I was a teenager when a new show hit televisions screens on late Saturday night. Today’s teens have no idea what it was like back then when there was barely anything except old movies being run at that time or reruns of old TV shows. For that matter weeknight TV held little more than Johnny Carson on the Tonight show and a few lame imitators. And around 1 A.M. TV shut down leaving behind nothing but a test pattern. But times have changed. And one thing that changed for the better was that show on Saturdays. Who knew what would happen after the words “Live from New York, its Saturday Night!” were spoken? And who knew that an unknown actor/comedian on the show named John Belushi would become an American icon?
I was stunned one day when talking to someone who just turned 20 that they had no idea who John Belushi was, had never seen ANIMAL HOUSE and who didn’t know much past the current line up as to who was on SNL (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE). When I got word this DVD was coming out I was glad because it gave me the chance to pass it along for someone young to discover just who Belushi was.
Then again they might not get it. The performances featured show Belushi doing bits where he was imitating Marlon Brando and Joe Cocker. And if the youngsters in the world have no clue who Belushi is could they possible know these two as well? I doubted it. But maybe this would be a way of generating an interest from them to look into those folks as well. And maybe it would be an eye opener for them to realize that comedians, celebrities and stars existed before Robert Patinson and Paris Hilton.
Back to the DVD. It features a number of the best items Belushi ever did when he was a major player on SNL. We see Belushi as Brando as the Godfather going to a group therapy session where he’s asked to play out his problems. As Joe Cocker singing “With A Little Help From My Friend” (which no one who didn’t live in the sixties will understand if they don’t youtube a clip of Cocker from that time period). Belushi as the famed Samurai Swordsmen in several clips from Samurai Deli to the disco film spoof Samurai Night Fever. There are so many different offerings of Belushi here that you can’t just name them all and expect the descriptions to do them justice.
There were two moments that were particularly touching to me. One was watching Belushi perform with Dan Aykroyd as the Blues Brothers. Their love of the music and the energy they exude on stage while performing got a number of young people to seek out the blues music the paid tribute to. This energy combined with the friendship we learned of between these two brought back fond memories.
The other moment that actually brought a tear to my eye, and always has, was a filmed piece for the show that featured Belushi as an old man going to visit the graves of the other Not Ready For Prime Time Players (the name given to the original cast members). He talks about each one and their untimely demises, how he misses them and then how he came to be the last one. It was because…he was a dancer! He then proceeds to dance on their graves. The ironic thing was that the skit has him the sole survivor, he was actually the first to pass away.
The disc is a fitting tribute to the time Belushi spent on the show. The entire casts from the first few seasons were absolutely amazing. Some didn’t take center stage nearly as often as Belushi or have careers that soared as his did, but each played an important role in what became SNL. I watched a recent episode of the show one night. As I watched I realized why I stopped. It wasn’t funny. When SNL began there might be one or two sketches that weren’t quite funny. But today it seems the opposite is true with only one or two that ARE funny. Some stars have hit breakout time and rightly so. But on the whole the show is lacking the humor it had when it began. Perhaps its time to head off to that SNL cemetery Belushi danced in.
Lionsgate has released a series of DVDs featuring the main players from different season of the show SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. Many are being re-released and one might think it was nothing more than the same old same old. The truth is they’ve added several more sequences to each disc and for fans of the stars it’s worth it to add to your collection. Included for the first time in the Belushi disc are Samurai Hotel, Samurai Tailor, Bad Director, The Farbers Meet The Coneheads, Weekend Update/Songs About The Weather and Weekend Update/Skylab.
Fans of SNL will be happy this series is out. And if you’re not a fan or haven’t been exposed to the early years, begin with Belushi and go from there. And take the time to share them with someone who has yet to be exposed to the comic genius that was SNL.
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