Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post: Saturday Night

Tonight on NBC is the live special celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.

(This week's Tueday TV Touchbase will post my thoughts on that special.)

Today's edition of Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post takes a look at a movie called Saturday Night that came out in the Fall of 2024 that looked back to  the October 11, 1975 premiere of NBC's Saturday Night, later known as Saturday Night Live. 

A disclaimer upfront:  if anyone is looking to this movie for 100% accuracy about the events leading up to 11:30 PM Eastern Time on October 11, 1975, that ain't this movie.  

Events in Saturday Night can be classified the following ways:

• scenes in the movie that recount exactly what happened in the hours leading up to 11:30 PM Eastern Time on October 11, 1975
• scenes in the movie that recount events that really did happen but NOT in the hours leading up to 11:30 PM Eastern Time on October 11, 1975
• scenes in the movie that recount events that may have happened at some point or another but we have no proof

And....

• shit the filmmakers completely made up.  

Before we get underway, it's pays to remember Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

The movie opens with newbie producer Lorne Michaels arriving at NBC Studios in New York City for the debut of the first episode of NBC's Saturday Night.

(The show was not called Saturday Night Live because ABC already had a prime time series hosted by Howard Cosell called Saturday Night Live. After that show was cancelled, then NBC's Saturday Night became Saturday Night Live.)   

There is a LOT of shit going on.  

Michaels' boss, Dick Ebersol, warns him that NBC executive David Tebet has brought executives from across the country to come and view the broadcast. 

Despite Tebet' encouraging words to Michaels, Ebersol makes it known that Tebet has no faith in the show and is ready to replay an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to fill the time.

Garrett Morris, a veteran of operatic theater, wonders why the hell he is on this show.

John Belushi is irritable, detached and picks fights with everyone. He wonders why he's there.

Jim Henson complains his Muppets segment is being mistreated by the writers and questions why he's on this show.

The writers themselves are at war with censor Joan Carbunkle and her demands. 

Host George Carlin thinks the whole show is a sham and vehemently disputes why he's part of this thing.  

Milton Berle is hanging around for some damn reason to remind anyone who will listen that be was known as "Mr. Television", what kind of ratings his show got back in the 1950's and disputes why any of these young punks are there now. 

Chevy Chase confronts Milton Berle when "Mr. Television" hits on his girlfriend, Jacqueline. Berle tells Chevy he's a big nobody and questions what he's even doing here now. And for good measure, "Uncle Milty" pulls out his penis.  

Michaels gets a call from Johnny Carson who is not calling to wish him luck but warns him his little show is doomed and questions what he's doing there.

A lighting fixture falls down, narrowly missing Jonn Belushi. And NOW, John is in a REALLY BAD mood!  

Super stressed out, Michaels heads to a local bar, where he comes across comedy writer Alan Zweibel and hires him on the spot to become a writer on the show. 

After one more threat by Tebet to cut to the Carson rerun, the live show proceeds on air. 

Michael O'Donoghue and John Belushi perform the Wolverine sketch, which is well received by the audience. 

In the film’s final moments, Chase enters the scene and announces, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

And that is that.

Some of that stuff really happened. 

Some of it even happened that night.  

Some it really happened but later in the season or the series. For example, we see Dan Akroyd working on his "Julia Child bleeding to death" sketch which wouldn't be a thing until the 3rd season.

There is no evidence Milton Berle was hanging around NBC on that October night in 1975 but he would be there later in the series as an extraordinarily bad guest host who did treat the cast horribly behind the scenes.  (And Berle's was known to be very "well endowed" and would whip out his penis in case there were any doubters.) 

Under the heading of "shit the filmmakers completely made up" was a sweet poignant scene of John Belushi ice skating in his Bee costume at the Rockerfeller Plaza ice rink while Lorne Michaels and Gilda Radner look on.  Gilda has a great monologue about being nostalgic for a moment as it's happening, an observation made more bittersweet by our knowledge that of this original cast, Gilda and John will not survive.   

Also under "shit the filmmakers completely made up" is the tension that the NBC executive Tebets holds the show hostage right up to the last second. Whatever misgivings NBC had about this crazy ass show Lorne Michaels cooked up, by the time Saturday night rolled around, it was a given the show was going to go on.

The movie opens with a quote from Lorne Michaels and it's one my favorite quotes: "We don't go on because the show is ready. We go on because it's 11:30."  

I've read a lot about the history of Saturday Night Live. While Saturday Night takes a lot of liberties with certain facts, I feel this movie still accurately reflects the spirit of those crazy moments that lead up to 11:30 on the night of October 11, 1975 and it was time, ready or not, for the show to go on.  

And it has gone on for 50 years. I'll be back with more SNL stuff for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.