Show History

By Nick Mayhew

Saturday Night Live has been praised by many as the best show in television. Ever. NBC's Saturday Night Live is a late- night comedy program that has been on the air since October 11, 1975 (Host George Carlin). While castmembers come and go on the show, the elements stay and are the same; a celebrity host, musical guest, monologue, topical sketches, commercial parodies, and a fake news segment, known as "Weekend Update." Saturday Night Live is made up of performers that have come from highly regarded Improv-Troupes, such as Second City in Chicago, The Groundlings in Los Angeles, UCB in Chicago, and Caroline's Comedy Club in New York City. From these comedy venues, the very lucky join SNL and then become stars that SNL has produced, such as Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Jon Lovitz, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond and the late Phil Hartman, Chris Farley, and Gilda Radner.

The creator of this show, and in some cases considered the King of Late Night Television, Lorne Michaels has been at the helms of the show since the very first episode in 1975. From his dedication, SNL has been nominated for 85 Emmy Awards and won 17, as well as SNL being inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Michaels himself was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1999, and also has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Michaels, or "God" as he is called in my house, has won nine Emmys over the years for his duties on SNL. Michaels is also responsible for producing SNL character spin-off movies, such as "Wayne's World," and "Tommy Boy." Among his other jobs, he is the executive producer of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" since it began in 1993, and the critically acclaimed Canadian based boys "Kids in the Hall' program, which ran from 1989 - 1994. 

Michaels has been producer since 1975 with some minor exceptions. After the 1979 season, and many performers leaving as they felt the comedy wasn't there any longer, Michaels decided to exit as well. This brought in a very inexperienced Jean Doumanian for 12 episodes in 1980, being fired before the last show and the writer's strike. Taking over from there, sports producer Dick Ebersol controlled the last show of the 1980 season thru the April 13th, 1985 broadcast. Michaels returned that following fall after NBC pleaded with him to return and make the show new again.

By many fans, SNL has had its share of "SNL Era's". Here's how it goes-

1975 - 1980: "Not Ready for Prime Time Players"
This was considered by many as the greatest era of SNL ever. Comedy was an important part of life during those times, and SNL proved it. Stars like Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Belushi and Al Franken emerged from this era.

1980 - 1981: "The Sucky Year"
This is considered, and in my opinion, the worst SNL season ever. Jean Doumanian took over for Michaels, and many fans came into this season worried that it would not hold up like it did for the past 5 years. They were right. Sketches this season were bland, the only savior's were Eddie Murphy, who became an extra, then featured player, to a castmember in a 13 episode season, and Charles Rocket who took reigns on Weekend Update, but was fired for saying 'fuck' on the air. After 12 episodes, Doumanian was fired, and Dick Ebersol took over.

1981 - 1984: "The Eddie Murphy Show"
Suck up. As it was apparent, Eddie Murphy made buddy with Ebersol. This was the period which Eddie Murphy dominated and was the single star of the show. Other stars included Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Joe Piscopo (know for his awesome Frank Sinatra impression).

1984 - 1985: "The Celebrity Cast"
Billy Crystal, Harry Shearer, Martin Short, and Christopher Guest were already celebrities before joining the cast. Here's a little known fact; Billy Crystal was part of the very first show of SNL in 1975, he had a sketch in dress rehearsal, but it was cut from Live and he was never on again. And, he also hosted the season finale the year before he became a castmember in 1984. Critics demised this season, and NBC took strong note of that. 

1985 - 1990: "Lorne Returns"
The first of these seasons was Lorne's first in 5 years. He might've been rusty, and did it show. The likes of Joan Cusack, Randy Quiad, Robert Downey Jr. and Damon Wayans were brought in. Also brought in was Dennis Miller, who picked up Weekend Update from the past 4 horrific years of Saturday Night News, as it was called during Ebersol's period, and turned it into the hippest Weekend Update since the original years. Michaels was forced to cancel the season finale after low ratings, and in the very last sketch that year gave a clear indication of what was to come, sparring the lives of Jon Lovitz, Nora Dunn, and Dennis Miller. Next season came, and Lorne pleaded with NBC to give him one more chance. They did, and Lorne proved his comedic genius powers. He brought in future stars like Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, and Kevin Nealon. This was one of SNL's best seasons, and the show was back to its greatness again.

1990 - 1994: "Comedy Explosion"
Certain seasons or episodes are considered SNL's finest. But multiple seasons of great comedy can only be found in these seasons. These were non-stop, laugh your ass off seasons. After Lovitz and Nora Dunn left in 1990, and Jan Hooks and Dennis Miller in 1991, Michaels knew what might happen. The show might run dry again, so to avoid this he boomed the cast with many featured players, in the 1991-1992 season montage, introducing the players in 3 separate categories, and over 2 minutes long, the longest montage in history. Michaels brought in future stars as the late Chris Farley, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Tim Meadows, and Jay Mohr. They brought the show to new heights and new how to run a show, the best since the original cast. Notice during 1994 that the comedy does starts to run dry, and so does SNL member Phil Hartman…

1994 - 1995: "Sucky Season; Celebrity Cast #2" 
Viewed as some of SNL's most terrible work, this season was dry but not terrible. Phil Hartman left after 8 years, and newbies Chris Elliot, Jeanne Garafolo, Michael McKean (brought in for the last few episodes of 1994), and Laura Kightlinger were brought in. Another trivia question for all you buffs out there; Who was the only person ever in SNL history to be a host, castmember and musical guest (not necessarily in that order)? Take a guess. That's right, it's Michael McKean. He was musical guest in 1983 with Spinal Tap (remember them?), hosted the following year in 1984 with musical guest Chaka Kahn, and then was a castmember from 1994-1995. But they could not even save this season with even the old favorites of the show. Reoccurring sketches were nowhere to be found, and the ratings got worse and worse. It got so bad, and everyone including the writers realized it, that they themselves poked fun about how bad it was on the air. The only savior of this season was Weekend Update with Norm MacDonald. His humorous wit captured many people, and gave people a good reason to watch till 12:15. Big changes would come around soon…

1995 - 2000: "Take Me Home"
SNL fans all over wished that Michaels would return in the fall of 95 with some better material. Over the summer, Lorne fired almost all the writers and performers, only sparing Norm MacDonald, Mark McKinney, David Spade, Molly Shannon (who was brought on as an aspiring featured player mid season in 94), and Tim Meadows, who Lorne had originally fired, but them rehired him in order to balance the cast. Lucky move, as Meadows became even more popular and was involved in more sketches this era than last. Lorne brought in Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan. The return of the reoccurring sketch came back, and so did the comedy. Norm MacDonald was fired by confirmed jackass Don Ohlmeyer, because he "wasn't funny enough" (sure Don, and why are you best pals with OJ?). Colin Quinn was brought in to take over, and did so with a passion (although it was hard to understand what he was saying). Also, 1996 - 1997 was considered SNL's greatest year ever, which included what many call the best single season episode ever (Kevin Spacey/Beck). That season also brought in the "Distinguished Alumni" series as former castmembers Chris Rock, Dana Carvey, Robert Downey, Phil Hartman, Martin Short, Chevy Chase, Mike Myers, as well as multi guest hosts like Tom Hanks, John Goodman, and Sting. Comedy at its finest.

2000 - present: "The New Millennium"
As this time rolls around, Gen X-ers Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, and Chris Parnell are brought in for the new generation, while still holding on to valuable performers like Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer, and Darrell Hammond. A new type of comedy came in, focusing on Gen-X. Also in 2000, head writer Tina Fey and performer Jimmy Fallon became the first duo Weekend Update news team in almost 20 years. Critics claim that this is the best Update since the original years, as many find these two hilarious. The continuation of Gen X-ers I continued with Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Jeff Richards, Dean Edwards, and Seth Meyers. Many hope to keep this comedy institution up and running for years to come.