Saturday Night Live star Jane Curtin says she didn't laugh rewatching old sketches: 'It wasn't funny'

Sometimes comedy ages like a fine wine… but other times, it sours like milk. For Jane Curtin, the earliest Saturday Night Live sketches do a bit of both.

The actress, who was one of the original SNL cast members, told PEOPLE that she recently revisited the show with her family, and was surprised by the lack of laughter.

"We were sent the five year compilation video of Saturday Night Live's first five years a few years ago, and I gave one to my daughter," Curtin explained. "We were out visiting her daughter one Christmas, and her husband said, 'Have you ever watched any of these? And I said, 'God, I haven't seen them in a long time.'"

Nicholas Hunt/Getty Jane Curtin

Once a rewatch was suggested, the Jules star was happy to oblige: "He said, would you mind if we watch one? And I said, 'No, great! Pick one!'"

But with the family settled around the TV and the video playing, things didn't go as Curtin expected.

"I had that sort of anticipatory, open-mouth grin that people have when they're waiting for something to happen, that they know is going to be really great," she recalled. "And... it never happened."

The compilation played on, but Curtin said, "It wasn't funny. Not one thing was funny. There was not one utterance of a laugh or a giggle."

When Curtin debuted in the show's 1975 premiere as one of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, she starred alongside fellow comedians Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner. The Lorne Michaels-created variety show quickly garnered a cult following and eventually became a mainstream hit, now spanning 48 seasons.

NBCU Photo Bank/Getty John Belushi and Jane Curtin on 'Saturday Night Live' season 1

Curtin certainly isn't condemning the early years of the late-night comedy show — she added that some sketches are still funny as ever. Referring to one of Aykroyd's most memorable moments, she said, "See the Bassomatic, I still think it's funny." She also name-checked Steve Martin, Buck Henry, and Richard Benjamin, three of the show's earlier repeat hosts who she said nailed the job.

"First of all, you had to be really smart to be a good host, and the ones who kept coming back got the idea of it and they got the fun of it," Curtin said. "There was a discipline to it — even though it looked like chaos!"

But she maintains that some elements of the show haven't aged as well as others.

"I think it was just one of those 'you had to be there in the moment' things," Curtin said. "That's what happens with live TV, and with topical TV. It gets dated after a while. Remember, this was almost 50 years ago. But after we rewatched, I was like, 'That really wasn't a very good show. It was terrible!'"

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