MovieChat Forums > Saturday Night Live (1975) Discussion > The old 70s episodes are great!

The old 70s episodes are great!


Back in 2013 or 2014, Netflix had the first few decades of SNL available, so dad introduced me to the great stuff he used to watch when SNL was new. Yeah, it looks dated and cheap, but some of the writing is comedy gold. Plus it was fun seeing all the people who later became comedy legends in their early days on screen. I even got to learn about stuff like the Land Shark, Miss Emily Latella, the Lucy in the nuke factory, the Marine wedding, the Coneheads, and even Chevy Chase doing the fall. Wasn't always impressed by the music, but again, it was a different time.

So if anyone wants to see classic comedy stuff that launched many movies and decades-long jokes, I'd totally recommend the 1970s seasons.

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The Point/Counterpoint debates between Dan Aykroyd and Jane Cutin remain my all-time favorite bit of satire in the history of SNL.

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They used to be counterculture, now they're corporate culture.

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Kind of like how protesters eventually become the very thing they are protesting?

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It's so ironic, the liberals of times past becoming the very thing they originally fought against, and adopting Marxist ideals on top of that!

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Recently read the Shales/Miller book on SNL & it seems like the show breaks down neatly into 5 year "eras", with each one having a distinct vibe. Like you say, 70s was classic. Early 90s was something of a renaissance. Late 00s were defined by the digital shorts.

Book only goes up to about 2010 & it left me wondering how to define the past decade. Show has its ups/downs & there's no reason it can't go back up. But past few years have been rough.

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Well...I'd say the biggest problem they have right now is, they're not that funny at all. All their jokes are flat and boring. They can't even manage to be tasteless and disgusting, that's how bad off SNL is right now.

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