我承认我已经足够大了，可以在 1975 年观看“周六夜现场”的首映式。从一开始，它就是令人兴奋的开创性电视节目。
从那以后，我看过大部分剧集。当然，并非所有人都这样，因为像大多数“SNL”观众一样，我发现其最壮观的历史中的某些时期比其他时期更具吸引力（例如，更有趣）。
我从来没有对这部剧进行过休整期，因为这部剧的创意大师 Lorne Michaels 总能设法找到回归相关性和灵感喜剧的方法。 （如果你不能，你就不会在将近 50 年的时间里播出。）
所以我觉得有充分的准备说：已经达到假期中断点的当前赛季可以合法地与过去的例子一起排名（2000 年第 26 季，当时蒂娜·菲和吉米法伦在周末更新中合作；1995 年第 21 季当威尔·法瑞尔和其他人加入演员阵容时）作为一个真正的复出故事。
我不孤独。本季的评论基本上是正面的。一个典型的评论，来自今日美国的凯利劳勒：“到目前为止，'SNL'这一季出乎意料地热闹、令人愉快和激动人心。”
这不是近年来“SNL”经常收到的评价，当时批评在节目中因创造性地停滞不前而受到批评。
那么发生了什么变化呢？
最明显的答案是：我们不是在总统竞选中。 《SNL》一向以政治讽刺为荣；辩论和其他竞选时刻的模仿已经产生了一些最令人难忘的草图和标语：威尔·法瑞尔在 2000 年饰演乔治·布什的“战略”； “我可以从我家看到俄罗斯！” 2008 年，蒂娜·菲饰演莎拉·佩林； “我是谁？我为什么在这里？” 1992 年，菲尔·哈特曼 (Phil Hartman) 饰演詹姆斯·斯托克代尔 (James Stockdale) 上将。
当唐纳德特朗普成为候选人然后成为总统时，该节目经历了亚历克鲍德温对特朗普极其广泛的印象的积极关注。
但正如过去“SNL”所发生的那样，对于该节目必须在华盛顿发生的每一个令人震惊的事件上跳跃的期望有时最终会迫使创造性的决定。在特朗普的案例中，发生了许多这样的事件，其中许多与荒诞的剧院非常相似，以至于几乎无法模仿（喝漂白剂；重新绘制天气图；墨西哥为隔离墙买单）。
在最近几年以特朗普为中心的新闻中，“SNL”似乎精疲力竭地寻找新鲜的喜剧，而不是特朗普可能是多么可笑或威胁。
由于喜剧的必要性和他的行为必须被嘲笑的信念，整个深夜世界同样充满了特朗普的荒谬，这无济于事。
本赛季为特朗普带来了七年来的第一次持续喘息。这个角色已经出现，但很谨慎，由新演员詹姆斯·奥斯汀·约翰逊 (James Austin Johnson) 表演的印象比漫画更具个性。约翰逊正在捕捉特朗普的声音和举止，而不是卡通化的表演。 （公平地说，鲍德温在特朗普早期的许多草图中都非常有趣。）
值得注意的是，该节目对乔拜登也没有什么实质性的影响，尽管约翰逊对他也有技巧。金凯瑞是一位出色的明星演员，但他并没有把批评家们拒之门外。
也许是因为对政治的高度关注，或者因为演员阵容并不是最令人难忘的，迈克尔斯近年来做了很多这样的特技演员，尤其是在带回最受欢迎的演员方面。但是“SNL”最好的季节都是关于常规演员的。
这就是今年发生的事情。一些相对较新的演员正在走向前列。事实证明，杨博文非常多才多艺；皮特·戴维森 (Pete Davidson) 早先非常依赖他的单口相声技巧，他在塑造良好的素描角色（他的安德鲁·科莫 (Andrew Cuomo) 非常棒）和音乐视频中留下了印记。 （“行走在孟菲斯”的“行走在史坦顿”是本季的一大亮点。）
但是还有其他亮点，其中一些是由东道主创造的，其中许多人在本赛季表现出色。也许最令人惊讶的是金·卡戴珊 (Kim Kardashian)，她的外表出乎意料地闪耀。 （她的独白中的一句话：“我只是比我姐妹们给她们的整形外科医生看的参考照片要多得多。”）Kieran Culkin 和 Simu Liu 在他们的工作中也非常忙碌，这表明作家们看到了真正的喜剧效果。比莉·艾利什 (Billie Eilish) 也是如此，她在两场令人瞠目结舌的音乐表演之外还进行了精彩的商业模仿。
尽管如此，几乎所有人都同意，本季的出色表演由长期演员塞西莉·斯特朗（Cecily Strong）上演，在周末更新中热情洋溢地饰演小丑古伯，这是一篇关于堕胎权利的令人发指的有趣评论。
周末更新似乎也焕然一新。 几个季节的笑话让人觉得平淡之后，它们变得尖锐，而且更频繁地大笑起来：“一位 83 岁的男子已成为有史以来徒步阿巴拉契亚小径的最年长的人。该男子将这次徒步旅行献给了他的妻子 ……几英里前就死了。”
总的来说，随着总统选举年的重磅推出，“SNL”再次发生了一些非常有趣的事情。 回顾一下 Chevy Chase 早期在节目中的名言：与 Generalissimo Francisco Franco 不同，“SNL”还活着！
The reason 'SNL' is so hilarious again? Less Trump
I confess to being old enough to have watched the premiere of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975. It was, from the start, exciting, ground-breaking television.
Since then, I have seen the majority of episodes. Not all of them, of course, because like most "SNL" viewers, I have found some periods in its mostly spectacular history more appealing (as in, funnier) than others.
I have never held the fallow periods against the show, because the show's creative maestro, Lorne Michaels, somehow always manages to find the way back to relevance and inspired comedy. (You're not going to stay on the air for nearly 50 years if you can't.)
So I feel reasonably well-equipped to say: The current season, which has reached its holiday hiatus point, can be legitimately ranked with past examples (Season 26 in 2000 when Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon teamed up on Weekend Update; Season 21 in 1995 when Will Ferrell and others joined the cast) as a genuine comeback story.
I'm not alone. Reviews for this season have been substantially positive. A typical comment, this one from Kelly Lawler at USA Today: "'SNL' this season so far has been unexpectedly hilarious, delightful and thrilling."
That's not an appraisal "SNL" was routinely receiving in recent years, when criticism was lobbed at the show for being creatively stalled.
So what changed?
The most obvious answer: we are not in the middle of a presidential race. "SNL" has always thrived on political satire; parodies of debates and other campaign moments have generated some of its most memorable sketches and catchphrases: "Strategery" from Will Ferrell as George Bush in 2000; "I can see Russia from my house!" from Tina Fey as Sarah Palin in 2008; "Who am I? Why am I here?" from Phil Hartman as Admiral James Stockdale in 1992.
And when Donald Trump emerged as candidate and then president, the show experienced a jolt of positive attention from Alec Baldwin's extremely broad Trump impression.
But as has happened with "SNL" in the past, expectations that the show must jump on every egregious event coming out of Washington sometimes winds up forcing creative decisions. In the case of Trump, there were a slew of those events, many so closely resembling the theater of the absurd they were almost impossible to parody (drinking bleach; redrawing weather maps; Mexico paying for the wall).
In the last few years of Trump-centric news, "SNL" seemed to exhaust itself in search of a fresh comic take, something other than how ridiculous or menacing Trump could be.
It didn't help that the entire world of late-night was equally suffused in Trump-preposterousness, because of comedy imperatives and the conviction that his actions had to be mocked.
This season has brought the first sustained respite from Trump in seven years. The character has appeared, but sparingly, and the impression, performed by new cast member James Austin Johnson, is more character than caricature. Johnson is capturing the Trump voice and mannerisms as they really are, not as a cartoonish performance. (Baldwin, to be fair, was very funny in many sketches in the early Trump years.)
Notably, the show has also done little of substance with Joe Biden, though Johnson also has a skillful take on him. Jim Carrey was an exceptional bit of star-casting, but he didn't knock critics out.
Perhaps because of the huge focus on politics, or because the cast has not been the most memorable, Michaels did a lot of that stunt-casting in recent years, especially in bringing back cast favorites. But the best seasons of "SNL" have been all about the regular cast.
And that's what has been happening this year. Some relatively newer cast members are moving to the forefront. Bowen Yang is proving extremely versatile; and Pete Davidson, who earlier leaned heavily on his stand-up skills, has made a mark with well-formed sketch characters (his Andrew Cuomo is dead-on great) and in music videos. (The "Walking in Staten" parody of "Walking in Memphis" is a highlight of this season.)
But there have been other highlights, some generated by hosts, many of whom excelled this season. Maybe most surprising was Kim Kardashian, who defied expectations by shining in her appearance. (One line from her monologue: "I'm just so much more than that reference photo my sisters showed their plastic surgeons.") Kieran Culkin and Simu Liu were also very busy in their stints, a sign the writers saw real comedy chops. So was Billie Eilish, who had a highlight commercial parody on top of two eye-popping music performances.
Still, by almost universal agreement, the standout performance of the season was turned in by long-time cast member Cecily Strong, with an impassioned Weekend Update segment as Goober the clown, a searingly funny commentary about abortion rights.
Weekend Update also seems refreshed. After some seasons where the jokes felt flat, they have been sharp and more frequently laugh-out-loud: "An 83-year-old man has become the oldest person ever to hike the Appalachian Trail. The man dedicated the walk to his wife . . . who died a few miles back."
Overall it's enough to conclude, with the heavy lift of a presidential election year behind it, something really interesting is happening at "SNL" again. To put a spin on Chevy Chase's now-famous words from his early days on the show: Unlike Generalissimo Francisco Franco, "SNL" is still alive!
