Fifty Years of Saturday Night Live

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 10 October 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Saturday Night Live asked Dana Carvey to play Joe Biden for this season, few anticipated that the president would drop out of the race over concerns about age. SNL itself turns 50 this year, ancient by TV standards, and doesn’t appear to be close to dropping out. The water cooler buzz over Carvey’s Biden and Maya Rudolph’s spot-on Kamala Harris impression suggests that the show still has legs. But can it maintain its relevance amid declining ratings and politics that sometimes seem beyond parody? We mark the show’s anniversary by looking back at its cultural influence and some of the most iconic sketches, from Weekend Update to Wayne’s World. Guests: Eric Deggans, tv critic, National Public Radio (NPR) Joanna Robinson, senior staff writer, The Ringer; author, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios Stephen Tropiano, professor of screen studies, Ithaca College Los Angeles Program; author, The newly revised and updated book "The SNL Companion: An Unofficial Guide to the Seasons, Sketches, and Stars of Saturday Night Live" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:46.5	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
1:06.1	Coming up on Forum, Saturday Night Live's historic 50th season is underway.
1:15.6	You see, my campaign is like the Sabrina Carpenter song, Espresso. The lyrics are vague, but the vibe slaps.
1:19.6	And sure, I like to laugh. I do.
1:25.6	From political impressions like Maya Rudolph have come And sure, I like to laugh. I do.
1:33.3	From political impressions like Maya Rudolph of Kamala Harris to iconic sketches,
1:37.9	and with a film about SNL's very first episode set to be released widely tomorrow,
1:43.4	we look at the impact of the quirky sketch comedy show that defied the odds and defined our culture.
1:45.0	Join us. Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
1:55.0	Folks, that's right. A lot of people forget I'm president, including me. But guess what? And by the way.
2:06.5	In Saturday Night Live asked Dana Carvey to play Joe Biden for this season, few anticipated that the president would drop out of the race over concerns about his age.
	...

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