Saturday Night Live (season 12)

Saturday Night Live Season 12

The Saturday Night Live title card as seen in the opening credits of the 12th season.
Country of origin  United States
No. of episodes 20
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Original run October 11, 1986 – May 23, 1987
Season chronology
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Saturday Night Live aired its twelfth season during the 1986-1987 television season on NBC. The 12th season started on October 11, 1986, the 11th anniversary of the show's first episode, and ended on May 23, 1987.

Despite plans to have Saturday Night Live canceled due to the ratings of its previous season, producer Lorne Michaels convinced Brandon Tartikoff to give the show another chance, provided that a better cast be found for the next season. As a result, many of season 11's cast members were fired, except for Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz, featured player A. Whitney Brown, and Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller. Al Franken was rehired as a writer. The rest were relative unknowns, led by Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon. Hooks had auditioned to be in the season 10 and 11 casts, but had been turned down. Hartman helped write sketches in season 11's Thanksgiving episode hosted by Pee-wee Herman, and appeared in a sketch as a Pilgrim.

The first show of the 1986-1987 season opened with Madonna, host of the previous season opener, reading a "statement" from NBC about season 11's mediocre writing and bad cast choices. According to the "statement", the entire 1985-1986 season was "...all a dream. A horrible, horrible dream."

The season included "Masterbrain", a skit written by Jim Downey and Al Franken, in which Phil Hartman portrayed two sides of Ronald Reagan; 25 years later Todd Purdum called the skit "surely among the show’s Top 10 of all time."[1]

Contents

Cast

Repertory cast members
Featured cast members

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers

Episodes

Episode # Air Date Host(s) Musical Guest(s) Remarks
214 (12.1) October 11, 1986 Sigourney Weaver (none)
215 (12.2) October 18, 1986 Malcolm-Jamal Warner Run DMC
216 (12.3) November 8, 1986 Rosanna Arquette Ric Ocasek
  • This episode marks the first time that a first-run SNL episode did not air live on the East Coast. The episode was originally supposed to air live on October 25, but was pre-empted by Game 6 of the 1986 World Series until 1:00 am. Rather than air the episode live at that time, it was videotaped, and aired two weeks later, with an introduction in which, on behalf of the team, Mets pitcher Ron Darling apologized to the SNL audience for delaying the episode.
  • Guest appearance by Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright in a short film Strange to Meet You.
217 (12.4) November 15, 1986 Sam Kinison Lou Reed
  • This episode was put on a seven-second delay.
  • Lou Reed performed "I Love You, Suzanne" from 1984's New Sensations and "Original Wrapper" from 1986's Mistrial.
218 (12.5) November 22, 1986 Robin Williams Paul Simon
219 (12.6) December 6, 1986 Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short Randy Newman
  • Chase, Martin, and Short hosted the episode together to promote their film Three Amigos, which was released December 12, 1986.
  • Chevy Chase acknowledged his recent stint in the Betty Ford Center in the monologue and cold opening (a skit where klutzy people hold a support group meeting called Stumblebums Anonymous).
  • In a skit written by Jim Downey and Al Franken, Phil Hartman portrayed President Ronald Reagan as Masterbrain, a "sweet, befuddled old man in public, who in private becomes the hard-charging director of the covert operation to finance the Nicaraguan Contras."[1]
  • Guest appearance by Eric Idle
220 (12.7) December 13, 1986 Steve Guttenberg The Pretenders
221 (12.8) December 20, 1986 William Shatner Lone Justice
  • This show features a sketch where William Shatner, sick of Star Trek fans asking him inane questions, tells them to "Get a life!"
  • Comedian Kevin Meaney makes a special guest appearance that was later revealed to be an audition to join the cast.
222 (12.9) January 24, 1987 Joe Montana

Walter Payton

 Debbie Harry
223 (12.10) January 31, 1987 Paul Shaffer Bruce Hornsby & The Range
  • With this episode, Paul Shaffer becomes the first (and only) member of the Saturday Night Live Band to come back and host, and the only regular from Late Night with David Letterman (later renamed The Late Show with David Letterman, following Letterman's move to CBS) to host SNL.
224 (12.11) February 14, 1987 Bronson Pinchot Paul Young
225 (12.12) February 21, 1987 Willie Nelson
  • Danny DeVito was featured as a guest star.
  • Willie Nelson performed "Nightlife" and "Partners After All". He also accompanied Victoria Jackson on "The Boyfriend Song".
226 (12.13) February 28, 1987 Valerie Bertinelli Robert Cray Band
227(12.14) March 21, 1987 Bill Murray Percy Sledge
  • On the original version of this episode, there is a Donahue sketch where one of the guests (played by Nora Dunn) reveals that she had a bad relationship with Joe Piscopo. Reruns of this sketch are replaced with a dress rehearsal version where Nora reveals that she had a bad relationship with Gallagher.
  • During the "Goodnights" segment, Murray encourages all of the original 1975-1980 SNL cast members (except for Chevy Chase) to return and host the show.
  • With this episode Bill Murray is the only person to host shows produced by all three executive producers (Doumanian, Ebersol and Michaels).
228 (12.15) March 28, 1987 Charlton Heston Wynton Marsalis
  • The episode features a short film by Ben Stiller, who would join the cast in 1989.
229 (12.16) April 11, 1987 John Lithgow Anita Baker
230 (12.17) April 18, 1987 John Larroquette Timbuk 3
231 (12.18) May 9, 1987 Mark Harmon Suzanne Vega
232 (12.19) May 16, 1987 Garry Shandling Los Lobos
233 (12.20) May 23, 1987 Dennis Hopper Roy Orbison

References

  1. ^ a b Purdum, Todd S. (April 29, 2011). "SNL: Skewering pols for 35 years". Politico. http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=938313AB-CA0C-ABBD-D5022F58C5871863. Retrieved 2011-04-30. "Then, on Dec. 6, 1986 — on an episode that also featured Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short — Phil Hartman portrayed Reagan as “Masterbrain,” a sweet, befuddled old man in public, who in private becomes the hard-charging director of the covert operation to finance the Nicaraguan Contras. Written by Downey and Franken, the sketch is surely among the show’s Top 10 of all time." 
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