The original cast was hard to beat.I've tried to watch several other incarnations,and always been disappointed.Some of the old material seems dated now,but back then it was all very fresh and funny.

I was never the biggest fan of this show, even during its so-called "glory" days. For me, it was always a bit too self-consciously "hip" for its own good, it had shitty taste in terms of the musical guests it featured (I was enraged one night when they advertised the Sex Pistols as musical guests...a performance which I awaited with breathless anticipation...and then brought in Elvis Costello instead at the last minute-- I respect Costello, but I was an ardent Sex Pistols fan at the time), and the women (and I felt guilty about this) never impressed me as being at all funny (then again, neither was Chevy Chase). Gradually, I gained a grudging respect for various cast members (always liked Belushi, came to respect Aykroyd, had a harder time with Murray but ultimately appreciated him, etc. etc.). Truth be told, I was always far more of an "SCTV" fan. To me, it was smarter, more genuinely and consistently funny, more subtle, and Andrea Martin and Catherine O'Hara were hilarious (which relieved me of any sexist guilt I might have felt over the SNL women). By 1980, of course, whatever marginal worth SNL might once have had was pretty much over, at least as far as I was concerned. Any time I've happened to tune into it between then and now, it's ranged from mediocre to absolutely pitiful.

I think that it was pretty much fun in the seventies. I couldn't watch it all the time then, but I remember some shows. I think it has gone down kind of to me. I don't really watch it too much. I have tried to watch it again. I liked Mad TV when it was on.

I do not really care for SNL nowadays but in the 70's when they had such a good cast, like Chevy Chase or John Belushi-it was very good-the original cast was still the best.

For a brief shinning moment the show was actually produced for its own merits as a weekly presentation of farce and satire, slipped into a time slot that had previously been considered television's dead zone. They would try anything and get away with stuff that was nowhere else on the dial, back when TV's still had dials.

After about 5 years it became more of a comedy university training a generation of movie comedians for stardom in Hollywood. It eventually became a community college level vocational school, then a poorly run highschool improv club and is now the equivalent of the sort of regional "Legends of Comedy Dinner Theatre" type thing. I hear next year the show is relocating to Branson Missouri and running on alternate nights with Mac Davis and Bobby Goldsboro.

SNL in its original form was absolutely stellar groundbreaking television/comedy. It boasted both a top notch reparatory cast and some rather eccentric but talented writers. Emerging from the cynicism of the late 60’s/early 70’s the group weekly offered us a nice selection of biting wit, total silliness, and relevant and irreverent social and political commentary. The show could be straightforward or tongue-in-cheek, sometimes profane, occasionally profound and almost always hilarious. In a very real way it was the voice of the times – though, for the most part, you really had to have a certain amount of youth to truly appreciate the approach. As I recall, it often caused a bit of discomfort between the generations – middle aged and up either didn’t want to get it or could not. But young boomers did and the skits presented on Saturday night were generally rehashed with glee at work or school on Monday mornings. We didn’t have to claim it as our own – we knew it was meant for us just as surely as we were conscious of the fact that the dorky parade of sitcoms and cartoons that dominated the airwaves in the early 60’s were there to convince us of the need for Hasbro games, Barbies, GI Joes and sugar laden cereals. The years following the breakup of the original cast brought a few good moments and some memorable talent here and there - but it has never been the same force of nature that it once was. Then again; I really don’t think anyone expected that it would stay the same forever – anymore than anyone expects to remain perpetually 20 years old.

Have to agree with victor!!! The 80's were good and decent fun. Now it seems like all they do is dribble with an ocasional good skit!!!

This should be included on the "On the air too long" list. I think the show was played out by the end of the 80's/ early 90's. Back in the 70's however, with the original not-ready-for-prime-time cast, this show was hilarious.

The old repeats from the 70's are great. Well I guess even greatness has mortality.

Saturday Night Live was fantastic from 1975-1980. It had a wonderful cast, which included legends like John Belushi and Gilda Radner.

It was great back then, too bad it's absolute crap now (and has been for about two decades.)