Saturday Night Live (season 26)

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Saturday Night Live
Season 26
The title card for the twenty-sixth season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes20
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseOctober 7, 2000 (2000-10-07) –
May 19, 2001 (2001-05-19)
Season chronology
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season 25
Next →
season 27
List of episodes

The twenty-sixth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 7, 2000, and May 19, 2001.

This season featured satire of the 2000 U.S presidential election, including the Republican and Democratic primaries, the campaigns of Vice President Gore, Texas Governor George W. Bush, and Ralph Nader, the Florida election recount, and the Bush v. Gore case that came before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cast[]

Before the start of the season, Tim Meadows, Cheri Oteri and Colin Quinn left the show. With the three of them gone, the show added two new cast members. SNL head writer Tina Fey and Second City comedian Jerry Minor joined the cast as featured players at the start of the season. Fey had been a writer on the show since 1997 and began as the show's head writer in 1999. Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph remained featured players. Minor was let go following this season.

This would be Molly Shannon's final season on the show. Leaving mid-season, she surpassed Victoria Jackson as the show's longest-serving female cast member (Amy Poehler would surpass Shannon's record seven years later).

Chris Parnell was fired at the end of this season, but then rehired midway through the next season. Executive producer Lorne Michaels would later admit he made a mistake in firing Parnell from the cast and wanted him back.[1]

With Colin Quinn's anchor seat on "Weekend Update" empty, executive producer Lorne Michaels decided to go back to the format used in the 1970s with two anchors. Jimmy Fallon and head writer Tina Fey were picked to anchor the segment together. Because of Fey's head writer status, she would rarely make appearances in segments other than "Weekend Update".

This season also marked the first time since Season 14 that John Goodman didn't host at all. He had previously hosted at least one episode per season for a ten year stretch.

Cast roster[]

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 26

Jim Downey rejoins the writing staff this season. James Anderson, who went on to write on SNL for decades, joins the writing staff as a new writer.

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		HostMusical guest(s)Original air date
4861Rob LoweEminemOctober 7, 2000 (2000-10-07)

  • Eminem performs "Stan" (with Dido) and "The Real Slim Shady", and also appeared during Weekend Update.
  • 2000 Presidential candidate Ralph Nader made a cameo appearance during the "Backstage" sketch.
  • Brendan Fraser cameos in the "Personal Profile" sketch featuring Chris Kattan getting ready for the next sketch like the athletes featured in the Olympic Profiles segment.
  • The George W. Bush/Al Gore presidential debate sketch in this episode is credited with coining the word "strategery".
  • Tina Fey and Jerry Minor's first episode as cast members.
  • Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey's first episode as Weekend Update co-anchors (the first co-anchors since season 3 with Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin).
  • Former cast member Tim Meadows appears on Weekend Update to promote The Ladies Man, a film produced by SNL Studios.
4872Kate HudsonRadioheadOctober 14, 2000 (2000-10-14)

  • Radiohead performs "The National Anthem" and "Idioteque".
  • Nomar Garciaparra appears as himself during a Boston Teens sketch.
4883Dana CarveyThe WallflowersOctober 21, 2000 (2000-10-21)

  • The Wallflowers performs "Sleepwalker" and "Hand Me Down".
  • Baha Men makes a surprise appearance and performs "Who Let the Dogs Out?".
  • Robert De Niro appears as himself during Weekend Update to discuss Jimmy Fallon's negative review of Meet the Parents from the previous episode.
4894Charlize TheronPaul SimonNovember 4, 2000 (2000-11-04)

  • Paul Simon performs "Hurricane Eye" and "Old". He also appears in the DiMarco Brothers sketch.
  • SNL writer and stand up Hugh Fink appears as himself on Weekend Update in a commentary on Judaism and Joe Lieberman.
4905Calista FlockhartRicky MartinNovember 11, 2000 (2000-11-11)

  • Ricky Martin performs "She Bangs" and "Loaded".
  • Chris Kattan impersonates Ricky Martin right before the real Ricky Martin performs the song "Loaded" (from Martin's album Sound Loaded).
  • Giovanni Hidalgo performs percussion during Ricky Martin's musical performances.
4916Tom GreenDavid GrayNovember 18, 2000 (2000-11-18)

  • David Gray performs "Babylon" and appears in the "Wedding" sketch.
  • Drew Barrymore is in the audience and mentioned in the monologue by Tom Green.
  • Gwyneth Paltrow appears on Weekend Update.
  • Tom's parents Mary Jane Green and Richard Green appear in the opening monologue and the "Wedding" sketch.
  • Shawn Greenson, Derek Harvie, and Glenn Humplik appear in the "Wedding" sketch.
  • Tom Green brought in his own writers for this episode, which didn't please the cast.[2]
4927Val KilmerU2December 9, 2000 (2000-12-09)

  • U2 performs "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation".
  • The previous day marked the 20th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon; Bono paid tribute to Lennon by singing a verse of "All You Need Is Love" over the end of "Beautiful Day".
  • The Director, Associate Directors, and Stage Managers who worked on this episode won a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.
4938Lucy LiuJay-ZDecember 16, 2000 (2000-12-16)

  • Jay-Z performs "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" and "Is That Your Chick," and cameos in the "Robert Goulet Rap Album" sketch.
  • Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek join Jay-Z for both musical performances and also appear in the "Robert Goulet Rap Album" sketch.
4949Charlie SheenNelly FurtadoJanuary 13, 2001 (2001-01-13)

  • Nelly Furtado performs "I'm Like a Bird".
  • Charlie Sheen reprises his role as Ricky Vaughn from the Major League films in "The NFL Pregame" sketch.
49510Mena SuvariLenny KravitzJanuary 20, 2001 (2001-01-20)

  • Lenny Kravitz performs "Again" and "Mr. Cab Driver," and appears in two live sketches as himself; one as holding auditions for Kyle and Sean DeMarco (Chris Kattan and Chris Parnell) and another going through airport security.
  • Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno makes a special appearance in the "Janet Reno's Dance Party" sketch where she confronts Janet Reno (portrayed by Will Ferrell).
  • Fred Wesley performs with the SNL Band.
49611Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezFebruary 10, 2001 (2001-02-10)

  • Jennifer Lopez performs "Play" and "Love Don't Cost a Thing".
  • Tom Hanks makes a brief appearance during Weekend Update.
  • Tracy Morgan opens the show by saying, "Live from New York, it's Jennifer Lopez's booty!"
  • This episode was delayed by 45 minutes due to a double overtime XFL football game.[3]
49712Sean HayesShaggyFebruary 17, 2001 (2001-02-17)

  • Shaggy performs "It Wasn't Me" with Rikrok and "Angel" with Rikrok and Rayvon.
  • G. E. Smith and T-Bone Wolk perform with the Saturday Night Live Band.
  • Molly Shannon's final episode as a cast member.
49813Katie HolmesDave Matthews BandFebruary 24, 2001 (2001-02-24)

  • Dave Matthews Band performs "I Did It" and "The Space Between".
  • Junior Brown performs with the Saturday Night Live Band.
49914Conan O'BrienDon HenleyMarch 10, 2001 (2001-03-10)

  • Don Henley performs "Everything Is Different Now" and "The Heart of the Matter".
  • Max Weinberg, the drummer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Weinberg's wife Becky appear in O'Brien's opening monologue.
  • Ben Affleck appears at the end of the "Boston Teens at the Liquor Store" sketch.
50015Julia StilesAerosmithMarch 17, 2001 (2001-03-17)

  • Aerosmith performs "Jaded" and "Big Ten Inch Record".
  • David Copperfield appears during "Weekend Update".
50116Alec BaldwinColdplayApril 7, 2001 (2001-04-07)

  • Coldplay performs "Yellow" and "Don't Panic".
  • David Spade appears on Weekend Update to plug his movie Joe Dirt. Co-star Kid Rock also makes an appearance and does a few "Hollywood Minute" jokes.
50217Renée ZellwegerEveApril 14, 2001 (2001-04-14)

  • Eve and Gwen Stefani (who isn't credited for her appearance) performs "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" for the first performance. Eve performs "Who's That Girl?" for the second performance.
  • Molly Shannon makes an appearance in the "Doctor's Office" sketch.
50318Pierce BrosnanDestiny's ChildMay 5, 2001 (2001-05-05)

  • Destiny's Child performs "Survivor" and "Emotion," and also appears in a sketch as former members of "Gemini's Twin", a recurring parody of the group.
  • Julia Stiles appears in the cold opening, as George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna.
  • Molly Shannon appears in an SNL Digital Short, "Five Finger Di$count".
50419Lara Flynn BoyleBon JoviMay 12, 2001 (2001-05-12)

  • Bon Jovi performs "It's My Life" and "You Give Love a Bad Name". He and Richie Sambora also appear in a skit holding auditions for backup dancers with Kyle and Sean DeMarco (Chris Kattan and Chris Parnell).
  • Lou Reed makes an appearance on Weekend Update.
50520Christopher WalkenWeezerMay 19, 2001 (2001-05-19)

  • Weezer performs "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun".
  • Former cast member Kevin Nealon appears during Weekend Update to tell viewers he is not on SNL anymore and that viewers who do see him are watching reruns from the 1990s that at the time aired on Comedy Central.
  • Winona Ryder appears during The Weekend Update Cliffhanger.
  • Jerry Minor's final episode as a cast member.
  • Chris Parnell's final episode as a cast member (until the middle of the next season).
  • This is the last episode to air before the 9/11 attacks.

Specials[]

TitleOriginal air date
"2000 Presidential Bash"November 3, 2000 (2000-11-03)
The special included election material from this year and years past. Rachel Dratch, Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond hosted the special while doing a number of different impressions. This special also featured cameo appearances from George W. Bush, Al Gore, Jesse Ventura, George H. W. Bush, Barbara Bush and Dana Carvey.
"Thursday Night Live (1)"February 1, 2001 (2001-02-01)
"The Culps' Mandatory Drug Awareness Assembly" sketch from this episode was included in the prime-time special "SNL Mother's Day Special 2001" as well as the clip show "The Best of Will Ferrell".
"Thursday Night Live (2)"February 8, 2001 (2001-02-08)
"The Best of Molly Shannon"March 20, 2001 (2001-03-20)
The special included material featuring Molly Shannon during her stint on the show. Sketches include "Mary Katherine Gallagher," "Leg Up," "The Courtney Love Show," "Pretty Living," "Delicious Dish," "Rockettes Auditions," "Monica Lewinsky in Congress," "Fanatic" (film), "Blind Date At The Airport," "Veronica and Co.," "Dame Elizabeth Taylor," and "Jeannie Darcy".
"Mother's Day Special 2001"May 13, 2001 (2001-05-13)
The first SNL Mother's Day special since 1993, the episode featured the cast and their mothers talking about their favorite sketches aired on the show. Sketches included "Behind the Music: Rock & Roll Heaven", "TRL: Gemini's Twin", "Mango vs. J.Lo", "The Weakest Link" and more. This special contained a special tribute to singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, who was the mother of cast member Maya Rudolph.

The Ladies Man film[]

Main article: The Ladies Man (2000 film)

Based on Leon Phelps' popular sketches, The Ladies Man film was released on October 13, 2000. The film's star Tim Meadows left Saturday Night Live at the end of the previous season but returned to promote the film in the first episode of this season. Cast members Will Ferrell and Chris Parnell and former SNL cast member Mark McKinney co-starred in this film. The movie was panned by critics and flopped at the box office.

See also[]

References[]

  1. '^ Graham, Mark (January 14, 2010). "Archers Chris Parnell Talks Well-Endowed Cartoon Characters, Being Fired From SNL Twice". Vulture. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  2. ^ Live From New York, The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live.
  3. ^ Carter, Bill (13 February 2001). "XFL Game Intrusion on 'Saturday Night Live' Roils NBC Executives". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
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