History of Saturday Night Live (1990-1995)

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History of Saturday Night Live series:
1975–1980
1980–1985
1985–1990
1990–1995
1995–2000
2000–2005
2005–Present
Weekend Update

The period of 1990 to 1995 was a time of great transition and contrasts for Saturday Night Live. It would see the series reach peaks and ebbs in terms of public popularity and critical acclaim. During this era SNL would field its largest cast ever, see the departure of several of the show's most popular players, the arrival of many future stars and draw more public controversy than perhaps any other period in the show's history.

Although many fans still hold the original cast to be the best, others feel that the early 1990s era provided some of the strongest and most consistently funny programs to date. It was a fruitful period that led to many film spin-offs, although late in the decade fans and cast alike were dismayed by the tragic deaths of former cast members Chris Farley and Phil Hartman. Some were distressed by the sudden firing of popular "Weekend Update" host Norm MacDonald. Fans of the '86-'91 seasons consider those years to include well-written sketches and sublime performances; they criticize the '90s as being over-reliant on catch phrases and generic recurring characters, and for stooping in terms of intelligence and taste.

Contents

[edit] The Early Nineties

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The 1990-91 season introduced a number of players who quickly became stars of the show — Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Julia Sweeney. Noted standup comedian Chris Rock appeared on the show for 3 seasons. Memorable characters and sketches from this period included Sweeney's “Pat”, Sandler's “Opera Man” and “Canteen Boy”, Schneider's annoying office geek “The Richmeister”, Hartman's brilliant take-offs of Bill Clinton, Frank Sinatra and Charlton Heston and Spade's caustic commentary pieces “Spade In America” and “Hollywood Minute”.

Farley as Matt Foley.
Farley as Matt Foley.

Sandler and Farley soon became the most popular cast members of the period. Farley's high-energy performances and surprising grace belied his heavy footballer build, but he was also not afraid to trade on his size for laughs — in one sketch he played, shirtless, opposite the trim and muscular Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze, as they auditioned for a position with the Chippendales male dance troupe. Another favourite Farley character was manic, thrice-divorced motivational speaker Matt Foley, whose schtick consisted mainly of yelling at his clients, whining about having to live “in a van… down by the river” and hurling himself around the room, demolishing everything in sight.

Farley idolised John Belushi, and they shared similar comedic strengths, but sadly it soon became tragically obvious that Farley was also plagued by similar personal demons. He was fired from the show in 1995 and starred in successful movies like Tommy Boy and Black Sheep (both with David Spade) and Beverly Hills Ninja. But after leaving SNL he began abusing drugs heavily. By the time of his last SNL appearance, as a guest host in 1997, he was grossly overweight, looked bloated, sweated profusely, and was clearly very ill. He died from an overdose of cocaine and heroin just a few months later, on December 18, 1997, aged only 33.

Sandler was a talented self-taught musician and a former stage comic whose stand-up career had started after he accepted a dare from his brother to do an open mike spot at a local comedy club. He won many fans with the humorous self-penned ditties he performed on "Weekend Update" (e.g. “Red-Hooded Sweatshirt” and “Sex-Phone Lady”), as well as his famous and popular “Opera Man” and Canteen Boy characters.

In stark contrast to the sad fate of his friend Chris Farley, Sandler became a successful and popular movie star after leaving SNL.

After the 1993-94 season, there was a very noticeable change in tone. Julia Sweeney left due to frustration and burnout. Phil Hartman departed on friendly terms but later described his departure as "jumping off of a sinking ship." Rob Schneider was eventually backburnered (in retaliation for taking time off to appear in a Sylvester Stallone movie [citation needed]), then fired, along with Silverman and Hutsell. In the eyes of many viewers, the quality of the series began to deteriorate noticeably.

The “generational change” continued in 1994-95 with the arrival of Chris Elliott, Janeane Garofalo, Kids In The Hall alumnus Mark McKinney, and Molly Shannon. This season was also the last for Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers and Kevin Nealon.

Norm MacDonald replaced Nealon as anchor of Weekend Update, earning a mild controversy in the role. While MacDonald alienated many "Weekend Update" fans by frequently flubbing his lines and abandoning all attempts to seem like an actual news anchor (a tradition which had been consistent since the sketch's birth in 1975), his weekly appearances did often provide the only laughs in an otherwise dismal time period for the show. The sketches at the time were considered sophomoric, shrill, and bitterly unfunny. Many sketches seemed to have no point at all, nor a single laugh.

The vicious attacks of the critics stunned Lorne Michaels, who had gone from challenging the network establishment to being as establishment as possible. To recover from all the major losses the show was facing Michaels hired a number of stars who were never known for their impressions or sketch comedy skill -- Chris Elliott and Michael McKean stuck out like sore thumbs and left at the end of the season. The day that Garofalo arrived on SNL's set, Adam Sandler started yelling at her because of remarks she'd made against him in her standup routine. The other female cast members (Ellen Cleghorne and Laura Kightlinger) banded against her almost immediately. Shut out by all sides and uncomfortable with the writing, Garofalo left in mid-season, replaced by Molly Shannon. Farley and Sandler were hell to deal with backstage, and their onscreen performances had grown so hammy and inconsistent that NBC finally had enough and fired them at the end of the season. Longtime featured player Jay Mohr left after NBC refused to upgrade him to contract player. Al Franken, who had worked on the show as a writer and featured player on and off since 1977 quit after Norm MacDonald was given the Weekend Update job instead of him.

Falling ratings and outraged critics sent a wakeup call to Lorne Michaels, and the show had some of its highest turnover yet. The 94-95 season had a total of 14 cast members; only five stayed for the 95-96 season: Molly Shannon, Mark McKinney, Norm Macdonald, David Spade (who agreed to stay only for a year so that he could be a bridge between the old and new casts) and Tim Meadows (who would have been fired, but the network was afraid that firing both black cast members would be seen as racist).

[edit] Season Overview

[edit] Opening montage

The 1990 season started with a montage that would go virtually unchanged (with the exception of cast changes) for four seasons. Its theme was much like that from 1988-89, in which cast members were shown around New York, and were "caught" by the camera, with various NYC footage in between.

[edit] Cast

With

Featuring

[edit] Hosts and musical guests

See the list of SNL hosts and musical guests during the 16th season

[edit] Notes

  • Sandler appears in 3 episodes (12/8/90, 12/15/90 & 1/12/91) as an uncredited extra prior to his official debut on the 2/9/91 episode alongside with Meadows.
  • Hooks and Miller leave the show at the end of the season, and Brown is let go because of personal problems.
  • This season is the debut of the "Bad Boys" who will begin to achieve prominence around 1992-1993.
  • Spade appears in nearly every live broadcast throughout Season 16 but does not appear in the opening credits until midseason.

[edit] 1991-92 season

[edit] Opening montage

Same as the 1990 season with different cast members being the only change.

[edit] Cast

With

Featuring

[edit] Hosts and musical guests

See the list of SNL hosts and musical guests during the 17th season

[edit] Notes

  • The 91-92 season boasted the largest cast in the history of the series, and unlike later years with bloated numbers, used most of the performers effectively. The season also sets the record for most female performers, past or present.
  • Farley, Rock and Sweeney are upgraded to contract status.
  • Jackson leaves at the end of the season, and Cahill and Fallon are fired. Hutsell is nearly fired but redeems herself with a very popular impression of The Brady Bunch's Jan Brady.
  • This season was the first to feature a guest host booked solely for his popularity with teenagers (Jason Priestley). Due in part to the success of his appearance, SNL began recruiting a slew of teen actors and pop stars to host and sing on as many episodes as possible.

[edit] 1992-93 season

[edit] Opening montage

Same theme as the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons, with the removal of cast members who had left in the previous years.

[edit] Cast

With

Featuring

[edit] Hosts and musical guests

See the list of SNL hosts and musical guests during the 18th season

[edit] Notes

  • Schneider is bumped up to contract status. Carvey wraps up his extraordinarily popular 6 1/2 year run. Although he has a few films, a brief series and returns to guest host several times, he never regains the fame he garnered on SNL.
  • Smigel and Rock leave the show (as both writers and cast members) at the end of the season. Smigel would go on to Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Dana Carvey Show, while Rock would guest star on In Living Color's final season before launching a successful acting career.

[edit] 1993-94 season

[edit] Opening montage

The popular opening montage, which debuted in the 1990-91 season, returns for what turns out to be its final season.

[edit] Cast

Featuring

[edit] Hosts and musical guests

See the list of SNL hosts and musical guests during the 19th season

One host during this season, Martin Lawrence, had an opening monologue which included an extended series of comments about feminine hygiene. The syndicated version of the episode replaces the offending section of the monologue with a graphic (read by an off-screen announcer) describing in vague terms what Lawrence had said and noting it almost cost SNL employees their jobs. Lawrence was subsequently banned from appearing on SNL.

[edit] Notes

  • Nealon ends the season by handing Weekend Update over to Norm Macdonald and kissing him on the mouth.

[edit] 1994-95 season

[edit] Opening montage

After four seasons with the same theme, the montage changes once again. The music has also changed slightly, but is still a rendition of the music used since 1985. This montage has a 20th Anniversary theme, and it consists of the cast members' photos being projected onto various objects around New York.

[edit] Cast

Featuring

[edit] Hosts and musical guests

See the list of SNL hosts and musical guests during the 20th season

[edit] Notes

  • The worst-received season since 1980-1981 (or to a lesser extent, 1985-1986) had cast turnover and dissension which bordered on self-parody. Garofalo left the show in disgust after only a half-season, and Myers departed to pursue a movie career. Franken quit, angry that his movie Stuart Saves His Family flopped at the box office and that Norm Macdonald was given the "Weekend Update" job instead of him. Cleghorne happily quit (she would have left a year earlier if not for her contractual obligations) as did Elliott and McKean. Kightlinger left to join Roseanne's ill-fated FOX comedy series, Saturday Night Special. Banks, Farley, and Sandler were fired. Banks, a contract player, had almost no role of any significance, and was let go after only a few shows, returning to her native Britain.
  • In his book, Gasping for Airtime, Mohr mentions that at the end of the season, he demanded a promotion to cast member, among other things, and the network procrastinated on accepting or denying his requests throughout the summer of 1995 until he finally quit outright.
  • Molly Shannon joined the cast as a midseason replacement for Janeane Garofalo in Feb. 1995, 8 months before she was bumped up into a contract player on SNL's 21st season (1995-96). She would go on to become one of SNL's most popular female cast members.
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