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Why I think Fridays was NOT an SNL 'rip-off'

posted 18 years ago by thecrow033193
14 replies | jump to latest

One phrase or varient thereof I have seen frequently used on this particular message board was the common expression of Fridays being a Saturday Night Live "rip off". Without question SNL certainly came first of those two programs and I have no doubt that an ABC exec wanted something like Saturday Night Live when the concept was developed, but I don't feel that that in and of itself constitutes a "rip off" as such, so in all fairness I wanted to address that subject.

When you consider the history of television as a whole, ideas, concepts and formulas have a way of popping up frequently.

All the stand up comic, reality tv programs, talk shows and pretty much any other television show category testify to that fact and they all have their share of clones.

But the idea of skit comedy with a cast of regular performers entertaining before a live audience certainly didn't start with SNL.

A number of shows including The Carol Burnett Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Sonny and Cher Show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In to name a few were all in this vein.

While they did film and perform before a live audience, they were not broadcast live as SNL is.

But a program that was on the air from 1950-1954 did broadcast every episode live to it's television audience and that program was was Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca.

It featured celebrity guests of that era (Burgess Meredith, Basil Rathbone, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Charlton Heston), top comedy writers (Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Neil Simon) and music.

And even prior to the days of televison you had radio programs and vaudeville that utilized a similar formula as well.

So while Fridays was hardly the most original concept to come out of television and may or may not have existed had SNL not been on the air first, the material and skits presented were unique and original to that particular show and that, too me, keeps it from being simply an SNL rip off.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] by_you 18 years ago

Well said.

[–] Clams 18 years ago

It's unfair to call any variety show a rip-off of another one because the only thing that makes sketch comedy shows any different than other ones are the people involved with them.

All sketch comedy shows have the same format. When it comes to variety shows, there's no such thing as a rip-off, 'cause if there were, we'd be saying, "MAD-TV is an SNL rip-off!"

Sure, it came just as SNL was really big but who cares?

[–] emily-376 18 years ago

I thought FRIDAYS was very funny and sometimes even more cutting-edge than
SNL. I loved the show and I sure hope they put it out on DVD. It wasn't an SNL Rip-off at all. It was very funny in its own right.

[–] rockmail 9 years ago

They certainly do NOT all have the same format, that's ridiculous.

There's variety shows with musical numbers and large movie parodies like Carol Burnett, topical shows like SNL and Fridays have short skits, musical guests, a regular news bit, Monty Python has interior bits, outside filmed bits and never any musical segments, on and on.

There is a wide variety, and also certain shows are certainly rip offs by producers trying to make some money. TV is NOT a glowing example of pure originality all the time.

[–] toolkien 18 years ago

Another thought is that a "rip-off" has an element of trying to cash in on the upturn that someone else creates, SNL was pretty low after the first cast left, and had the disasterous 1980 season, and was still in the doldrums for a few seasons after. In fact it was probably dangerous to go the sketch route at that time (1980-1982).

Personally I remember Fridays being funnier than SNL comparatively. I think Fridays tried to revive the idea that NBC was letting fail and did it well.

Of course SNL came on strong and Fridays couldn't keep the gig together, but it was the better show for a while.

Some people are afraid of the unknown. I don't know why, and it scares me.

[–] xray-20 18 years ago

I agree with you. I believe Friday's was funnier than Saturday Night Live. It's sad that it only lasted two seasons. It could've gone for many years.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] toolkien 18 years ago

[–] thenickatoms 18 years ago

SNL is a Monty Python rip-off! Long Live FRIDAYS!!!

[–] Longneck_TX 18 years ago

True, sketch comedy had been around on TV since the early days of broadcasting in the late 1940s. But those shows were prime time shows built by the networks and the sponsors to appeal to the broadest audiences. Normally, the stars and casts were veteran, proven performers. Many, like Jack Benny, Sid Cesar, Bob Hope, Burns & Allen were vaudeville veterans. Growing up in thoses days, the shows were made to appeal to my parents generation, at that time the demographic with all of the money.

SNL broke ground in several areas. They primarily disregarded the 'money' audience and appealed to 'us kids' in the under 30 demographic. The cast were all relative unknowns under 30 and many of the writers came from National Lampoon magazine. They did not shy away from controversial topics such as sex and politics like the mainstream shows did and their comedy was much edgier. And the guests were the hosts, not somebody who appeared in one or two sketches. The musical acts were not of the Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin genre. Fridays did come along later and copied those things that had made SNL successful. The main differences were it was not live and it had an LA feel rather than a NY feel. Maybe it is just me, but it seemed that Fridays played up their LA 'coolness' much more than SNL did. We watched them both in college and it was purely a matter of personal preference as to which was 'better.'

[–] carthur27 11 years ago

It's important to remember that SNL was replacing Johnny Carson reruns. That's in the areas that showed the network's programming and most didn't. Most local channels used Saturday night at 11:30/10:30 to put on their own programming -- usually old movies -- so they could exclusively show local commercials. This was a lucrative time slot for the TV stations especially the ones in smaller markets.

SNL, more than anything, came from the National Lampoon Radio Hour, not the magazine, and it isn't a coincidence that the last radio show occurred just months before SNL's first show. Chevy Chase, John Belushi and Gilda Radnar all came from Lampoon's Radio Hour.

I completely disagree with you that the show "disregarded the money audience." Just like today, the 18 to 34 year-old demographic was the most prized group. By writing, "my parents generation, at that time the demographic with all of the money," you imply there's been a shift in which age group has the most money. There hasn't been.

The acts you named like Jack Benny peaked in the mid-sixties. Only Bob Hope had decent ratings in 1975 for his TV specials. Incidentally, the beginning of SNL programs with a skit involving the guest host seems directly inspired from intro's typical of the Jack Benny Show, circa 1965. You seem to be forgetting Laugh-In when you declare the program broke new ground with sex and politics. Yes, SNL was racier but that's mainly because the standards had been lowered and the show wasn't in prime time.

Responding to a post this old is a personal record for me but if the thread is still highlighted by IMDB, why not?

[–] rockmail 9 years ago

No, Fridays was certainly most specifically an identical format "rip off" of SNL, no doubt about it. Fridays had some differences in how graphic and crude they would go with their writing and concepts, and they had some performers with unique physical and aural talents that SNL did not.

That's the reality, and it's a lot shorter than your essay.

[–] rockmail 9 years ago

Also in reply to your pseudo intellectual blathering is a direct response from one of the "Fridays" writer/producers.

"Early in its run, Fridays was slammed by critics and other comics as a rip-off of SNL. Did any of this criticism bother you guys or make you write in a different way?

We were so happy for the opportunity that we didn't care. Besides, it was a "rip-off" of SNL and we tried to acknowledge that and have fun with it."

Here is the link to the whole interview. Nothing complex about it at all, rip off of SNL.

http://splitsider.com/2013/08/writerdirector-tom-kramer-talks-fridays-abcs-early-attempt-to-take-on-snl/

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.