Saturday Night Live

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Recommended: Television aspects that changed our world

When thinking of sketch comedy on television, there aren’t many shows to choose from, but there are two shows that have definitely made an impact. The beginning of sketch comedy as we know it came from Your Show of Shows, and the modern sketch comedy that everyone knows now comes from Saturday Night Live. There have been a handful of other sketch comedy shows, but if it weren’t for these 2, they wouldn’t exist. Your Show of Shows was on the air from 1950-1954 during TV’s first Golden Age. Saturday Night Live started in 1975 and has been going on ever since. Your Show of Shows is definitely an influence to modern day sketch comedy shows like Saturday Night Live, but both shows bring something different to American culture and both had a huge impact on sketch comedy on television.
Your Show of Shows (1950-1954) was a sketch comedy show filmed live in front of an audience. The sketches were longer back then, usually in the 5-10 minute range, and sometimes even longer. Sid Caesar was the star of the show, along with Imogene Coca, Howard Morris, and Carl Reiner who had his first breakout gig with the show. There were many more hilarious comedians that performed and wrote for Your Show of Shows. Everything they did was original comedy written by some of the greatest talent in television, film and other entertainment. One big name that might surprise you is Mel Brooks, who worked with Sid Caesar and wrote for Your Show of Shows. The show was broadcast on NBC every Saturday night. The length of the show was 90 minutes long. To make a long story short, Your Show of Shows is such a monumental show because it redefined television.
Redefining television isn’t an easy feat. A show must be extremely amazing and really make an impact to achieve...

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...istory.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

[5] http://personal.stthomas.edu/JARN7996/SNL/history.html
Jarnes, Erika. "SNL." SNL. University of St. Thomas, 2011. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

[6] http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/saturday-night-live
"Saturday Night Live." Archive of American Television. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

[7] http://www.entertainmentscene360.com/index.php/snl-and-its-effects-on-comedy-and-culture-2563/
Zibas, Christine. "SNL and Its Effects on Comedy and Culture." Entertainment Scene 360. N.p., 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

[8] http://www.nndb.com/people/621/000024549/
"Lorne Michaels." NNDB. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

[9] Michele Hilmes – Only Connect (Textbook)
Hilmes, Michele. Only Connect: A Cultural History of Broadcasting in the United States. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2002. Print.

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