Lone Michaels is at that magic point of fame and power where he can trust nobody to tell him something sucks.   Much like a US President, everyone stands around nodding at his 'great' ideas, then leaves the room rolling their eyes.

RadioActive wrote:

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."

Kids in the Hall really nailed Michaels in the movie...

ig wrote:

Lone Michaels is at that magic point of fame and power where he can trust nobody to tell him something sucks.   Much like a US President, everyone stands around nodding at his 'great' ideas, then leaves the room rolling their eyes.

RadioActive wrote:

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."

 

Last edited by Chrisphen (February 18, 2025 10:04 am)

The SNL 50th was a big hit for Global on Saturday evening.  Preliminary numbers show about 1.6 million live viewers in Canada.  Numbers will go up a lot when recorded viewing and digital viewing is added in.  More details from Bill Brioux, brioux.tv....https://brioux.tv/blog/2025/02/19/snl50-a-ratings-hit-in-canada-and-the-us/  

torontostan wrote:

Is Global & SNL's partnership a record for length of time an American program has consistently ran on the same Canadian network? Can't think of another example that approaches 50 years

Metropolitan Opera simulcasts have been carried by CBC Radio since the network's inception in 1934. The simulcasts actually predate the CBC having started on the CBC's predecessor, the Candian Radio Broadcasting Commission, in 1933.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Opera_radio_broadcasts

Coronation Street and CBC?

Hansa wrote:

Coronation Street and CBC?

Not American, but I take your point

paterson1 wrote:

ED1 wrote:

torontostan wrote:

Is Global & SNL's partnership a record for length of time an American program has consistently ran on the same Canadian network? Can't think of another example that approaches 50 years

I don't think it ran across Global or its defacto affiliates (especially out west) 100% of the time. I recall CFRN-TV in Edmonton (CTV) airing SNL for a few years. 

Back in 1975 when SNL first went on the air, Global was only available in Southern Ontario.  Any stations in western Canada or east of Ontario that ran SNL wouldn't have been affilated with Global but possibly were able to make arrangements with them to run the program.  This is assuming that Global had the Canadian rights to SNL, rather than just regional in Ontario.  

I believe CITY-TV in Toronto ran Saturday Night Live for a number of years in the '80s, possibly the '70s too.


PJ

Last edited by Paul Jeffries (February 20, 2025 8:36 pm)

I seem to recall CITY-TV having SNL for at least a brief period during the Dick Ebersol years in the early '80s. Could be wrong, my memory might be playing tricks on me. 


PJ

RadioActive wrote:

This is from Sept. 1978. It appears to list every show that Global had and I don't see SNL on it. 

I also found this Saturday, November 1, 1980 Toronto Star article and they're recommending that night's "Saturday Night Live" on channel 2, WGR Buffalo (based on the grid to the right). I see that simsub rules imposed by the CRTC were in place since 1972, so if a Canadian station were showing it I would think they wouldn't list the NBC affiliate as the place to catch it.

mace wrote:

Possibly an accidental printing ommission. If you go to the actual program listings, ch 2,6 and 22 would be indicated. 

Interestingly enough, just channels 2 and 8 (8 is the other NBC affiliate, WROC Rochester).