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SNL Afterparty

Wayne’s World. More Cowbell. The Blues Brothers.

These are some of the most iconic comedic moments in modern American culture. They were viral before the Internet existed. They’re as ubiquitous as each episode’s opener: “Live from New York, It’s Saturday night!”

Over the past 40 years, many shows have tried to create a more engaging late-night viewing experience, but ultimately it’s just more fun to see what they’ll come up with for this week’s ‘SNL.’

“Saturday Night Live” is an American institution that launched the careers of numerous comedians who were so successful, they no longer care if the movies they make now are funny. The live, sketch-comedy show has been on for over 40 seasons, and can boast John Belushi, Kristen Wiig, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Billy Murray as cast alumni.

These days, most “SNL” fans have been fans their whole lives. Such is the case with John Murray, creator and host of SNL Afterparty, a “Saturday Night Live” recap and discussion show. With his co-host Steve Finn, Murray walks through the most recent episode, talking about which sketches worked, which definitely didn’t, and which cast members shined.

Murray became a fan of “SNL” as soon as his parents let him stay up to watch it, at around age 10 in the early 90s. “This was the tail end of the Wayne’s World craze and the start of Sandler, Rock, Farley, Schneider and Spade,” said Murray.

The early 90s were a rough time for “SNL.” Behind some classic moments like Chris Farley’s Matt Foley character and Adam Sandler’s Opera Man, the show was struggling to integrate new and old cast members, leading to its worst year ever in 1994. But, as always, the show bounced back, proving that comedy can endure.

“The fact that it is ‘live’, is really why it endures.  It’s an event,” said Murray. “It’s audacious and a little dangerous to try to produce a 90 minute comedy show in only 5 days, and then perform it live for millions of viewers after only one dress rehearsal.  Over the past 40 years, many shows have tried to create a more engaging late-night viewing experience, but ultimately it’s just more fun to see what they’ll come up with for this week’s ‘SNL.’”

A tv-recap podcast, much like a tv series, can become repetitive. If Murray were to fall back on simply retelling the sketch plots or jokes, SNL Afterparty would be as stale as audiences complained ‘SNL’ did in the early 80s. How does the podcast (and the show, for that matter) stay fresh?

“SNL has to reinvent itself every week,” said Murray. “They have to keep up on news, politics, entertainment, and the social climate.  With a fresh week of crazy to draw on, SNL creates the conversation.​ We just have to pick up what they’re laying down.”

SNL Afterparty doesn’t just recap, but it gets into the nitty gritty of what made sketches work. Murray also provides insight on what production elements happened to elevate the humor, or how that show was changed from the dress rehearsal earlier that evening.

If comedy isn’t offending someone somewhere, then it probably isn’t very good.

“Saturday Night Live” has always been in the forefront of political satire/commentary/mocking. Quips that were born from Dana Carvey’s impression of George H.W. Bush or Tina Fey’s impression of Sarah Palin are still quoted. “Each season does have a handful of very inspired moments that tend to end up being what we look back on as the definitive comedic voice of the politics of any given era,” said Murray.

But as American politics have gotten more polarizing (and arguably more insane), the show has given a lot of airtime to sketches poking at government figures and policies. Addressing so many issues head on leaves them open to criticism on all sides: from people who are offended that they’ve gone too far, and from people who are offended that they didn’t go far enough.

“​Since every episode is its own fresh run at the politics of the week, it’s hard to sum up ‘SNL’s’ overall ‘handling’ of it,” said Murray. “I think ‘SNL’ tries their best to find the funny in politics, but the live format and production constraints of the show often make it an awkward vehicle for sharp commentary.”

Comedy can be almost unrecognizable when it is fully free of controversy, and SNL is no exception. In May, the show aired its 43rd season finale. Colin Jost and Michael Che, writers and hosts of the Weekend Update segment, acknowledged many of the jokes that were cut from their script, deemed “too offensive.” They honored these ”too offensive” jokes by, of course, performing them anyway. Murray doesn’t mind.

“If comedy isn’t offending someone somewhere, then it probably isn’t very good.  People sometimes forget how much fun it can be to have our sensibilities challenged,” he said. “That said, it is way easier to laugh at a controversial joke when it’s genuinely funny.”

As long as ‘SNL’ is committed to comedy, it will continue to dominate television’s Saturday nights. It may have its ups and downs, but after skewering our nation’s politics and contributing to our sense of humor for over 40 years, the amount of genuinely funny content it has produced isn’t going anywhere. And while it could be hard to narrow down which moments out of thousands are your favorite, Murray gave it a shot:

Favorite Sketch? “I got to attend ‘SNL’ the night that ‘Farewell Mr. Bunting’ ran.  It was incredible to see how insane the audience went for that sketch.  It was riotous and so much fun.”

Favorite Host? “If I had to pick a host that isn’t currently embroiled in a sex scandal, I’d have to go with Tina Fey.  I just love her comedic sensibilities.”

Favorite Season? “I’m not sure if I could tack down just one, but I think the Meyers, Sudeikis, Hader, Wiig, Lonely Island era of the late 00s is probably one of the best we will ever see.​”

Favorite Cast Member? “Bill Murray. No explanation needed.”

 

SNL Afterparty is independently produced and releases new episodes every other week. Visit SNL Afterparty on Podchaser to listen with your favorite app, and leave it a rating or review.

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