Saturday Night Live (season 17)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saturday Night Live
Season 17
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes20
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 28, 1991 (1991-09-28) –
May 16, 1992 (1992-05-16)
Season chronology
← Previous
season 16
Next →
season 18
List of episodes

The seventeenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 28, 1991, and May 16, 1992.

Cast[]

A. Whitney Brown, Jan Hooks and longtime Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller all left the show. Kevin Nealon was promoted to Weekend Update anchor. New cast members included Ellen Cleghorne, Siobhan Fallon and writer Robert Smigel. Beth Cahill and Melanie Hutsell also later joined the cast. Chris Farley, Chris Rock and Julia Sweeney were upgraded to repertory status, while Tim Meadows remained in the middle group. Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade were promoted to the middle group.

This was the final season for Victoria Jackson (at the time, she became the longest serving female cast member, with a total of six seasons on the show. She was later surpassed by Molly Shannon in season 26). This would be Beth Cahill and Siobhan Fallon's only season on the show.

Cast roster[]

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 17

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		Host(s)Musical guest(s)Original air date
3071Michael JordanPublic EnemySeptember 28, 1991 (1991-09-28)

  • Public Enemy performs "Can't Truss It" and "Bring the Noise".[1]
  • George Wendt appears during the "Bill Swerski's Super Fans" sketch.
  • Spike Lee appears during the "Dark Side with Nat X" sketch.
  • Jesse Jackson appears during Weekend Update, and reads Green Eggs and Ham[2] as a tribute to Dr. Seuss, who had died four days prior to the episode's initial airing.
  • Kevin Nealon's first episode as Weekend Update anchor.
  • Ellen Cleghorne, Siobhan Fallon and Robert Smigel's first episode as cast members.
3082Jeff DanielsColor Me BaddOctober 5, 1991 (1991-10-05)

  • Color Me Badd performs "I Wanna Sex You Up" and "I Adore Mi Amor".[1]
  • This episode features the first appearance of "The Chris Farley Show".
3093Kirstie AlleyTom Petty & The HeartbreakersOctober 12, 1991 (1991-10-12)

  • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers performs "Into the Great Wide Open" and "Kings Highway".[1]
  • Kirstie Alley's Cheers co-stars Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson and George Wendt appear as themselves in the opening monologue.
  • Siobhan Fallon Hogan objected to appearing in the Il Cantore sketch, and was replaced by Victoria Jackson.[3]
3104Christian SlaterBonnie RaittOctober 26, 1991 (1991-10-26)

  • Bonnie Raitt performs "Something to Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me".[1] Raitt dedicated the latter song to concert promoter Bill Graham, who had died in a helicopter crash the day before.
  • John McLaughlin makes an appearance as himself in the cold opening.
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a guest appearance in the "Hans and Franz" sketch.
3115Kiefer SutherlandSkid RowNovember 2, 1991 (1991-11-02)

  • Skid Row performs "Piece of Me" and "Monkey Business".[1] Band members Sebastian Bach and Rachel Bolan also appear in the "Kiddie Metal" sketch.
  • Ken Stabler appears in the "Lung Brush" commercial parody.
3126Linda HamiltonMariah CareyNovember 16, 1991 (1991-11-16)

  • Mariah Carey performs "Can't Let Go" and "If It's Over".[1]
  • Edward Furlong appears as his Terminator 2 character, John Connor, in a "Terminator" parody which doubles as a "Toonces" sketch.
  • Martin Scorsese appears as himself in "The Chris Farley Show".
  • Beth Cahill and Melanie Hutsell's first episode as cast members.
3137Macaulay CulkinTin MachineNovember 23, 1991 (1991-11-23)

  • Tin Machine performs "Baby Universal" and "If There Is Something".[1]
  • Macaulay Culkin's brother (and co-star of Home Alone) Kieran Culkin appears in the "Bill Swerski's Super Fans" sketch, as Froggy in a "Richmeister" sketch, and in the "Medieval Scalders" sketch.
  • George Wendt (who played Culkin's father in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Black or White") reprises his role as Bob Swerski in "Bill Swerski's Superfans".
3148MC HammerMC HammerDecember 7, 1991 (1991-12-07)

  • Hammer performs "Too Legit to Quit", "Addams Groove" and "This Is The Way We Roll".[1] Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman introduce "Addams Groove".
3159Steve MartinJames TaylorDecember 14, 1991 (1991-12-14)

  • James Taylor performs "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' 'Bout That",[1] "Shed a Little Light"[1] and "Sweet Baby James".
  • Steve Martin and the cast perform the "Tonight Song" during the cold open.[4]
  • Susan Lucci appears in a filmed cameo during the "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" sketch.
31610Rob MorrowNirvanaJanuary 11, 1992 (1992-01-11)

  • Nirvana performs "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Territorial Pissings".[1] The band trashed their instruments after the second song.
  • During the monologue, Rob Morrow shows a clip from the "Substitute Judge" sketch on the season 5 episode hosted by Rodney Dangerfield, pointing out that he had played one of the jurors.
31711Chevy ChaseRobbie RobertsonJanuary 18, 1992 (1992-01-18)

  • Robbie Robertson performs "Go Back to Your Woods" and "The Weight".[1]
  • Monk Boudreaux, Bruce Hornsby, Ivan Neville appears in both performances.
  • George Wendt appears in the "Bob Swerski's Quiz Masters" sketch.
31812Susan DeyC&C Music FactoryFebruary 8, 1992 (1992-02-08)

31913Jason PriestleyTeenage FanclubFebruary 15, 1992 (1992-02-15)

  • Teenage Fanclub performs "The Concept", "What You Do to Me" and "Pet Rock".[1]
32014Roseanne Arnold
Tom Arnold		Red Hot Chili PeppersFebruary 22, 1992 (1992-02-22)

  • Red Hot Chili Peppers performs "Stone Cold Bush" and "Under The Bridge".[1]
  • Madonna appears in a Coffee Talk sketch as a panelist. At the end of the Coffee Talk sketch, Barbra Streisand makes an appearance as herself.
32115John GoodmanGarth BrooksMarch 14, 1992 (1992-03-14)

  • Garth Brooks performs "Rodeo" and "The River".[1]
32216Mary Stuart MastersonEn VogueMarch 21, 1992 (1992-03-21)

32317Sharon StonePearl JamApril 11, 1992 (1992-04-11)

  • Pearl Jam performs "Alive" and "Porch,"[1] and also appears during the monologue.
  • Jon Lovitz appears in the "Hitting on Women" sketch.
32418Jerry SeinfeldAnnie LennoxApril 18, 1992 (1992-04-18)

  • Annie Lennox performs "Why" and "Legend in My Living Room".[1]
32519Tom HanksBruce SpringsteenMay 9, 1992 (1992-05-09)

  • Bruce Springsteen performs "Lucky Town", "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" and "Living Proof".[1]
  • Jay Leno appears during Weekend Update.
  • Features the Ross Perot for President sketch.
  • Joe Pesci was the original host for this episode, but had to cancel due to the filming of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York running late.
32620Woody HarrelsonVanessa WilliamsMay 16, 1992 (1992-05-16)

  • Vanessa Williams performs "Save the Best for Last" and "The Comfort Zone".[1]
  • Jon Lovitz appears in the "Bad Expectant Mother" sketch.
  • Beth Cahill, Siobhan Fallon and Victoria Jackson's final episode as cast members.

Specials[]

TitleOriginal air date
"Halloween Special"October 28, 1991 (1991-10-28)
Wayne (Mike Myers) & Garth (Dana Carvey) host this compilation of some of SNL's greatest Halloween-themed sketches.
"All the Best for Mother's Day"May 10, 1992 (1992-05-10)
The cast and their mothers take a look at some of the best sketches from the 16th and 17th seasons. Sketches include "The Tonight Song," "Wayne's World," "The Chris Farley Show," "Massive Headwound Harry," and "Coffee Talk".

Wayne's World film[]

Wayne's World, a film based on the popular "Wayne's World" sketches, was released on February 14, 1992. Cast members Dana Carvey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Chris Farley and Mike Myers appear in the film. The film received positive reviews and was commercially successful, becoming the highest grossing SNL film to date.[citation needed] A sequel was produced in 1993, titled Wayne's World 2.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  2. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 264. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  3. ^ Interview with Andy Hoglund. Vulture. 2020.
  4. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 121. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
Retrieved from ""