Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

aired its thirteenth season during the 1987-1988 television season on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

. Season 13 started on October 17, 1987 and ended (abruptly) on February 27, 1988.

Before the start of the season few changes happened. Kevin Nealon

Kevin Nealon

Kevin Nealon is an American actor and comedian, best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995, acting in several of the Happy Madison films, for playing Doug Wilson on the Showtime series Weeds, and providing the voice of the title character, Glenn Martin on Glenn Martin,...

 was promoted to repertory status and Al Franken

Al Franken

Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....

 returned to the cast.

Although the changes to the cast were minimal there were, however, major events that impeded the show's production. During production of the season premiere, a fire broke out near Studio 8H during dress rehearsal.

Despite plans to cancel the show for the week, Steve Martin

Steve Martin

Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....

 (the episode host) pushed the cast to perform, making the Steve Martin/Sting episode the only episode without a dress rehearsal.

On March 7, 1988, the Writers Guild of America

Writers Guild of America

The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....

 went on strike, cancelling many planned episodes, including one originally planned to be hosted by former "Not Ready for Primetime" player Gilda Radner

Gilda Radner

Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...

. Radner, however, would never get the chance to host due to her death from ovarian cancer the following year. The host for the March 12, 1988 broadcast (the first episode to be cancelled due to the strike of 1988) was never confirmed.

Cast

Repertory cast members

• Dana Carvey
  Dana Carvey
  Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
  
  
• Nora Dunn
  Nora Dunn
  Nora Eloise Dunn is an American actress and comedian, perhaps best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
  
  
• Phil Hartman
  Phil Hartman
  Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
  
  
• Jan Hooks
  Jan Hooks
  Janet V. "Jan" Hooks is an American actress and comedienne best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live , on which she appeared from 1986 to 1991...
  
  
• Victoria Jackson
  Victoria Jackson
  Victoria Jackson is an American comedian, actress, satirist and singer best known as a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992....
  
  
• Jon Lovitz
  Jon Lovitz
  Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
  
  
• Dennis Miller
  Dennis Miller
  Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
  
  
• Kevin Nealon
  Kevin Nealon
  Kevin Nealon is an American actor and comedian, best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995, acting in several of the Happy Madison films, for playing Doug Wilson on the Showtime series Weeds, and providing the voice of the title character, Glenn Martin on Glenn Martin,...
  
  

Featured cast members

• A. Whitney Brown
  A. Whitney Brown
  Alan Whitney Brown is an Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian probably best known for his recurring appearances on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s opposite Dennis Miller in a biting satirical...
  
  
• Al Franken
  Al Franken
  Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
  
  

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

New hires this season were Greg Daniels

Greg Daniels

Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...

, Conan O'Brien

Conan O'Brien

Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....

 and Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk

Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...

.

Episodes

Episode #	Air Date	Host(s)	Musical Guest(s)	Remarks
234 (13.1)	October 17, 1987	Steve Martin Steve Martin Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....	Sting	This is the only episode that did not have a dress rehearsal. A fire near Studio 8H caused everyone to evacuate before rehearsal could begin. Steve Martin convinced everyone to go on with the show instead of cancelling it. Al Franken rejoins the cast after a one year hiatus. Presidential candidate Bruce Babbitt Bruce Babbitt Bruce Edward Babbitt , a Democrat, served as United States Secretary of the Interior and as the 16th governor of Arizona, from 1978 to 1987.-Biography:...  appears on Weekend Update.
235 (13.2)	October 24, 1987	Sean Penn Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...	LL Cool J LL Cool J James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor... The Pull The Pull "The Pull" is the eighth episode of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy. It was written by Kurt Sutter and Jack LoGiudice, directed by Guy Ferland and originally aired on October 22, 2008....	Michael Penn Michael Penn Michael Penn is an American singer, songwriter and composer. He is the eldest son of actor/director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, and the brother of actors Sean Penn and the late Chris Penn.-Career:... , younger brother of host Sean, performed "This and That" with his band The Pull (making it the only time in SNL's history that one brother hosts the show while another serves as a musical guest). He would later have a hit with the song as a solo artist. LL cool J performs Go Cut Creator Go Go Cut Creator Go "Go Cut Creator Go" is the third and final single released by LL Cool J from his second album Bigger and Deffer. It was released in 1987 for Def Jam Recordings and featured production from The L.A. Posse, LL Cool J and Cut Creator. The song was a tribute to LL Cool J's DJ at the time, Cut Creator... .
236 (13.3)	October 31, 1987	Dabney Coleman Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman is an American actor, best known for his roles in 9 to 5, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.-Early life:Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary...	The Cars The Cars The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...	Special guest: Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Peterson is an American actress best known for her on-screen horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ wearing a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation...  as Elvira.
237 (13.4)	November 14, 1987	Robert Mitchum Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...	Simply Red Simply Red Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
238 (13.5)	November 21, 1987	Candice Bergen Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...	Cher Cher Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...	Guest appearance by Paul Shaffer Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...
239 (13.6)	December 5, 1987	Danny DeVito Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...	Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
240 (13.7)	December 12, 1987	Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...	Buster Poindexter David Johansen David Roger Johansen is an American rock, protopunk, blues, and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.-Early life:Johansen was born in... David Gilmour David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...	The music in the Drunk Man sketch would later be used as the intro music to "Weekend Update with Norm Macdonald". David Gilmour's appearance on SNL marked the first time a member of Pink Floyd played live on US television (Pink Floyd, without Gilmour and with his predecessor Syd Barrett, appeared 20 years earlier on American Bandstand miming to "Apples and Oranges"). He played an otherwise unreleased instrumental guitar jam with the SNL house band called "Song For My Sara" (which was mistakenly called "Aah Robinson It's You" on many Gilmour ROIO Roio For Music Recordings RoIO means "Recording of Indeterminate Origin",kind of a bootleg recording of unknown authorship.Roio is a frazione in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy.... s), and he plays lead guitar using a Steinberger electric guitar instead of his famed Fender Stratocaster.
241 (13.8)	December 19, 1987	Paul Simon Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...	Linda Ronstadt Linda Ronstadt Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...	Namesake U.S. Senator Paul Simon Paul Simon (politician) Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party... , a presidential candidate Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1988 The 1988 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1988 U.S. presidential election...  at the time, made a cameo in the monologue.
242 (13.9)	January 23, 1988	Robin Williams Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...	James Taylor James Taylor James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....	Writing credit for additional sketches by Conan O'Brien Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....  for the first time
243 (13.10)	January 30, 1988	Carl Weathers Carl Weathers Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...	Robbie Robertson Robbie Robertson Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
244 (13.11)	February 13, 1988	Justine Bateman Justine Bateman Justine Tanya Bateman is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is best known for her regular role as Mallory Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties...	Terence Trent D'Arby	D'Arby performed "Wishing Well" and "Under My Thumb." Dan Aykroyd Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...  appears as Bob Dole Bob Dole Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...  in the cold opening.
245 (13.12)	February 20, 1988	Tom Hanks Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...	Randy Travis Randy Travis Randy Travis is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which were number one hits...
246 (13.13)	February 27, 1988	Judge Reinhold Judge Reinhold Judge Reinhold is an American actor, perhaps best known for co-starring in movies such as Beverly Hills Cop, Ruthless People, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and The Santa Clause trilogy.-Early life:...	10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...	Don Pardo says in the closing credits of the original broadcast: "We will return on March 12", even though the Writers' Guild of America's 1988 strike would not end until five months later.