S.O.S.N.L.

I'm going to be resuming my reviews starting this weekend, but in the meantime, I thought I would let you know about series of individual sketch reviews being posted this summer.

It's called S.O.S.N.L., short for Summer of Saturday Night Live, and it's being posted by Justin of Usefully Useless Information. Every day from June 21st to September 21st, he will highlight a random Saturday Night Live sketch from throughout the show's 41 year history and offer his take on it. It looks like there will be a good mix of sketches over the next 90 days, from the greatest hits to the deep cuts, from the greats to the infamously bad. I hope you check it out along with me.

Looking for original SNL airings

I've posted my SNL want list before, but figured this format would be much easier to read and navigate.

Shows marked as "missing shows" would be my first preference; anything marked with an asterisk (*) is highest priority. Shows marked as "upgrades welcome" are lower priority but would be nice to get for better quality transfers, more complete recordings, US airings if my recording is from Canada, or with commercials intact. Unless specified, I want original NBC airings only; specific repeat versions are listed, mainly to help track edits on my reviews.

If you have something on my list, send me an e-mail through the contact page or the e-mail icon in the corner of the screen.

Updated: December 12, 2022

Seasons 1-5:
Due to the unlikelihood of most recordings from this era surviving beyond official Broadway Video copies, anything not already circulating in the trading circuit would be welcome (for bumpers, alternate versions compared to what was circulated for Warner VHS, rebroadcasts on CN/Classic, DVD release, etc.).
Specific live broadcasts of interest:

• 12/20/75 Candice Bergen / The Stylistics, Martha Reeves

• 04/17/76 Ron Nessen / Patti Smith Group

• 04/24/76 Raquel Welch / Phoebe Snow, John Sebastian

• 05/08/76 Madeline Kahn / Carly Simon (bumpers)

• 05/22/76 Buck Henry / Gordon Lightfoot (Jane Curtin apparently does a promo for the Superstars special that Pardo announces during the closing)

• 05/29/76 Elliott Gould / Leon Redbone, Harlan Collins & Joyce Everson

• 10/16/76 Karen Black / John Prine

• 09/24/77 Steve Martin / Jackson Browne (DVD uses rerun but adds commercial parodies and live goodnights)

• 02/25/78 O.J Simpson / Ashford & Simpson (with unedited Mandingo II)

Upgrades welcome:

• 08/22/81: Desi Arnaz (better quality recording)

Specific rerun versions of interest:

• 04/10/76: Richard Pryor / Gil Scott-Heron (with Madeline Kahn tech strike intro)

• 05/31/80: Howard Hesseman / Randy Newman (has Schiller’s Reel “Search For Akasa”)

• 08/23/80: Madeline Kahn / Taj Mahal (has unaired "First Love" short film starring Gilda Radner)

• Most NBC rebroadcasts w/o/c of any "original cast" show aired prior to fall 1981, with the following exceptions:

  • 06/12/76 Robert Klein / ABBA, Loudon Wainwright III

  • 07/30/77 Ralph Nader / George Benson

  • 07/28/79 Richard Benjamin / Rickie Lee Jones

  • 08/04/79 Rick Nelson / Judy Collins

  • 08/25/79 Peter Cook & Dudley Moore / Neil Sedaka

  • 06/07/80 Martin Sheen / David Bowie

  • 09/29/80 Peter Cook & Dudley Moore / Neil Sedaka

  • 11/08/80 George Carlin / Billy Preston, Janis Ian

  • 03/28/81 Steve Martin / The Blues Brothers

  • 04/04/81 Rick Nelson / Judy Collins

  • 04/18/81 Sissy Spacek / Richard Baskin

  • 04/25/81 Strother Martin / The Specials

  • 05/16/81 Jill Clayburgh / Leon Redbone, The Singing Idlers

Season 6: 1980-81
missing original airings:

• 12/13/80 Jamie Lee Curtis / James Brown, Ellen Shipley

• 12/20/80 David Carradine / Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith, George Rose & the cast of "The Pirates of Penzance"

• 01/24/81 Robert Hays / Joe "King" Carrasco & the Crown

• 03/07/81 Bill Murray / Delbert McClinton

upgrades welcome:

• 02/21/81 Charlene Tilton / Todd Rudgren, Prince (copy starts partway through monologue)

repeat versions of interest:

• 01/03/81 Elliott Gould / Kid Creole & The Coconuts

• 01/31/81 Ellen Burstyn / Aretha Franklin, Keith Sykes

• 02/28/81 David Carradine / Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith, George Rose & the cast of "The Pirates of Penzance"

Season 7: 1981-82
missing original airings:

• 10/10/81 Susan Saint James / The Kinks

• 11/07/81 Lauren Hutton / Rick James & the Stone City Band

• 04/17/82 Johnny Cash / Elton John

upgrades welcome:

• 10/03/81 (no host) / Rod Stewart (missing cold opening)

• 10/17/81 George Kennedy / Miles Davis (copy starts partway through Spray On Laetril)

• 10/31/81 Donald Pleasance / Fear (looking for complete copy w/o/c)

• 04/10/82 Daniel J. Travanti / John Cougar (next week segment partially missing)

repeat versions of interest:

• 11/21/82 or 07/17/82 Susan Saint James / The Kinks

• 06/26/82 Blythe Danner / Rickie Lee Jones

• 08/28/82 Johnny Cash / Elton John

Season 8: 1982-83
missing original airings:

• 10/30/82 Michael Keaton / The New Joe Jackson Band

• 11/13/82 Robert Blake / Kenny Loggins*

• 02/26/83 Jeff & Beau Bridges / Randy Newman

upgrades welcome:

• 10/02/82 Louis Gossett Jr. / George Thorogood & The Destroyers (starts partway through opening)

repeat versions of interest:

• 12/18/82 or 08/13/83 Howard Hesseman / Men At Work

• 06/04/83 Howard Hesseman / Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Season 9: 1983-84
missing original airings:

• 01/14/84 Father Guido Sarducci / Huey Lewis & the News*

• 02/25/84 Edwin Newman / Kool & The Gang

• 03/17/84 Billy Crystal / Al Jarreau

• 03/24/84 The Best of Saturday Night Live

upgrades welcome:

• 04/07/84 Michael Douglas / Deniece Williams (starts partway through MTV News)

repeat versions of interest:

• 09/08/84 or 06/29/85 Billy Crystal / Al Jarreau

Season 10: 1984-85
missing original airings:

• 01/12/85: Kathleen Turner / John Waite

upgrades welcome:

• 03/02/85: SNL Film Festival (looking for copy w/o/c)

repeat versions of interest:

• 08/10/85: Christopher Reeve / Santana

Season 11: 1985-86
missing original airings:

• 12/21/85 Teri Garr / The Dream Academy, The Cult

• 01/18/86 Harry Dean Stanton / The Replacements

• 02/08/86 Ron Reagan / The Nelsons*

• 03/15/86 Griffin Dunne / Rosanne Cash

• 04/12/86 Oprah Winfrey / Joe Jackson

upgrades welcome

• 11/23/85 Pee-Wee Herman / Queen Ida (looking for copy w/o/c with music intact)

Season 12: 1986-87
missing original airings:

• 11/15/86 Sam Kinison / Lou Reed

upgrades welcome

• 10/18/86 Malcolm-Jamal Warner / Run-DMC (looking for copy w/o/c)

• 02/28/87 Valerie Bertinelli / Robert Cray Band (starts partway through opening)

• 04/18/87 John Larroquette / Timbuk 3 (looking for copy w/o/c)

• 05/09/87 Mark Harmon / Suzanne Vega (looking for copy w/o/c)

• 05/16/87 Garry Shandling / Los Lobos (looking for copy w/o/c)

Season 13: 1987-88
missing original airings: 

• 04/16/88 Decision 88 (compilation assembled to air during Writers' Strike)

upgrades welcome:

• 10/31/87 Dabney Coleman / The Cars (looking for copy w/o/c)

• 11/21/87 Candice Bergen / Cher (looking for copy w/o/c - with all commercials intact)

• 01/30/88 Carl Weathers / Robbie Robertson* (looking for copy w/o/c with "The Garden" film intact)

Season 14: 1988-89
upgrades welcome:

• 11/12/88 Demi Moore / Johnny Clegg & Savuka (looking for clearer copy w/o/c)

Season 15: 1989-90
upgrades welcome:

• 10/21/89 Kathleen Turner / Billy Joel (looking for copy w/o/c and clearer audio)

Season 16: 1990-91
upgrades welcome:

• 02/23/91 Alec Baldwin (looking for complete copy w/o/c, mine has first 57 minutes only)

Season 17: 1991-92
upgrades welcome:

• 11/02/91 Kiefer Sutherland / Skid Row (looking for clearer copy w/o/c)

• 11/23/91 Macaulay Culkin / Tin Machine (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 03/14/92 John Goodman / Garth Brooks (looking for complete w/o/c with goodnights intact)

• 03/21/92 Mary Stuart Masterson / En Vogue (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 05/16/92 Woody Harrelson / Vanessa Williams (looking for w/o/c)

Season 18: 1992-93
missing original airings (w/o/c preferred):

• 01/16/93: Harvey Keitel / Madonna

upgrades welcome:

• 09/26/92 Nicolas Cage / Bobby Brown (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 10/10/92 Joe Pesci / Spin Doctors (looking for w/o/c)

• 10/24/92 Christopher Walken / Arrested Development (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 10/31/92 Catherine O'Hara / 10,000 Maniacs (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 12/05/92 Tom Arnold / Neil Young (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 12/12/92 Glenn Close / The Black Crowes (looking for w/o/c)

• 01/09/93 Danny DeVito / Bon Jovi (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 02/06/93 Luke Perry / Mick Jagger (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 02/20/93 Bill Murray / Sting (looking for w/o/c)

• 03/13/93 John Goodman / Mary J. Blige (looking for w/o/c)

• 03/20/93 Miranda Richardson / Soul Asylum (looking for w/o/c)

• 04/10/93 Jason Alexander / Peter Gabriel (looking for w/o/c)

• 04/17/93 Kirstie Alley / Lenny Kravitz (looking for w/o/c)

Season 19: 1993-94
missing original airings (w/o/c preferred):

• 09/25/93 Charles Barkley / Nirvana

• 10/02/93 Shannen Doherty / Cypress Hill

upgrades welcome:

• 10/09/93 Jeff Goldblum / Aerosmith (looking for 1st gen w/o/c)

• 11/20/93 Nicole Kidman / Stone Temple Pilots (looking for w/o/c)

• 12/04/93 Charlton Heston / Paul Westerberg (looking for w/o/c)

• 12/11/93 Sally Field / Tony! Toni! Tone! (looking for complete w/o/c)

• 01/08/94 Jason Patric / Blind Melon (looking for w/o/c)

• 01/15/94 Sara Gilbert / Counting Crows (looking for w/o/c)

• 02/12/94 Alec Baldwin & Kim Basinger / UB40 (looking for w/o/c)

• 05/14/94 Heather Locklear / Janet Jackson (looking for NBC airing w/o/c)

Season 20: 1994-95
upgrades welcome:

• 11/12/94 Sarah Jessica Parker / REM (looking for NBC airing w/o/c)

• 11/19/94 John Turturro / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (looking for NBC airing w/o/c)

• 12/17/94 George Foreman / Hole (looking for w/o/c)

• 02/18/95 Deion Sanders / Bon Jovi (looking for w/o/c)

Season 21: 1995-96
upgrades welcome:

• 12/16/95 Madeline Kahn / Bush (looking for w/o/c)

• 03/16/96 John Goodman / Everclear (looking for w/o/c)

• 03/23/96 Phil Hartman / Gin Blossoms (looking for w/o/c)

• 04/20/96 Teri Hatcher / Dave Matthews Band (looking for w/o/c)

• 05/11/96 Christine Baranski (looking for w/o/c)

Season 22: 1996-97
upgrades welcome:

• 09/28/96 Tom Hanks / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (looking for w/o/c)

• 10/05/96 Lisa Kudrow / Sheryl Crow (looking for w/o/c)

• 10/19/96 Bill Pullman / New Edition (looking for 1st gen w/o/c)

• 10/26/96 Dana Carvey / Dr. Dre (looking for w/o/c)

• 02/08/97 Neve Campbell / David Bowie (looking for 1st gen w/o/c)

• 03/22/97 Mike Myers / Aerosmith (looking for w/o/c)

• 04/19/97 Pamela Lee / Rollins Band (looking for w/o/c)

Season 23: 1997-98
upgrades welcome:

• 10/25/97 Chris Farley / Mighty Mighty Bosstones (looking for w/o/c)

• 11/08/97 Jon Lovitz / Jane's Addiction (looking for w/o/c)

• 12/06/97 Nathan Lane / Metallica (looking for w/o/c)

• 04/11/98 Greg Kinnear / All Saints (looking for w/o/c)

• 05/02/98 Matthew Broderick / Natalie Merchant (looking for w/o/c)

Season 28: 2002-03
repeat versions of interest

• 04/26/03 Queen Latifah / Ms. Dynamite

Season 32: 2006-07 (digital recordings only from this point forward)
upgrades welcome

• 01/20/07 Jeremy Piven / AFI (looking for East Coast w/o/c)

SNL season 41: End of the slump?

When SNL started their 41st season last October, I wasn't particularly excited by the lineup for the season premiere; Miley Cyrus doing double-duty as host and musical guest wasn't exactly the worst way to start the year, but her previous show was only two years before, and not a particularly strong one, at least writing-wise. What was more ominous was that there were no cast changes aside from the addition of another white male stand-up as a featured player, and the writing staff turnover fit the same pattern as in previous years (the long-tenured writers stay, the newbies are the first on the chopping block).

I'm not going to pretend this season of SNL was one of the series' greatest years, but what the last twenty-one shows have demonstrated is that the current group of writers and performers is capable of getting the balance right. Letting Donald Trump host the show in November was a mistake (and I suspect there are many at the show who feel the same), but the shows hosted by Tracy Morgan and Larry David were SNL's strongest efforts in years, and even weaker outings by Russell Crowe and Drake felt more like the writing was affected by the host's weaknesses (the former) or that the material just didn't connect (the latter), as opposed to the pandering I criticized the show for doing in seasons 39 and 40.

I won't go too far into detail about the elements that worked and didn't work this season, but I will definitely single out Kate McKinnon, Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider for their continued excellent take on Hillary Clinton (McKinnon's is now the definitive impression). Vanessa Bayer made an incredible comeback this year ("Santa Baby" unleashed one of her most unsettling performances), and Cecily Strong returned to her full power as a member of the ensemble. There were still a few questionable sketches throughout the year ("Good Morning Song" marred the otherwise excellent Tracy Morgan show with a questionable gay predator punchline), but there seems to be more meat in the writing this year.

Colin Jost and Michael Che continued their turnaround of Weekend Update; it is now the most consistently funny and surprising part of the show, thanks in no small part to increased collaboration between the anchors and writers, and the efforts of segment producer Dennis McNicholas. Jost also stepped down as head writer prior to the start of the season, which allows him to put his focus on Update; while it is unclear as to what extent Jost's influence affected the quality of the show over the previous seasons, but this year's writing seems less beholden to recurring characters or attempts at new ones.

I used to think the show needed a huge shake-up to get it out of the holding pattern of mediocrity it was in for the past few seasons. I'm beginning to think that all it needs is a slight bit of work over the summer to trim some of the bloat.

SNL reviews to resume shortly

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

My self-imposed hiatus from posting SNL reviews will be ending in the near future; I won't guarantee a return date, but once I'm back you should be seeing a new review on a semi-regular schedule. The next review will be of the Don Rickles / Billy Idol show, and I commit to completing the remaining reviews of the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons.

I have access to original broadcasts of many of these shows, although my copy of the original airing Rickles is incomplete (no second Billy Idol performance, Letterman promo or goodnights); I do have a complete repeat version, though, and a reader has graciously provided a transcript and captures of the Letterman promo. While I'm not missing any of these shows, there are a few original broadcasts I'm still looking for. As usual, any episode where I have an edited repeat version will be done with my existing copy of the show, and will be altered/corrected accordingly if I get an original broadcast.

I'm debating what to do after I wrap up the Ebersol years. It would be fun to continue with 1985-86, although the reruns after Lorne Michaels' return have a fair bit more post-production done to them, and to track specific changes to shows may take more time and effort than I'd be willing to put in (not to mention the number of gaps I still have in my original broadcast collection). I still think there needs to be more to this blog than SNL reviews, but they're what my readers come for, and I like having the excuse to talk about the show.

Finally, I want to thank Kevin Kelton, Nate Herman and Gary Kroeger for their invaluable background info on the previous ten shows.

The Saturday Night Hall of Fame Readers' Poll: The Results

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Saturday Night Live Hall of Fame Reader's Poll. The votes are in and have been tabulated, and the lineup for the hypothetical hall of fame show has been confirmed. Your choices are (ordered from highest to lowest total points):

Cast

• Dana Carvey
• Will Ferrell
• Bill Hader
• Eddie Murphy
• Dan Aykroyd
• Bill Murray
• Amy Poehler
• Norm Macdonald (Weekend Update anchor)
• Jon Lovitz
• Tina Fey

Writers

• Robert Smigel (head writer)
• Al Franken
• James Downey
• Adam McKay
• Tina Fey
• Bob Odenkirk
• Jack Handey
• Conan O'Brien
• Rosie Shuster
• Terry Turner
• Bonnie Turner
• Andy Breckman
• Steve Higgins
• Sarah Schneider
• Chris Kelly

Utility

• G.E. Smith
• Darrell Hammond
• Conan O'Brien
• Dennis Miller
• Paul Shaffer

Memorial Category

• Phil Hartman
• Michael O'Donoghue
• Chris Farley
• John Belushi
• Jan Hooks

Musical Guests

• Paul Simon
• Paul McCartney
• Arcade Fire

Special Guest

• (tied) Justin Timberlake, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin

Host

• Steve Martin

A playlist for SNL fans

No review this weekend; I'm at a break in my notes, so I have to sit down and watch the last nine shows of the season soon. In the meantime, I made a massive Spotify playlist of the recorded versions of nearly every song that's been performed on SNL over the last 40 years. There are a few artists and songs that had to be omitted due to them not making their work available on Spotify (looking at you, Neil Young and Prince), but this is still well over 1500 songs, mostly in chronological order.

One thing I noticed: the quality of the musical guests really bottomed out in the late 90s and early 2000s. Never forget: at one time, SNL found it appropriate to book Creed on the show.

On Trump

The Flip Wilson / Stevie Nicks review will be posted next week, but I thought I'd weigh in on the controversy over Donald Trump hosting the show. I'd be lying if I said that it didn't bother me that the show booked him: he did the show in 2004 and was adequate for a non-actor, but this was before he made racist comments about Mexicans and misogynistic retorts to Megyn Kelly for calling him on his sexism, actions which have only endeared him to a frightening group of the American electorate. I remember being upset that the show allowed Chris Brown to appear as musical guest in 2011, but this seems much worse.

I realize that the first duty of the show is ratings and advertising revenue for NBC, with comedy as the byproduct that hooks the audience in, but this move just seems so incredibly crass on Lorne Michaels' part. It's not just a political disagreement that fuels my discomfort: by booking Trump, the show is legitimizing a political candidate that incites hatred towards an ethnic group. This controversy, so far, is at least giving the show extra attention: it's drawing protesters, and a group is offering money to anyone who heckles Trump in tonight's show, an act that has some precedence on the show (Andrew Dice Clay and Sharon Stone were heckled during their monologues, but security were quick to act and both segments were replaced with dress rehearsal takes in reruns). Various media outlets, from the A.V. Club to Rolling Stone, have also weighed in and said that to give Trump this platform is a bad idea. 

I'm more concerned about the quality of the show. I get the impression Trump's sense of humor about himself has only decreased as his presidential ambitions come closer to fulfillment, and there are reports that he's vetoing "more risque" sketches to avoid alienating Iowa primary voters. SNL usually does better when the hosts surrender themselves fully to the process, but whatever the writers come up with this week has to serve the extra agenda of having Donald Trump look good.

The backstage atmosphere at SNL must be interesting this week. I'm sure there are people on the show that see Trump as just another politician or celebrity they have the opportunity to meet while doing their dream job (which I don't fault them for), but I wonder how many writers, performers and crew members have to bite their tongues so hard that a combination of blood and spit will be seeping out of their mouths tonight.

I can't tell anybody what to do, and I'm sure that the NBC, Lorne Michaels, and Donald Trump will get their ratings no matter how many people they've angered by this arrangement. I likely won't be watching the show myself, but Trump has nothing to do with it: I'm going to a party.

Reviews to begin again later this month

Things have stabilized around here, but I'm still a little behind schedule, and have to ease myself back into "reviewer mode". 

I will post the Jerry Lewis review on October 24, and attempt to keep to a weekly schedule thereafter for the remainder of the 1983-84 season's reviews.

Thank you for your continued support for this blog. I'm still trying to figure out what this is all leading towards, but it's nice to know other people are as interested in finding out about a neglected chapter of SNL history as I am about writing and researching it.

As well, if there's any additional background information I may have missed, please get in contact with me at bjdwsm@gmail.com or leave a comment. I'm always interested in finding out sketch writing credits, notable show personnel appearing on-camera, and other background information.

This is unlikely, but I would also love to get my hands on the paperwork that lists the show rundowns with any dress rehearsal cuts, or any additional details about the editing done to the repeat versions. Most of this information I put in my reviews is original research comparing different copies of shows I have access to, but the amount of editing done to the post-1985 shows will make this a lot more difficult, if I decide to continue on with the reviews for that era of the show.

Hiatus

I had originally planned to post the Jerry Lewis review last week, but some real life stuff made me decide that posting reviews about thirty-year-old episodes of SNL episodes wasn't as big a priority that week. I was intending to post my review today, and was actually working on it this afternoon, but the power flickered at my apartment for a few seconds; it didn't go out, but when I tried to save what I had already written, Squarespace froze at the "saving" screen for a few minutes. I ended up closing the browser to see if the save took. It didn't. With a potential thunderstorm on the way and the general hotness and mugginess of my apartment, I decided to not stress myself out with trying to get this done tonight or this weekend.

I'll have the review posted for next week, but after that I'm taking a break from the SNL reviews until the new season starts. I was originally considering going to a bi-weekly schedule, but the effort it takes to write these reviews needs to be diverted somewhere else for the time being. I appreciate your visits to the site as well as your comments and feedback, and thank you for your continued patience.

The review for Jerry Lewis / Loverboy will be up August 29, while Smothers Brothers / Big Country will be posted on October 3.

UPDATE (9/5/15): The Lewis review will come when it comes, but Smothers / Big Country will be posted as scheduled.