Saturday Night Live (season 16)

Saturday Night Live (season 16)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	20
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 29, 1990 – May 18, 1991
Season chronology

The sixteenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 29, 1990, and May 18, 1991.

The 16th season of SNL was a transitional one: Several longtime cast members left, and a large number of additions were made to the roster. To ensure that he was not short on talent (and to avoid repeating Jean Doumanian's mistake—and Lorne Michaels's previous mistake in the case of the 1985-1986 cast—of hiring a cast of new, inexperienced cast members with little to no comedic chemistry), Michaels chose to retain most of the late 1980s cast while in the process of hiring the people that would make up the early 1990s cast. At one point during the season, sixteen people were listed as cast members or featured players.

Cast

Cast changes

Extensive changes occurred before the start of the season. Nora Dunn and Jon Lovitz were both dropped from the show. Following her boycott of the episode hosted by Andrew Dice Clay the previous season, Dunn was not in good standing with Lorne Michaels. Dunn's initial five-year contract expired at the end of the previous season, but Lorne Michaels chose not to extend it due to the boycott controversy.

Before the season began, Jon Lovitz requested time off so he could film Mom and Dad Save the World, which would cause him to miss the first several episodes of the season. Michaels refused, because he did not view this to be fair to the other cast members. Lovitz subsequently quit. However, he made several cameo appearances throughout the 16th season.^[1]

With Dunn and Lovitz gone, Michaels was put in an awkward situation. Most of the cast had been on the show for five seasons. He did not want to be put in the spot of having to replace the entire cast all at once (as not to repeat Jean Doumanian's folly from her stint as executive producer in the early 1980s after the original cast left, or Michaels' own, similar mistake from the 1985-1986 season). Instead, Michaels promoted writers Rob Schneider and David Spade to the cast and hired Chris Farley, Chris Rock, and Julia Sweeney. He then hired Tim Meadows and Adam Sandler to the cast mid season.

Starting with this season, the cast was divided into three groups. A middle group was created, and this new category would be introduced with the word "with," following the introduction of the repertory players. The first cast members added to the new group were Chris Farley and Chris Rock, with Tim Meadows and Julia Sweeney added mid-season.

This would also be the final season for Jan Hooks and Dennis Miller, who ended his consecutive six-year reign as Weekend Update anchor.

Cast roster

Repertory Cast Members Dana Carvey Phil Hartman Jan Hooks Victoria Jackson Dennis Miller Mike Myers Kevin Nealon

Also Starring Chris Farley Tim Meadows (first episode: February 9, 1991) Chris Rock Julia Sweeney (first episode: November 10, 1990)

Featured Cast Members A. Whitney Brown (last episode: March 16, 1991) Al Franken Adam Sandler (first episode: February 9, 1991) Rob Schneider (first episode: October 27, 1990) David Spade (first episode: November 10, 1990)

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Notable writers from season 16 included Jim Downey, Al Franken, Tom Davis, Jack Handey, Conan O'Brien, Rob Smigel and Bob Odenkirk.

Season 16 would prove to be the final year for O'Brien and Odenkirk as Saturday Night Live writers. O'Brien left to write for The Simpsons, and would later host NBC's Late Night and Tonight Show late night talk shows. Odenkirk would go on to write for future cast member Chris Elliott's Get a Life and The Dennis Miller Show as well as The Ben Stiller Show, for which he was also a cast member. In 1995, he would co-create and co-star on HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David.^[2]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Host	Musical guest	Original air date
287	1	Kyle MacLachlan	Sinéad O'Connor	September 29, 1990
Chris Farley and Chris Rock's first episode as cast members. Sinéad O'Connor performs "Three Babies" and "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance."[3]
288	2	Susan Lucci	Hothouse Flowers	October 6, 1990
Gene Rayburn makes a cameo appearance in the "Game Breakers" sketch, along with Don Pardo. Hothouse Flowers performs "Give It Up" and "I Can See Clearly Now."[3]
289	3	George Steinbrenner	Morris Day & The Time	October 20, 1990
The Time performs "Jerk Out" and "Chocolate."[3]
290	4	Patrick Swayze	Mariah Carey	October 27, 1990
Swayze's wife, Lisa Niemi, appears during the monologue and dances with her husband. Mariah Carey performs "Vision of Love" and "Vanishing."[3] Rob Schneider's first episode as a cast member. Episode contains the "Chippendales" sketch, where Swayze and Chris Farley play competing Chippendales dancers.[4]
291	5	Jimmy Smits	World Party	November 10, 1990
David Spade and Julia Sweeney's first episode as cast members. Bob Costas makes a cameo appearance in the "Spanish Pronunciation" sketch. World Party performs "Way Down Now" and "Ship of Fools."[3] Contains the first "The Dark Side with Nat X" sketch.[5]
292	6	Dennis Hopper	Paul Simon	November 17, 1990
Miss America pageant host Bert Parks makes a cameo appearance during the monologue and in the following "All New This Is Your Life" sketch. Paul Simon performs "The Obvious Child," "Late in the Evening," and "Proof."[3] He also appears in the "Bowman's Retirement Party" sketch.
293	7	John Goodman	Faith No More	December 1, 1990
Faith No More performs "Epic" and "From Out of Nowhere."[3] Contains the first "Pat" sketch.[6]
294	8	Tom Hanks	Edie Brickell & New Bohemians	December 8, 1990
Paul Simon, Steve Martin, and Elliott Gould make cameo appearances as members of the "Five Timer's Club"; Jon Lovitz cameos as a waiter, Conan O'Brien as a doorman, and Ralph Nader appears as a onetime former host trying to get into the club.[7] Nader also appears in the "Global Warming Christmas Special" sketch. Tony Randall makes a cameo appearance in the "Game Beaters/Mr. Short Term Memory" sketch. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians perform "Woyaho" and "He Said."[3]
295	9	Dennis Quaid	The Neville Brothers	December 15, 1990
Jon Lovitz makes a cameo appearance during "Weekend Update" as his character "Annoying Man." The Neville Brothers performs "Brother Jake" and "River of Life."[3]
296	10	Joe Mantegna	Vanilla Ice	January 12, 1991
Debut of "Bill Swerski's Superfans" sketch series.[8] Vanilla Ice performs "Ice Ice Baby" and "Play That Funky Music."[3]
297	11	Sting	Sting	January 19, 1991
Sting performs "All This Time", "Mad About You", and "Purple Haze."[3] Contains the first "Richmeister"[9] and "Coffee Talk"[10] sketches, as well as the "Sinatra Group" sketch.
298	12	Kevin Bacon	INXS	February 9, 1991
Adam Sandler and Tim Meadows' first episode as cast members. INXS performs "Bitter Tears" and "Suicide Blonde."[3] Contains the first "Stuart Smalley" sketch.[11]
299	13	Roseanne Barr	Deee-Lite	February 16, 1991
Jon Lovitz makes a cameo appearance in the Misery II sketch. Tom Arnold makes a cameo appearance in the Sally sketch. Deee-Lite performs "World Clique"[3] and "Power of Love"[3] with backing by Bootsy Collins & The Rubber Band.
300	14	Alec Baldwin	Whitney Houston	February 23, 1991
Whitney Houston performs "I'm Your Baby Tonight", "All the Man That I Need", and "My Name Is Not Susan".[3] Houston also appears during the monologue. Jon Lovitz and journalist Arthur Kent appear during the monologue. Evander Holyfield appears in the pre-recorded "The Dancer" sketch.
301	15	Michael J. Fox	The Black Crowes	March 16, 1991
The Black Crowes perform "Thick n' Thin" and "She Talks To Angels".[3] A. Whitney Brown's final episode as a cast member.
302	16	Jeremy Irons	Fishbone	March 23, 1991
Boxer Donovan "Razor" Ruddock makes cameo appearances during "Weekend Update" and the "Buzz Pen" sketch. Fishbone performs "Sunless Saturday" and "Everyday Sunshine".[3]
303	17	Catherine O'Hara	R.E.M.	April 13, 1991
R.E.M. performs "Losing My Religion" and "Shiny Happy People."[3] Kate Pierson of The B-52's performed with R.E.M. on the latter number. Evander Holyfield appears in a replay of the "The Dancer" sketch. Former cast member Randy Quaid makes a cameo appearance in the "In Conclusion Theatre" sketch. Carole King plays with the Saturday Night Live Band.
304	18	Steven Seagal	Michael Bolton	April 20, 1991
Michael Bolton performs "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" and "Time, Love and Tenderness."[3]
305	19	Delta Burke	Chris Isaak	May 11, 1991
Madonna appears in a filmed cameo during the "Wayne's World" sketch. Chris Isaak performs "Wicked Game" and "Diddley Daddy".[3] He also appears in the "Karaoke Bar" sketch. This episode was released as part of the three-episode "Best of Saturday Night Live: Special Edition" VHS (1992).
306	20	George Wendt	Elvis Costello	May 18, 1991
Dennis Miller and Jan Hooks' final episode as cast members. Elvis Costello performs "The Other Side of Summer" and "So Like Candy."[3]

References

1. Daly, Steve. "Lovitz Discusses Movies, Leaving 'SNL'". Retrieved 4 November 2012.
2. IMDB page: "Bob Odenkirk Filmography by TV."
3. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
4. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. p. 233. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
5. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 241–242. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
6. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 244–246. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
7. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. p. 46. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
8. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 248–249. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
9. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 250–251. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
10. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 252–254. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
11. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 255–257. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.