Saturday Night Live (season 17)
| Saturday Night Live (season 17) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 28, 1991 – May 16, 1992 |
The seventeenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 28, 1991, and May 16, 1992.
Many changes happened before the start of the season. A. Whitney Brown, Jan Hooks and longtime Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller all left the show. Following Miller's departure, Kevin Nealon was promoted to anchor.
New cast members included Ellen Cleghorne, Siobhan Fallon and writer Robert Smigel. Beth Cahill and Melanie Hutsell also later joined the cast. Chris Farley, Chris Rock and Julia Sweeney were upgraded to repertory status, while Tim Meadows remained in the middle group. Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade were promoted to the middle group.
This was the final season for Victoria Jackson. At the time, Jackson became the longest serving female cast member, with a total of six seasons on the show. She was later surpassed by Molly Shannon in the 26th season. This would be Beth Cahill and Siobhan Fallon's only season on the show.
Cast
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bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Writers
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Host(s) | Musical guest(s) | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 307 | 1 | Michael Jordan | Public Enemy | September 28, 1991 |
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Ellen Cleghorne, Siobhan Fallon and Robert Smigel's first episode as cast members. Guest appearances by George Wendt, Spike Lee and Jesse Jackson, who read Green Eggs and Ham. Public Enemy performs "Can't Truss It" & "Bring the Noise." | ||||
| 308 | 2 | Jeff Daniels | Color Me Badd | October 5, 1991 |
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This episode features the first appearance of "The Chris Farley Show." Color Me Badd performs "I Wanna Sex You Up" and "I Adore Mi Amor." | ||||
| 309 | 3 | Kirstie Alley | Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers | October 12, 1991 |
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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers perform "Into the Great Wide Open" and "Kings Highway." Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson and George Wendt appear as themselves in the opening monologue. | ||||
| 310 | 4 | Christian Slater | Bonnie Raitt | October 26, 1991 |
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John McLaughlin makes an appearance as himself in the cold opening. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a guest appearance. Bonnie Raitt performs "Something to Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me." | ||||
| 311 | 5 | Kiefer Sutherland | Skid Row | November 2, 1991 |
| Skid Row performs "Piece of Me" and "Monkey Business." | ||||
| 312 | 6 | Linda Hamilton | Mariah Carey | November 16, 1991 |
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Edward Furlong appears as his Terminator 2 character, John Connor, in a Terminator parody. Martin Scorsese appears as himself in "The Chris Farley Show." Beth Cahill and Melanie Hutsell's first episode as cast members. Mariah Carey performs "Can't Let Go" and "If It's Over." | ||||
| 313 | 7 | Macaulay Culkin | Tin Machine | November 23, 1991 |
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Tin Machine performs "Baby Universal" and "If There Is Something." Kieran Culkin appears as Froggy in a Richmeister sketch. George Wendt (who played Culkin's father in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Black or White") reprises his role as Bob Swerski in "Bill Swerski's Superfans." | ||||
| 314 | 8 | MC Hammer | MC Hammer | December 7, 1991 |
| Hammer performs "Too Legit to Quit", "Addams Groove", and "This Is The Way We Roll. Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman introduce Addams Groove." | ||||
| 315 | 9 | Steve Martin | James Taylor | December 14, 1991 |
| James Taylor performs "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' 'Bout That", "Shed a Little Light", and "Sweet Baby James." | ||||
| 316 | 10 | Rob Morrow | Nirvana | January 11, 1992 |
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Rob Morrow shows a clip from the "Substitute Judge" sketch on the season five episode during the monologue, pointing out that Morrow played one of the jurors. Nirvana performs "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Territorial Pissings." The band trashed their instruments during the latter song. | ||||
| 317 | 11 | Chevy Chase | Robbie Robertson Bruce Hornsby & the Range | January 18, 1992 |
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Guest appearance by George Wendt. Robbie Robertson performs "Go Back to Your Woods" and "The Weight." | ||||
| 318 | 12 | Susan Dey | C&C Music Factory | February 8, 1992 |
| C+C Music Factory performs "Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)", "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" and "Deeper Love." | ||||
| 319 | 13 | Jason Priestley | Teenage Fanclub | February 15, 1992 |
| Teenage Fanclub performs "Concept", "What You Do to Me", and "Pet Rock." | ||||
| 320 | 14 | Roseanne Arnold Tom Arnold | Red Hot Chili Peppers | February 22, 1992 |
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Madonna appears in a Coffee Talk sketch as a panelist. At the end of the Coffee Talk sketch, Barbra Streisand makes an appearance as herself. Red Hot Chili Peppers performs "Stone Cold Bush" & "Under The Bridge." | ||||
| 321 | 15 | John Goodman | Garth Brooks | March 14, 1992 |
| Garth Brooks performs "Rodeo" and "The River." | ||||
| 322 | 16 | Mary Stuart Masterson | En Vogue | March 21, 1992 |
| En Vogue performs "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", "Hold On", and "Free Your Mind." | ||||
| 323 | 17 | Sharon Stone | Pearl Jam | April 11, 1992 |
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Pearl Jam performs "Alive" and "Porch." Guest appearance by Jon Lovitz. | ||||
| 324 | 18 | Jerry Seinfeld | Annie Lennox | April 18, 1992 |
| Annie Lennox performs "Why" and "Legend in My Living Room." | ||||
| 325 | 19 | Tom Hanks | Bruce Springsteen | May 9, 1992 |
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Guest appearance by Jay Leno. Bruce Springsteen performs "Lucky Town", "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)", and "Living Proof." Joe Pesci was the original host for this episode, but had to cancel due to the filming of Home Alone 2 running late. | ||||
| 326 | 20 | Woody Harrelson | Vanessa Williams | May 16, 1992 |
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Victoria Jackson, Beth Cahill and Siobhan Fallon's final episode as cast members. Vanessa Williams performs "Save the Best for Last" and "The Comfort Zone." | ||||
Specials
| Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|
| "Halloween Special" | October 28, 1991 | |
| Wayne (Mike Myers) & Garth (Dana Carvey) host this compilation of some of SNL's greatest Halloween-themed sketches. | ||
| "All the Best for Mother's Day" | May 10, 1992 | |
| The cast and their mothers take a look at some of the best sketches from the 16th and 17th seasons. Sketches include "The Tonight Song," "Wayne's World," "The Chris Farley Show," "Massive Headwound Harry," and "Coffee Talk." | ||
Wayne's World film
Wayne's World, a film based on the popular "Wayne's World" sketches, was released on February 14, 1992. Cast members Dana Carvey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Chris Farley and Mike Myers appear in the film. The film received positive reviews and was commercially successful, becoming the highest grossing SNL film to date. A sequel was produced in 1993, titled Wayne's World 2.