Saturday Night Live (season 12)

Saturday Night Live (season 12)
The title card for the twelfth season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 20
Release
Original network NBC
Original release October 11, 1986 (1986-10-11) – May 23, 1987 (1987-05-23)
Season chronology

The twelfth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 11, 1986, and May 23, 1987.

History

Many of season 11's cast members were fired, except for Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz, featured player A. Whitney Brown, and Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller. Al Franken was rehired as a writer. The rest were relative unknowns, led by Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon.[1] Hartman helped write sketches in season 11's Thanksgiving episode hosted by Pee-wee Herman, and appeared in a sketch as a Pilgrim.

The first show of the 1986–87 season opened with Madonna, host of the previous season opener, reading a "statement" from NBC about season 11's mediocre writing and bad cast choices.[2] According to the "statement", the entire 1985–86 season was "...all a dream. A horrible, horrible dream."

The season included "Mastermind," a skit written by Jim Downey and Al Franken, in which Phil Hartman portrayed two sides of Ronald Reagan; 25 years later Todd Purdum called the skit "surely among the show’s Top 10 of all time."

Cast

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

This season's writers were Andy Breckman, A. Whitney Brown, E. Jean Carroll, Tom Davis, Jim Downey, Al Franken, Jack Handey, Phil Hartman, George Meyer, Lorne Michaels, Kevin Nealon, Herb Sargent, Marc Shaiman, Rosie Shuster, Robert Smigel, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Jon Vitti and Christine Zander. Downey also served as head writer.

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		Host(s)Musical guestOriginal air date
2141Sigourney Weaver(none)October 11, 1986

2152Malcolm-Jamal WarnerRun DMCOctober 18, 1986

2163Rosanna ArquetteRic OcasekNovember 8, 1986

2174Sam KinisonLou ReedNovember 15, 1986

  • Lou Reed performed "I Love You, Suzanne" from 1984's New Sensations and "Original Wrapper" from 1986's Mistrial.[3]
  • Guest appearance by porn star Seka.
2185Robin WilliamsPaul SimonNovember 22, 1986

2196Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin ShortRandy NewmanDecember 6, 1986

  • Randy Newman performed "Longest Night" and "Roll with the Punches."[3]
  • Chevy Chase acknowledges his recent stint in the Betty Ford Center in the monologue and cold opening, a sketch where klutzy people hold a support group meeting called Stumblebums Anonymous
  • In a sketch written by Jim Downey and Al Franken, Phil Hartman portrays President Ronald Reagan as Masterbrain, a "sweet, befuddled old man in public, who in private becomes the hard-charging director of the covert operation to finance the Nicaraguan Contras"
  • Guest appearance by Eric Idle
2207Steve GuttenbergThe PretendersDecember 13, 1986

2218William ShatnerLone JusticeDecember 20, 1986

  • Lone Justice performed "Shelter" and "I Found Love."[3]
  • This show features a sketch where William Shatner, sick of Star Trek fans asking him inane questions, tells them to "Get a life!"[7]
  • Comedian Kevin Meaney makes a guest appearance
  • Special guest Buster Poindexter played "Zat You, Santa?"[3]
2229Joe Montana
Walter Payton		Deborah HarryJanuary 24, 1987

22310Paul ShafferBruce Hornsby & the RangeJanuary 31, 1987

22411Bronson PinchotPaul YoungFebruary 14, 1987

22512Willie NelsonWillie NelsonFebruary 21, 1987

  • Danny DeVito makes a guest appearance.
  • Willie Nelson performed "Blue Eyes" and "Partners After All".[3]
  • In a sketch, Nelson accompanies Victoria Jackson on "The Boyfriend Song".
22613Valerie BertinelliRobert Cray BandFebruary 28, 1987

  • Robert Cray Band performed "Smoking Gun" and "Right Next Door".[3]
  • Bertinelli's then-husband, Eddie Van Halen, appeared in a sketch and plays with the SNL Band. Van Halen performed "Stompin' 8H."[3]
  • Guest appearance by Edwin Newman.
22714Bill MurrayPercy SledgeMarch 21, 1987

22815Charlton HestonWynton MarsalisMarch 28, 1987

  • Wynton Marsalis performed "J Mood" and "Juan (E. Mustaad)".[3]
  • The episode features a short film by future cast member Ben Stiller.
22916John LithgowAnita BakerApril 11, 1987

23017John LarroquetteTimbuk 3April 18, 1987

  • Timbuk 3 performed "Just Another Movie" and "Hairstyles & Attitudes".[3]
23118Mark HarmonSuzanne VegaMay 9, 1987

  • Suzanne Vega performed "Luka" and "Marlene on the Water".[3]
23219Garry ShandlingLos LobosMay 16, 1987

23320Dennis HopperRoy OrbisonMay 23, 1987

References

  1. ↑ Gendel, Morgan (30 September 1986). "Another Groundling Hops To 'Snl'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  2. ↑ http://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86amadonna.phtml
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  4. ↑ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 214–217. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  5. ↑ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. p. 120. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  6. ↑ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 218–219. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  7. ↑ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. p. 42. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
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