Blog #35--Birds of a Feather...

The baby boom generation was the first to grow up with television, and I partook readily. My family’s first TV was purchased in 1950, when I was three years old. There were few shows and fewer channels from which to choose, but it provided both entertainment and learning opportunities.

A big limitation of early television was censorship. It seemed to me early television moguls wanted to keep perspectives as limited as possible. Early TV sets were in black-and-white, which was only one of several similarities to the television show at the heart of the movie “Pleasantville,” where nothing bad ever happened and everyone happily represented an ultraconservative stereotype.

Movies had censors also, but television went the extra mile. One couldn’t say words like “toilet” or “pregnant.” For that matter, bathroom scenes were verboten, and even married couples such as Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz could not be shown sleeping in a single bed. It was a world as phony as the censors could make it, and young people were becoming increasingly restless to see more relaxed moral standards on television.

And then along came “Saturday Night Live” in 1975. Late night shows were granted slightly more leeway than ones seen by young children, but censors still applied constant pressure to rein in this new irreverent but funny show. SNL pushed the envelope constantly, and little by little, standards began to relax somewhat. Indeed, SNL paved the way for a more realistic approach to censorship throughout the entire television industry.

I became a fan almost immediately. Married and with a child on the way, Saturday nights were no longer required for dating purposes, and many of us looked forward to some fun television escapism every weekend. Not all the shows were spectacular, and not all cast members resonated well with their audiences. But over the years, SNL has entertained millions and provided a degree of stability in a rapidly changing world.

I bring this up because SNL recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Think about that. No other television variety show, no matter how special, has lasted that long. Sure, it has never had serious competition in its time slot, and going live added an element of extemporaneousness. The pressure of going live has provided occasional flubbed lines but also occasional brilliance. A live broadcast adds an element of raw honesty that is a refreshing change from most pre-taped shows.

Over the years, the show has demonstrated consistently both creative and organizational genius. In other words, there is a vast amount of both right-brain and left-brain excellence. When the two aspects are in balance, a bright light of loving energy illuminates a dark world.

I recently saw an interview with former cast member Maya Rudolph on what it was like to be part of the 40th anniversary celebration. Commenting on the return of so many writers, crew, musicians, guest hosts and cast members from multiple generations, Rudolph described the experience as like being in “Saturday Night Live heaven.” The love most of the participants felt for each other during the event was real and palpable. People from all cultural, religious and political backgrounds united for a common purpose, rising above petty differences through their shared feelings about each other and the work.

I think there is even more to it than that. A number of hypnotherapists do past life regressions, and they sometimes find clients discussing their lives before being born into this three-dimensional world. These individuals consistently describe a future purpose that includes working with friends and cohorts from previous lives who are born around the same time to fill a shared purpose. If any of that is true, there can be no doubt the SNL extended family, which likely includes some of their fans as well, is a prime example of shared purpose.

Inspired writers and philosophers for millennia have commented on how people come together in specific lifetimes to balance karma or manifest specific goals. Too many of these information sources have credibility to discount the possibility out of hand. So when we see all the people associated with SNL come together to produce 40 years of excellent television and then celebrate their achievements on one special night, it sure seems they have shared a destiny to replicate their version of heaven on Earth. As they say, “Birds of a feather flock together.”

I have no doubt many of these same people will re-unite in the afterlife. Some have departed for higher ground already, and the rest will join them eventually. Like the Righteous Brothers sing in “Rock and Roll Heaven,” the reunion of SNL’s extended family in the afterlife will be even more glorious than the wonderful celebration held recently. We thank them all for bringing joy to a world desperately in need of something positive to balance with all the hate and injustice.

Addendum: Lenny Pickett isn’t well known outside of music circles, but he has been with SNL for nearly 30 years in one capacity or another. Having played the clarinet and saxophone for a number of years, I can say without hesitation that Pickett is the best tenor saxophonist I have ever heard. Besides near-flawless technique, he can reach high notes other saxophonists can merely dream about. As good as he is, he is just one of a vast number of outstanding people associated with the phenomenon known as “Saturday Night Live.”

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