Saturday Night Live season 31

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Saturday Night Live aired its thirty-first season in the 2005-2006 television season on NBC. This season contained minor changes that would garner major results for the show. Finesse Mitchell's promotion to repertory player and Rob Riggle's departure led to the hiring of new feature players, Bill Hader (who became popular for his celebrity impersonations) and Andy Samberg (who became popular for his pretaped sketches called "Digital Shorts", particularly his "Lazy Sunday" rap with Chris Parnell, which became an Internet phenomenon). A new female castmember, Kristen Wiig did not appear on the show until the Jason Lee/Foo Fighters episode, won over audiences with her wacky recurring characters and dead-on celebrity impersonations (much like Bill Hader).

Missing for most of the season were female castmembers Maya Rudolph and Tina Fey (who were both pregnant and on maternity leave). Tina Fey's place on Weekend Update was briefly taken over by Horatio Sanz until her return on the Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand episode, making Sanz the first (and so far only) Hispanic Weekend Update anchor. Maya Rudolph, however, appeared on the first episode of the new season, then went on maternity leave and came back on the sole February episode hosted by Steve Martin with musical guest Prince (who returned to perform on the show after his 1981 appearance on the infamous season six episode hosted by Charlene Tilton which, at the time of the episode, was 25 years ago).

This season is also known for having Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an SNL castmember from 1982 to 1985 under Dick Ebersol, become the first former female castmember to come back and host the show (and the third castmember from Seinfeld to host as well). This season is also known for the return of such frequent hosts as Alec Baldwin (who last hosted in season 29 with musical guest Missy Elliot in 2003), Tom Hanks (who last hosted the first episode of season 22 with musical guest Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1996), and Steve Martin (who last hosted the first episode of the 20th season with musical guest, Eric Clapton in 1994).

This season also saw the tragic death of yet another SNL castmember for the first time in seven years. Charles Rocket, a castmember/Weekend Update anchor for Jean Doumanian's lackluster (and largely forgotten) sixth season was found dead near his home in Connecticut with a slashed throat in October of 2005. The police ruled his death a suicide, making him SNL's oldest dead castmember at the age of 56 (beating Michael O'Donoghue, who was 54 at the time of his death). A still-picture memorial for Rocket was shown on the first airing of the Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand episode, but was cut on every rerun.

This season also became the first to broadcast the show in high-definition, after thirty years of broadcasting in analogue. This would also be the last season for castmembers Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Finesse Mitchell, as well as the last season for longtime director, Beth McCarthy-Miller.

The season began on October 1, 2005, and ended on May 20, 2006 with 19 episodes in all. The season was cut one episode short due to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Repertory players

[edit] Featured players


[edit] Listings

October 1, 2005: Steve Carell/Kanye West (31.1, live)
October 8, 2005: Jon Heder/Ashlee Simpson (31.2, live)
October 15, 2005: The Best of David Spade (special, new)
October 22, 2005: Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand (31.3, live)
October 29, 2005: Lance Armstrong/Sheryl Crow (31.4, live)
November 5, 2005: The Best of SNL Commercial Parodies (special, new)
November 12, 2005: Jason Lee/Foo Fighters (31.5, live)
November 19, 2005: Eva Longoria/Korn (31.6, live)
November 26, 2005: Steve Carell/Kanye West (31.1, repeat)
December 3, 2005: Dane Cook/James Blunt (31.7, live)
December 10, 2005: Alec Baldwin/Shakira (31.8, live)
December 17, 2005: Jack Black/Neil Young (31.9, live)
December 24, 2005: pre-empted
December 31, 2005: Jon Heder/Ashlee Simpson (31.2, repeat)
January 7, 2006: Eva Longoria/Korn (31.6, repeat)
January 14, 2006: Scarlett Johansson/Death Cab For Cutie (31.10, live)
January 21, 2006: Peter Sarsgaard/The Strokes (31.11, live)
January 28, 2006: Dane Cook/James Blunt (31.7, repeat)
February 4, 2006: Steve Martin/Prince (31.12, live)
February 11, 2006: pre-empted for Winter Olympics
February 18, 2006: pre-empted for Winter Olympics
February 25, 2006: pre-empted for Winter Olympics
March 4, 2006: Natalie Portman/Fall Out Boy (31.13, live)
March 11, 2006: Matt Dillon/Arctic Monkeys (31.14, live)
March 18, 2006: Alec Baldwin/Shakira (31.8, repeat)
March 25, 2006: Steve Martin/Prince (31.12, repeat)
April 1, 2006: Scarlett Johansson/Death Cab For Cutie (31.10, repeat)
April 8, 2006: Antonio Banderas/Mary J. Blige (31.15, live)
April 15, 2006: Lindsay Lohan/Pearl Jam (31.16, live)
April 22, 2006: Natalie Portman/Fall Out Boy (31.13, repeat)
April 29, 2006: The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse (special, new)
May 6, 2006: Tom Hanks/Red Hot Chili Peppers (31.17, live)
May 13, 2006: Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Paul Simon (31.18, live)
May 20, 2006: Kevin Spacey/Nelly Furtado (31.19, live)
May 27, 2006: Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand (31.3, repeat)
June 3, 2006: Lindsay Lohan/Pearl Jam (31.16, repeat)
June 10, 2006: Jack Black/Neil Young (31.9, repeat)
June 17, 2006: Dane Cook/James Blunt (31.7, repeat)
June 24, 2006: Kevin Spacey/Nelly Furtado (31.19, repeat)
July 1, 2006: Lance Armstrong/Sheryl Crow (31.4, repeat)
July 8, 2006: Best of Saturday TV Funhouse (special, repeat)
July 15, 2006: Matt Dillon/Arctic Monkeys (31.14, repeat)
July 22, 2006: Jason Lee/Foo Fighters (31.5, repeat)
July 29, 2006: Steve Carell/Kanye West (31.1, repeat)
August 5, 2006: Natalie Portman/Fall Out Boy (31.13, repeat)
August 12, 2006: Peter Sarsgaard/The Strokes (31.11, repeat)
August 19, 2006: Alec Baldwin/Shakira (31.8, repeat)
August 26, 2006: Antonio Banderas/Mary J. Blige (31.15, repeat)
September 2, 2006: Jack Black/Neil Young (31.9, repeat)
September 9, 2006: Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Paul Simon (31.18, repeat)
September 16, 2006: Tom Hanks/Red Hot Chili Peppers (31.17, repeat)
September 23, 2006: Steve Martin/Prince (31.12, repeat)

[edit] Episodes

Episode Number Air Date: Host(s) Musical Guest(s) Remarks
586 (31.1) October 1, 2005 Steve Carell Kanye West
  • Former cast member Mike Myers made a special appearance spoofing Myers and West's joint appearance in "A Concert for Hurricane Relief".
  • Bill Hader and Andy Samberg's first episode as cast members.
  • Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine performs with West during "Heard 'Em Say".
  • The first SNL episode broadcast in high definition. The show is now letterboxed in widescreen on standard definition screens, leading to new wider sets.
587 (31.2) October 8, 2005 Jon Heder Ashlee Simpson
  • Rachel Dratch becomes SNL's longest-serving female castmember, surpassing Ana Gasteyer.
  • Chris Parnell does not appear in this episode since he was in Los Angeles filming an episode of his failed sitcom pilot Thick and Thin. He is cut out of the opening montage to reflect this.
  • Jessica Alba was rumored to host this episode, but she didn't.
588 (31.3) October 22, 2005 Catherine Zeta-Jones Franz Ferdinand
  • At the end of Weekend Update, a still photo of former castmember Charles Rocket, who had committed suicide the week before this episode, is shown in his memory. The NBC and E! reruns of this episode cut out the appearance of Charles Rocket's photo.
  • Chris Parnell does not appear again due to filming "Thick and Thin." He is once again cut out of the opening montage.
589 (31.4) October 29, 2005 Lance Armstrong Sheryl Crow
  • Chicago White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik made a guest appearance on Weekend Update shortly after his team swept the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series.
  • Sheryl Crow, Armstrong's then-fiancé, made an appearance in the monologue and in two sketches as herself.
590 (31.5) November 12, 2005 Jason Lee Foo Fighters
  • The NBC rerun replaces a sketch about "butt pregnancy" with a musical sketch centering around workers singing over desserts in the office cafeteria.
  • Kristen Wiig's first episode as a cast member(coincidentally, her first sketch, where she and Jason Sudeikis play a couple who pick up an escaped prisoner while driving home, is cut in the 60-minute E! rerun).
  • This is the Foo Fighters 4th time appearing on SNL. Previously they had performed in 1995 (supporting their self titled debut), 1999 (supporting There Is Nothing Left to Lose, and 2002 (supporting One By One). On this appearance they supported their 5th album, In Your Honor. Even though Foo Fighters have only performed on the show 4 times, singer Dave Grohl has been featured as a musical guest 7 times. Twice with his groundbreaking early 90's band Nirvana, who performed on the show in '92, and '93. Besides Foo Fighters and Nirvana, he drummed with Tom Petty on a 1994 episode.
591 (31.6) November 19, 2005 Eva Longoria Korn
592 (31.7) December 3, 2005 Dane Cook James Blunt
593 (31.8) December 10, 2005 Alec Baldwin Shakira
  • Tim Meadows made a guest appearance during the monologue.
  • Alejandro Sanz sang in Shakira's second song, La tortura.
  • At the end of Weekend Update, Tina Fey shows a clip from the famous season one sketch where Chevy Chase and then-host Richard Pryor get into a word association that leads to the use of racial epithets in memory of comedian Richard Pryor (who died the day this episode first aired).
593 (31.9) December 17, 2005 Jack Black Neil Young
  • The Digital Short in this episode, Lazy Sunday, soon became a cult phenomenon.
  • Neil Young makes an appearance in the Appalachian Emergency Room sketch, which also features a cameo from Johnny Knoxville.
  • Tracy Morgan makes a cameo appearance during Weekend Update.
  • Jack Black's Tenacious D partner Kyle Gass makes a cameo appearance during the spelling bee skit.
  • The sketch "Space War 2148" is reused from cast member Andy Samberg's unsold TV pilot Awesometown. Samberg reprises his role; Black takes the role played by Jorma Taccone.
594 (31.10) January 14, 2006 Scarlett Johansson Death Cab for Cutie
  • After a Hardball parody is cut, an excerpt from the night's TV Funhouse called "The 700 Gang" is the first (and so far, only) cartoon as a cold opening.
  • This is the only episode since 1984, in which the famous "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night" does not appear spoken; it appears as in text only.
595 (31.11) January 21, 2006 Peter Sarsgaard The Strokes
  • Drew Barrymore made a special appearance in the Weekend Update segment.
596 (31.12) February 4, 2006 Steve Martin Prince
  • Alec Baldwin, and Jimmy Fallon cameo in the live show; Baldwin, Kelly Ripa, Scarlett Johansson, Conan O'Brien, Brian Williams and Gideon Yago all appear in filmed segments.
  • Prince collaborated with Támar to perform his second song, "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed".
  • This episode was the highest rated episode of the season, drawing 9.3 million viewers.
597 (31.13) March 4, 2006 Natalie Portman Fall Out Boy
  • Dennis Haysbert made a live-action cameo during TV Funhouse.
598 (31.14) March 11, 2006 Matt Dillon Arctic Monkeys
  • According to an Interview with Seth Meyers, Matt Dillon did not show up for work until late Tuesday afternoon. This was probably due Matt's attendance at the Oscars in the past weekend.
  • Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner stopped in the middle of the band's performance of "A Certain Romance" and, visibly frustrated with the audience reaction, pointed into the crowd and yelled "That man just yawned!" The band then destroyed their instruments after the performance.
599 (31.15) April 8, 2006 Antonio Banderas Mary J. Blige
  • Former cast member Chris Kattan makes a cameo during Weekend Update.
600 (31.16) April 15, 2006 Lindsay Lohan Pearl Jam
  • Adult film star Savanna Samson makes a quick cameo in the TV Funhouse cartoon. The cameo wasn't seen on many affiliates.
  • Maya Rudolph and Horatio Sanz do not appear in this episode.
601 (31.17) May 6, 2006 Tom Hanks Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • This episode earned a 3.4 rating, 14 share in 18-49 and 7.3 million viewers overall.
  • Seth Meyers does not appear in any sketches.
  • Tom Hanks was originally asked to host the season finale but had prior engagements.
602 (31.18) May 13, 2006 Julia Louis-Dreyfus Paul Simon
  • Julia is the first former female castmember to host the show.
  • This episode garnered a 3.4 rating, 14 share in 18-49, and 8.0 million viewers overall.
  • Special cameos by Al Gore, Jason Alexander, and Jerry Seinfeld. Al Gore's cold opening was written by his daughter and former SNL staff writer Kristin Gore.
  • Al Gore made two appearances during this episode, first giving a cold opening with him as president of USA where Bin Laden is dead, global warming was stopped and gasoline is 19 cents per gallon and later appeared in the weekend update making a debate against Amy Poehler about global warming being bad (Al Gore) or good (Amy Poehler).
  • This episode marked Paul Simon's eighth appearance as musical guest on the show. He performed "How Can You Live in the Northeast?" and "Outrageous".
  • Paul Simon was asked to appear as a pedophile in the Myspace Seminar sketch but he declined.
603 (31.19) May 20, 2006 Kevin Spacey Nelly Furtado
  • Tina Fey, Chris Parnell, Rachel Dratch, Horatio Sanz and Finesse Mitchell's final episode as cast members, and Beth McCarthy Miller's last episode as director.
Preceded by
Season 30		 Saturday Night Live
Season 31		 Succeeded by
Season 32