‘SNL’ ‘Nude Beach’ Sketch Garners 46,000 Complaints

Saturday Night Live has had many controversial moments over greater than 4 a long time, however the sketch that unofficially holds the report for many complaints aired on Oct. 15, 1988.

By this level, the writers at SNL have been well-versed in pushing the boundaries of what you may say on tv. The n-word and profanity had already made it onto the present, though the latter was an accident relatively than a scripted scene. As a lot as SNL managed to get on the air, many extra scandalous sketches remained on the cutting-room ground.

Then NBC lowered the position of its requirements and practices division in August 1988, and Saturday Night Live was given extra autonomy over its content material. Naturally, they sought to check this newfound energy as rapidly as attainable.

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A sketch titled “Nude Beach” had been floating across the Saturday Night Live writers’ room for months. The idea was easy: a person visiting a nude seashore for the primary time is welcomed by a bunch of regulars who, in informal dialog, touch upon one another’s genitalia. The working gag was the phrase “penis” – then taboo to say on tv – which was used within the sketch greater than 40 occasions.

NBC Censors Disagreed About ‘Nude Beach’

A pair of famed SNL writers – Robert Smigel and Conan O’Brien – have been behind “Nude Beach.” Their purpose was to show that “penis” was not crude however scientific, and thus secure for the airwaves. NBC’s censors disagreed.

“They just said, ‘There’s no way you can do this,’” O’Brien later recalled, “and we were arguing that it’s part of the anatomy. You should be able to say penis.”

Initially, “Nude Beach” was written for the Jan. 30, 1988, episode hosted by Carl Weathers, however censors struck it down. It was revived on Oct. 8 for a present with Tom Hanks, solely to be as soon as once more minimize after rehearsals. Minor tweaks adopted, and “Nude Beach” was lastly allowed to air on the Oct. 15, 1988, episode hosted by Matthew Broderick.

Former censor William G. Clotworthy defined why he finally gave “Nude Beach” a inexperienced gentle in his e-book Saturday Night Live: Equal Opportunity Offender. “We debated hotly within the Broadcast Standard Department,” Clotworthy recalled, “finally deciding to consider the material less than tasteful, perhaps, but not obscene.”

“Nude Beach” featured lots of SNL’s greatest stars on the time, as Kevin Nealon, Dana Carvey, John Lovitz and – in a uncommon non-Weekend Update section – Dennis Miller appeared alongside Broderick. From the primary “penis” uttered, the studio viewers reacted with each shock and delight.

Lines like “Enough small penis talk,” “You could pick a lock with that penis” and “Hey, you’ve really got your dad’s penis” garnered loads of laughs. By the time the boys launched into “The Penis Song,” it appeared clear the viewers was snug with the gag. People watching at dwelling, nonetheless, have been much less thrilled.

Watch ‘The Nude Beach’ Sketch

Reaction to ‘Nude Beach’

The Rev. Donald Wildmon, founding father of the American Family Association, was shocked and appalled by the sketch’s content material. His group had a historical past of conservative activism, together with boycotting Sears in 1978 for sponsoring the “objectionable” TV exhibits All within the Family, Charlie’s Angels and Three’s Company.

“Nude Beach” drew Wildmon’s ire, so he organized a letter-writing marketing campaign amongst his followers. More than 46,000 complaints have been despatched to NBC, with the bulk stemming from Wildmon’s efforts.

Saturday Night Live additionally took successful on the company stage as a result of controversial sketch.

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“We lost Toyota. We lost two, three big sponsors,” SNL creator Lorne Michaels mentioned in 2022. “Because people would say, whoever has the dealership in Mississippi is calling central headquarters going, ‘There’s people outside here protesting. Why are you sponsoring that show?'”

Still, “Nude Beach” underscored what Saturday Night Live did greatest – pushing the boundaries of comedy and style. Years later, New York Times reporter Bill Carter famous that the skit “put SNL again within the information once more for its outrageousness.”

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