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When an entertainment institution reaches the age of 35, as Saturday Night Live has, you can begin to examine its history to see certain trends and patterns develop. When you are talking about a show with as many ups, downs, rebirths and renovations as SNL has had, you can spot some interesting things.
Last night, I caught part of the “Women of SNL” special that aired on NBC. One thing that immediately struck me was that when the female cast members were allowed to shine, they were (to quote one memorable character) “freakin'” hilarious!!
And that has been exactly the hurdle female cast members have had to jump since 1975, when the show began. It is no secret that from the beginning, the comedy series was almost exclusively a “boy’s club,” where male cast members and writers called the shots and took most of the spotlight. That forced the female cast to work that much harder to be edgier, funnier, and more original. Watching old episodes, it becomes clear that all too often the talent was tied to the estrogen in the room.
Don’t get me wrong; I am a HUGE fan of Belushi, the Continental, and Jon Lovitz’ version of Satan (not to mention the many dead-on Clinton imitations). But for every classic male-oriented skit, there seemed to be at least three or four duds. When Gilda Radner or Nora Dunn wormed in some screen time, they made sure it was GREAT.
To look back, it’s really impressive that the “girls” took the little power they had and created some characters and one-liners that live on to this day. Gilda Radner (Emily Litella, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Baba Wawa, Judy’s imagination), Jan Hooks (too many hookers, trailer park moms, and substance-abusing celebrities to mention), Molly Shannon (Mary Katherine Gallagher, Monica Lewisnski, Courtney Love), singer and dancer Victoria Jackson, Tina Fey (the best SNL news anchor EVER), Julia Sweeney (“It’s just…Pat”), Nora Dunn (TV host Pat Stevens, and one-half of the Sweeney Sisters), and many others made the show watchable during times when the male cast was scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Perhaps the two cast members most important to the female-fueled history of the show are Cheri Oteri and current cast member Kristen Wiig. In both cases, they were THE cast members that breathed new life into a VERY low point in the quality of the show, and made SNL the talk at the office Monday morning again. Cheri Oteri used a spastic, socially backward approach to create some legendary moments, such as her popularity-deprived Spartan cheerleader and senior pill-popping Collette Reardon (“That’s MISS Reardon to you, heartbreaker!”). Oteri had the unique ability to make people laugh at her femininity while also making people think about the role of power her wives, girlfriends and mothers actually had over the other characters.
When Kristen Wiig joined the cast in 2005, she took that high energy incompetence and pushed it one step further, willing to look even more zany and grotesque than even Oteri was willing to do (watching her “Dooneese” on the Lawrence Welk show is both hilarious and creepy). She also has gained incredible Internet popularity of late, as her “Surprise Party Sue” has saturated YouTube and Facebook.
It is good to see show creator Lorne Michaels seems to have learned his lesson, giving Wiig the screen time Radner and Oteri should have had. In all three cases, they are just plain funnier than their co-stars.
“Is this the party to whom I am Speaking?” I thought you were a young guy Fred! Those were really talented and very funny women. I haven’t heard these names in years. I actually quit watching SNL years ago and now YOU have put your finger on the reason. Thank you. I actually never gave it the in depth thought that you have here and I am sure you are correct. During the last presidential election, I learned of Tina Fey because of the national attention that she drew in her remarkably accurate impressions of the idiot up north. She is a very talented and very funny woman. Looking back on the years I did watch SNL I agree with you. The women DID save that show on many occasions.