SNL 40th Anniversary Special

It's hard to tell with the video quality, but I read a couple of articles and saw another couple of video interviews that all said Belushi was in the pit.

 

I'm not certain, but I think Brad Hall did Weekend Update. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Yes, he did Weekend Update. He was also a full cast member appearing in sketches. Obviously not memorable ones though.

 

He really wasn't that funny. I remember him, and was pretty sure that he was the WU anchor. Just not funny. Bad times at SNL then.

 

Donald Pleasance was the guest host on the night in question. I had completely forgotten this, but (an edited down version of) this show was aired as part of the VH1 Classic marathon, and John Belushi does have a cameo appearance in the cold opening, so he was definitely there that night.

 

He did? Admittedly I haven't seen any clips of his work since before the turn of the millennium, but I remember him as being a fairly enthusiastic preppy sort overall with perhaps a sort of trying-too-hard tone about him.

 

Well, he was in at least one memorable sketch aside from "Weekend Update", IMHO: doesn't anyone else remember the Video Band?

"We just want to sell records
We just wanna get rich
We just want to sell records
We just wanna get chicks..."

 

Tony Rosato gets "instant cred" in my book because he was on "SCTV" - that boosts him up right there!

 

I heard a few f*** words blurted out from the mosh pit. Some f*** its and a F*** you. Guess that went unnoticed at the time. They will never run that clip in today's PC world. And not just because of the f words.

 

I agree. My statement about why it wasn't on the special was sarcasm.

 

Doh, the list of the Top 141 Not-Ready-for-Primetime Players in the current Rolling Stone is awful:

http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/lists/saturday-night-live-all-141-cast-members-ranked-20150211

Here's their Top 10:

10. Chevy Chase
9. Gilda Radner
8. Amy Poehler
7. Phil Hartman
6. Bill Murray
5. Dan Aykroyd
4. Mike Myers
3. Tina Fey
2. Eddie Murphy
1. John Belushi

I think I'd tie Phil Hartman and Dan Aykroyd at #1, simply because for their respective eras, they were the glue that held the sketches together. RS has a weird ranking, and I think they have the current cast members far, far too high on the list. Robert Downey wasn't great, but making him the *worst* of all time is ludicrous.

 

The guy who made the list is also really inconsistent on his policy of not ranking cast members based on achievements after SNL. Chris Rock at #21? Even he will tell you he barely got a chance to shine on the show.

 

Michael O'Donoghue is way too low on that list.

And Jane Curtin should be ranked above Laraine Newman.

I thought Kevin Nealon was good as the Weekend update anchor.

 

Yup - and Sheffield clearly violates this rule with his first pick. He picks Downey as the worst because of the talent he showed elsewhere.

If Downey hadn't gone on to be a big star, he'd not get such a low rating. Sheffield even alludes to Downey's non-"SNL" work as "proof" of how awful he was on the show, so it's clear that was a big factor in the low rating...

 

And Tina Fey doesn't belong in the Top 20, let alone the top 5. That's just the typical writer dork's "sexy librarian" fetish coming into play again...

 

Downey is near the bottom simple because he wasn't good on SNL.
But, personally, I have to rank people low that were on SNL longer because they annoy me more.
Nora Dunn was one of the worst.
Kenan Thompson is usually terrible.
Michael O'Donoghue is a writer so I have no idea why he's on this list

 

I thought we already established that the list was utter nonsense by the fact that Norm MacDonald was ranked 135 out of 141.

 

O'Donoghue was listed as a member of the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" during the first season, as was a guy named George Coe.

 

That list is crap , anyway I saw the new Big SNL Book ,the paper and printing aren't great ,But its cheap for a big book ,so maybe its a deal

 

O'Donoghue was in the very first sketch of SNL, the first one on the SNL 40 show. I think he's mostly known for his writing though.

 

He used to do the "Tony Orlando and Dawn with spikes in their eyes" skit.

 

Librarian or not, Tina could be pretty sexy!



I think it was the Palin impression that pushed her so high in the rating - that was such a sensation.

I won't DARE to suggest that Sheffield let Fey's post-"SNL" success influence his ranking - no way!

 

Tina was the head writer on the show for many years where the sketches were really strong. She absolutely deserves a high rating in my book.

 

She's still hot.

 

I think the show was often pretty terrible during her time as head writer.