Saturday Night Live season 10

Season of television series

Saturday Night Live

Season 10
No. of episodes| 17
Release
Original network| NBC
Original release| October 6, 1984 (1984-10-06) –
April 13, 1985 (1985-04-13)
Season chronology

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season 9

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season 11

List of episodes

The tenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 6, 1984, and April 13, 1985. This was the only season to feature renowned comedians Billy Crystal, Martin Short, and Christopher Guest as cast members, and became known as the "All-Star" cast season.[1] Only 17 episodes were produced due to a writers' strike and budget constraints.[2] This was the final season of the Ebersol-run era.

## Opening credits

[edit]

This season also featured a new opening sequence produced by Charlex (who also created The Cars' "You Might Think" video earlier in 1984), depicting the SNL cast as giants in and around New York City landmarks.[3]

## Cast

[edit]

During the previous season, Eddie Murphy left the show midseason. Because of Murphy's departure, Joe Piscopo also left the show because he did not want to do it without Murphy. Dick Ebersol fired Robin Duke, Brad Hall and Tim Kazurinsky.[1]

Ebersol and head writer Bob Tischler then wanted to "blow up" the show by adding seasoned comedians instead of newcomers.[4][5] He hired Billy Crystal (who hosted twice in season 9 and was originally set to appear in SNL's first episode),[6] Christopher Guest (a frequent contributor to The National Lampoon Radio Hour in the early 1970s), Rich Hall (best known for his work on "Not Necessarily the News" and the early 1980s ABC sketch show "Fridays"), Harry Shearer (who was a cast member on SNL in season 5), Martin Short (from "SCTV") and New Zealander Pamela Stephenson (from "Not The Nine O'Clock News").[1] Stephenson beat out Geena Davis and Andrea Martin for the spot.[7] Christopher Guest became the anchor of Saturday Night News.

In the middle of the season, Harry Shearer left the show due to "creative differences".[8] Shearer told the AP, "I was creative, and they were different."[9] Despite his departure, his image is still shown in the opening credits (spray-painting an elevated train as it goes down the track).

The remaining cast members left the show at the end of the season. Ebersol had been wanting to completely revamp the show to include mostly prerecorded segments.[10] Short, Guest, and Hall ultimately grew tired of the show's demanding production schedule and showed little interest in returning for another season, leaving Crystal the only "A-cast" member available for season 11.[1] Like Lorne Michaels at the end of season 5, Ebersol made taking the show off the air for several months to re-cast and rebuild a condition of his return. Another idea was to institute a permanent rotation of hosts (Billy Crystal,[11] David Letterman and Joe Piscopo) for "a hip The Ed Sullivan Show". NBC decided to continue production only if they could get Michaels to produce again. Ebersol, along with his writing staff and most of the cast, left the show after this season. Those who wished to stay, such as Crystal, were not rehired for the following season.[1]

### Cast roster

[edit]

Repertory players

* Jim Belushi
* Billy Crystal
* Mary Gross
* Christopher Guest
* Rich Hall

* Gary Kroeger
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus
* Harry Shearer (final episode: January 12, 1985)
* Martin Short
* Pamela Stephenson

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

## Writers

[edit]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 10

Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Rob Riley, and Martin Short joined the writing staff. Jim Downey, Herb Sargent, and Harry Shearer rejoined the staff after a four-year hiatus. Robin Duke, Adam Green, Tim Kazurinsky, Michael McCartney, Eddie Murphy, Pamela Norris, and Joe Piscopo left the staff.

This season's writers were Jim Belushi, Andy Breckman, Billy Crystal, Jim Downey, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Nate Herman, Kevin Kelton, Andy Kurtzman, Margaret Oberman, Rob Riley, Herb Sargent, Martin Short, Harry Shearer, Andrew Smith, Bob Tischler and Eliot Wald. The head writer was Bob Tischler.

Larry David spent one season on the writing staff.[12] He described this period as a miserable experience due to his conflicts with Dick Ebersol and being able to get only one sketch on the air, which aired in the final moments of Episode 7.[13] He would later take some of his unused ideas and work them into his show Seinfeld.[13] David would return to host SNL in 2017[14] and to portray Bernie Sanders.[15]

## Episodes

[edit]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes

No.
overall| No. in
season| Host(s)| Musical guest(s)| Original air date

|
|
|
|

179| 1| (none)| Thompson Twins| October 6, 1984 (1984-10-06)

* The Thompson Twins performs "Hold Me Now" and "The Gap".[16]
* Billy Crystal (as Fernando) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus anchor Saturday Night News.
* Contains the first appearance of Ed Grimley on SNL,[17] as well as the "Synchronized Swimming" sketch.[18]
* Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Martin Short and Pamela Stephenson's first episode as cast members.
* Harry Shearer rejoins the cast after a four-year hiatus.

180| 2| Bob Uecker| Peter Wolf| October 13, 1984 (1984-10-13)

* Peter Wolf performs "Lights Out" and "I Need You Tonight".[16]
* Bob Uecker anchors Saturday Night News.
* Guest appearance by Yogi Berra.

181| 3| Jesse Jackson| Andrae Crouch
Wintley Phipps| October 20, 1984 (1984-10-20)

* Jesse Jackson performs "Red Rubber Ball" and "Jean".[19]
* Andrae Crouch performs "Right Now" and Wintley Phipps performs "Tell Me Again".[16]
* The first appearance of Willie and Frankie.[20]
* Jesse Jackson anchors Saturday Night News.

182| 4| Michael McKean| Chaka Khan
The Folksmen| November 3, 1984 (1984-11-03)

* Chaka Khan performs "I Feel for You" and "This Is My Night".[16]
* Shelia E. was originally announced as the musical guest for this episode, but was replaced by Chaka Khan.
* Edwin Newman anchors Saturday Night News.
* Cameraman Bobby Fraraccio fills in for Barry Manilow on "Fernando's Hideaway".
* Contains the first appearance as the faux-folk group The Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer), performing their "hit", "Old Joe's Place" (in addition to a pre-taped segment featuring the band's "reunion"). The Folksmen appeared 19 years later in the film A Mighty Wind.
* Larry David appears off-camera during the monologue as a heckler.
* Jim Belushi was missing from this episode, as mentioned by McKean during the goodnights.
* Michael McKean joined the cast of SNL 10 years later at the end of season 19, making him one of only two people to be a host, musical guest (as part of Spinal Tap in season 9) and cast member of SNL (Dan Aykroyd being the other).

183| 5| George Carlin| Frankie Goes to Hollywood| November 10, 1984 (1984-11-10)

* Frankie Goes to Hollywood performs "Two Tribes" and "Born to Run".[16]
* George Carlin anchors Saturday Night News.

184| 6| Ed Asner| The Kinks| November 17, 1984 (1984-11-17)

* The Kinks performs "Do It Again" and "Word of Mouth".[16]
* Bill Murray was originally announced as the host, but backed out and was replaced by Ed Asner.
* Ed Asner anchors Saturday Night News.

185| 7| Ed Begley, Jr.| Billy Squier| December 1, 1984 (1984-12-01)

* Billy Squier performs "Rock Me Tonite" and "All Night Long".[16]
* This episode contains the sole sketch Larry David got on the air.[13][21]
* Christopher Guest's first episode as Saturday Night News anchor.

186| 8| Ringo Starr| Herbie Hancock| December 8, 1984 (1984-12-08)

* Herbie Hancock performs "Junku" and "Rockit".[16]
* This is the only episode of the series not to have a news segment, like "Saturday Night News", as it was known then.
* Cameo by Barbara Bach, wife of host Ringo Starr.

187| 9| Eddie Murphy| The Honeydrippers| December 15, 1984 (1984-12-15)

* The Honeydrippers performs "Rockin' at Midnight" and "Santa Claus Is Back in Town".[16]
* Murphy's last appearance on the show until hosting again during the forty-fifth season in 2019 (not counting a brief appearance during the 40th Anniversary Special in 2015). Larry David also appears in the 2019 episode.

188| 10| Kathleen Turner| John Waite| January 12, 1985 (1985-01-12)

* John Waite performs "Saturday Night".[16]
* Harry Shearer's final episode as a cast member.

189| 11| Roy Scheider| Billy Ocean| January 19, 1985 (1985-01-19)

* Billy Ocean performs "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy".[16]

190| 12| Alex Karras| Tina Turner| February 2, 1985 (1985-02-02)

* Tina Turner performs "What's Love Got to Do with It," "Better Be Good to Me" and "Private Dancer".[16] Turner also appears in an Ed Grimley sketch.

191| 13| Harry Anderson| Bryan Adams| February 9, 1985 (1985-02-09)

* Bryan Adams performs "Somebody" and "Run to You".[16]
* Carol Burnett, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Christopher Reeve and Marty Stuart appear in the audience.

192| 14| Pamela Sue Martin| Power Station| February 16, 1985 (1985-02-16)

* Power Station performs "Some Like It Hot" and "Get It On (Bang a Gong)".[16]
* Pre-recorded guest appearances by Ann-Margret, Morgan Fairchild, Teri Garr, Susan Lucci and Lynn Swann.

193| 15| Mr. T
Hulk Hogan| The Commodores| March 30, 1985 (1985-03-30)

* The Commodores perform "Nightshift" and "Animal Instinct".[16]
* Guest appearances by Steve Landesberg, Liberace, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Bob Orton, Jr.

194| 16| Christopher Reeve| Santana| April 6, 1985 (1985-04-06)

* Santana performs "Say It Again" and "Right Now".[16]
* Guest appearance by Steven Wright.
* Late Night with David Letterman regular Calvert DeForest appears in an audience cameo during Saturday Night News.

195| 17| Howard Cosell| Greg Kihn| April 13, 1985 (1985-04-13)

* Greg Kihn performs "Boys Won't" and "Lucky".[16]
* Jim Belushi, Billy Crystal, Mary Gross, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Gary Kroeger, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Short and Pamela Stephenson's final episode as cast members.
* Guest's final episode as Saturday Night News anchor.
* Dick Ebersol's final episode as executive producer.

## Specials

[edit]

Title| Original air date

|

"SNL Film Festival"| March 2, 1985 (1985-03-02)

Hosted by Billy Crystal, presenting short films and commercial parodies. Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, Robin Williams, Tim Kazurinsky, and Stevie Wonder make appearances in pre-recorded segments from previous seasons. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert review the show.[10] John Candy and Eugene Levy plug next week's show with musical guests Hall & Oates (who don't end up appearing due to a writers strike).[2]

"The Best of John Belushi"| August 3, 1985 (1985-08-03)

The special included material featuring John Belushi during his stint on the show. Sketches include Sam Peckinpah, Beethoven Composes 'My Girl', Beethoven Composes 'What I Say', Vito Corleone in Therapy, Samurai Deli, Wilderness Comedian, The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise, The Bee Honeymooners, Dragnet, Tomorrow with Tom Snyder, Mussolini Reenactment, Little Chocolate Donuts, Olympia Cafe, Don't Look Back In Anger, The Academy Awards, Superhero Party and Miles Cowperthwaite, Part Two: I Am Nailed to the Hull". The special also features musical numbers Belushi performs on the show: Belushi as Joe Cocker performs A Little Help From My Friends and The Blues Brothers performs "King Bee," "Soul Man," and "B-Movie Boxcar Blues".

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost and Found. NBC. November 13, 2005.
2. ^ a b Bedell Smith, Sally (March 6, 1985). "Scant Initial Effect Seen for TV Writers' Strike". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
3. ^ "Saturday Night Live Season 10 Intro HQ". YouTube. June 20, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
4. ^ Martinsen, Dan (November 6, 1984). "Saturday Night Live Turns to Proven Talent". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. LA Times-Washington Post News Service. p. 9D. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
5. ^ Kornbluth, Jesse (October 1, 1984). "Revived from New York, It's 'Saturday Night'!". New York. Vol. 17, no. 39\. pp. 52–57. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
6. ^ Mansfield, Stephanie (July 27, 1985). "A simply mahhhvellous success story". Vancouver Sun. p. D4. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
7. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, p. 261.
8. ^ "Shearer suspended on NBC's 'SNL'". The Vindicator. February 13, 1985. p. 33. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
9. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, p. 287.
10. ^ a b Blevins, Joe (November 18, 2015). "The Night Siskel and Ebert Took Over 'SNL'". Vulture. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
11. ^ Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 291–292.
12. ^ Hirschberg, Lynn (September 12, 2016). "Julia Louis-Dreyfus Is Bonded to Larry David By Their Misery". W. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
13. ^ a b c Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 269–273.
14. ^ Love, Matthew (November 5, 2017). "Saturday Night Live Recap: Larry David Berns His Enthusiasm". Vulture. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
15. ^ "'SNL': Larry David Returns as Bernie Sanders for a Campaign Postmortem From His Living Room (Video)". Yahoo Entertainment. April 12, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 978-0-395-70895-8.
17. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 156–158. ISBN 978-0-395-70895-8.
18. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 159. ISBN 978-0-395-70895-8.
19. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 264. ISBN 978-0-395-70895-8.
20. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-0-395-70895-8.
21. ^ "Going Up". NBC. August 14, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2024 - via YouTube.

### Works cited

[edit]

* Shales, Tom; Miller, James Andrew (2002). Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0316295222.

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Films based
on sketches|

* Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979)
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* Harold (2008)
* MacGruber (2010)

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* 15th Anniversary (1989)
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Related|

* Broadway Video
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* "A Limo for a Lame-O"
* "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
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