a century of classic material in their vaults, along with some amazing performances both comedic and musical. And THAT was the best they could do in a three hour special? Boy, was I ever disappointed in what I saw Sunday night.

The hype for this thing was immense. The return on watching it wasn't. Instead of using at least some of their most famous sketches, they decided to go for mostly new skits. And almost every one of them fell flat. From "Black Jeopardy" to that less than hilarious Q&A to that abysmal UFO piece about abductees and that awful musical wedding production, I watched the first two of three hours with my mouth dropping at how bad that was.

Only Steve Martin's opening dialogue made me laugh. The rest just lay there.

I admit I don't watch SNL anymore and I can see by their anniversary special it was the right decision. With some great comedy material to look back on over 50 years, they didn't pull anything. Except, perhaps, one over on the audience, who I feel sure was expecting more.

Wow, what a wasted opportunity.

I still can't believe with so much talent assembled on that stage, it was so terrible. As far as I'm concerned it was "Saturday Night Dead."

Stacks of wax · February 17, 2025 1:33 am

And what was with the ridiculous laugh track? No wonder network TV is in trouble. I don't need to be "informed" about what is supposed to be funny. Just make it funny to begin with.

They had 50 years of rich material to draw on ... and they came up with ... this?

Saturday Night Lite ... for the Tik Tok people.

TomTV · February 17, 2025 2:09 am

I watched some of it, tuning in and out (because for those that don't know... Family Guy is back tonight!) and I agree, it wasn't funny at all. Not sure what happened, but their regular Saturday night shows are typically more funnier than this.

You'd think they would put their best people on the job for such a big anniversary.

Radiowiz · February 17, 2025 5:56 am

Was this 50th planning done on the back of a napkin during a lunch break?
I agree. It could have been done a lot better.

mace · February 17, 2025 8:04 am

Did Mr. Bill make an appearance?

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 8:21 am

mace wrote:
Did Mr. Bill make an appearance?

As noted, they aired almost nothing from 50 years of material. I think there was a quick shot of Mr. Bill during one of the sketches. a musical piece about Bowen Yang getting nervous about being on the show. Other than that, from the part I watched, the answer was "Oh Nooooooooo!"

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 8:24 am

And if you watched this (or worse, DVR'd it) off of WDIV in Detroit, you missed the end of it. And they weren't the only ones to screw this up. The part missing may have been the most important - a live performance by Paul McCartney.

WDIV cuts 'Saturday Night Live' 50th anniversary broadcast short, cites 'technical issue'

A lot of us who recorded it may have missed it, too - the show was scheduled in all the guides to end at 11:15 PM, but actually ran long and didn't go off the air until 11:30. So if you delayed it on your DVR, chances are good you didn't get that part, either.

BowmanvilleBob · February 17, 2025 8:33 am

I, on the other hand, liked it.

Shorty Wave · February 17, 2025 8:40 am

RadioActive wrote:
And if you watched this (or worse, DVR'd it) off of WDIV in Detroit, you missed the end of it. And they weren't the only ones to screw this up. The part missing may have been the most important - a live performance by Paul McCartney.

WDIV cuts 'Saturday Night Live' 50th anniversary broadcast short, cites 'technical issue'

A lot of us who recorded it may have missed it, too - the show was scheduled in all the guides to end at 11:15 PM, but actually ran long and didn't go off the air until 11:30. So if you delayed it on your DVR, chances are good you didn't get that part, either.

I saw a clip of McCartney’s performance on CP24 this morning, it was “Carry that Weight” and unfortunately he did not sound good singing wise. I think he should quit live performances as the last few I have watched haven’t been great, sadly.

RayDeeOh · February 17, 2025 9:37 am

What RA said.... Ditto

paterson1 · February 17, 2025 10:14 am

Here is a review of last night's extravaganza from Time magazine. https://time.com/7226372/snl-50-review/

I watched most of the 4 hours including the red carpet. In a funny way the program was typical SNL. Some great moments, some skits weren't funny, others were funny and at times the show didn't flow that great. Overall I enjoyed the 50th, and I was impressed at all of the alumni and stars that took part or were in the audience. That was remarkable.

Paul McCartney's performance started weak since Paul's voice is showing it's age. But half way through the performance took off and finished strong, and a great moment for the end of the program. Global had the full McCartney performance and all of the credits at the end. I recieve WDIV on cable but no issue since it was simsubed. Shades of the hyped Billy Joel special that CBS chopped and Global again ran the whole program.

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 10:19 am

What really irritated me about the WDIV response was telling viewers who wanted to see what they missed to go to Peacock - a pay streaming service.

No guys, you screwed it up. How about replaying the last half hour for free at 1 AM, so those who want to DVR it can see the ending you prevented them from watching?

Radiowiz · February 17, 2025 10:28 am

RadioActive wrote:
And if you watched this (or worse, DVR'd it) off of WDIV in Detroit, you missed the end of it. And they weren't the only ones to screw this up. The part missing may have been the most important - a live performance by Paul McCartney.

WDIV cuts 'Saturday Night Live' 50th anniversary broadcast short, cites 'technical issue'

A lot of us who recorded it may have missed it, too - the show was scheduled in all the guides to end at 11:15 PM, but actually ran long and didn't go off the air until 11:30. So if you delayed it on your DVR, chances are good you didn't get that part, either.

The proper ending, (the way it actually ended) even after the singing ended (coming back from an ad break) was a standard closing that matches the same way every Saturday night Live ends.
They thank everybody, except this time they thanked everyone from the past 50 years.
At the very end of the closing credits, Chevy Chase could be seen shaking someone's hand.
Due to time restrictions, it looks like he got cut off before one last wave bye to the audience, or another hand shake...something got cut off brutally, and that was not anyone's fault except time itself, as they cut and went to the closing credit page.

I'm glad to see Chevy Chase appearing to be doing so well, health wise.
They could have fit him into more sketches though.
I would have liked to see him say something from his older commercial from 2003,
where he says "Fall down? Oh I don't do that anymore" then a set falls down instead...to me THAT is still funny!!!

At least they showed the classic stuff where he fell down...it was blended into a portion of the program called
"Physical comedy". Now THAT was very good!

Here's Chevy Chase in 2003 (an idea, not shown on SNL) "I don't fall down anymore" but everything else around him does!

Last edited by Radiowiz (February 18, 2025 9:44 am)

Davenet · February 17, 2025 12:19 pm

I liked it too. I've been a fan of the show since the early 80's. I think this special was intended to be styled as a regular show, albeit with a much larger cast. As such, the sketches were some better, some worse as you would find on any SNL episode. If you want a true "best-of" retrospective show, you can make your own via YouTube.
My favourite bit was Eddie Murphy doing an awesome impression of Tracy Morgan, standing next to Tracy Morgan. Also Sabrina Carpenter at the beginning, after Paul Simon said he was going to do a song that he did on SNL in 1975: "I wasn't born then. Neither were my parents."

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 12:27 pm

I'm truly glad some people found it worthwhile. I was looking for more clips from the show's stored past which is, after all, what made it something of a broadcasting icon.

I think this review more expresses the way I felt while watching it.

'SNL50' didn't do justice to the past 50 years of comedy: Review

But hey, I'm pleased some here didn't find it a waste of three or four hours.

M. David · February 17, 2025 12:48 pm

I thought it was okay. As others have rightfully stated, they could have made better use of the show’s extensive archives, but what they did do was all right.

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 3:13 pm

RadioActive wrote:
And if you watched this (or worse, DVR'd it) off of WDIV in Detroit, you missed the end of it. And they weren't the only ones to screw this up. The part missing may have been the most important - a live performance by Paul McCartney.

WDIV cuts 'Saturday Night Live' 50th anniversary broadcast short, cites 'technical issue'

A lot of us who recorded it may have missed it, too - the show was scheduled in all the guides to end at 11:15 PM, but actually ran long and didn't go off the air until 11:30. So if you delayed it on your DVR, chances are good you didn't get that part, either.

What is it with WDIV and this show. Apparently, they didn't bother to show it for at least two years in the beginning. Why? You may not believe the reason.

Why Detroit's NBC Station Refused To Show SNL In 1975

Dial Twister · February 17, 2025 3:52 pm

I generally decline to watch memorabilia (not the correct word, but you get what I mean) programs such as this.

The likelihood that it will live up to my memories, and expectations, is slim to none.

newsguy1 · February 17, 2025 4:22 pm

Indeed, I watched some of the older classic SNL sketches on the Internet over the past few years and generally they did not wear well.
I remember some of the old ones as being hilarious but years later they seemed a bit clunky.
But when I first saw them I was in my 20s and it all seemed really clever and fresh.
Also I usually watched SNL with a few friends and we'd all been drinking beers or smoking weed, for those who did that sort of thing.
Watching years later, sober and without drinking pals it was not as funny.
I did not watch this anniversary special.
As a sidebar for a while old Rowan and Martin's Laugh In was being shown on YouTube and I was surprised how dated and actually not that funny it was.
It was actually a lot more sexist and even racist than I realized.

dieter · February 17, 2025 4:42 pm

Unlike the Debbie Downers here, I mostly enjoyed the show. It was nice to see Garrett Morris and Lorraine Newman. Too bad there were only brief glimpses of the other living originals, but there must have been reasons for that.
I wish it had been more like the Monty Python farewell, with more old clips. And I hoped for more of Stefan, Wayne's World, Opera Man, Roseanne and Emily. But I enjoyed it.

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 8:55 pm

Whether you loved it or hated it, there's no question it was a huge hit - the biggest NBC primetime entertainment program on the network in 5 years.

‘Saturday Night Live’ 50th anniversary special watched by nearly 15 million people

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 9:30 pm

All the SNL Cast Members Who Weren’t at the 50th Special and Why

Paul Jeffries · February 17, 2025 9:37 pm

RadioActive wrote:
What is it with WDIV and this show. Apparently, they didn't bother to show it for at least two years in the beginning. Why? You may not believe the reason.

Why Detroit's NBC Station Refused To Show SNL In 1975

Interesting too that, according to the article, WDIV also dragged their heels on showing Late Night With David Letterman. Channel 2 in Buffalo also passed on the first season of Letterman's talker when they were still known as WGR-TV, but then picked it up the following year in 1983 when they changed ownership and became WGRZ-TV.

Speaking of which, here's Joe Piscopo doing a spot-on imitation of Letterman and Eddie Murphy as his guest, the cigar-chomping Gumby. (Anybody know who played Paul Shaffer in this sketch?)

PJ

paterson1 · February 17, 2025 10:06 pm

I remember when WKBW didn't run American Bandstand for years. I was a teen and was a bit ticked off that locally the show wasn't available. Seem to remember that channel 7 ran the show for a short while, only to remove it again. Also WGR pulled the Monkees in 1968. The show had become somewhat messy and unstructured, and I believe WGR pulled the show before it finished on NBC. CTV ran the series until the end.

RadioActive · February 17, 2025 10:34 pm

I remember being angry when WKBW refused to show the Gothic-based soap opera "Dark Shadows." I'm not sure but I think they replaced it with Commander Tom instead. As a result, while lead character vampire Barnabas Collins become an iconic figure, no one in this part of the world knew who he was.

mace · February 17, 2025 10:36 pm

paterson1 wrote:
I remember when WKBW didn't run American Bandstand for years. I was a teen and was a bit ticked off that locally the show wasn't available. Seem to remember that channel 7 ran the show for a short while, only to remove it again. Also WGR pulled the Monkees in 1968. The show had become somewhat messy and unstructured, and I believe WGR pulled the show before it finished on NBC. CTV ran the series until the end.

I remember that as well. The only time I could watch AB was when tropo conditions brought in WOKR ch 13 Rochester.

betaylored · February 17, 2025 10:59 pm

I loved "Dark Shadows" and would rush home from school to catch it. Quebec has always been a law unto itself, if that's the phrase I'm looking for...

Richard Crouse was on with Scott Reid midday today on 1010 to review the SNL Special and pointed out that a good deal of the shows aren't hilarious and SNL sketches have always been hit and miss. Richard also said he (Richard) can be seen for a split second sitting in front of Adam Sandler when he's (Adam) performing on stage as part of the clips that made up the SNL50 documentary, link to Richard Crouse's Instagram post below with the photographic evidence.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DFq3P14Skht/?igsh=eTRwMm1mNXMzeTl0

I think they need to do the Monty Python version of an SNL Special (as has already been wisely suggested) with the best of the best, the Land Shark, Bass-O-Matic, Wild and Crazy Guys, Coneheads etc. I may be getting some of these wrong I'm not a die-hard SNL fan.

Last edited by betaylored (February 17, 2025 11:16 pm)

Paul Jeffries · February 17, 2025 11:20 pm

paterson1 wrote:
I remember when WKBW didn't run American Bandstand for years. I was a teen and was a bit ticked off that locally the show wasn't available. Seem to remember that channel 7 ran the show for a short while, only to remove it again. Also WGR pulled the Monkees in 1968. The show had become somewhat messy and unstructured, and I believe WGR pulled the show before it finished on NBC. CTV ran the series until the end.

I also remember WKBW not airing American Bandstand during most of the '80s, too. As a teenager living in Hamilton, I was able to pick it up on WJET-TV Channel 24 from Erie, Pennsylvania, which was available on the local cable systems at the time.

I do remember WKBW once running a prime time special of Bandstand during that time, which struck me as being a little odd, given the fact that they hadn't aired the original show in such a long time.

PJ

Paul Jeffries · February 17, 2025 11:24 pm

RadioActive wrote:
I remember being angry when WKBW refused to show the Gothic-based soap opera "Dark Shadows." I'm not sure but I think they replaced it with Commander Tom instead. As a result, while lead character vampire Barnabas Collins become an iconic figure, no one in this part of the world knew who he was.

Didn't that air on PBS or TVO at one time? I never watched the show, but I thought I recall seeing it listed in the TV Guide under one of those channels.

PJ

RadioActive · February 18, 2025 1:04 am

For those who missed the last half hour of this special, including the McCartney performance finale, because their DVR shut off at 11, it's available free on the Global website until March 5th. So see it while you can.

Last edited by RadioActive (February 18, 2025 1:06 am)