Saturday Night Live returned to the air for the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks, beginning with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani shouting out the opening: “Live from New York!” and getting a thunderous ovation before continuing, “It’s Saturday Night!” A tribute to New York firefighters and police followed, segueing to a performance of “The Boxer” by Paul Simon. (“A mournful old tune inappropriate to the occasion,” wrote Washington Post TV columnist Tom Shales in today’s edition.)
A sketch in which Darell Hammond, impersonating Jesse Jackson, was shown talking about how he had been invited to negotiate with the Taliban was the only satirical piece dealing with the recent events, although there were some delicate references to them in other segments. Wil Farrell did not impersonate President Bush. New York Times TV critic Caryn James remarked that the show represented “the toe-in-the-water approach to topical humor that [late-night] comedy shows are taking.”
