“Saturday Night Live” celebrates its 40th anniversary on NBC Sunday night. Forty seasons would be a remarkable run for any television show. But, at the risk of sounding uncharitable, it’s even more remarkable given how frequently SNL has fallen into mediocrity — with skits, whole shows, or sometimes entire seasons that simply weren’t very funny.
So why have viewers like me kept coming back? Because when SNL is on, it’s very, very on. Its cast and crew have occasionally produced true comic genius, creating skits and characters that left indelible impressions on the national psyche — and may even have nudged the political conversation in one direction or another.
Politics have been part of the show from the very beginning, when Chevy Chase, an original cast member, famously lampooned former President Gerald Ford as a bumbling klutz. Ford, good-natured to a fault, later appeared on the show, starting a tradition that has endured. Even Sarah Palin, whose treatment at the hands of SNL was as harsh as anybody’s, came on the show. Reportedly she will be on again Sunday night as part of the live, celebrity-heavy reunion that is scheduled to run for 3 and 1/2 hours starting at 8 p.m.
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1. Sarah Palin (Tina Fey) sits with Katie Couric (Amy Poehler)
Not so different from the real interview, which is what made it so devastating. Fey’s portrayal of Palin didn’t merely entertain. It shaped public perceptions.
