Saturday Night Live made its debut in 50 years ago in 1975, and it was funny. Even though it didn’t start until 11:30 on a Saturday night, we stayed up to watch it. Often, we would get together with our close friends and neighbors, Donald and Janice Ramirez, settle in with popcorn and snacks and roar at the hilarious skits served up by the likes of Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and others. Who can forget the Coneheads, or Belushi as the Samurai Warrior, the Weekend Update with Chevy and Jane (the ignorant slut), Two Wild and Crazy Guys, and Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child cutting off a finger? They did funny, funny stuff and their ratings were through the roof.
But now, they aren’t funny anymore. They’re mean, especially to conservative people and politicians and really, nobody watches anymore. Same with CNN and MSNBC and 90 percent of the newspapers. At least 50% of the people are moderate to conservative. Why antagonize them?
If I were a producer for Saturday Night Live, I would say, “Be funny again. Not mean.”
And the ratings might return.
