Saturday Night Live (season 27)

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Saturday Night Live
Season 27
The title card for the twenty-seventh season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes20
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 29, 2001 (2001-09-29) –
May 18, 2002 (2002-05-18)
Season chronology
← Previous
season 26
Next →
season 28
List of episodes

The twenty-seventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 29, 2001 and May 18, 2002.

Eighteen days before the season started, the September 11 terrorist attacks took place in New York. The season premiere (hosted by Reese Witherspoon) went on as scheduled, with a special cold open featuring Rudy Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City at the time, along with firefighters from the FDNY and police officers from the NYPD, declaring that despite the terrorist attack, New York City will run as normal and Saturday Night Live will go on as planned (with Lorne Michaels asking Giuliani "Can we be funny?" and Giuliani replying "Why start now?").

Three weeks into the season the show faced another scare when anthrax was found in the GE Building (from where the show is broadcast). The scare caused most of the cast and crew, as well as that week's guest host Drew Barrymore, to evacuate the building.

Cast[]

Before the start of the season, Jerry Minor and Chris Parnell were both let go from the show. However, Parnell was hired back to the show mid-season in the episode hosted by Jonny Moseley, becoming the second cast member to be hired back to the show after being fired, the first person being Jim Belushi in 1983.

Four new cast members were hired to the show: stand-up comic Dean Edwards, Chicago improv comedian Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe, and stand-up comic/impressionist Jeff Richards who was previously a cast member on the rival sketch show MADtv. Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph were all upgraded to repertory status at the beginning of the season, and Poehler was promoted to repertory status mid-season.

Will Ferrell was absent from a number of episodes because he was filming Old School. This would also be the final season for both Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer.

Cast roster[]

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 27

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		HostMusical guest(s)Original air date
5061Reese WitherspoonAlicia KeysSeptember 29, 2001 (2001-09-29)

  • Alicia Keys performs "Fallin'" and "A Woman's Worth".
  • Being the first episode to air following the 9/11 attacks, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani along with members of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) appear in the cold opening to encourage New York and Saturday Night Live to carry on in the face of adversity. When asked by Lorne Michaels "Can we be funny?" Giuliani replies "Why start now?"[1] In addition to appearances by Giuliani and the FDNY, Paul Simon plays "The Boxer" during the cold open.
  • Dean Edwards, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler and Jeff Richards's first episode as cast members.[2]
5072Seann William ScottSum 41October 6, 2001 (2001-10-06)

  • Sum 41 performs "Fat Lip" and "In Too Deep".
  • Former cast member Chevy Chase made a cameo on Weekend Update as the Land Shark. Chase ends the segment by saying "Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow," the sign-off used by both Chase and Fey during their tenures on Weekend Update.
5083Drew BarrymoreMacy GrayOctober 13, 2001 (2001-10-13)

  • Macy Gray performs "Sexual Revolution" and "Sweet Baby".
  • Tom Green appears during the opening monologue.
  • Former cast member Colin Quinn, introduced by Tina Fey as the "New Yorkiest New Yorker I know," appears on Weekend Update to give his NYC-centric take on current events.
  • John Popper performs with the Saturday Night Live Band during this episode.
5094John GoodmanJa RuleNovember 3, 2001 (2001-11-03)

  • Ja Rule performs "Always on Time" with Ashanti and "Livin' It Up" with Case.
  • Former cast member Dan Aykroyd appears during the "Hudson Valley Community Circuit" sketch, during Weekend Update, reprising his role as Elwood Blues, and during the "Bad Conceptual Theater" sketch, reprising his role as Leonard Pinth-Garnell.
5105Gwyneth PaltrowRyan AdamsNovember 10, 2001 (2001-11-10)

  • Ryan Adams performs "New York, New York".
  • Matt Damon appears during the "Mango" sketch.
  • Dr. John performs with the Saturday Night Live Band during this episode.
5116Billy Bob ThorntonCreedNovember 17, 2001 (2001-11-17)

  • Creed performs "My Sacrifice" and "Bullets".
  • Ashton Kutcher appears during the monologue.
5127Derek JeterShakira
Bubba Sparxxx		December 1, 2001 (2001-12-01)

  • Shakira performs "Whenever, Wherever".
  • Bubba Sparxxx performs "Ugly" and "Lovely".
  • David Cone and David Wells appear during the "Yankee Wives" sketch.
  • Clips from the season 2 episode featuring musical guest George Harrison are shown after Weekend Update, commemorating his death earlier in the week.
5138Hugh JackmanMick JaggerDecember 8, 2001 (2001-12-08)

  • Mick Jagger performs "God Gave Me Everything" and "Visions of Paradise", and appears during the "Dressing Room" sketch and the "Versace" sketch.
5149Ellen DeGeneresNo DoubtDecember 15, 2001 (2001-12-15)

  • No Doubt performs "Hey Baby" and "Hella Good".
  • Rudy Giuliani appears during Weekend Update.
  • Chris Parnell makes a vocal cameo appearance as Tom Brokaw during the "Narrator Who Ruined Christmas" cartoon.
51510Josh HartnettPinkJanuary 12, 2002 (2002-01-12)

  • Pink performs "Get The Party Started" and "Don't Let Me Get Me", and appears during the "Shout Out!! Show" sketch.
  • Amy Poehler is promoted from featured player to repertory player in this episode.
  • Will Ferrell is absent for this episode.
51611Jack BlackThe StrokesJanuary 19, 2002 (2002-01-19)

  • The Strokes performs "Last Nite" and "Hard to Explain".
  • Black's Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass appears during the opening monologue and during Weekend Update.
51712Britney SpearsBritney SpearsFebruary 2, 2002 (2002-02-02)

  • Britney Spears performs "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" and "Boys".
  • Dan Aykroyd, who co-starred with Spears in the film Crossroads (released a few weeks after this episode) appears during the Mormon skiers cold-open, the "Leather Man" sketch, and introduces Spears' second performance.
  • Justin Timberlake appears during the opening monologue and introduces Spears' first performance.
51813Jonny MoseleyOutkastMarch 2, 2002 (2002-03-02)

  • OutKast performs "The Whole World" and "Ms. Jackson".
  • Rip Taylor appears during the "Super Buzzers" sketch.
  • Chris Parnell rejoins the cast after having been fired at the end of last season for budgetary reasons.
51914Jon StewartIndia.ArieMarch 9, 2002 (2002-03-09)

  • India.Arie performs "Video" and "Ready For Love".
  • George Plimpton appears during the pre-recorded "Cheese Game" commercial.
  • Mike Judge appears in the TV Funhouse "Fun With Real Audio" cartoon, providing the voices for Beavis and Butt-head.
  • Will Ferrell is absent for this episode.
52015Ian McKellenKylie MinogueMarch 16, 2002 (2002-03-16)

  • Kylie Minogue performs "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "In Your Eyes," and appears during the "Versace Oscar Party" sketch.
  • This episode won an Emmy for writing, the show's first since 1989.
  • Will Ferrell is absent for this episode.
52116Cameron DiazJimmy Eat WorldApril 6, 2002 (2002-04-06)

  • Jimmy Eat World performs "The Middle" and "Sweetness".
52217Dwayne JohnsonAndrew W.K.April 13, 2002 (2002-04-13)

  • Andrew W.K. performs "Party Hard" and "I Get Wet".
52318Alec BaldwinP.O.D.April 20, 2002 (2002-04-20)

  • P.O.D. performs "Youth of the Nation" and "Alive".
52419Kirsten DunstEminemMay 11, 2002 (2002-05-11)

  • Eminem performs "Without Me" with Proof. The two also appear during the "Audition" sketch.
  • David Spade and Jared Fogle perform voice roles in the "Bambi 2002" cartoon.
52520Winona RyderMobyMay 18, 2002 (2002-05-18)

  • Moby performs "We Are All Made of Stars" and "South Side", and appears in a Mango sketch parodying Ryder's shoplifting incident.
  • Alex Trebek appears in the Celebrity Jeopardy sketch, alongside Ferrell's portrayal of him, and cancels the Final Jeopardy.
  • Neil Diamond appears during Weekend Update alongside Ferrell's portrayal of him.
  • Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer's final episode as cast members.

Special[]

TitleOriginal air date
"SNL Remembers John Belushi"March 11, 2002 (2002-03-11)
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of John's death, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey host this retrospective of some of his greatest sketches on SNL. Dan Aykroyd makes a cameo appearance in this special.

References[]

  1. ^ Boedeker, Hal (October 1, 2001). "'Snl' Falters After Moving Tribute". Orlando Sentinel.
  2. ^ Huff, Richard (2001-09-05). "Witherspoon on 'SNL'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
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