Saturday Night Live (season 9)

Saturday Night Live (season 9)
The title card for the ninth season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 19
Release
Original network NBC
Original release October 8, 1983 (1983-10-08) – May 12, 1984 (1984-05-12)

The ninth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 8, 1983, and May 12, 1984.

Before the start of the season the entire cast returned for another season. The only change was the hiring (and firing, then rehiring) of Jim Belushi (brother of late SNL cast member John Belushi).

The notable moment of the season occurred when Eddie Murphy left the show mid-season. After 48 Hours, Murphy's star began to eclipse that of Joe Piscopo's. From the start of season 7, Dick Ebersol made it clear that his strategy was to showcase Murphy and Piscopo as much as possible while all the other cast members would play mainly supporting roles and were treated with very little patience by the producers.

When Murphy's 48 Hours co-star Nick Nolte dropped out of hosting at the last minute, Ebersol offered Murphy the chance to host — a move that Piscopo would perceive as a major slight. Piscopo would later claim Ebersol used Murphy's success to divide the two erstwhile friends and play them against one another. Others countered that Piscopo was simply being a prima donna; said one writer, "Eddie Murphy's fame went to Joe Piscopo's head."[1][2]

When the season ended Piscopo left with no intention of returning. Robin Duke, Brad Hall and Tim Kazurinsky were all fired from the show.

Ebersol had taken Hall off Weekend Update (known as Saturday Night News during this time) mid-season. The segment then had a revolving door of other anchors mostly involving the episode's host and, in one case, Joe Piscopo (although Piscopo only introduced a commentary and didn't tell any actual jokes).

Future cast member Billy Crystal hosted twice this season: once with musical guest Al Jarreau and again on the season finale with Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Betty Thomas, and former castmember Don Novello.

Cast

Repertory cast members

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § Season 9

This season's writers were Jim Belushi, Andy Breckman, Robin Duke, Adam Green, Mary Gross, Nate Herman, Tim Kazurinsky, Kevin Kelton, Andy Kurtzman, Michael McCarthy, Eddie Murphy, Pamela Norris, Margaret Oberman, Joe Piscopo, Andrew Smith, Bob Tischler, Eliot Wald and Herb Sargent. The head writers were Bob Tischler and Andrew Smith.

Episodes

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Host(s) Musical guest(s) Original air date
1601Brandon TartikoffJohn Cougar MellencampOctober 8, 1983

1612Danny DeVito & Rhea PerlmanEddy GrantOctober 15, 1983

Eddy Grant performed "I Don't Wanna Dance", "Electric Avenue", and "Living on the Front Line".[3]

Dick Cavett made a cameo appearance in the Autograph Hounds sketch.
1623John CandyMen at WorkOctober 22, 1983

Men at Work performed "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive" and "It's a Mistake".[3]

Jim Belushi's first episode as a cast member.
1634Betty ThomasStray CatsNovember 5, 1983
Stray Cats performed "(She's) Sexy + 17" and "I Won't Stand in Your Way"[3], the latter of which featured a cameo appearance by 14 Karat Soul.
1645Teri GarrMick Fleetwood's Zoo
Lindsey Buckingham		November 12, 1983

Mick Fleetwood's Zoo performed "Tonight" and "Gary Thinks He's a Rabbit".[3]

Magician and future creator/star of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Joel Hodgson made a guest appearance.
1656Jerry LewisLoverboyNovember 19, 1983

Loverboy performed "Working for the Weekend".[3]

Florence Henderson made a cameo appearance during the "What Famous Person Do You Look Like?" short film.
1667The Smothers BrothersBig CountryDecember 3, 1983

1678Flip WilsonStevie NicksDecember 10, 1983

1689Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello)Huey Lewis and the NewsJanuary 14, 1984

16910Michael PalinThe MotelsJanuary 21, 1984

The Motels performed "Suddenly Last Summer" and "Remember the Nights".[3]

Michael Palin's mother Mary appears during his monologue.
17011Don RicklesBilly IdolJanuary 28, 1984

17112Robin WilliamsAdam AntFebruary 11, 1984

Adam Ant performed "Strip" and "Goody Two Shoes".[3]

Stand-up comedienne Paula Poundstone made a guest appearance.
17213Jamie Lee CurtisThe FixxFebruary 18, 1984

The Fixx performed "One Thing Leads to Another" and "Red Skies".[3]

Joel Hodgson made a guest appearance.
17314Edwin NewmanKool & the GangFebruary 25, 1984

Kool & the Gang performed "Joanna" and "Celebration".[3]

Magician Harry Anderson made a guest appearance.
17415Billy CrystalAl JarreauMarch 17, 1984

  • Al Jarreau performed "Mornin'" and "Trouble in Paradise"[3]
  • Cameo appearance by New York City mayor Ed Koch during the cold open
  • Billy Crystal debuts his Fernando character
17516Michael DouglasDeniece WilliamsApril 7, 1984
Deniece Williams performed "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and "Wrapped Up".[3]
17617George McGovernMadnessApril 14, 1984

17718Barry BostwickSpinal TapMay 5, 1984

17819Billy Crystal, Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Don Novello, Betty ThomasThe CarsMay 12, 1984

References

  1. ↑ Fennessey, Sean (October 13, 2010). "SNL and The Curse of the Transitional Season". SplitSider.
  2. ↑ Shales, Tom (2003). Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Back Bay. ISBN 0-316-73565-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years (1994), p. 125.
  4. ↑ "January 28, 1984". SNL Archives. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011.
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