SNL Returns

Saturday Night Live returns tonight with Matt Damon hosting and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as musical guests. I expect to see battling reviews from our Blogcritics up tonight or tomorrow. A little play by play action might be nice.

Here’s what they have to say about themselves:

“Saturday Night Live,” NBC’s Emmy Award-winning late-night comedy showcase, begins its 28th season on October 5, 2002 (11:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. ET) for another year of laughs, surprises and great performances.

Over the last twenty-seven years, “SNL” has launched the careers of many of the brightest comedy performers of a generation and as “The New York Times” noted on the occasion of the show’s Emmy winning 25th Anniversary special in 1999: “In defiance of both time and show business convention, “SNL” [is] still the most pervasive influence on the art of comedy in contemporary culture.” At the close of the century, “Saturday Night Live” placed seventh on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the Top 100 Entertainers of the past fifty years.

Currently nominated for four Emmys, the program has won 17 Emmy Awards and has been nominated for 85 since its debut. “SNL” has been honored with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as “truly a national institution.” Most recently, “Saturday Night Live” was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the National Association of Broadcasters. The show continues to garner the highest ratings of any late-night television program, entertaining millions each week.

“SNL’s” impressive lineup of guest hosts last season featured some of the biggest stars from all corners of pop culture including: Reese Witherspoon, Seann William Scott, Drew Barrymore, John Goodman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Billy Bob Thornton, New York Yankee Derek Jeter, Hugh Jackman, Ellen DeGeneres, Josh Hartnett, Jack Black, Britney Spears, Olympic skier Jonny Moseley, Jon Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, The Rock, Kirsten Dunst and Winona Ryder.

“SNL’s” debut in 1975 was named #4 on the VH-1/Entertainment Weekly list of Greatest Rock & Roll Moments on Television. The show continues its unparalleled tradition of featuring both blockbuster and breakout musical acts hosting such performers as Alicia Keys, Sum 41, Macy Gray, Ja Rule, Ryan Adams, Creed, Shakira, Bubba Sparxxx, Mick Jagger, No Doubt, Pink, The Strokes, Britney Spears, Outkast, India.Arie, Kyle Minogue, Jimmy Eat World, P.O.D., Andrew W.K., Eminem, and Moby.

“Saturday Night Live,” which premiered October 11, 1975, is broadcast live from NBC’s famed Studio 8H in New York City’s Rockefeller Center. The program is a production of Broadway Video in association with SNL Studios. Lorne Michaels is the executive producer.

Some fan sites include SNL Transcripts; Saturday-Night-Live.com, which tells us this:

The following are sketches that are planned for tomorrow’s episode of “Saturday Night Live,” with host Matt Damon and musical guest Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

a Sully & Denise sketch
a Martha Stewart parody
the return of Chris Kattan’s masseur character from the Derek Jeter episode
Bruce Springsteen will perform “Lonesome Day” and sit at the piano for “My Hometown”
While these sketches are scheduled for the dress rehearsal, any of them are subject to be cut prior to the live broadcast. If I hear of anything else before air time, I will add it to this page.

Several other fan sites are listed for your perusal and rating here.