Movies - Saturday Night Live

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	Movies - Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute comedy-variety show based in New York City which has been broadcast by NBC nearly every Saturday night since its debut on October 11, 1975. It is one of the longest-running network entertainment programs in American television history. Each week, the show's cast is joined by a guest host and a musical act.

Originally, the show was called NBC's Saturday Night because Howard Cosell was hosting a show on ABC titled Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell. After Cosell's show was cancelled in 1976, NBC retitled its show. The first show with the new title was broadcast on March 26, 1977.

The show — broadcast from Studio 8H at the GE Building in New York's Rockefeller Center — has been the launching place for some major American comedy stars of the last thirty years. It was created by Lorne Michaels who, excluding a hiatus from Season 6 through Season 10, has produced and written for the show and remains its executive producer (Jean Doumanian producing most of Season 6, and Dick Ebersol 7–10).

In 2005, NBC renewed SNL's contract until 2012.

SNL is satire in art form. On the surface, it is slapstick or abstract. The comedy however is in the way the skits are structured. The show is heavily mired in US current events and can leave international viewers cold.

Format of the show

The show usually follows a standard format. It opens with a cold opening sketch often parodying politics, pop culture, or other current events; this sketch always ends with someone saying "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" The show then segues into the opening credits, which usually open with a shot of the Statue of Liberty and a montage of the cast members cut with various locations around the city. The opening credits are voiced-over by long-time NBC announcer Don Pardo. The show's theme music has been re-arranged many times, but always follows the same basic chord patterns.

Next is the opening monologue performed by the guest host(s), often followed by a TV commercial parody. The show continues with more comedy skits (sketches might feature recurring characters, running gags, celebrity impersonations, movie and TV spoofs, and skits parodying the news issues of the day), followed by a performance by the guest musical act. More recent shows have the second act divided by an animated short by Robert Smigel. The news parody segment Weekend Update marks the show's midway point. The second half of the program continues with more sketches, and in most cases a second performance by the musical guest. Some shows also feature filmed segments, often featuring cast members, or it may feature independent film shorts. In a few rare cases, a third musical performance by the week's musical guest is done at the end of the show, but in most instances this is just a goodbye segment by the host and musical guest. Often times, the show "fades to black", or just blatantly cuts away while the credits roll, most likely a time-saving measure. Also, in some reruns, shows have been edited to contain a mixture of skits, and do not follow this sequence.

History

1975 – 1980
1980 – 1985
1985 – 1990
1990 – 1995
1995 – 2000
2000 – 2005
2005 – Present
Weekend Update

Cast

Current repertory players

Darrell Hammond
(1995 – Present)
Chris Parnell
(1998 – 2001, 2002 – Present)
Horatio Sanz
(1998 – Present)
Rachel Dratch
(1999 – Present)
Maya Rudolph
(2000 – Present)
Tina Fey
(2000 – Present)
Seth Meyers
(2001 – Present)
Amy Poehler
(2001 – Present)
Fred Armisen
(2002 – Present)
Will Forte
(2002 – Present)
Finesse Mitchell
(2003 – Present)
Kenan Thompson
(2003 – Present)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Saturday Night Live ]

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Movies - Saturday Night Live

Format of the show

History

Cast

Current repertory players

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