History of Saturday Night Live (1990–1995)
Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an American sketch comedy series that was co-created by Dick Ebersol and Lorne Michaels, with Michaels also serving as the producer.[1] The series premiered on the American broadcast television network NBC on October 11, 1975.
The 1990–91 season marked a significant period of transition for the series, introducing major cast changes for the first time in four years. Notable additions to the cast included Chris Farley and David Spade.
Following the departure of most of the original cast, the 1994–95 season saw Lorne Michaels attempt to rejuvenate the show with a blend of existing cast members (Kevin Nealon, Mike Myers) and new talent (Janeane Garofalo, Michael McKean). However, this season, along with the 1980–81 and 1985–86 seasons, is often cited as among the least successful in the show's history.[2] In response to the criticism, Michaels overhauled the cast once again for the 1995–96 season.
Transition in progress (1990–1991)[edit]
The 1990–91 season was a transitional year. Jon Lovitz and Nora Dunn left the show after the previous season, the latter in a cloud of controversy. Lorne Michaels introduced a number of players who quickly became stars on the show: Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Julia Sweeney.
During this period, the new cast members introduced memorable characters such as Sweeney's "Pat," Sandler's "Opera Man" and "Canteen Boy," Farley's "Matt Foley," Schneider's office geek "The Copy Guy," and Rock's talk-show host "Nat X." Spade's caustic commentary piece "Hollywood Minute" also became a hit. The popularity of these new cast members helped to offset the departure of several popular long-time players over the first two seasons of this era, including Jan Hooks and "Weekend Update" anchor Dennis Miller, as well as Victoria Jackson after the following season.
The already established cast members (Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, and Kevin Nealon) also remained popular with audiences. Nealon succeeded Miller as the anchor of "Weekend Update." For the remainder of his tenure, Nealon often played the straight man during "Update" and other sketches, particularly against the newer cast members. His participation in that role increased after Carvey, Hartman, and Myers left the show. Myers introduced many popular new characters during this period, including Linda Richman, host of the fictional talk show "Coffee Talk."
Meanwhile, Hartman, who had impersonated President Ronald Reagan on the show, began appearing regularly with his impression of Democratic candidate and soon-to-be President Bill Clinton. Carvey continued to perform his impersonation of President George H. W. Bush while also developing an impression of independent presidential candidate Ross Perot.
In the period leading up to the 1992 presidential election, Carvey and Hartman dominated the show with their impressions, creating mock debates. The Myers and Carvey characters Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar from the "Wayne's World" sketch would become household names during the early 1990s following the release of the successful feature film Wayne's World.
The new additions in 1990 included Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Chris Rock. This group would come to be known as the Bad Boys of SNL and remained fairly close in the years after they left the show. Each has appeared in movies with the others.