50 years on, can Saturday Night Live ever return to its glory days?

This weekend, when “Saturday Night Live” kicks off its 50th season, the momentous event will surely stir up nostalgic memories for generations of fans. Since 1975, Lorne Michaels’ weekly show has given us Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Conan O’Brien, Dana Carvey, Mike Myers and countless other comedic powerhouses. And its decades of sketches — Wayne’s World, Roseanne Roseannadanna, the Love-ahs, James Brown, the Coneheads, Jeopardy!, the Lawrence Welk Show (“And I’m Dooneese!”) — are seared onto our cultural consciousness, whether you were alive for them or not.With the joy of nostalgia, however, comes pangs of sadness.“SNL” ain’t what she used to be.And I doubt the legendary show can ever return to its unassailable perch atop the comedy mountain.The NBC sketch series that once set the curve for boundary-breaking humor (as the incredible alumni list attests) is now well behind it, as the program struggles to keep up with TikTok, social media memes and resurgent stand-up specials as a provider of American laughs.In 2024, a topical joke barely lasts a few hours, let alone a week.Once or twice a season the show manages to cut through the noise with exceptional creativity.

Everybody watched Bowen Yang’s hilarious “Weekend Update” Titanic iceberg interview, for example, and you can’t unsee Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day’s terrifying transformation into Beavis and Butthead.But these are the rare exceptions. Far from edgy, now “SNL” is mostly pleasant and niche.What ever happened to strong, recurring characters? Think Dana Carvey’s Church Lady, Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer’s Music Teachers, Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer, Tracy Morgan’s Brian Fellow, Chris Farley’s Matt Foley, motivational speaker and Wiig’s Gilly. It’s hard to name a current staple other than maybe Ego Nwodim’s Dionne Warwick.The era of cherished “SNL�...