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.

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

SNL Up Close: 1983-84

By the summer of 1983, Saturday Night Live had re-stabilized, and had a genuine movie star in its cast: Eddie Murphy, who reached box office success with 48 Hours and Trading Places. However, the new season would prove to be his last, as it was only a matter of time before Murphy's burgeoning career would push him beyond SNL. To keep their star an extra year, NBC and SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol allowed Murphy to do the show on a part-time basis, with his appearances on his weeks off made possible by a bank of eleven sketches taped with the cast in Studio 8H on September 21, 1983.

Unlike the previous three seasons, there were no cast departures (though Gary Kroeger was fired and quickly rehired over the summer), and while Murphy was on his way out, he and Joe Piscopo still continued to be the focus of many sketches. Newer hires Kroeger and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, already contributing solid work, got a much-deserved boost in airtime, while Mary Gross began to be credited as a writer alongside Murphy, Piscopo, Tim Kazurinsky and Robin Duke. The sole new face in the cast was Jim Belushi, younger brother of John. Despite a commitment to a production of Sam Shephard's  True West forcing Belushi to miss a handful of shows early in the season, he quickly became one of the show's dominant players.

The writing staff had comparatively more turnover: Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield left for Hollywood and rookie writers Paul Barrosse and Ellen L. Fogle were let go. Brought onboard for 1983-84 were Andy Breckman (poached from Late Night with David Letterman), Adam Green, Kevin Kelton (a former writer for SNL's one-time West Coast rival Fridays), and Michael Clayton McCarthy; founding SNL writer Herb Sargent also returned to take charge of the Saturday Night News segment. Of these new hires, Breckman proved to be an especially solid and prolific addition to the staff. Writer-producer Bob Tischler also began to have a stronger influence on what material made it into the show, which allowed for sharper material than what Dick Ebersol, more a "numbers guy" than a comedy writer, normally kept in the show.

Ebersol's control in other areas still remained, though, and the show still shied away from harder-edged political satire, to the dismay of several writers and performers: Tim Kazurinsky and Brad Hall both clashed with Ebersol about the material that made it to air. Hall was also removed from Saturday Night News mid-season, with the segment's anchor duties usually falling to whoever was hosting the show that week. 

The second half of the season brought two more developments: the debut (and quick demise) of Lorne Michaels' new sketch show The New Show, and the show's increased use of pre-filmed sketches. The New Show's poor ratings and reviews only served to vindicate and reinvigorate the SNL staff, while the filmed sketches that appeared over the next year and a half (usually directed by regular film unit directors Claude Kerven and John Fox) would be some of the show's best-remembered work.

As with the previous three seasons, I will be posting sketch-by-sketch reviews; expect the new reviews of each show every weekend (as my schedule allows), with the Tartikoff review coming tonight or tomorrow. If anyone has information to contribute about the episodes, such as who wrote what, writer cameos, etc., I welcome it and will acknowledge my source in the sketch review.

The episodes (with links to episode summaries in the SNL Archives):

• October 8, 1983: Brandon Tartikoff / John Cougar
• October 15, 1983: Danny DeVito & Rhea Perlman / Eddy Grant
• October 22, 1983: John Candy / Men At Work
• November 5, 1983: Betty Thomas / Stray Cats
• November 12, 1983: Teri Garr / Mick Fleetwood's Zoo
• November 19, 1983: Jerry Lewis / Loverboy
• December 3, 1983: The Smothers Brothers / Big Country
• December 10, 1983: Flip Wilson / Stevie Nicks
• January 14, 1984: Father Guido Sarducci / Huey Lewis and the News
• January 21, 1984: Michael Palin & his mother / The Motels
• January 28, 1984: Don Rickles / Billy Idol
• February 11, 1984: Robin Williams / Adam Ant
• February 18, 1984: Jamie Lee Curtis / The Fixx
• February 25, 1984: Edwin Newman / Kool & The Gang
• March 17, 1984: Billy Crystal / Al Jarreau
• April 7, 1984: Michael Douglas / Deniece Williams
• April 14, 1984: George McGovern / Madness
• May 5, 1984: Barry Bostwick / Spinal Tap
• May 12, 1984: Billy Crystal, Mayor Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Father Guido Sarducci, Betty Thomas / The Cars