Saturday Night Live (season 33)
| Saturday Night Live (season 33) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 29, 2007 – May 17, 2008 |
| Season chronology | |
The thirty-third season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 29, 2007, and May 17, 2008.
History
This season also saw the death of the show's very first host: comedian/actor George Carlin. A scheduled rerun of the episode hosted by Ellen Page was replaced with a rerun of the show's very first episode, which had Carlin as host and Janis Ian and Billy Preston as musical guests.
Strike
Because of the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, there were only 12 episodes produced in this season instead of the usual 20 (with 4 consecutive episodes made between February 23 and March 15), making this the shortest season in the series run and beating out both the sixth (1980–1981) season and the thirteenth (1987–1988) season, which had thirteen episodes. This is also the only season in SNL history not to have a new Christmas episode, since the WGA strike spanned from November 2007 to February 2008.
On November 5, 2007, after the episode hosted by Brian Williams, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. It was announced that SNL would air its next episode on November 10, 2007 (with host The Rock and musical guest Amy Winehouse), live on air, with a future episode to follow, featuring Jonah Hill and musical guest Kid Rock. However, on November 7, 2007, SNL's official website confirmed that those episodes were canceled and reruns would be seen beginning November 10, and would continue during the duration of the strike. The Rock/Winehouse show was canceled, along with the Jonah Hill/Kid Rock episode (though Jonah Hill would get a second opportunity, when he hosted the March 15 episode, with musical guest Mariah Carey (filling in for a flu-stricken Janet Jackson) and The Rock would host next season, with musical guest Ray LaMontagne. Amy Winehouse would never get the chance to be a musical guest, host, or even cameo due to her death in 2011).
During the strike on November 17, 2007, the cast of the show, along with host Michael Cera and musical guest Yo La Tengo performed an "episode" of the show entitled Saturday Night Live - On Strike! at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (co-founded by cast member Amy Poehler) in New York City. Every cast member except for Maya Rudolph appeared, with former cast members Horatio Sanz and Rachel Dratch and musician Norah Jones making cameo appearances.[1]
On February 12, 2008, the strike was announced to be officially over with a 92.5% vote. Production continued on February 18, 2008 for the February 23, 2008 episode, hosted by former SNL cast member Tina Fey with musical guest Carrie Underwood.
Cast
Changes and notes
No changes to the cast happened over the summer and everyone from last season returned. During the strike, long-time castmember Maya Rudolph left the show, as she had no contract with SNL that year. Casey Wilson, an actress and writer who frequently performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, was hired in January 2008 to fill the void, but due to the strike, did not appear on the show until they returned on February 23, 2008.
Cast roster
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bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Writers
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Host | Musical guest | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 625 | 1 | LeBron James | Kanye West | September 29, 2007 |
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| 626 | 2 | Seth Rogen | Spoon | October 6, 2007 |
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| 627 | 3 | Jon Bon Jovi | Foo Fighters | October 13, 2007 |
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| 628 | 4 | Brian Williams | Feist | November 3, 2007 |
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| 629 | 5 | Tina Fey | Carrie Underwood | February 23, 2008 |
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| 630 | 6 | Ellen Page | Wilco | March 1, 2008 |
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| 631 | 7 | Amy Adams | Vampire Weekend | March 8, 2008 |
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| 632 | 8 | Jonah Hill | Mariah Carey | March 15, 2008 |
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| 633 | 9 | Christopher Walken | Panic! at the Disco | April 5, 2008 |
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| 634 | 10 | Ashton Kutcher | Gnarls Barkley | April 12, 2008 |
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| 635 | 11 | Shia LaBeouf | My Morning Jacket | May 10, 2008 |
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| 636 | 12 | Steve Carell | Usher | May 17, 2008 |
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Specials
| Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|
| "SNL Family Thanksgiving Leftovers" | November 24, 2007 | |
| This special featured Thanksgiving and family-themed moments from SNL. Sketches in the special were "Debbie Downer" from the season 30 episode hosted by Luke Wilson, "Paul's Monologue Worries", "The Ladies' Man", "The Bird Family" from the season 25 episode hosted by Juliana Marguiles, "Adam Sandler's Turkey Song", "Martha Stewart Living", "Nikey Turkey", "Big Kids", "Fuzzy Memories", "Ed Grimley's Thanksgiving", "Dysfunctional Family Dinner", "Jarret's Room", "Swerski's Super Fans' Thanksgiving", "The Loud Family", and "Greetings from Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein." | ||
| "The Best of Mike Myers" | June 15, 2008 | |
| The special featured an updated version of his "best of" which included new material. The new material featured Myers and the current cast talking about him and the studio. Sketches included: "Wayne's World Meets Aerosmith", "Coffee Talk with Barbra Streisand", "Simon", "Lothar of the Hill People" and more. This special also featured Myers' personal favorite sketches that he performed with Phil Hartman and Chris Farley. | ||
References
- ↑ "SNL stages two-hour live theatre show in Manhattan". Canadian Broadcasting Centre. November 18, 2007. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008.
- ↑ Kreps, Daniel (March 12, 2008). "Janet Jackson Cancels "SNL" Appearance, Blames Flu". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 30, 2012.