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Saturday Night Live season 11

The eleventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between November 9, 1985, and May 24, 1986.

The season marked Lorne Michaels' return to SNL as showrunner after a five-year hiatus.[1] Michaels hired new cast members, but instead of his usual approach of recruiting from comedy clubs and improv groups, he cast established names such as Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey Jr., and Joan Cusack.[2] Due to their relative inexperience in comedy, the new cast failed to connect with audiences.[3]

The show also featured a frustrated writing crew (including future Simpsons writers Jon Vitti, George Meyer, and John Swartzwelder), who didn't know how to write sketches for such an eclectic cast.[3] The season was plagued by harsh criticism, low ratings, and rumors of a possible cancellation.[4] NBC president Brandon Tartikoff planned to cancel SNL after its season finale in May 1986; Michaels, however, pleaded with Tartikoff to let the show go on.[5] Most of the cast was let go for the following season, making it one of the more notable cast overhauls alongside season 6 and season 20.[6][7]

Cast

With Dick Ebersol's cast and writers gone, Michaels hired Academy Award nominee Randy Quaid, best known for his work in The Last Detail and National Lampoon's Vacation; as well as Joan Cusack and Robert Downey Jr.[8] Part of the reasoning that Michaels chose younger performers was due to SNL's original audience, which comprised baby boomers, now nearing middle age, meaning that producers and NBC executives needed to appeal to a younger audience.[9]

Danitra Vance was added along with stand-up comedians Dennis Miller and Damon Wayans, and improv comedians Nora Dunn[10] and Jon Lovitz.[11] Terry Sweeney, who had been a writer on season 6 of SNL,[1] was added to the cast, making him the first openly gay male cast member.[12] Don Novello returned as his popular Father Guido Sarducci character. Writer A. Whitney Brown was also added to the cast midseason and Al Franken returned in the finale. Miller became the new anchor for Weekend Update.[1] Despite the season's negative reception, Lovitz would gain popularity with characters like the Pathological Liar and Master Thespian.[2]

According to a recent interview with short-term cast member Dan Vitale, actress Anjelica Huston was nearly hired as a cast member this season.[13] Huston, a friend of Lorne's, was begged to join the show as a cast member; instead she co-hosted the season finale with Billy Martin.[13]

Incidents

Notable moments of the season included when Chevy Chase hosted the show. Chase was not popular with the cast and crew and, according to the book Live From New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, Chase pitched an idea for a sketch that featured openly gay cast member Terry Sweeney as a person with AIDS who is weighed by a doctor to see how much weight he lost.[14]

Cast roster

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

This season's writers were A. Whitney Brown, Tom Davis,[3] Jim Downey, Al Franken,[3] Jack Handey, Lanier Laney, Carol Leifer,[15] George Meyer, Lorne Michaels, Don Novello, Michael O'Donoghue, R. D. Rosen,[9] Herb Sargent, Suzy Schneider, Robert Smigel,[16] John Swartzwelder, Terry Sweeney, Mark McKinney and Bruce McCulloch. The head writer was Jim Downey.

Episodes

References

  1. ^ a b c Belkin, Lisa (November 3, 1985). "A Decade Old, 'Saturday Night Live' Looks to Fresh Faces". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Shales & Miller 2002, p. 293.
  3. ^ a b c d Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 299–300.
  4. ^ Rabin, Nathan (October 3, 2012). "Younger, Sexier, Inherently Doomed Case File #25: Saturday Night Live's 1985–1986 season". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  5. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 313–314.
  6. ^ Atwater, Carleton (January 21, 2011). "Looking Back at Saturday Night Live, 1985-1990". Vulture. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  7. ^ Evans, Bradford (September 27, 2013). "The 8 Biggest Transitional Seasons in 'SNL' History". Vulture. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  8. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, p. 297.
  9. ^ a b Bennetts, Leslie (December 12, 1985). "Struggles At the New 'Saturday Night'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Nelson, Samantha (February 5, 2016). "SNL alum Nora Dunn's show recalls her starstruck days". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  11. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 297–298.
  12. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 300–301.
  13. ^ a b c "Dan Vitale's Saturday Night Live War Stories". Vulture. April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  14. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 302–303.
  15. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, p. 300.
  16. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (August 4, 2004). "Robert Smigel". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  18. ^ "10 'SNL' Sketches Cut From the Reruns". Splitsider. May 1, 2012. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012.
  19. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 212–213. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  20. ^ Mehr, Bob (February 12, 2016). "Inside the Replacements' Disastrous 'Saturday Night Live' Debut". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  21. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 308–310.
  22. ^ Wright, Megh (October 22, 2013). "Saturday Night's Children: Damon Wayans (1985–1986)". Splitsider. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  23. ^ Fennessey, Sean (October 13, 2010). "SNL and The Curse of the Transitional Season". Vulture. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  24. ^ Seibold, Witney (March 12, 2023). "Francis Ford Coppola's Saturday Night Live Episode Might Just Be The Weirdest". SlashFilm. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  25. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, p. 314.

Works cited