История Saturday Night Live: От истоков до звезд

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Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since 1975. Saturday Night Live was not an immediate hit, but the show soon developed its own identity with help from the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players". After an unstable first season, more and more sketch comedy got on the air, and SNL became something of a New York institution. The first four seasons of the show were a hit both commercially and critically, catapulting the original cast into stardom. For the 1979–80 season, cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi left the show. This season is considered underwhelming by most standards. After this season, Michaels attempted to take a break and appoint featured player/writer Al Franken his successor, only to be replaced behind his back with associate producer Jean Doumanian for the 1980–81 season.

In 1974, NBC Tonight Show host Johnny Carson requested that weekend "Best of Carson" reruns of his show (known as The Weekend Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson) come to an end. This way, Carson could take two weeknights off and feed affiliates the specials on those nights. As Carson's show was extremely popular, NBC heard his request as an ultimatum, fearing he might use the issue to move to another network. To fill the gap, NBC brought in Dick Ebersol to develop a late night variety show for airing on Saturday nights. Ebersol's first order of business was to hire a young Canadian producer named Lorne Michaels as the showrunner. As New York City television production was in decline in the mid 1970s, NBC decided to base the new show at their studios in 30 Rockefeller Center. Michaels was given Studio 8H, a converted radio studio that was most famous for having hosted Arturo Toscanini and his orchestra in the 1950s. The studio had fallen into disuse, and was largely being used for election coverage by the mid 1970s.

The first cast members hired were Second City alumni Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, National Lampoon "Lemmings" alumnus Chevy Chase (whose trademark became his usual falls and opening spiel that cued the show's opening), Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris and George Coe. The original head writer was Michael O'Donoghue, a writer at National Lampoon. The original theme music was written by future Academy Award winning composer Howard Shore, who, along with his band (occasionally billed as the "All Nurse Band" or "Band of Angels"), was the original bandleader on the show. Paul Shaffer, who would go on to lead David Letterman's band on Late Night and then The Late Show, also served as bandleader in the early years. Much of the talent pool involved in the inaugural season was recruited from The National Lampoon Radio Hour, a nationally syndicated comedy series that often satirised current events. O'Donoghue had worked alongside several cast members while directing the show. Actors and writers from Radio Hour received much more exposure and recognition on Saturday Night Live.

The 1975–76 season began on October 11, 1975, with host George Carlin. The show was originally called NBC's Saturday Night, and would not be called Saturday Night Live until near the end of the 1976–77 season. The show was also intended to have just six episodes, and to be hosted by a permanent guest host instead of a rotating celebrity host (Albert Brooks was apparently picked as a permanent host). The show was originally much more of a typical variety show than it would later become, with the first episode featuring two musical guests (Janis Ian and Billy Preston) and the second almost entirely featuring music by Paul Simon. Sketch comedy would begin to dominate the show over the course of the season. George Coe and Michael O'Donoghue would appear regularly throughout the season, even though they were only credited for the first few shows of the season. O'Donoghue would also appear regularly until the end of the 1978–79 season, although he was never again credited as a cast member.

Michaels fought network executives to accept his vision for the show, which was far removed from then standard variety show conventions. One executive, visiting a dress rehearsal, noticed that the band was dressed in blue jeans and asked when their tuxedos would arrive. Before the show's premiere, Michaels remarked that he knew what the "ingredients would be, but not the proportions" and that the show would have to "find itself" on air. Indeed, the cast (known as the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players") would not be heavily featured in the show until the third episode, quickly becoming the focus of the show. The 1975–76 season (and early episodes of the 1976–77 season) featured a recurring Muppets segment called The Land of Gorch. This segment was poorly received by the audience and was dropped. Films by Albert Brooks were also sometimes shown in these early episodes, although these were also dropped due to negative viewer reception. It was also one of the only shows that consistently produced topical political satire. In 1976, Ron Nessen, press secretary for President Gerald Ford, hosted the show. Ford himself appeared in a pre taped opening sequence. The show had been critical of Ford (with Chase's bumbling impression becoming popular with audiences) and promised to give him a break that night. On October 30, 1976, "Weekend Update" (a topical news sketch performed in every episode) played the 1974 broadcast of Ford pardoning President Richard Nixon. Many backstage felt that this decision was instrumental in helping Jimmy Carter win the 1976 election, especially among younger voters. Chase's departure for the show early in the 1976–77 season coincided with the 1976 presidential election, in which Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter was elected the 39th President of the United States of America. Cast member Dan Aykroyd was selected to portray Carter in subsequent seasons. His impression emphasized Carter's southern roots and the country twang in his voice. An episode hosted by Ralph Nader in January 1977 depicts Carter as a Confederate general, using his status as president elect to take over the nation. Political parody was relatively new to American mainstream television in 1975; comedy shows in the past had rarely dared to push the envelope. By satirizing the head of the nation, Saturday Night Live redefined the parameters of acceptable television content and became "the first television show to speak the nation of the time", according to NBC executive Dick Ebersol.

Perhaps due to his recurring news parody sketch "Weekend Update", Chevy Chase was the first breakout star of Saturday Night Live, appearing on magazine covers, doing interviews, and receiving two Emmy awards in 1976 (one for performing and one for writing). As well as "Weekend Update", Chase would open each show with a pratfall before screaming the now famous "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" On September 18, 1976, during the Ford Carter debate sketch Debate '76, Chase tumbled off his podium. Because it lacked padding, he injured his groin. Dan Aykroyd, playing Jimmy Carter at the time, tried to help him, also falling. During the next two episodes, Chase appeared by phone with a picture of him calling from the hospital. A caption stated "VOICE OF CHEVY CHASE". He returned on October 16, 1976, via wheelchair. Michaels later stated that he knew that Saturday Night Live could go in one of two directions: "It would either stay what it was or it would morph into The Chevy Chase Show". Chase received offers to star in films. NBC offered him a prime time series, but because he had signed a one year contract, Chase would be free to leave television for a film career. Though Chase had never been friendly with most of the cast (a rivalry with John Belushi went all the way back to their work on The National Lampoon Radio Hour, and by the time he left, he couldn't even get along with Lorne Michaels), Chase returned to host the show several times over the next two decades. Relations were often strained; the cast (whatever their own personal conflicts) would usually unite in opposition or disgust towards him, even hiding so that they would not have to share an elevator with him. During Chase's 1978 hosting stint, Chase got into a brawl with Bill Murray mere moments before broadcast. In 1985, he horrified many of the cast by suggesting a sketch where openly gay performer Terry Sweeney develops AIDS and then show the audience how much weight he loses each week. In 1997, after being just generally difficult to work with, Chase was banned from ever hosting again. Despite this, Chase would occasionally make cameos following his ban from the show.

By the 1976–77 season, Saturday Night Live had grown into something of a television phenomenon. Like Rowan & Martin's Laugh In several years earlier, it was, in many ways, a show that appealed to a younger audience, which made it appealing to advertisers. Recurring characters and catchphrases from the show soon entered the popular vernacular. In March 1977, the show was renamed from NBC's Saturday Night to Saturday Night Live.

Bill Murray's first appearance was on January 15, 1977, shortly after Chase left to pursue a movie career. Murray had a shaky start, forgetting his lines and seeming awkward. Many fans of Chase saw Murray as a replacement for him and had been sending hate mail. By the end of the second season, he began to develop a following with a sleazy know it all persona. Many of his characterizations, such as Nick the Lounge Singer and Todd DiLamuca (originally Todd DiLabounta before the real DiLabounta threatened to sue), became popular with audiences.

The 1977–78 season was the final season of Saturday Night Live in which the cast was referred to as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players. Two notable "featured players" were hired during this season: writer Al Franken and his comedic partner Tom Davis.