History of Saturday Night Live (2005-2010)

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History of Saturday Night Live series:

1975–1980

1980–1985

2005–Present

This article is about the history of Saturday Night Live 2005-2010.

1 2005–2010
- 1.1 2005–2006
2 Season Breakdown
- 2.1 2005-06 Season
- 2.2 2006-07 Season
3 See also
4 References

[edit] 2005–2010

[edit] 2005–2006

Saturday Night Live promised new changes for the 2005-06 season, but all that changed was an HD widescreen format. However, Lorne Michaels added three new featured players: Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig, plus Jason Sudeikis, who was added for the last 3 episodes of the previous season. Hader became popular for his impersonation of Vincent Price in various Variety Vault sketches. Samberg gained notoriety for appearing in a few SNL Digital Shorts, the most popular being "Lazy Sunday" with Chris Parnell. Wiig, who joined the cast when Jason Lee hosted, gained popularity with impersonations of Felicity Huffman and Megan Mullaly, as well as the Female A-Hole and Target Lady characters.

Many people were split among sides between SNL and MADtv. Problems ensued when Horatio Sanz cracked up in too many sketches, celebrities considered "flavors of the week" by some were asked to host (such as tabloid target Lindsay Lohan), technical gaffes kept appearing on screen, actors were reported to be obviously reading from cue cards, and lines were flubbed frequently.

Highlights from this season included: Lazy Sunday; a cameo from SNL alum Chris Kattan during Antonio Banderas' episode (Kattan lampooned Banderas during his tenure); and the long-awaited hosting gigs of frequent SNL return hosts Tom Hanks and Steve Martin.

Leaving after the season were Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey to work on 30 Rock, as well as Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, and Chris Parnell.

[edit] Season Breakdown

[edit] 2005-06 Season

[edit] Opening Montage

The opening montage for the 2005 season is the same as it was in the 2004 season, except for several minor variations: the names of new cast members are shown, the names displayed in a different font. It is also now shown in widescreen and high definition.

[edit] Cast

Featuring

Bill Hader
Andy Samberg
Jason Sudeikis
Kristen Wiig (first episode: November 12, 2005)

[edit] Notes

Tina Fey was absent on maternity leave for the first several episodes, and returned for the Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand episode. Maya Rudolph was also absent on maternity leave for several episodes, and returned for the Steve Martin/Prince episode. Rudolph then took a second hiatus before the end of the season for undisclosed reasons.
With the March 11, 2006 broadcast, Tina Fey surpassed Dennis Miller as SNL's longest-tenured Weekend Update anchorperson.
Thompson and Mitchell are upgraded to contract players.
Hader and Samberg are added to the cast as featured players. Kristen Wiig is added to the cast in November.
Beginning in 2005 the show is being broadcast in high definition television, letterbox format.
Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg's Lazy Sunday skit was featured in an episode hosted by Jack Black. It quickly became an internet phenomenon.
Due to the 2006 Winter Olympics, this season contained only nineteen episodes instead of the usual twenty.

[edit] 2006-07 Season

Original 32nd Season SNL Logo, used only for the September 30, 2006 show.

New 32nd Season SNL Logo, starting with the October 7, 2006 show.

[edit] Opening Montage

The opening montage introduced on the 32nd season premiere involved the cast on a roof-top party in New York City and was a completely new production from the previous montage, featuring a completely new logo and VTR. The font was in a plain greyish colour with bold lettering, where each word is progressively larger than the last in both the title and cast credits, with footage of New York City in the background. The musical guest and host's pictures are simply seen over top of the background footage instead of inserted onto a billboard like the previous season.

With the Jaime Pressly episode airing on October 7, 2006, the montage was changed slightly to include an SNL logo changed to a design and typeface identical to the 1981-85 SNL logo. The pictures of the host and musical guest were placed over the entire screen, instead of over the New York City footage. This new montage was also used for the rerun for the Dane Cook/The Killers episode, replacing the originally-aired one.

[edit] Cast changes

SNL has a smaller cast this year due to “massive budget cuts” at NBC.^[1] Lorne Michaels told members of the Television Critics Association that cutting staff was chosen over reducing from 20 the number of original episodes produced. In an interview with the NY Post, Lorne Michaels said the new season will be one of the few that does not feature a new cast member, and he specifically hired a large cast for the 2005-2006 season knowing that budget cuts were around the corner. A separate announcement confirmed the departure of Tina Fey, who left to focus on 30 Rock, a new show she created for Broadway Video which is part of NBC's 2006-7 schedule.^[2] Rachel Dratch, one of the stars of Fey's new show, will also not return.^[3]

According to an August 22, 2006 story in the New York Post, four cast members besides Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch would be let go and no new ones will be hired.^[4] However, the actual number turned out to be three. Several reports published during the summer claimed that Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, and Kenan Thompson would be among the departing cast members. Sanz's decision was reportedly based upon his not receiving the Weekend Update anchor position.^[5] Thompson ended up returning. Chris Parnell confirmed the departure of himself and Finesse Mitchell to a fan after performing in a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre.^[5]

Amy Poehler announced on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that Seth Meyers would replace Tina Fey as co-anchor on Weekend Update. This was rumored two years ago when Seth would take over the newsdesk when Jimmy Fallon left SNL altogether.^[6]

Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Jason Sudeikis all were promoted to repertory players at the beginning of their 2nd season (technically, the third for Sudeikis), which is not usual for featured players, where two seasons is the norm.

It was rumored that Jason Sudeikis would be sole anchor of Weekend Update; however, Amy Poehler retained her place at the Update Desk, and Seth Meyers took over Tina Fey's old position.

This leaves the cast with 11 members, something the show has not experienced since the 1997-1998 season.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Notes

Seth Meyers shares head writer status with Paula Pell and Andrew Steele. Pell returns to the show after her failed attempt at creating a sitcom, Thick and Thin, went unaired.