Saturday Night Live (season 21)

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Saturday Night Live
Season 21
The title card for the twenty-first season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes20
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 30, 1995 (1995-09-30) –
May 18, 1996 (1996-05-18)
Season chronology
← Previous
season 20
Next →
season 22
List of episodes

The twenty-first season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 30, 1995, and May 18, 1996.

History[]

SNL once again dodged cancellation from season 20's low ratings and scathing reviews about the show's decline in quality. The cast was mostly overhauled, new writers were brought in, and Beth McCarthy Miller took over as director.

The season was home to the Rage Against the Machine incident. On April 13, 1996, the band was the musical guest, and was scheduled to perform two songs. The show was hosted that night by ex-Republican presidential candidate and billionaire Steve Forbes. According to RATM guitarist Tom Morello, "RATM wanted to stand in sharp juxtaposition to a billionaire telling jokes and promoting his flat tax by making our own statement."[1] To this end, the band hung two upside-down American flags from their amplifiers. Seconds before they took the stage to perform "Bulls on Parade", SNL and NBC sent stagehands in to pull the flags down.[2] Following the removal of the flags during the first performance, the band was approached by SNL and NBC officials and ordered to immediately leave the building. Upon hearing this, bassist Tim Commerford reportedly stormed Forbes's dressing room, throwing shreds from one of the torn down flags. Morello noted that members of the Saturday Night Live cast and crew, whom he declined to name, "expressed solidarity with our actions, and a sense of shame that their show had censored the performance."[1]

A new logo was used starting this season, consisting of the words SATURDAYNIGHTLIVE in a sans-serif typeface, and was used until 2006.

Cast[]

Only five cast members returned to the show from the previous season: Norm Macdonald, Mark McKinney, Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon and David Spade.[3] Although Spade returned to the show, he had more of a diminished role, very rarely appearing in sketches except for Spade in America, a "Weekend Update" segment hosted by Spade that debuted at the start of the season and was featured in all but five episodes.

Molly Shannon was upgraded to repertory status.

Chris Kattan and newly hired writer Colin Quinn also joined as featured players for the final six episodes of the season. Fred Wolf was hired later in April as a featured player.

Cast roster[]

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 21

Steve Higgins, Adam McKay, Paula Pell, Frank Sebastiano, and Colin Quinn join the writing staff.

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		HostMusical guestOriginal air date
3871Mariel HemingwayBlues TravelerSeptember 30, 1995 (1995-09-30)

  • Blues Traveler performs "Run-Around" and "Hook".
  • Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, David Koechner, Cheri Oteri and Nancy Walls' first episode as cast members.
  • As mentioned in the "Spade in America" sketch, the original musical guest scheduled to appear on this episode was Prince (back when he was known as "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince").
3882Chevy ChaseLisa Loeb & Nine StoriesOctober 7, 1995 (1995-10-07)

  • Lisa Loeb performs "Do You Sleep?" and "Stay (I Missed You)".
  • Mariel Hemingway appears during the "Braveheart" sketch.
  • Don Novello appears as Father Guido Sarducci during "Weekend Update".
3893David SchwimmerNatalie MerchantOctober 21, 1995 (1995-10-21)

  • Natalie Merchant performs "Wonder" with Jennifer Turner and "Carnival" with Jennifer Turner and Katell Keineg.
  • Schwimmer's Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow appeared in the opening monologue. Aniston also appeared during the "Spade in America" segment.
  • Gary Coleman, Jimmie Walker and Barry Williams also appears in the opening monologue.
  • Writer Colin Quinn, who was to become a credited cast member later, appears as an extra in the "Standing in an Elevator" sketch.
3904Gabriel ByrneAlanis MorissetteOctober 28, 1995 (1995-10-28)

  • Alanis Morissette performs "Hand in My Pocket" and "All I Really Want".
  • Writer Colin Quinn, who was to become a credited cast member later, appears in the opening monologue as a dancing potato.
  • Bill Bradley and Lamar Alexander appear during the cold open.
  • Tom Glavine, Chrissie Hynde, Chipper Jones and Mark Wohlers appear in a pre-recorded "Spade in America" segment.
3915Quentin TarantinoThe Smashing PumpkinsNovember 11, 1995 (1995-11-11)

  • The Smashing Pumpkins perform "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and "Zero".
  • First Spartan Cheerleaders Episode.
  • Robert Hegyes appears during the "Spade in America" segment.
3926Laura LeightonRancidNovember 18, 1995 (1995-11-18)

  • Rancid performs "Roots Radicals" and "Ruby Soho".
  • Leighton's Melrose Place co-star Grant Show appears in the "Cydney" sketch.
  • Sam Waterston appears in the pre-recorded "Old Glory Insurance" sketch.
  • Sean Penn appears in a pre-recorded "Spade in America" segment, where he gives David Spade a tattoo.
3937Anthony EdwardsFoo FightersDecember 2, 1995 (1995-12-02)

  • Foo Fighters performs "I'll Stick Around" and "For All the Cows".
  • Jim Breuer debuts his recurring sketch "The Joe Pesci Show".
3948David Alan GrierSilverchairDecember 9, 1995 (1995-12-09)

  • Silverchair performs "Tomorrow" and "Pure Massacre".
3959Madeline KahnBushDecember 16, 1995 (1995-12-16)

  • Bush performs "Comedown" and "Glycerine".
  • Sam Waterston appears in the pre-recorded "Old Glory Insurance" sketch.
39610Christopher WalkenJoan OsborneJanuary 13, 1996 (1996-01-13)

  • Joan Osborne performs "One of Us".
  • Rudolph Giuliani and George Pataki appeared in the cold open.
39711Alec BaldwinTori AmosJanuary 20, 1996 (1996-01-20)

  • Tori Amos performs "Caught a Lite Sneeze" and "Hey Jupiter".
  • Features the first Brasky's Buddies sketch
39812Danny AielloCoolioFebruary 10, 1996 (1996-02-10)

  • Coolio performs "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)" and "Gangsta's Paradise" (the latter with L.V.). He also appears in the "Kevin Franklin Show" sketch.
  • Chris Farley appears as a special guest during the "Spade in America" segment, promoting Farley and Spade's new film Black Sheep.
  • Larry Brown appears during "Weekend Update".
39913Tom ArnoldTupac ShakurFebruary 17, 1996 (1996-02-17)

  • Tupac Shakur accompanied by Danny Boy and Roger Troutman performs "California Love" and "I Ain't Mad at Cha".
  • Adam Sandler appears during Weekend Update, singing a song about his grandmother.
  • No Spade in America sketch
40014Elle MacphersonStingFebruary 24, 1996 (1996-02-24)

  • Sting performs "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" and "You Still Touch Me".
  • Darrell Hammond filled in as announcer for the ailing Don Pardo.
  • No Spade in America sketch
40115John GoodmanEverclearMarch 16, 1996 (1996-03-16)

  • Everclear performs "Santa Monica".
  • Elle Macpherson made a cameo appearance during the monologue.
  • Kurt Loder appears during the "MTV News" sketch.
  • No Spade in America sketch
  • Chris Kattan and Colin Quinn's first episode as cast members.
40216Phil HartmanGin BlossomsMarch 23, 1996 (1996-03-23)

  • Gin Blossoms performs "Follow You Down" and "Memphis Time".
  • Hartman impersonated Frank Sinatra.
40317Steve ForbesRage Against the MachineApril 13, 1996 (1996-04-13)

  • Rage Against the Machine performs one song, "Bulls on Parade". Their second song was cut after the band attempted to hang inverted U.S. flags from its amplifiers, protesting host Steve Forbes, a Republican presidential candidate.
  • Forbes's family appears onstage during the goodnights.
  • Fred Wolf's first episode as a cast member.
40418Teri HatcherDave Matthews BandApril 20, 1996 (1996-04-20)

  • Dave Matthews Band performs "Too Much" and "So Much to Say".
  • Sam Waterston appears in the pre-recorded "Old Glory Insurance" sketch.
  • Sketch Spade in America is performed by Teri Hatcher (as David Spade) and David Spade (as Teri Hatcher).
40519Christine BaranskiThe CureMay 11, 1996 (1996-05-11)

  • The Cure performs "Mint Car" and "In Between Days".
  • Dennis Rodman made a cameo appearance in the cold open as Bob Dole's running mate, and then once again during Weekend Update.
  • Jim Gaffigan appears during the pre-recorded "Fuzzy Memories" sketch.
40620Jim CarreySoundgardenMay 18, 1996 (1996-05-18)

  • Soundgarden performs "Pretty Noose" and "Burden in My Hand".
  • First time "What Is Love" plays in the Roxbury Guys sketch as well as a third member's joining the brothers played by Jim Carrey.
  • Last episode for stage manager Joe Dicso, who had been in that position since the show's 1975 inception.
  • David Koechner, David Spade and Nancy Walls' final episode as cast members.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Anon., Saturday Night Live Incident, Public release and distribution. Retrieved November 12, 2007.
  2. ^ "Rage Against the Machine". The Flag Burning Page. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  3. ^ Shales, Tom (2003). Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Back Bay. ISBN 0-316-73565-5.
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