Saturday night Live

Saturday Night Live (abbreviated as SNL) is a late show American created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol. /i>. The show revolutionized television in the 1970s with its combination of sketches, comedy, variety, actors, musicians, and special guests. It has been a very strong talent generating pool of various screenwriters, actors, writers, producers and singers. For 40 years, it has featured wacky characters, humorously bizarre situations, parodies of current presidents and politicians, sarcastic pranks on contemporary music and film celebrities, and live musical shows. Its cast is made up of repertory members, also known as The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players (the name of the show's original cast, meaning "The Company Not Ready for Prime-Time Players"). »), and new members who are known as The Featured Players.

Michaels left the show in 1980 to explore other opportunities, and was replaced by Jean Douminian, who brought the show to disastrous reviews and was replaced by Ebersol after just one season. Ebersol continued to produce the show until 1985, when Michaels returned to the executive producer position, which he has held until now. Many SNL cast members have achieved national stardom and gone on to independent success on film and television, both in front of and behind the camera. In particular, SNL has helped launch the careers of Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Robert Downey Jr., Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, and Adam Sandler. In addition, others who were previously associated with the show as writers have gone on to successful careers, including Conan O'Brien, Max Brooks, Stephen Colbert, Larry David, Al Franken, Sarah Silverman, and Robert Smigel.

Taped from NBC's headquarters in the GE Building since its first show, Saturday Night Live has become a strong and prolific institution of American television, with 721 episodes airing during the span. of 41 seasons as of October 2015, and many awards received throughout its four decades on the air, including 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and three WGA Awards. In 2000, the show was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In 2002, it was honored by TV Guide as the 10th Greatest TV Show of All Time, and in 2007, it was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 Greatest all-time television shows. Several sketches from the show have been adapted as feature films, including The Blues Brothers in 1980 and Wayne's World in 1992.

Following the success of Saturday Night Live in the United States, foreign versions of the show have been created in other countries. In Spain, for example, a short-lived version of the program premiered on February 5, 2009 on the TV Cuatro network in collaboration with the production company Globomedia, but it ended up being canceled after only a few episodes; In Italy there is a version more successful that copies the original format but uses material that has not been used in the American version. There is also a version in Japan in June 2011, with a duration of 45 minutes and a permanent presenter.

Format

The program has its own format. It usually consists of a guest artist on the one hand and a guest singer or band on the other. At the beginning of the program there is a sketch "cold open" focused on a specific topic (usually a political news story), ending with the famous proclamation "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" ("Live from New York, it's Saturday night!") This is followed by the show's introduction, introducing each of the lead actors, the guest artist, and the guest singer or musical band. Next, the guest artist appears before the audience with a humorous monologue. After this, the show continues with various skits that vary from show to show. Among the most prominent is a parody of a newscast (called "Weekend Update") that presents real and/or fictitious news in a sarcastic and hilarious way and parodies of advertisements, among others. Halfway through the program, the guest artist presents the musical show that will be performed by the guest singer or band. At the end of the program, the guest artist closes the program, and both the main actors and the guests hug and wave to the cameras as the credits roll.

Concept and creation

From 1965 until September 1975, NBC aired reruns of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on Saturday and Sunday nights, at the discretion of its local affiliates. However, in 1974, Johnny Carson announced that he wanted to withdraw these reruns so they could air on weekdays, allowing him to take a break.

The creator of Saturday Night LiveLorne Michaels, April 2008.

NBC president Herbert Schlosser asked his vice president of late-night programming, Dick Ebersol, in 1974 to create a program to fill the timeslot for Saturday nights. Schlosser and Ebersol then approached Lorne Michaels, wanting to create a variety show that would push the boundaries with her edgy brand of humor. Ebersol knew that Michaels was able to create a show because he had worked on Rowan & amp; Martin's Laugh-In.

First era (1975–1980)

The show premiered on October 11, 1975, and was originally titled NBC's Saturday Night, because the current title was being used by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), one of the chain's rivals, as the title of a program with a similar format, with Howard Cosell presenting. NBC purchased the rights to the name in 1976, officially adopting the new title on March 26, 1977.

The show was an instant hit upon its debut, and as a result, the cast members suddenly became famous. The original repertoire was known as "The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players," which means "The Company Not Suitable for Prime Time." Early cast members included some former members of The Second City (Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner) and the "Lemmings" by National Lampoon (Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris). There were also short films by Albert Brooks and segments featuring adult and abstract characters from Jim Henson's Muppets.

In 1976, during the second season, Bill Murray joined instead of Chevy Chase. After the fourth series, Aykroyd and Belushi left the show. During the following season, Michaels decided to leave the show and explore other avenues. Michaels' departure also led to the resignations of most repertoire and crew members.

Second era (1980–1985)

Although SNL was still popular, Michaels thought his departure could lead to the show's cancellation. However, NBC had already planned to replace him with Jean Doumanian, an associate producer for the first five seasons. NBC wanted to build a new repertoire and continue with the show, leaving Doumanian with full creative control of the show. After revisions, disasters, and confusion behind the scenes, Doumanian was fired after just one season. She was replaced by Dick Ebersol, who had originally been contracted with Michaels to create the show.

The first episode of that era, called Saturday Night Live '80 in the opening credits, premiered on November 15, 1980, with a cast brand new: Eddie Murphy, Charles Rocket, Denny Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Gail Matthius, Joe Piscopo, and Ann Risley. For 1984 Jim Belushi, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, and Harry Shearer entered.

Third era (1985–1990)

Michaels returned to the show during the 1985-1986 season. None of the previous cast members returned, forcing Michaels to rebuild the show. In that era, Michaels and his new team hired Randy Quaid, an Academy Award nominee who was known for his work on The Last Detail and National Lampoon & # 39.;s Vacation; as well as unknowns of the day, such as Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Danitra Vance, Terry Sweeney, and Anthony Michael Hall (who appeared with Quaid in National Lampoon's Vacation and starred in The Breakfast Club that same year; at the age of 17, he was the youngest member in cast history). Then-unknown comedians included Dennis Miller and Damon Wayans and improv comedians Nora Dunn and Jon Lovitz. Don Novello returned with his character, Father Guido Sarducci . In 1987 Ben Stiller entered.

Of the entire cast, only Dunn, Lovitz, and Miller returned for the 1986-1987 season. For the new season, Michaels returned to his original tactic of assembling a strong ensemble of relative unknowns, led by Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon. As a result of this, the show saw improvements in its ratings and critical reception.

Fourth era (1990–1995)

The 1990-1991 season introduced a number of actors who quickly became stars of the show — Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Tim Meadows, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Julia Sweeney. Notorious comedian Chris Rock appeared on the show for 3 seasons. The most memorable characters from this period included "Pat" by Sweeney, "Opera Man" and "Canteen Boy" by Sandler, "Matt Foley" from Farley, "The Richmeister" by Schneider, "Nat X" from Rock, "Caveman Lawyer Thawed" by Hartman, and Spade's caustic comment during the "Hollywood Minute." The popularity of these new cast members minimized the impact of the departure of some actors such as Jan Hooks and Weekend Update mediator Dennis Miller after the 1990-1991 season, and Victoria Jackson after the 1990-1991 season. season 1991-1992.

Michaels added Michael McKean and Chris Elliott to the cast. Neither of them felt comfortable with the program, and both left it at the end of the 1994-1995 season. Comedians Norm Macdonald and Janeane Garofalo joined the cast at the start of the 1994-1995 season, and Mark McKinney joined mid-season, after the closure of another Michaels-created show, The Kids in the Hall. However, when Garofalo arrived, Adam Sandler began yelling at him for comments he had made against him about his comedic routine. Two other actresses in the cast also turned against him (Ellen Cleghorne and Laura Kightlinger). Garofalo sank into depression and left the show midway through the season, only to be replaced by Molly Shannon.

Fifth era (1995–2000)

The 1995-1996 season was the last for David Spade, and the debut of a strong group of new recruits: Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, Tracy Morgan, Darrell Hammond, David Koechner, Cheri Oteri, Nancy Walls, Chris Kattan, Colin Quinn and Molly Shannon. Ana Gasteyer was added to the cast during the following season. Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell, and Horatio Sanz joined the cast during the 1998-1999 season, and Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph joined the following year.

Sixth era (2000–2005)

In 1999, Tina Fey became the first woman to lead the show's writing team. The following year, she began acting in skits, becoming one of the co-hosts of Weekend Update , along with Jimmy Fallon. Also during that era, performers Colin Quinn, Tim Meadows, Will Ferrell, and Cheri Oteri left the show, and Horatio Sanz, Seth Meyers, Jeff Richards, Finesse Mitchell, and Kenan Thompson joined the cast. Amy Poehler enters in 2001, and Fred Armisen alongside Will Forte in 2002.

The show experienced a setback after the attacks of September 11, 2001, signified by the appearance of Rudolph Giuliani, the mayor of New York City at the time, in the first episode of season 27. As a result of Because of that, political commentary on the show was reduced. Over time, the show gave more attention to political humor.

Seventh Era (2005–2010)

Saturday Night Live promised changes for the 2005-2006 season, including beginning high-definition broadcasts. Lorne Michaels added four new talent: Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis. This era also saw the departure of Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Horatio Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, and Chris Parnell.

Eighth era (2010-2014)

The 2010-2011 season began with Amy Poehler as the host and Lady Gaga as musical guest. In that era, Will Forte and Jenny Slate left the show, and Taran Killam, Paul Brittain, Vanessa Bayer, and Jay Pharoah joined the cast as featured actors.

The 2011-2012 season began on September 24, 2011, with Alec Baldwin and musical guest Radiohead. Paul Brittain leaves this season and Kate McKinnon enters. This is the last season for Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg and Abby Elliott.

The 2012-2013 season began on September 25, 2012, with Seth MacFarlane and musical guest Frank Ocean. In this season the actors Aidy Bryant, Tim Robinson and Cecily Strong arrive. It also marks the departure of the actors, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen and Tim Robinson, the latter who is now a writer for the show.

The 2013-2014 season began on September 28, 2013, with Tina Fey and musical guest, Arcade Fire. This season marks the entry of seven new actors, Beck Bennett, John Milhiser, Kyle Mooney, Mike O'Brien, Noël Wells, Brooks Wheelan, Sasheer Zamata.

On September 15, 2013, it was announced that Cecily Strong would be the new host of the “Weekend Update” section because in February 2014, Seth Meyers will be the new host of Late Night, caused by the departure of Jimmy Fallon, in Late Night to host The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Due to Meyers' departure, the "Weekend Update" it was filled by chief writer Colin Jost, who took over on March 1.

Ninth era (2014-present)

The 40th season of SNL began on September 27, 2014, with Chris Pratt, as a guest host, this season brings several changes in its cast, they left, Nasim Pedrad (to join a series produced by Michaels), John Milhiser, Noël Wells and Brooks Wheelan, while Mike O'Brien, withdrew from the cast to be a writer for the show. Kenan Thompson announced that it would be his last season. And Cecily Strong, left the Weekend Update section, to participate in the skits. Also this season the actors were added, Michael Che, Pete Davidson and from the episode of October 25, Leslie Jones.

There were also changes in the locution of the program, which will now be in charge of Darrell Hammond.

Production

Cast

The cast, known as "The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players" ("the non-prime time performers") at the beginning of the show (this term is still frequently used unofficially, and was originally devised to separate them from the moniker "Prime Time Players" 34; for the cast of the previous show on ABC), consists of a group of established members and a group of new members, with the latter being called "The Featured Players" and having the privilege of eventually graduating to the regular cast. Below is a list of the current cast:

Text in bold denotes "Weekend Update." presenters only.

Announcers

Don Pardo was the show's announcer when it began, and has served as the show's announcer for all seasons except season seven, when Mel Brandt and Bill Hanrahan filled that role. From his retirement from NBC in 2004 until 2010, Pardo (who was 57 when the show debuted) continued to fly from his home in Tucson, Arizona, to host the show.

Pardo announced in 2010 that for season 36, at age 92, he would pre-record his roles from his home in Arizona, rather than performing live in New York City.

In August 2014, Don Pardo passed away at the age of 96, the voiceover will be replaced by Darrell Hammond.

The Saturday Night Live Band

"The Saturday Night Live Band," aka "The Live Band," is the official band of the program. Howard Shore, an Academy Award-winning composer, served as the country's first musical director from 1975 to 1980, appearing in many musical skits, including "Howard Shore and His All-Nurse Band" and (backing a US Coast Guard choir) "Howard Shore and the Shore Patrol." Over the years, the band has featured several New York musicians, including Paul Shaffer (1975-1980), Lou Marini (1975-1983), David Sanborn (1975), Michael Brecker (early 1980s), Ray Chew (1980-1983), Alan Rubin (1975-1983), Georg Wadenius (1979-1985), Steve Ferrone (1985), David Johansen (acting as "Buster Poindexter"), Tom Malone (who took over as music director from 1981 to 1985), and G. E. Smith (music director from 1985 to 1995). The band is currently led by Lenny Pickett, a Tower of Power alumnus, with Leon Pendarvis and Katreese Barnes serving as keyboardists. The number of musicians has varied over the years, but the basic instrumentation has consisted of three saxophones, a trombone, a trumpet, and a rhythm section (which features two keyboards, a guitar, bass, drums, and a percussionist). extra). The 1983-1984 and 1984-1985 seasons featured the smallest band, a six-piece combo. The band plays instrumentals that fade in and out of breaks; affiliates airing any commercials during these intervals hear full songs played by the band behind a Saturday Night Live graphic until the show resumes.

Musical presenters and guests

A typical episode of Saturday Night Live will feature a single host, who gives the introductory monologue and performs skits with the cast, and a single musical guest, who will occasionally perform two or three musical numbers.. In some cases, the musical guest will also be the presenter, filling both duties. It has become customary for the series host to end the introductory monologue by introducing the musical guests for the evening. George Carlin was the show's first host, and Candice Bergen was the first woman to host the show a few weeks later. Clients who have submitted five or more episodes are sometimes referred to as belonging to the "Five-Timers Club," a term that originated from a skit that appeared in the fifth episode of Tom Hanks.

Memorable characters

Throughout the history of Saturday Night Live, the show has featured many characters in its skits. The following is a list that includes some of the most memorable.

• Stefon played by Bill Hader is a correspondent introduced by Seth Meyers, who asks for recommendations for New York visitors. The places Stefon recommends are usually the strangest, attended by incoherent or bizarre characters.

Means of production

GE Building (30 Rockefeller Plaza, or "30 Rock"), where the program is recorded

Study

Since its inception, Saturday Night Live has been broadcast from Studio 8H, located on the 8th and 9th floors of the GE Building (30 Rockefeller Plaza, or "30 Rock"). Due to the fact that the original studio was a radio soundstage for Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, the studio floor layouts and audience positioning cause some audience members to have an obstructed view of many of the sketches. According to NBC, Studio 8H has near-perfect acoustics. The offices of the show's writers, producers, and other staff can be found on the 17th floor of "30 Rock."

During the recording hiatus in the summer of 2005, the crews began their renovations at Studio 8H. With its 31st season premiere in October 2005, the show began broadcasting on high-definition television, and since then, the show has appeared letterboxed on mainstream TV screens.

Three of the first four concerts of the 1976-1977 season were taped at the former NBC Studios location in Brooklyn, as NBC News was using Studio 8H for its coverage of the presidential election.

Mary Ellen Matthews—the photographer who is responsible for taking portraits of the celebrities who appear on SNL, and using them in bumper ads for the show—generally takes pictures of the show's guest host in the studio while the musical guest practices their songs.

Post Production

With indoor facilities located on the 8th and 17th floors of Rockefeller Plaza, post-production duties on Saturday Night Live broadcasts include mixing of audio and video elements by the "Senior Audio Mixer" ("Superior Audio Mixer"), along with additional audio cues consisting of music, sound effects, music orchestrations, and pre-recorded voice-overs. All sources are stored digitally, with episodes captured and separated into separate elements for reorganization purposes for future reruns and syndication. The production tracking system was fully migrated from the analog recording system to the digital system in 1998, and as a result, episodes typically require 1.5 terabytes of storage, consisting of the audio elements and a few of the visual elements.

Elements of Saturday Night Live that are pre-recorded, such as certain commercial parodies, "SNL Digital Shorts," and the show's graphics are processed outside of the studio at Broadway Video's post-production facilities.

Filming and photography

The production facilities at Studio 8H are maintained by NBC Production Services. The camcorder kits include a fourth Sony BVP CCD-700 camera, and two Sony BVP-750 CCD cameras, both using pedestals by Vinten. The GVG 4000-3 (a switcher for production digital components) and the GVG 7000 (a switcher for routing digital components) are used to route visual images to the control room, with multiple digital and analog video recorders being used to store images. The graphics are provided by the Chyron character generator! Infinit and the Quantel PictureBox. The audio facilities consist of a digitally controlled console for analogue mixing, and a digital mixing console made by Yamaha which is used to support tape playback and work on audio utilities.

Starting with season 35, the title logo introductory sequence and opening montage have been shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS 7D SLR digital cameras. Typical elements are shot at 30 frames per second, with slow motion sequences being shot at 60 frames per second, both in full high definition 1080p video mode.

Production process

The following is a summary of the process used to produce the program. It is based in part on interviews with one of SNL's former writers and actresses, Tina Fey, in 2000 and 2004.

Monday:

• The day begins with a thematic meeting, identifying the most important story for the introductory sequence of the program.
• This is followed by a free field meeting with Lorne Michaels and the host of the episode of the week. The official name is "The Host Meeting" ("The Meeting of the Leader"), but all the writers and all the cast members call it "The Pitch Meeting" ("The Field Meeting").
• Throughout the week, the presenter has a lot of influence on the sketches that are issued.

Tuesday:

• Between 21:00 on Tuesday night and 7:00 on Wednesday morning, between 40 and 50 scripts are written, most of which will not be issued.
• When the scripts of a screenwriter are completed, the screenwriter often helps other screenwriters with their scripts.
• Meanwhile, Lorne Michaels has another "Pitch Meeting" with the musical guest and discuss which of their current songs, often two, should be played in the program for their musical act.

Wednesday:

• All scripts are carefully read by cast, screenwriters, producers, Lorne Michaels, and the host of the week. This thorough reading usually takes place in the afternoon and lasts about two to three hours.
• After thorough reading, the main screenwriter and the producers meet with the presenter to decide which sketches should be developed for the rest of the week, with Lorne Michaels and the presenter having the final decision.

Thursday:

• The surviving sketches are revised, word by word, by the scriptwriters as a whole or in two groups in the case of the contributory scriptwriters.
• Some sketches that survived the court due to their premise, but are in need of work, are completely rewritten. Others are changed to a lesser extent.
• The team Weekend Update begins to meet, starting with the news written by the writers who dedicate themselves all week for the segment.
• The team arrives for the rehearsal, and the musical act is taught, as well as some of the longest and most important sketches.
• The presenter and the musical guest, together with some cast members, scored two to four promotions for NBC emissions.

Friday:

• The program is subject to a didascalia.
• The writer of each sketch acts as the producer, working with the designers of dishes and costumes.
• A special music is recorded for the program.

The main stage of SNLas seen during trials

Saturday:

• "Saturday Night Live Band" does a half-morning rehearsal.
• At 13:00, with the program still away from completion, the day begins with a review, with Lorne Michaels at the front.
• This is followed by a trial conducted in front of the audience in the study, which lasts from 20:00 until 22:00 (or later) and contains approximately twenty minutes of material that will be removed from the final issue.
• Lorne Michaels uses personal observations of the audience's reaction during the general essay and the entry by the presenter and the main screenwriter to determine the final changes, re-ordering sketches as necessary.
• After the general essay, Lorne has a meeting with the screenwriter to discuss the latest changes and offers notes on the changes that could be made for the live program. The cast is informed about the sketches removed after the general essay and a final summary of the sketches that will be presented live on an ad board outside the Lorne Michaels office.
• The program starts at 23:29:30, east coast schedule.
• After the program comes the later party found in several "hot spots" in New York. All those involved in the program, including the presenter and the musical guest, are invited with the exception of some background interpreters.

The status of the show during the week is kept on a bulletin board. Skits and other segments are given labels which are placed on cards and placed on the board in the order of their performances. The order is based on the content as well as production constraints such as camera placement and cast availability. Segments that have been cut are kept on the side of the board. As the broadcast approaches, the writer or producer often discovers the fate of their segment just by checking the bulletin board.

A 60 Minutes report recorded in October 2004 described the intense frenzy among writers that takes place during the week leading up to a show, with crowded meetings and long hours. The report especially noted the involvement of any guest hosts in the development and selection of the skits in which they will appear. Similarly, there has been an episode of Biography on the A&E Network that covered the production process, as well as an episode of TV Tales airing on E! in 2002.

Emissions

Live

The show generally begins at 11:29:30 p.m. Eastern Time, except in cases where a delay occurs. The program is broadcast for an hour and a half, ending at 01:00. For Mountain Time and Pacific Time, NBC broadcasts the pre-recorded show live, usually without editing, despite errors. After the introductory skit, the show always begins with the words: "Live, from New York, it's Saturday Night". York, it's Saturday night").

In Spain, the program of the week is broadcast in its original version on Saturdays at 10:00 p.m. on Movistar CineDoc&Roll, it broadcasts the pre-recorded program live, generally without editing, despite the errors.

Delays

• The program was forced to take a five-second delay on three occasions, coinciding with episodes presented by Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and Andrew Dice Clay.^{[chuckles]required]}
• The episode that was prepared to be issued on 25 October 1986, with the presentation of Rosanna Arquette, was not issued until 8 November of that year because the NBC issued the sixth match of the 1986 World Series; the party entered extra entries, causing the broadcasting of that episode of SNL It was canceled. The program was recorded for the audience at the studio from 01:30, east coast schedule, and broadcast two weeks later with a "disculpa" by Ron Darling, pitcher of the New York Mets. Darling explained that team players had felt happy and very excited winning the game, but of course they had all been very sad when in the locker room they were told that they had been the cause of the first cancellation of the history of SNL. The sketch was completed with images of the rest of the hairy and stinking team.
• The episode that was scheduled for broadcast on February 10, 2001, with the presentation of Jennifer Lopez, entered the air with 45 minutes late due to a missing XFL party. Neither Lopez nor the cast was told that they were being recorded.
• During his last season, Eddie Murphy negotiated recording a series of additional sketches in September 1983 that were issued in episodes where he was no longer in the cast. His last live episode was presented by Edwin Newman on February 25, 1984.
• The episode issued on 9 January 2010, with Charles Barkley as host, was delayed for 36 minutes, when the NBC coverage of a NFL playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys was extended due to the duration of the game itself.
• Similarly, the episode issued on 8 January 2011, with Jim Carrey at the front, was delayed for 16 minutes due to the transmission of a match between the New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts.

Reruns

Reruns of SNL air outside of their original broadcast sequence, generally determined by which episodes have not been repeated, but received high ratings or acclaim for their live broadcasts. Shows usually air twice during a particular season, but frequently the season's top-rated episodes will have a second run towards the end of the idle season, or episodes will be reruns a second or third time, to coincide with a new connected event. with the person who presented it. For example, the Natalie Portman episode that aired in March 2006 to promote the film V for Vendetta was rerun on August 5, 2006, prior to the film's DVD release on August 8, 2006. August of the same year. Similarly, an episode hosted by Jeff Gordon was re-aired following NBC's coverage of the Daytona 400.

NBC and Broadway Video hold the underlying rights, while the copyright for each episode of the show thus far is solely owned by NBC. From 1990 until 2004, Comedy Central and its predecessor Ha! re-aired reruns of the series, after which the cable television entertainment network E! signed a deal for reruns. Shortened 30- and 60-minute versions of the first five seasons aired as "The Best of Saturday Night Live" in syndication earlier in the decade. 1980, and later on Nick at Nite in 1988. In September 2010, reruns of most episodes after 1998 began airing on VH1.

Builds

Occasionally, SNL issues compiler programs. Such shows will feature skits selected from the previous season, from a particular cast member or from multiple hosts at one time, or focused on a particular theme (for example, Halloween or Christmas). Political sketches are typically culled for a special in presidential election years; the 2000 special was notable for having self-deprecating (albeit separate) appearances from candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Barack Obama, Rudolph Giuliani, and Sarah Palin made appearances on the show.

Sketches replaced or altered

Reruns are not always identical to the original broadcasts.

Hit skits that air later in the episode during the original airing may be re-edited to appear earlier. In the early years of the show's history, reruns frequently replaced weaker skits with segments from other episodes, usually from episodes that didn't get a rerun at all.

Controversial acts by the presenter or a musical guest may be altered or removed.

• A portion of Martin Lawrence's monologue in the episode issued on 19 February 1994, which referred to feminine hygiene, has been removed from all repetitions, replaced by a voice in off and intertitles indicating that the portion removed "...was a clear and lively presentation, and cost almost all of our jobs."
• A live performance by Sinéad O'Connor on October 3, 1992, during which he broke a photograph of Pope John Paul II, was replaced by his performance in the general essay from that same afternoon in which he holds a photo of a Balkan child with starvation.
• When Sam Kinison delivered a comic monologue in 1986, the NBC withdrew its request for the legalization of marijuana emissions on the west coast and all subsequent emissions.
• The song "Bulls on Parade" was performed by Rage Against the Machine in April 1996. His expected performance of two songs was reduced to a single song when the band tried to hang US flags from his amplifiers ("a sign of anguish or great danger"), as a protest against the presence of Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes as the guest presenter on the show that night.

Occasionally, skits originally performed in dress rehearsal (which is recorded as a prop) have substituted for the live version of reruns due to errors (either technical errors or errors caused by the actors) in the live broadcast. Examples have included:

• In 2009, during the premiere of the 35th season, Jenny Slate appeared in a sketch "Biker Babe" in which she, her co-star Kristen Wiig, and the presenter Megan Fox used the word "frickin" ("bad") repeatedly. Slate accidentally said instead "fuckin" (which can also mean "bad"), appearing to be surprised by realizing what you just said. The word "fuckin" was overwhelmed with "frickin" for subsequent repetitions.
• A sketch by Peter Sarsgaard of his appearance on January 21, 2006, involving a fake news from Rachel Dratch, had technical difficulties during his live broadcast when the TV in the sketch stopped working and a stage player watched it set.
• A sketch that involved "butt pregnancy" ("pregnancy of top") during the first release of the episode issued on November 12, 2005, with Jason Lee's presentation, was replaced by a musical sketch on coffee food during the repetition.
• A sketch by Debbie Downer with Ben Affleck was removed from repositions and later replaced by the version in the general essay. In this case, the replacement is referenced by a title card, which explained that the trial version was better.
• In 1980, Paul Shaffer became the first person to use the word "fucking" ("bad") in the program. SNL He paroled The Troggs' tapes in a medieval musical sketch featuring the performance of Shaffer, Bill Murray, Harry Shearer, and a special guest, John Belushi. In the middle of a long diatribe that used numerous repetitions of the word "flogging" ("flagelation"), Shaffer inadvertently said "bad" instead. This was not eliminated by the censors during the original emissions, and it reappeared in the repetition of this episode in the summer, as well as in the program's unionized versions.

Derivatives

DVD

Currently, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Lions Gate Entertainment are the video rights holders for the series. Universal has released complete sets on DVD for the first few seasons, while Lions Gate's share of the rights are the result of previous contracts with NBC struck before the merger into NBC Universal. Most SNL DVDs released by Lions Gate are compilations with titles beginning with "Best Of...".

Books

The first authorized book for the series was published by Avon Books in 1977. Saturday Night Live (ISBN 0-380-01801-2) was edited by Anne Beatts and John Head, with photography by Edie Baskin; all three worked for Saturday Night Live at the time of the book's publication. The oversized pocket included the scripts for several skits by the original repertoire, known at the time as "The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players".

In 1994, the second book on SNL was published, called Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years (ISBN 0-395-75284-1). The book was written by Michael Cader. The First Twenty Years provides information on the cast, characters, and notable moments seen on the show up to 1994.

Another book on the series was published in 2002. It is called Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests (ISBN 0-316 -73565-5). The book was written by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller. The book consists of interviews (conducted by the authors) with people who have worked on the program. The interviews reveal personal experiences of what happened behind the scenes and the difficulties in producing each weekly episode of the show.

Other notable books on SNL include: Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live (ISBN 0-688-05099-9), a book about the job what happened behind the scenes in the first ten seasons; and Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live (ISBN 1-4013-0801-5), which detailed Jay Mohr's struggles during his two seasons on the show.

In 2015, and on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary, a commemorative book was published with the history of SNL in photos and with some testimonials written by those who have ever been through the program.

Movies based on SNL sketches

Movies based on the SNL sketches are listed below with their release dates, gross budgets, and ratings by Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. The gross is from Box Office Mojo. On Rotten Tomatoes, a score of 60% or higher indicates the film is "fresh" (well received); and on Metacritic, scores of 81-100, 61-80, 40-60, 20-39, and 0-19 indicate near universal acclaim, generally favorable reviews, mixed reviews, poor reviews, and dislike overwhelming, respectively.

The early days of SNL spawned several movies, including Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979), Gilda Live (1980), Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures (1986), and possibly the most successful, The Blues Brothers (1980). However, it was the success of Wayne's World (1992) that encouraged Lorne Michaels to produce more films based on various popular sketch characters. Michaels revived 1970s characters in Coneheads (1993), followed by It's Pat (1994), Stuart Saves His Family (1995, with the character of Stuart Smalley), A Night at the Roxbury (1998, with the characters of The Butabi Brothers); Superstar (1999, with the character of Mary Katherine Gallagher), and The Ladies Man (2000). Some did relatively well, though others didn't—most notably It's Pat, which did so poorly at the box office that the studio that made the film, Touchstone Pictures (owned by The Walt Disney Company, which also owns ABC, one of NBC's rivals), pulled it just a week after it premiered, and Stuart Saves His Family, which lost $15 million. americans. Many of these movies were produced by Paramount Pictures. The films based on The Blues Brothers were produced by Universal Studios, which merged with NBC in 2004 to form NBC Universal (Universal also owns a joint venture with Paramount called "United International Pictures", intended for the international distribution of films from the two studios).

In addition, Office Space (1999) originated from a series of animated shorts by Mike Judge, which aired on Saturday Night Live after appearing in several other programs.

The titular character of the film Bob Roberts, directed by Tim Robbins, first appeared on Saturday Night Live in a short film about the conservative folk singer.

The Folksmen first appeared on Saturday Night Live, performing the song "Old Place Joe" before they later appeared in the movie A Mighty Wind. The three members of The Folksmen were the same three comedians: Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and Christopher Guest, who also appeared in the same episode as the rock group Spinal Tap. At the time of the appearance (during the 1984-1985 season), Shearer and Guest were cast members.

Actor James Franco made a documentary titled Saturday Night, detailing the intense process that goes into creating an episode.

Praise

Saturday Night Live has won numerous awards since its debut, including 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and three WGA Awards. In 2009, it received a total of 13 Award nominations. Emmy Awards for a total of 126, making it the show with the most Emmy Award nominations of any show in television history, a record previously set by the medical drama ER with 124..

Criticism

In 2002, the show was honored by TV Guide with the tenth place in its list of "The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" ("The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time"), and in 2007, it was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

Electoral impact

SNL has also had an effect on the election. Voters had reported that political skits shown on the show had influenced their actual voting. The media dubbed this as "The SNL Effect". This effect was seen during the 2008 US presidential election, according to Mike Dabadie. Two-thirds of voters who responded to a survey said they had seen a Saturday Night Live broadcast with politically charged content, with 10 percent saying it had made a difference in their decision. Barack Obama was the beneficiary of the political content, with 59 percent saying they voted for the Democratic candidate; however, in the Democratic presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton primarily received more favorable treatment than Barack Obama.

Censures

In some cases, a sketch was censored in reruns.

• In a "Wayne's World" sketch issued on November 21, 1992, the characters of Wayne and Garth (played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, respectively) mocked Chelsea Victoria Clinton (the daughter of Bill Clinton, who was then a candidate elected to President), implying that Chelsea was incapable of causing men to experience an erection. This joke was later edited out of all the syndicated repetitions and retransmittions of this sketch.
• In 1998, a lively short film by Robert Smigel, "Conspiracy Theory Rock", which was a part of a segment of "TV Funhouse" issued in March 1998, has been eliminated from all subsequent repositions of the episode Saturday Night Live where he originally appeared. Michaels said the edition was held because "it wasn't fun." The short film is a fierce criticism of corporate media ownership, including the fact that NBC is owned by General Electric and British Westinghouse.

Incidents involving Sinéad O'Connor

Sinéad O'Connor was scheduled to be the musical guest on the episode aired on May 12, 1990. Andrew Dice Clay was the host, and O'Connor boycotted the show in protest of its misogynistic humor, which forced the producers to find musical substitutes. Nora Dunn also boycotted that week's episode, and was not included in the next year's cast. Andrew Dice Clay was reportedly booed during the opening monologue, and the monologue at the rehearsal was shown on reruns.

On October 3, 1992, Sinéad O'Connor appeared on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest. She was singing an a cappella version of the song 'War'. by Bob Marley, which she used as a protest against cases of sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic Church, changing the lyric of & # 34; fight against racial injustice & # 34; to "fight against child abuse." She then presented a photo of Pope John Paul II to the camera while chanting the word "evil," whereupon she tore up the photo, saying, "Fight the real enemy," he said. and she threw the pieces towards the camera.

Saturday Night Live had no prior knowledge of O'Connor's plan. As of 2011, NBC still refuses to rebroadcast the sequence with the exception of an interview with O'Connor on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, which aired on April 24, 2010, when MSNBC fully aired the clip during the interview. NBC replaced the incident with footage from the dress rehearsal in which O'Connor holds up a photo of a Balkan boy before walking offstage. The essay version was also used during syndicated broadcasts (seen on Comedy Central and E! Entertainment Television). However, the original episode is available as a four-volume DVD special Saturday Night Live: 25 Years of Music, featuring an introduction to the incident by show creator and executive Lorne Michaels. However, on February 20, 2011, the video was rebroadcast on the SNL special "Backstage," which showed footage of a dress rehearsal and the performance together. In the two performances, two different photos are held up, one where O'Connor holds up a picture of a starving child and the other where he holds up a picture of the Pope—but with a cut to the interviewees during the moment in which the picture is taken. was destroyed.

Incident about Rage Against the Machine

On April 13, 1996, the band Rage Against the Machine was invited to perform two songs. The show was hosted that night by Steve Forbes, a Republican billionaire and former candidate for the presidency of the United States. According to Tom Morello, guitarist for RATM, "Rage Against the Machine wanted to be in sharp contrast to a billionaire telling jokes and promoting his flat tax by making our own statement". To this end, the band hung two upside-down American flags on their amplifiers. Seconds before arriving on stage to perform "Bulls on Parade," SNL and NBC sent stagehands to remove the flags. Following the removal of the flags during the first performance, the The gang was approached by SNL and NBC officials and ordered to leave the building immediately. Upon hearing this, bassist Tim Commerford reportedly stormed into Forbes' dressing room, throwing fragments of one of the flags. Morello noted that Saturday Night Live cast and crew, whom he declined to name, "expressed solidarity with our actions, and a sense of shame that his show had censored the performance".

Ashlee Simpson Incident

Ashlee Simpson, younger sister of pop star Jessica Simpson, appeared as the musical guest on October 23, 2004, and, as is customary for the show's format, was scheduled to perform two songs. Her first song, & # 34; Pieces of Me, & # 34; it ran smoothly. However, when she started the second song of hers, "Autobiography", the vocals from the song "Pieces of Me"; they were heard again, before she had raised the microphone to her mouth. Simpson began to do an impromptu dance when she realized the embarrassing mistake, but then left the stage.During the end of the show, Simpson appeared with guest host Jude Law and said, "I'm so sorry." My band started playing the wrong song, and I didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd do a contradanza".

On October 25 of the same year, Simpson called into the music video show Total Request Live and explained that due to complications stemming from a severe case of gastroesophageal reflux, which had been seen bothering her in The Ashlee Simpson Show, she had completely lost her voice and her doctor advised her that she could not sing. She said that because of her reflux, her father wanted her to use a vocal guide track for the performance. Simpson said of the incident, "I made a fool of myself." According to Simpson, the drummer hit the wrong button, causing the wrong song to be played.