TONYA MOSLEY, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. "Saturday Night Live," the long-running late-night sketch show that's run on NBC for nearly half a century now, has big plans for its golden anniversary. Lorne Michaels, who has produced "SNL" for all but five of those years, has a three-hour live prime-time special set for February. A scripted movie based on the making of the show's first episode has just hit theaters. And Michaels is working on different detailed documentaries produced by both Questlove and Morgan Neville. But the spearhead of it all is the 50th season premiere episode of "SNL," which was broadcast live last Saturday night. Our TV critic David Bianculli has this review.
DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: When "Saturday Night Live" premiered on NBC in the fall of 1975, Jean Smart wasn't a star yet. She had made her mark in regional theater and on Broadway, but it wasn't until the mid-'80s that she hit it big as one of the co-stars of the wonderful CBS sitcom "Designing Women," but she's been acting ever since. And earlier this month, she took home the Emmy for her starring role in the comedy series "Hacks." So she has the kind of history, as well as clout, that makes her the perfect host for the season opener of "SNL."
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JEAN SMART: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so, so very much. I can't tell you how honored I am to be hosting the premiere episode of Season 50.
(CHEERING)
SMART: It truly is incredible to be here. I haven't gotten all dressed up and had hundreds of people clap for me in days...
(LAUGHTER)
SMART: ...Honestly. I remember watching the very first episode of "SNL" and thinking, someday I'm going to host that show.
(CHEERING)
SMART: And this was the first Saturday that worked with my schedule.
(LAUGHTER)
BIANCULLI: Like any long-running TV series, "SNL" has ebbed and flowed over the years. But it's always remained significant and sometimes influential because of its constantly churning core of performers and writers. Its musical guests, decade in and decade out, reflect a mixture of the popular and the just rising to pop consciousness. And the guest hosts over 50 years have represented just the sort of excitement and inclusiveness you'd hope them to showcase. The 50th anniversary show's musical guest was Jelly Roll, who's made a lot of inroads in a lot of pop culture showcases. But on "SNL," he got to sing about something that was very serious to him and counted on the studio and TV audience to accept and absorb it.
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JELLY ROLL: (Singing) The broken glass of a bottle makes a jagged rock bottom. Right now I got two shaky hands, only one way to stop it. And I haven't touched a drop in seven hours, three minutes. Finally sobered up, I really want to quit quitting, sweating in an old church basement, wishing I was wasted. I never thought I'd say this - hello, my name's Jason.
(Singing) I've been losin' myself. I've been losin' my mind. I was standin' in the rain just trying to stay dry. I was so ashamed to be in this seat till I met a man who was 20 years clean. He said, evеrybody here's felt thе same defeat. Nobody walks through these doors on a winning streak.
BIANCULLI: The insanely gifted rep company comics, though, are the heart and soul of "SNL" and always has been. From John Belushi to Bowen Yang, the show has found ways to make performers blossom and explode. And nothing is more valuable to the show in terms of comedy or impact than its political sketches. "SNL" opened this season with a very extended one, establishing the new or returning players who would take on this year's political figures. Jim Gaffigan and Andy Samberg are among the new, but familiar-faced recruits, but Maya Rudolph, returning as Kamala Harris, has her impersonation nailed down. And so does a veteran "SNL" player returning to play, for the first time, the current president of the United States.
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MAYA RUDOLPH: (As Kamala Harris) We couldn't have gotten here without one man, and his name is Joe Biden. Get on out here, Joe Biden.
(CHEERING)
BIANCULLI: Yes, it was Dana Carvey who walked out towards the podium, to the delight of the crowd, shuffling like a slightly faster old-man Tim Conway on "The Carol Burnett Show." As soon as Carvey hit the mic, he started digressing in a way that was just as funny, and probably just as memorable, as the way he used to take on George H.W. Bush.
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DANA CARVEY: (As Joe Biden) Folks. That's right. A lot of people who forget I'm president, including me. Guess what? And by the way...
(LAUGHTER)
CARVEY: (As Joe Biden) I think I did a pretty good job. I passed more bills than any president in history. But, folks, we still got work to do. No joke. I'm being serious right now. Come on.
BIANCULLI: It'll be tricky for the writers to hit the right comic and satirical tones for the remainder of this election. There's a lot going on, and some of it, on either side of the political fence, just isn't very funny. But "SNL" has a good cast this year with some young new additions. So I'm willing to just sit back, watch and hope for the best, just like I've been doing for nearly 50 years now.
MOSLEY: David Bianculli is a professor of television studies at Rowan University. He reviewed the premiere episode of the 50th Season of "Saturday Night Live." Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, we talk with economist David Wessel about the different plans that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have for the American economy. Trump talks about high tariffs and deporting immigrants. Harris wants to tax the wealthy and provide direct help to families. I hope you can join us. To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram at @nprfreshair. FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director is Audrey Bentham. Our engineer is Adam Staniszewski.
Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Ann Marie Baldonado, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producers are Molly Seavy-Nesper and Sabrina Siewert. Susan Nyakundi directed today's show. With Terry Gross, I'm Tonya Mosley.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE ADAM DEITCH QUARTET'S "PLAY ON PLAYA") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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