Live In My Dorm Room....It's Saturday Night!

Eddie Murphy, another one of my top favorites from Saturday Night Live.

By my Junior year in college, I had fully given in.  I had a small black and white TV in my dorm room, and although we couldn't pick up a lot, it did give us a few shows.  There was a larger TV in the dorm commons that we watched most shows with, including M*A*S*H, but it was good for late Saturday night.

One Saturday night, neither I nor my roommate could sleep, so I turned it on and tuned it to one of the few stations we could get.  I probably was looking for a late night horror movie, with one of those cheesy hosts like Elvira.

Instead we found this show with a man and a woman sitting at a table in a restaurant.  They were look at each other longingly.  The woman asked, romantically, "What are you thinking about?"

The man looked wistful and said,"  Oh...wart hogs."

And the scene switched to a shot of wart hogs in Africa.

The man and woman were Chevy Chase and Jan Curtin, and the show was from the first season of Saturday Night Live.

I was hooked.

I watched the show faithfully for decades, and saw dozens of impressive performers, from John Belushi to Kristen Wiig, impressed by the range of many.  My favorite parts was the political humor, Weekend Updates, and the many vibrant characters created by so many.

There were so many classic moments, I would need all day, and the world's longest blog post to mention them all.  Everything form the Samurai Delicatessen and Rose Hadannana, land sharks and Cone Heads, Puppy Uppers and Doggie Downers to the Church Lady and Wayne's World, and on and on.

One of my favorite performers, who got slightly short shrift, was Jan Hooks, a beautiful woman who sadly passed a few months ago.  Phil Hartman may have been Saturday Night Live's best performer, and she held her own and brought him out more in sketch after sketch.  She played a brilliantly wide variety of characters, demonstrating perfect comedic timing and an incredible range.  She was a Georgian, who made her first impression on the Tush show, a strange little sketch comedy show that was done on TBS right here in Georgia.  Bill Tush held open auditions for people in Georgia to fill this show, and Jan Hooks answered the call.  I thought about trying out, but I didn't have the will power or confidence to try.


In recent years, I have fallen out of the habit of watching Saturday Night Live.  I sometimes see highlights on YouTube or Hulu, but it has been awhile since I have seen a whole show.  The performers seem not as talented, the sketches blander and less funny, the political humor off (especially compared to The Daily Show and Colbert), and, well, I always zoned out or skipped the musical guests.  I sometimes think the show might be better off  if Lorne Micheals lets it go, and lets someone else take over,  but that is a different blog for a different day.

Meanwhile, as Chevy Chase would say on Weekend Update.....

Goodnight, and a have a pleasant tomorrow!


aaannd, yes Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead!