How The Classic '94-'95 Season Of 'SNL' Almost Sabotaged The Show

By the mid-1990s, Saturday Night Live was a mainstay of popular culture, one entering its third decade of programming. Despite some ups and downs over time, SNL introduced viewers to famous characters like Jake and Elwood Blues, Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, and a host of others. The show's "Weekend Update" segment offered comedic takes on the news, infusing some laughs into current events.
#SNL #1990s #WeirdHistory

[@vaibanez17]

Norm going all in on OJ during that time is so perfect

[@tinytattoomike7943]

Norm was savage!

[@jlshel42]

“It’s official: murder is legal in the state of California.”

[@TXnine7nine]

Norm was amazing. His OJ roasts were the best!

[@nonameman7114]

I miss that old chunk of coal

[@blarch2]

@ros Explain to the folks at home how Norm lost his battle with colon cancer. What a loser that guy was. Last thing he did was lose.

[@ToiletPlugger]

Nothing will top Norm MacDonald's Weekend Update. the man slayed.

[@hugonongbri8100]

you know who else slayed ?? OJ

[@vinyllpreviews9462]

Or as the German's would have you believe.

[@spankynater4242]

He was a beast.

[@xx7secondsxx]

Yea he was removed from it for too many OJ jokes. Some of the heads were friends with the scumbag so they got BLEHHH about it. The guy was as guilty as sin and the least you can do about someone getting away with LITERAL Murder! Is makes jokes about them

[@gokaury]

RIP

[@jayluck8047]

He was only a simple unfrozen caveman lawyer, but Phil Hartman was inaugurally placed on our hometown’s Walk of Fame.

[@Blakeneyd]

SNL used to be funny and occasionally a little crude. Now it’s mostly crude and occasionally a little funny.

[@negativeindustrial]

@@Blakeneyd It’s like some weird state approved mouthpiece that people pretend is funny.

[@vijaynair2403]

"Mr. Keerok, are you ready to give your summation?" "It's just Keerok, your Honor. And yes, I'm ready." RIP Phil Hartman

[@ChadwickTheChad]

"Your technology frightens, and confuses me..."

[@TotallyNotRedneckYall]

Phil was the best guest on The Simpsons 😔

[@cnance1972]

RIP Norm and Chris , your humor is missed , especially in these times 😢

[@chayden153]

definitely.

[@sadem1045]

Norm McDonald was fired by the network for making all those jokes about OJ Simpson. He's a hero.

[@cnance1972]

@@sadem1045 spoke his mind

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

Phil Hartman died too. His wife was cheating on him and abusing him. She went nuts on night and killed him and their kids, and I think herself too. I'm unsure the specifics. Allah knows best.

[@cnance1972]

@@HabrenOdinsdottir yes I miss him alot too and Robyn Williams

[@mrsbluesky8415]

Norm was so outrageous on the OJ thing. I loved it. RIP Norm. Chris Elliot is hilarious, they should’ve kept him.

[@layna-heyhey]

right. in a way, he pointed out the absurdity of trying to protect someone who was thought of as a killer.

[@Delightfully_Bitchy]

Chris Elliott is hilarious and it's probably better that he left.

[@gedaman]

“Murder is now legal in the state of California.” 😂🤣

[@jordanferguson4158]

That's why he got fired, one of the execs was a friend of OJ. And Norm kept doing the jokes after being told to stop.

[@chayden153]

Norm going after OJ is one of my favorite scenes from SNL of all time. his delivery is perfect

[@vinyllpreviews9462]

Hey, those are my lucky killing gloves.

[@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368]

Bob Odenkirk wrote the 'in the van down by the river' sketch. Injustice that SNL still exists and Mr. Show does not.

[@randomoverpopulatedworldid3286]

best skit ever. and the "we need more cowbell" skit of course.

[@Redfoot138]

Even greater injustice that Bob Odenkirk hasn't been brought back to host. You'd think it would be a no-brainer given his time as writer there and success with BB and BCS.

[@fitz394]

Facts.

[@Kira-Nerys]

@@Redfoot138 I think he's above them at this point. SNL is a trash fire now and has been for years.

[@KermdoubleO7]

its family in Hollywood, that Mr. Show should have.

[@tysheinin8733]

Guys, title screen in video says "95-95"

[@thedudeabiding1582]

Can confirm. Title says 95-95.

[@umgetoffmychannel]

Confirmed

[@areyoutheregoditsmedave]

this is confirmed

[@ifermaglich4985]

That's ok, most of the clips used were from from the 93-94 and 95-96 season and they got a cast members pic wrong

[@dillonhastings8438]

Mine says 94-95. Guess they fixed it

[@ladystardust9707]

Norm, you are SORELY missed.

[@rickyjoeshippyful]

Norm McDonald was the best Weekend Update person EVER!! One of my very favorite comedians!

[@timothydurkan]

"I've been in a lot of cults." Me too, Weird History..... me too.

[@timefoolery]

Oy, can I relate 😳😵‍💫

[@justiron2999]

So you guys wanna join a cult?

[@master.of.reality]

If you can make it through snl you can survive anything . Yes How bout some kool-aid

[@phaedraremington6247]

You make more money if you're a leader but have more fun as a member.

[@Larsgman]

THANK YOU FOR THIS. I’m old compared to kids now, but even when i was younger i was never FULLY aware of the magic SNL could put out. Also, despite all the current controversies , my favorite skits from SNL were the ones with farley and carrey (sp?)

[@josephnelson5463]

Hell yeh

[@Scribe13013]

Yeah but compared to kids now you're really old

[@danibravo5700]

If they considered canceling back then, what keeps them from canceling now when the show is absolute garbage?

[@ricopaulson1]

Not a hot or new take there. People said what you just said in 95 when Ferrell and the new cast came in. People said the same thing about the Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig era. People said the same thing when Phil Hartman and Chris Farley were on. The show is good now as it ever has been. But you need to have some sort of context and perspective to realize this. Even in peoples preferred "SNL hey day" 1/8 the eight sketches that aired that night were considered classic or timeless, if even that. The "Chip N Dales" sketch was the highlight of several weeks of shows for example. No episode is perfect. It's developed and written in less than a week. That "hot" take you have is old and tired.

[@KOSMICKEN09]

I think people get older can't relate to pop culture and lose their sense of humor 😃😂-- when you say that I doubt you're actually watching it - the whole nature of sketch comedy is hit and miss

[@SanctuaryJade]

True.

[@wylier]

Actually, there was no threat of cancellation during that season. The show was almost canceled after the 1985 - 86 season, but Lorne Michael lobbied NBC to renew it for another year.

[@phalangeish]

@kosmicken09 are you for real? In the 70s, in the 80s and some of the early 90s, all generations watched SNL, and we ALL laughed together. We all got the jokes. Millennials just aren't funny.

[@kandn420]

A good book to read about behind the scenes is David Spades book “ Almost Interesting”. He goes into detail how they treated the cast members they liked and not liked.

[@f3uibeghardt522]

Gee, because we all know modern SNL is totally awesome and hilarious and better than the '90s SNL by far, right? Oh, and I'm so glad to hear Norm punched Ian Maxtone-Graham. Ian was the guy who ruined The Simpsons.

[@zanethomas6865]

Mike Scully too

[@wylier]

Keep in mind that this mini-doc was not about the entire 1990 - 1999 season of SNL, just one year of it. New York magazine actually printed an article about that season that bluntly stated it was going downhill. With that said, I am a sentimental guy who would point to the show's first years - 1975 through 1980 - as my favorite era.

[@okonh0wp]

Well, I assume it was mostlyGarofalo and Elliott having really negative attitudes. I don’t blame them for not wanting to be there but I assume that steamrolled everything else… Kevin Nealon and Michael McKean weren’t fired. Also you incorrectly labeled Tracy Morgan and Siobhan Fallon as other ppl

[@SkyBlue-qn8me]

4:58 That's Siobhan Fallon, not Morwenna Banks!!! Siobhan was on for 20 episodes in the 91-92 season. Morwnenna was on for one episode only in 95

[@teeveeparty]

@Conor McCabe yup, also a bunch of the people listed as being let go actually left on their own terms, like Kevin Nealon. And Tim Meadows was actually fired after the season, then rehired.

[@zovalentine7305]

Rest in powerful peace Chris Farley 🙏 15 February 1964 ~ 18 December 1997⚘

[@ans1830]

Norm's news updates were brilliant. I still watch them. RIP Norm.

[@zovalentine7305]

Rest in powerful peace Norm Macdonald🙏 17 October 1959 ~ 14 September 2021⚘

[@dungeonquesting8075]

Norm mcdonald saved the season

[@kadennelms8419]

I think his OJ jokes carried the show. People loved them

[@ashez2ashes]

Norm Mcdonald was a legend we didn't deserve.

[@intellectic9155]

I agree, instead we got Garofalo....

[@opaljk4835]

I think we deserved him.

[@john.premose]

​@@intellectic9155how does that make any sense? McDonald was on the show years after Garofalo left. How did you even get 5 upvotes for that nonsense?

[@justinhackstadt6677]

They fired Norm and Chris Farley? Yeah, I'd kill for that kind of SNL humor right about now. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@brianmiller1077]

It was clear at the time Farley wasn't going to be around much longer. He truly was the second coming of John Belushi

[@erobinson55]

By 1994-1995 Mike Myers was already a star on Wayne's World twice. He had no worries.

[@PheOfTheFae]

This was back when I watched this show religiously as a teenager (showing my age here) and I had NO IDEA that they actually fired Chris Farley, who was one of the best. Bad decision on their part. I always just assumed he left on his own to go do movies instead.

[@jomac841]

Same. And Norm too. I also grew up watching SNL when Norm was Update host. Definitely bad decisions on both parts.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

The thing about firing Chris Farley is that it gave him a lot more free time to be self-destructive. His partying and his health got way worse in the late 90's.

[@loneshewolf74]

1994-1995 is history now. Man I'm old.👵 I remember SNL in the mid-late 90s mostly being overly long, unfunny sketches about the Clinton Lewinsky Scandal and the OJ Simpson trial. Meanwhile MAD TV was a new sketch comedy and I like totally loved it.

[@plawson8577]

MADTV didn’t launch until October 1995. In 1994, the only Good sketch comedy show was MTV’s The State. In Living Color had been canceled and a horrible poorly executed spinoff “House of Buggin” made its debut late that November. It was canned after just 12 Shows.

[@ryangillum115]

Oh man, I absolutely loved The State. Me and my friend would stay up Friday nights when I spent the night at his house to watch it. No one ever mentions it. Boys and Girls Action!!!

[@ryanjacobson2508]

I liked SNL a lot in the 90's, but it got gradually worse as they lost cast members who started in the early-mid 90's. I would say MAD TV in the 2000's was much better.

[@bradfordlangston836]

I cried my eyes out when Norm died

[@jomac841]

I clearly remember being twelve or thirteen watching SNL when Norm was update host. Some of the jokes went over my head but I still remember laughing at his delivery. The “cute news anchor” had been my favourite part of the show. Looking back this was right around the time he was fired. I remember being so disappointed when he wasn’t there the next season. If I remember correctly I stopped watching right about after he was let go. Admittedly a lot of the skits that made me laugh as a young teen were not exactly comedy gold but the ones that made me laugh then and still do to this day were Norm’s Weekend Update. That alone made the 90s the best in my opinion. RIP Normie. Thanks for the laughs.

[@xscorpio1976]

I recently began reading on the SNL history and all that and realized there is a phenomenon with SNL and nostalgia. In retrospect, everyone has an era they believe to be the best and it's always an earlier season. However, while that season was playing, chances are everyone else was saying it sucked and their era was best! There is no convincing my wife that the Sandler, Farley, Spade and Mcdonald season was terrible (bc they were stand ups more interested in creating franchise charectors than working as a true ensemble blah blah blah)! True with almost 100% of ppl. No one says today that this is era is their favorite. But in 20 years?

[@MrSpooner1985]

Thats very true, my dad talks about how good SNL was when he was in HS and shortly after (70’s) and little anecdotal stories of it. My favorite time was in the 90’s but i agree that it has a lot to do w/ nostalgia. I find the show is still great but with some seasons being more misses and other hits. Agreed, people in 20yrs will be saying this year is one of the best and they arent wrong, from their point of view, just like we arent from ours.

[@BifMcAwesome]

I think the 90s was the best even though I was around from the start.

[@mae2759]

It kind of goes in cycles. I actually acknowledged it being good at the time in the late 2000's and early 2010's when they had Kristin Wiig, Tina Fey, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, etc. Right now it's objectively terrible with a few bright spots here and there (mainly Heidi Gardner).

[@mccallosone4903]

this era was definitely the worst. there were some good sketches that always get highlighted (usually featuring farley), but you never see the dozens and dozens of horribly unfunny ones we sat through at the time

[@vinyllpreviews9462]

No, I was saying Norm was the best ever, best 2 news anchors have been Norm and Dennis Miller. Also, at the time I thought the Dana Carvey, John Levitz, Phil Hartman, Kevin Neilan, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider was the best SNL cast ever. The cast was really good, then they added all those new guys like Sandler and Farley that absolutely killed it.

[@foxmccloud7055]

Anyone want to see "Tiffany's Mall Tour of 1987 on Weird History?

[@margaretreefer1145]

Ha ha ha I loved Tiffany when I was a kid! 😍

[@treydodson4726]

Favorite era? The First Five. Aside from that, '07-'13. So many greats and a few that never got to shine like they should have. Classic bits all through out.

[@thomasroberts8088]

Janeane Garofalo was born complaining about how the doctor was dressed and from that moment has made it her personal life long goal to make sure everyone is as miserable as she is.

[@ChadwickTheChad]

It's weird that she chose that one conservative trait to copy.

[@ChunkOcoal]

Looking back on it, the 90’s were the best time for SNL. Rock, Spade, Hartman, Dana, Meyers, Sandler, Farley, Ferrel, and my favorite, Norm. Doesn’t get better than that. Love the Hader, Sandburg, Wiig, Forte, Parnell era too though.

[@dimitrageorgiadi5087]

I was into The Sandler, Farley and Spade trio. They were too cool. For me, they made SNL worth watching. Norm was a legend. That was my favorite Era.

[@alicerivierre]

RIP Norm MacDonald, you comedic legend, you! May you make everyone laugh in Heaven 😇😂🤣

[@NewMessage]

Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

[@littlewing7813]

This was when SNL was actually funny.

[@jayydee72]

Technically it was a weaker season but it definitely wasn't the train wreck everyone made it out to be...it was certainly a lot better than the awfully laughless 1980-81 and 1985-86 seasons.

[@nicoolivero161]

Dude that cast was great. If you go just before Kightlinger, Elliot, and McKeown when Carvey, Hartman, and Myers were still there with Sandler and co. That was one of the best. As a kid I watched from late eighties into 2000’s regularly and that cast is tied with the 2010 Armisen/Whiig/Sudeikis/Hader/Samberg cast for best cast ever.

[@baronvg]

I think this was my first full season watching the show from start to finish. I had watched random episodes here and there the previous couple of years (if I was awake). Obviously I had no idea there was all this drama going on. It was all new to me so I figured this was normal 🤣

[@TXnine7nine]

For someone who didn’t last long with the show, you sure did spend a lot of time talking about all the stuff Janeane Garofalo didn’t find funny.

[@skaetur1]

But you will admit she was a large part of the ONE YEAR they are speaking of.

[@GrinderCB]

Janeane Garofalo was overrated as a comedic talent. When she did stand-up her delivery was sort of depressed deadpan style. And I guess she considered political activism to be more important than developing her performing talent.

[@TXnine7nine]

@@skaetur1 Was she though? Narrator said it himself that there were too many cast members to the point where some only had a single skit each show.

[@wantutosigh1117]

Janeane Garofalo was a non entity this season and did nothing but talk trash. She's a waste of time to even cover. She's has no talent for sketch comedy.

[@bossfan49]

Just listing examples of why the season was troubled.

[@TeddyStrongBear]

In Living Color destroyed SNL in every way! SNL didn’t fully recover until 2000 onwards…

[@chrisschell90]

huh?

[@tinytattoomike7943]

That’s true living color took it to the next level

[@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing]

And we were also watching The Kids in the Hall, and The State... We had alternatives in the 90's we didn't have in the 80's, when cable was still very expensive and you pretty much had to adjust bunny ears on your TV or went to a wealthier friends house to watch MTV back when they actually did music vids.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

@@chrisschell90 In Living Color was tearing SNL apart in the 90s. Especially with the Winans Brothers. MadTV during ng the 2000s is the closest to resembling ILC

[@kengeorgejones6855]

In Living Color did SNL a favor in the long run as it finally pushed them to hire more diverse cast members again - Chris Rock, Ellen Cleghorne, Tim Meadows.

[@lHomelanderI]

I can't believe how far it's fallen

[@nocontextwhatever]

RIP Phil Hartman 💔

[@byronic-heroine]

"Get better." "Fire Norm." Don Ohlemeyer showing us his infinite wisdom.

[@pamelamays4186]

The current cast hadn't even born yet when SNL first aired. The Not Ready For Prime Time Players was lightning in a bottle.

[@Ottophil]

They have cast members born after 9/11, in other news time exists

[@thegreencat9947]

All I know is that nothing remains the same. We were there and we saw it..

[@MsNooneinparticular]

I remember the "mood" during that time and it definitely wasn't as shiny and happy as people remember it now. Farley & Co were great compared to what we've had the last 15 years of course. My personal faves were the ones who came right after this cast: Cheri Oteri, Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Tim Meadows & Chris Kattan. They were competing with MadTV at that time which everyone knew was funnier so they had to step it up a notch.

[@Augustbeauty69]

For sure. Mad TV had begun, what, in 95? And Mad TV was crazy funny in the beginning. I remember watching it, and preferring it over SNL.

[@tylermuecke7875]

That was your favorite cast? Sheesh lol to each their own

[@ricopaulson1]

MadTV was god awful. Parody versus satire. Parody is low brow shit. And that was MadTvs only currency.

[@NH-ow8dy]

easily my favorite KZbin commentator period

[@Rochelle1985]

Spade has always been and will always be a comedy legend.

[@tinytattoomike7943]

True that 😉

[@amorgan5844]

I feel he is way under appreciated, he has always been one of the funniest people in any scene.

[@Rochelle1985]

@@amorgan5844 Definitely!! I love his snarky, sarcastic humor, but he really comes across as a decent dude, and not a jerk. He's a dork, just like me, lol.

[@hustleman85]

He was like a fly on the wall.

[@TXnine7nine]

I never watch it live anymore. I just wait until the next day when the skits are all uploaded to KZbin and I can pick and choose which ones to watch. Weekend Update is usually the highlight for me.

[@christopherhiggins2350]

I loved that '95-'95 season!

[@jeffwalker6815]

For fans of the Simsons, Ian Maxtone-Grahame was the genius who thought it would be fun to kill off Maude Flanders which killed whatever quality was left in the show. Good for Norm.

[@robw2379]

That was not Morwenna Banks. The woman in the foreground of that photo is Siobhan Fallon who was on the 91-92 season.

[@MrClassicmetal]

That tumultuous season was much funnier than the crap they've been serving for the past 7 years though...😏👎🏼

[@mocat1]

That was the last season I watched in full. I can count the number of full or partial episodes I have watched since then, on one hand. Full - 1. Dan Ackroyd guest hosting and introducing that week’s band - close personal friends of his - (and my all time fave band) - The Tragically Hip.

[@MrClassicmetal]

However, I have to admit that the Bill Burr episode was hilarious! 😁

[@zovalentine7305]

Colin Jost and Michael Che are currently the saviors of SNL

[@sophia17853]

The writing is good but I’d like a new delivery. Melissa Villaseñor is my favorite but they hardly give her much to work with.

[@Justcarlosdiaz]

The best thing Colin Jost ever did was Scarlett Johansson

[@HesarealNoWhereMan]

The 90s was the golden age for SNL. I try tuning in every now and then these days and PEEYEW!! In the words of Jay Sherman, "It stinks!"

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks for this! 📺

[@xx7secondsxx]

Dude.... DIRTY WORK was GOLD!!! I was unaware this season was bad. In the 90s it was all gold

[@jomac841]

Yes! I still love Dirty Work. Never fails to make me laugh.

[@killaken2000]

Have you seen Screwed with Norm, Dave Chappelle, and Danny Devito?

[@jomac841]

@@killaken2000 I heard it was bad but kind of want to watch it anyway

[@vijaynair2403]

Hey now...what was that jab at "Dirty Work"?! That was a hilarious flick! RIP Norm

[@chrismasters1411]

Norm is the most underrated and most unique and amazing comedian ever

[@sabas7549]

Rest in power Norm!

[@johnnyhellfire6]

I'm thinking maybe this should have been the last season.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

NBC wasn't gonna allow it. That's like FOX canceling The Simpsons.

[@jamespuffer2889]

Man a lot of undeserved hate for the current SNL cast, who I find have done a really good job for the most part. SNL back then wasn’t much different than now, I just think a lot of people have rose-colored glasses on or are nostalgic and think everything in the past was better. I watched tons of old SNL bc Comedy Central used to play them every afternoon for years. I’d argue there’s more unfunny sketches back then as compared to now. As long as current SNL avoids hosts who are on purely for PR reasons (looking at you Kardashian) I think it’s generally been pretty good. Please Don’t Destroy has been amazing, the kid who does the Trump impersonation is incredibly good, Kyle Mooney’s sketches are a great blend of humor and weirdness, Weekend Update is probably the best I’ve ever seen on SNL, and they have an all around talented cast and good writing.

[@nickcancelliere5638]

Haaaaa..80 and 90s were great...now it's woke anti American Propaganda

[@M123Xoxo]

How can you say current Weekend Update is the best ever? Norm MacDonald blows everyone else out of the water. It's not even in the same universe.

[@Sassyjass2012]

I agree, as someone who has watched SNL since its first first live broadcast, that the current shows have been pretty good. It wouldn’t surprise me if many of those leaving negative comments haven’t actually watched SNL for years and are just going on hearsay, and/or believe it was less political in earlier seasons, when in reality SNL has equally skewered politicians of all parties from the start.

[@petercook360]

I remember hearing and seeing the cast call at the beginning of the first episode of the 21st season and thinking, "Wow, I know almost none of these people. What happened to everyone?!"

[@banjofett3949]

Rest in peace, Norm. I miss you buddy

[@chrisbarrett8377]

This was the season 10 year old me would stay up to watch without fail

[@cadillacdeville5828]

That thumbnail looks chaotic 😅

[@PeeGeeThirteen]

I must have had rose colored glasses because I actually liked that season. Opera Man. Motivational Speaker Chris Farley breaking David Spade and Christina Applegate into laughter

[@furnitureconsortium]

that season was the end of an era for me......I grew up watching that late 80's crew (Dennis Miller, Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Dana Carvey, etc.) and as the years went on, they started leaving one by one to do other things. Hartman and Carvey were that last tie to that era when they left. They always say that Eddie Murphy (and to a smaller degree, Joe Piscopo) saved SNL in the early 80's and they'd be right because besides Murphy & Piscopo, there really wasn't any other great talents on that cast. I was really young during that era (like first grade) and I do have memories of seeing Murphy and cast parodying Reagan's shooting (Buckwheat Dead) and that was hilarious. What i'm leading up to by mentioning the Jean Doumanian era is that in the mid 1980's, there was a real lull in SNL and it was almost cancelled again during that time period. When Lorne Michaels came back and the hirings of Hooks, Hartman, and the rest of the crew I mentioned earlier....it really gave the show the shot in the arm that It desperately needed. Eras come and go on that show and by the time of 1995, I think everyone could sense that the crew was about done and it was time to reshuffle the deck. I was sad to see it happen because I dug that whole 94-95 crew! I'm gonna sound like an old man saying this, but that was the end of SNL for me......I didn't care for the Will Ferrell era at all and I still don't understand the humor or the popularity of Ferrell to this day, to each his own though. That being said, there was always diamonds in the rough in some of those later crews....Bill Hader is amazing and he could have hung in any era of SNL IMO, Kristen Wiig is also awesome, Kate McKinnon is great, Cecily Strong is also great. I also loved Darrell Hammond and Tim Meadows, two dudes who were on that show for a long time and were just flat-out consistently low-key funny in anything they did. To those that think that SNL is going to go away soon because of the current crew and writing....it's like Michigan weather.....just wait a little bit, it's bound to change....many times for the better! The show is too big now, it's way beyond Lorne.....when Lorne passes, NBC will most likely continue the show with a new steward of the ship. Lorne will always get the credit he rightly deserves for bringing in all of those crazy improv players from Chicago and Toronto under one roof to give late night television something else to watch besides news programs and static. also, a special shout out to Laura Kightlinger as I had a crush on her in that season xD lol

[@brendanobrien5417]

At 5:00 - that's Siobhan Fallon (w/ Melanie Hustle in BG) not Morwenna Banks

[@malcolmxpanther]

This was one of my favorite seasons of SNL. It’s way better than any SNL season in the past 15 years

[@michaelmcdonald8452]

I'd be curious to hear you elaborate on that? How this season was funnier than Kate McKinnon, Melissa Villasenor, Kenan Thompson and Mikey Day?

[@solearesoul]

@@michaelmcdonald8452 they’re not edgy anymore. Too “safe” and politically correct to push any comedic boundaries.

[@cityhawk]

@@solearesoul What sketches have they done would you define as “politically correct”?

[@FAMEROB]

@@cityhawk what sketches are politically incorrect?

[@cityhawk]

@@FAMEROB Didn’t answer my question. Nice try.

[@IsamotKol]

More content about SNL! Great video!

[@MomentsInTrading]

I think the main issue was all the behind the scenes fighting.

[@lilitharam44]

The early 90's SNL will always be my fav! So many greats came through there during that time, even if they didn't stay long. Chris Rock was really funny, Nat -X is classic!

[@furnitureconsortium]

hell yeah! The Dark Side with Nat X..... "The show is only 15 minutes.....why only 15 minutes?.....cuz that's how much time The Man gives me!" xD haha!

[@bossfan49]

@@furnitureconsortium Top 5 List (Why only 5?...) and the White-Man Cam! Nat with Andrew Dice Clay (played by Steven Seagal) "There once was a man named Dice, who looked like Fonzie on steroids, blah blah blah, blah blah blah...MY BIG BLACK FOOT IN YOUR ASS!!"

[@gaywizard2000]

I remember SNL in this time period being non essential and it was around 1998 when a friend of mine said you should watch SNL it's funny again! I enjoy most seasons of the show tho, it's such a time machine to some bygone era I forgot about. I started watching in the early 80s, whenever I was old enough to stay up that late and still watch it now.

[@metal_kitty9409]

This was the best era 💞💞💞💞

[@Myriako]

Thank you for this video ! 😊🌺

[@pucmahone3893]

Nothing could top the original cast!

[@questfortruth665]

I'm biased (because I'm old!), but the first season and the next four seasons with the original cast were the best, but I'd give a nod to the seasons of Meyers, Sandler, Elliot and Carvey as well.

[@birdmantd]

I've rewatched the 20th Season on Peacock and have that say it isn't really THAT bad evaluated on its own. It's better than Season 21 but that season expectations much lower with an almost brand new cast. There are a couple stinker episodes like George Foreman but some good ones like Jon Turturro & Travolta (find Quentin Tarantino's Welcome Back Kotter online).

[@jlshel42]

For the last 10-15 years, only political sketches seem to get any viral push on SNL. It’s really bad in recent years since they pull from celebs and not the cast to do impressions. Like how American Idol became more about the celeb judges.

[@BasementPepperoni]

yea, SNL for the past 6 or 7 years now has seemed like a variety show pretending to be a comedy skit show, all staffed by random people pretending to be "comedians"

[@jlshel42]

@@BasementPepperoni I’m glad Shane Gillis didn’t end up there, too fun and funny for them

[@kengeorgejones6855]

They now have the cast doing political impressions again (a cast member does both Trump and Biden), although whether that is just while they are waiting out COVID, who knows.

[@a3aan__uit389]

3:10 wow that Burn from Weird History

[@RobsEverywhere]

Wow. We were really, really spoiled with talent back then. But viewers were incredibly snooty in the 90s.

[@wylier]

what made them more 'snooty' at that time, tho?

[@GrinderCB]

The original 1970's was easily the best era of SNL. We got Weekend Update, Chevy Chase's pratfalls and the famous commercials like "Bass-O-Matic" and "Ambassador Training Institute."

[@frogpalpeeper4249]

"Pass the sweet and sour shrimp" LOL

[@dibslin2.081]

Farley and Norm are the funniest SNL ever produced. They would have had no problem fitting in on MADTV, which was a superior comic product to SNL.

[@StillBloom]

@5:00 Morwenna Banks? That's Siobhan Fallon (Hogan)!

[@dustinprewitt]

I remember those days... it wasnt as good as the previous season, but it wasnt nearly as bad as everyone says it was. It was certainly funnier than anything on weird history.

[@chaune11]

I remember enjoying that season and previous seasons. I wasn't impressed after they switched things up tbh. Didn't realize how toxic it was though.

[@supernautzero]

Oh, Normie, Normie, Normie, Normie...

[@markadams7046]

I don't think that I've watched an entire episode since after Tina Fey left the show. I'd have to say my favorite time with show was around the time when Meyers and Carvey were on the show.

[@TXnine7nine]

I never watch it live anymore. I just wait until the next day when the skits are all uploaded to KZbin and I can pick and choose which ones to watch. Weekend Update is usually the highlight for me.

[@kevinriehl5906]

I'll never understand the decision to so drastically change the cast after that season! I was never on board with the new cast from that point forward. I know most of it was my age at the time, but that was definitively the end of SNL for me. Sure, there were and still occasionally are funny moments, but for me personally there has never again been an SNL season that's even come close!

[@kengeorgejones6855]

NBC demanded the firings. Any time there are mass firings it's been down to NBC. Lorne generally doesn't like to do that, which is why the casts now have been massive for a decade.

[@jedite7503]

SNLs talent has dried up in the last 20 years. The people back in the 70s up to the 90s had comedic talent and right timing. You saw how talented they were. You don’t really see comedic superstars being created from SNL anymore.

[@NathanDav42]

You really think an era with guys like Rob Schneider and David Spade was superior to around 2010 when they had Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg, and Seth Meyers as head writer?

[@-xirx-]

@@NathanDav42 ikr, people always seem to get unwarrented rose- tinted glasses about the past.

[@nonameman7114]

@@-xirx- that’s how generations work, it’s always been this way. We just see it more because of social media.

[@jamespuffer2889]

@@NathanDav42 agreed, way too much hating on current SNL, which has great talent now and has been churning out some amazing talent the last 10-15 years. It’s a bunch of older people who are nostalgic and think Rob Schneider and David Spade are funny. They’re not. The current Weekend Update kills every week and the current cast has been banging out good episodes regularly.

[@robynboone8256]

Agreed

[@Ecwfan]

According to the Live from SNL book Lorne was told to fire Adam Sandler , David Spade and Chris Farley. That the suits didn't understand the comedy they did.

[@davidllewis4075]

I actually watched the very first broadcast of SNL and remember it as good. However, when found out George Carlin was not going to be on every week effectively never watched it again.

[@pamelamays4186]

Suggestion: Nickelodeon's sketch comedy show All That, which was basically SNL for kids. Kenan Thompson of SNL was a featured player on All That.

[@tudorrosey76]

Those were the best years to me! I graduated high school in 95!

[@justintime343]

The end of the best cast in SNL history.

[@stevecosmolove1045]

so good please more like this!

[@mpm2010lbc]

I thought the '94-'95 season was one of the funniest seasons ever ! Some of the greatest comedians came out that cast. Loved that season !

[@Daniel-gi3jo]

Akroid, chase, Baluchi and the early years.

[@thegreencat9947]

Yes...that is the only S.N.l that I know about....Jane Curtain. Oh oh the Coneheads. What bliss.

[@tinapatterson9234]

In my opinion, nothing can beat "The Not Ready for Prime Time Players." They will always be my favorites.

[@Ottophil]

I started watching 5 years before this season and havent stopped. Every week, 11:30 i go home if I’m out. I don’t care about socializing. I just wanna see my show. I will always be a fan

[@LukeandLucas]

That’s strange considering you can watch it at any time now. If someone said they had to leave at 11:30 to watch a show I would be confused.

[@suziemess494]

Please do more history of SNL!!