Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
History of SNL:1985-1990
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The Late Eighties
Dick Ebersol left the show after the 1984-1985 season, when the network refused his request to shut the program down entirely for 6 months and shift much of the material onto tape, not live broadcast. At this point the series was saved again when the erstwhile Lorne Michaels returned, after many pleas from NBC to bring the show back to its original charm. The 1985-1986 season was full of promise but rotten in execution. Among the milestones were the first black female regular, Danitra Vance (a young woman named Yvonne Hudson had been a featured player in 1980 and appeared in some bit parts in '79 and '80, but never had any strong role or speaking part) and the first and - so far - only openly gay cast member, Terry Sweeney . Michaels chose to hire fresh young names, but most of them fizzled out. Only the older cast members like Nora Dunn, Dennis Miller and Jon Lovitz connected with the audience. Michaels wisely kept only these 3 cast members when the 86-87 season rolled around. It took another year for the show to begin to return to more consistent form, but in the late Eighties SNL began to revive and gain renewed popularity, mainly thanks to Michaels' inspired casting decisions, vastly improved writing and increasingly on-target political satire and TV parodies. Sadly, one of the best seasons, 1987-1988, was cut short by a writers' strike. Gilda Radner had been penciled in to host a show in the spring of 1988. They wanted to reschedule, but by 1989 her cancer had returned and she died within the year.
With Michaels back at the helm, a strong new cast was assembled, led by Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller and Kevin Nealon. Although the new lineup contained some of the best female actors since the show's early seasons, there were reportedly some dramatic behind-the-scenes ego battles, and tensions eventually forced some members out — notably Victoria Jackson, who has since been highly critical of Hooks and especially Dunn, who was romantically involved with Michaels at the time.
The urbane, smooth-voiced Hartman became one of the show's longest-serving cast members, born in Canada, he originally trained and worked as a graphic designer; among his credits is the band logo for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Turning to theatre, he became a member of The Groundlings, where he met Paul Reubens, which led to a featured role in Reubens' cult 80s kids TV show Pee-Wee's Playhouse . When he left SNL in 1994, he was (with Kevin Nealon) the equal longest-serving cast member in the show's history (8 seasons). He went on to TV success in the popular media sitcom NewsRadio, as well as appearing in many movies and providing character voices for numerous film and TV animations; his best remembered voice roles are in The Simpsons, in which he played inept lawyer Lionel Hutz and vain B-grade film “star” Troy McClure. Hartman's life was tragically cut short on May 28, 1998 when he was gunned down in his home by his cocaine-addicted wife Brynn, who then committed suicide. The incident is in the books as an “unsolved” case.
A major turning point came with the 1988-89 season and the recruitment of a young Canadian comic Mike Myers. A versatile and inventive comedian with a gift for accents and a lifelong love of Monty Python and British comedy, he introduced several classic characters including Streisand-loving cable chat show hostess “Linda Richman”, and ultra-pretentious German arts show host “Dieter”. He also formed a strong partnership with Carvey, which revisited the magic of the classic Aykroyd-Belushi pairing. Carvey and Myers created and performed one of SNL's most popular and successful recurring sketches, Wayne's World, which inspired two spin-off movies; it is also widely believed that Wayne and Garth were in effect “ripped off” for the characters of Bill and Ted in the strikingly similar Bill & Ted movies.
The shows in this period featured some of SNL's best loved recurring sketches and characters, including “Wayne's World”, the Schwarzenegger-like Austrian body-builders Hans and Franz (Carvey and Nealon). Carvey also gained renown for his his scowling, ultra-conservative “Church Lady” character and his impersonations of then US President George H. W. Bush and presidential candidate Ross Perot.
Bolstered by strong scripts penned by the writing team, Carvey's Bush and Perot impressions were a notable advance on earlier ventures in this vein, and they set a new benchmark for this aspect of the show's political satire. The best-remembered political impersonation from the '70s period was Chevy Chase's slapstick parody of President Gerald Ford, but Chase had made no attempt to create an accurate impression of Ford's character or essay any in-depth political satire — his sketches simply lampooned Ford's renowned clumsiness and consisted of Chase falling down a lot.
Carvey's Bush and Perot parodies were far more sophisticated and his Bush send-up was so well received that the former President himself made a cameo appearance in one show, lightheartedly taking Carvey to task.
Spring 1990 proved a rocky finale for one of the show's most underrated cast members. Nora Dunn boycotted a show hosted by the sexist, homophobic, and then extremely popular comedian Andrew Dice Clay. NBC fired her and a series of ugly charges and countercharges were lobbied between Lorne Michaels and Dunn. Many felt that Dunn cared more about garnering publicity than standing up for women's rights, but others took her side and viewed Clay's appearance as an all-time low. This episode marked the first turnover in nearly half a decade, and seemed to be a sad harbinger for the endless turmoil which would mark the 90's SNL.
Season Breakdown
1985-1986 Season
Opening Montage:
This season also had two opening montages. The first lasted only four episodes, and--like the 1984 season--opened with a picture of the Statue of Liberty covered in scaffolding (the statue was under renovation that year in preperation for its centennial celebration). It then showed various still images of New York bordered with several triangular lines and post-card like decorations. Starting with the Tom Hanks/Sade episode on 12/14/85, a new opening montage seemed to tell a story of sorts of a limo driving through New York, and eventually passing each cast member. At the end, the limo would approch 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and that particular weeks' host would then emerge from the backseat. Another version of the second montage exists that shows a plane landing just before the limo leaves the airport, however it will not be shown here since it is only a minor contrast. The music during this opener would be used for almost a decade, with a slight change in 1994, and finally being replaced entirely for the 1995 season.
(You MUST have Windows Media Player in order to view videos.)
Cast
(contract)
- Joan Cusack
- Nora Dunn
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Anthony Michael Hall
- Jon Lovitz
- Dennis Miller
- Randy Quaid
- Terry Sweeney
- Danitra Vance
(featured)
- A. Whitney Brown (debuts 2/22/86)
- Al Franken (returns 3/22/86)
- Don Novello
- Dan Vitale
- Damon Wayans (final 3/15/86)
Notes
- Wayans is fired on 3/15/86 (he was sick of the way the show treated him and camped up a "straight" character so that Lorne Michaels would fire him). Vitale is also removed mid-season.
- At season's end Cusack, Downey, Hall, Quaid, Sweeney and Vance are all axed. Although each had his/her funny moments (Sweeney's Nancy Reagan impression was especially popular), the cast never seemed to come together as a cohesive unit.
1986-1987 Season
Opening Montage:
This montage was used for two seasons, and is basically just video footage of each cast member racing the clock to get to what appears to be a casual night club.
(You MUST have Windows Media Player in order to view videos.)
Cast
(contract)
(featured)
Notes
- This season provides a major cast overhaul which restores the show to critical acclaim and watercooler value. All players introduced in this season become long-running cast members and/or major stars. Even the middle ranked Kevin Nealon remains in the cast for 9 seasons, one of the longest-running stints for any cast member (he's bumped up to contract in the 87-88 season).
1987-1988 Season
Opening Montage:
Same montage as the 1986 season with little notable changes (if any). The video shown here, is from the 1986 season.
(You MUST have Windows Media Player in order to view videos.)
Cast
(contract)
(featured)
Notes
- This season is trimmed to only 13 episodes due to a writers' strike.
1988-89 Season
Opening Montage:
This montage was also used for two seasons, and is just video footage with a light greenish-blue tint, of the cast members "caught" engaging in different tasks around areas of New York, intermingled with various footage of the city. Note the Saturday Night Live circular logo appears for the first time.
(You MUST have Windows Media Player in order to view videos.)
Cast
(contract)
(featured)
- A. Whitney Brown
- Al Franken
- Mike Myers (debuts 1/21/89)
- Ben Stiller (debuts 3/25/89)
Notes
- Ben Stiller and Mike Myers go on to become major film stars, but by very different routes. Myers remains on SNL for 6 years, as an increasingly popular attraction, while Stiller is fired in spring '89, flounders for several years, and becomes a big draw by the late 90's.
1989-1990 Season
Opening Montage:
Same montage as the 1988 season with little notable changes (if any). The video shown here is from the 1988 season.
(You MUST have Windows Media Player in order to view videos.)
Cast
- Dana Carvey
- Nora Dunn
- Phil Hartman
- Jan Hooks
- Victoria Jackson
- Jon Lovitz
- Dennis Miller
- Mike Myers
- Kevin Nealon
(featured players)
Notes
- Myers is bumped up to contract player.
- This season has the first real cast turmoil in nearly 5 years, as Lovitz departs for other venues and Dunn is fired after boycotting the show hosted by Andrew Dice Clay.
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