Saturday Night Live (season 6)

Saturday Night Live (season 6)
The title card for the sixth season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 13
Release
Original network NBC
Original release November 15, 1980 (1980-11-15) – April 11, 1981 (1981-04-11)

The sixth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between November 15, 1980, and April 11, 1981.

This season was alternatively known as Saturday Night Live '80.

Background

According to Tom Shales' book Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, Executive Producer Lorne Michaels cited burnout as the reason behind his desire to take a year off, and had been led to believe by NBC executives that the show would go on hiatus with him, and be ready to start fresh upon his return.

However, Michaels learned from associate producer Jean Doumanian that the show would go on with or without him, and that she had been chosen as his replacement, much to Michaels' surprise and dismay.

Angered by this news, the entire cast and all but one writer (Brian Doyle-Murray) followed Michaels out the door. The sixth season began with a completely new cast and new writers, with Doumanian at the helm.

Doumanian hired Denny Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Gail Matthius, Joe Piscopo, Ann Risley, and Charles Rocket as repertory players, and Yvonne Hudson, Matthew Laurance, and Patrick Weathers as featured cast members, passing on such then-unknown comics as Jim Carrey, John Goodman and Paul Reubens.[1][2] Doumanian sought a non-white cast member to fill Garrett Morris's previous role. As SNL scholars Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad phrase it,

Jean still needed an ethnic, and a special series of auditions was set up to find one. For two days in mid-September some thirty black actors and comedians filed through the writers' wing on the 17th floor [of Rockefeller Center] to read for Jean and her people. At the end, Jean told her group she was leaning toward hiring a stand-up by the name of Charlie Barnett. But talent coordinator Neil Levy had another black performer he wanted her to see, a kid from Roosevelt, Long Island, named Eddie Murphy.[3]

Some accounts state that Doumanian preferred instead Robert Townsend, but Eddie Murphy was added (as a featured player) starting with the fourth episode, after much convincing from her colleagues and staff.[4]

With its team of entirely new writers and cast members, the show was plagued by problems from the start and deemed a commercial disappointment by both critics and by viewers as reflected in the Nielsen ratings. For much of the season, the show was in turmoil and many critics wrote the show off as a pale imitation of its former glory due to budget cuts, lack of support that was promised to Doumanian by either the network or her staff, and stiff competition from ABC's Fridays, which, at the time, enjoyed critical acclaim and was gaining popularity with a similarly-"edgy", late-night sketch show that aired on a weekend.

On February 21, 1981, the show featured a parody of the "Who Shot J.R. Ewing?" episode from the hit TV show Dallas. In a cliffhanger titled "Who Shot C.R.?", cast member Rocket was "shot" in the last sketch of the episode, after a running gag in which other members of the cast shared their grievances about Rocket with one another. Onstage for the goodnights, Dallas star and that week's host, Charlene Tilton, asked Rocket (who was still in character and sitting in a wheelchair) his thoughts on being shot. "Oh man, it's the first time I've been shot in my life", he replied. "I'd like to know who the fuck did it." The cast, along with some of the audience, reacted with laughter and applause.

Though this was not the first nor last time the expletive would be uttered live on SNL, Rocket's line, unknown to him, would cause him and everyone else (save Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo) to be dismissed.[4] The next show would be Doumanian's last episode. "This woman was a trainwreck," said then NBC President and CEO Fred Silverman in the Shales book. "The shows were just not watchable."

The Ebersol era begins

SNL was given one more chance when Dick Ebersol, one of the original developers of SNL in 1974 and the man responsible for hiring Lorne Michaels as show-runner in 1975, was hired to replace Doumanian. In his first week, Ebersol fired Gottfried, Risley, and Rocket, replacing them with Catherine O'Hara, Tim Kazurinsky, and Tony Rosato. Ebersol made offers to John Candy and O'Hara of SCTV to join the cast. Candy turned down the offer, so Tony Rosato was added to the cast in his place. O'Hara initially accepted, but changed her mind after Michael O'Donoghue the show's original head writer, who had been brought in to rejuvenate the show screamed at the cast about the season's poor writing and performances. O'Hara suggested Robin Duke as her replacement, and Duke was brought in. O'Hara never appeared on SNL as a cast member. Laurie Metcalf and Emily Prager joined as featured players.

Dick Ebersol's first produced episode was on April 11, 1981. After Ebersol's first episode, the 1981 Writers' Guild of America strike started, forcing the show into a hiatus during which it was extensively retooled. Before the next season, Ebersol also fired Dillon and Matthius, leaving Piscopo and Murphy the only remaining cast members from Doumanian's tenure.[1][5]

Cast

Repertory cast members (episodes 1–12)

Featured cast members (episodes 1–12)
  • Yvonne Hudson (first episode: December 20, 1980)
  • Matthew Laurance (first episode: December 20, 1980)
  • Patrick Weathers (first episode: December 6, 1980 / final episode: February 14, 1981) [6]

Repertory cast members (episode 13)

Featured cast members (episode 13)

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Brian Doyle-Murray returned as the only writer from the previous season. Pamela Norris and Terry Sweeney were also hired; the latter would become a cast member in 1985. Musician and Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour writer Mason Williams was the season's first head writer but left after clashing with Doumanian.[7] Jeremy Stevens and Tom Moore joined as head writers for the remaining Doumanian shows. Michael O'Donoghue was rehired after Doumanian's firing.

This season's writers included Larry Arnstein, Barry W. Blaustein, Billy Brown, Ferris Butler, John DeBellis, Jean Doumanian, Brian Doyle-Murray, Leslie Fuller, Mel Green, David Hurwitz, Judy Jacklin, Sean Kelly, Mitchell Kriegman, Patricia Marx, Douglas McGrath, Tom Moore, Matt Neuman, Pamela Norris, Michael O'Donoghue, Mark Reisman, David Sheffield, Jeremy Stevens, Terry Sweeney, Bob Tischler, Mason Williams and Dirk Wittenborn.

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
HostMusical guest(s)Original air date
1071Elliott GouldKid Creole & the CoconutsNovember 15, 1980

  • Gilbert Gottfried, Gail Matthius, Joe Piscopo, Ann Risley, Charles Rocket, and Denny Dillon's first episode as cast members
  • The cold opening has Elliott Gould (sixth time hosting) in bed with many of the cast members (a play on Gould's 1969 film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice), who tries to allay their anxieties, and tells Matthius she is "kind of a cross between Jane [Curtin] and Gilda [Radner]." Rocket announces that he is a cross between Chevy Chase and Bill Murray, Risley says that she is "a cross between Gilda and Laraine [Newman]" and Gottfried calls himself a cross between John Belushi and "that guy from last year" who did a Rod Serling impression (Harry Shearer).[8]
  • In his monologue, Gould waxes nostalgic about his old underwear.
  • The first sketch, set in the Oval Office, showed Rosalynn Carter (Risley) trying to seduce Jimmy Carter (Piscopo), with Amy played by Dillon.
  • In a later sketch, Matthius demonstrates how to give a breast self-examination[9]
  • Kid Creole & the Coconuts performed "Mister Softee" and "There But for the Grace of God Go I".[10]
  • In the debut of the "Rocket Report" segment, Charles Rocket pesters people around The Dakota for information about John Lennon's upcoming album.
  • Wendie Malick appeared in the background of the Nose Wrestling sketch.
1082Malcolm McDowellCaptain Beefheart & His Magic BandNovember 22, 1980

  • Charles Rocket interviews John Lennon (played by Malcolm McDowell) during "Weekend Update"
  • Eddie Murphy makes his first appearance in this episode in an uncredited cameo, in a sketch called "In Search of the Negro Republican," written by David Sheffield
  • Matthew Laurance, previously an assistant director on the show during seasons 3–5, makes an appearance
  • Joe Piscopo's "Saturday Night Sports" segment during Weekend Update debuts on this episode
  • Dillon, in dominatrix leather gear, abuses Rocket, who is chained, spread-eagle, to a weather map
  • "Jack the Stripper" "had something to do with Prince Charles being a royal flasherexactly what it was about was impossible to decipher."[11]
  • Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band performed "Hot Head" and "Ashtray Heart"[10]
  • Many SNL veterans consider the McDowell show the single worst night in the program's history.[12]
1093Ellen BurstynAretha Franklin
Keith Sykes
December 6, 1980

  • Aretha Franklin performed "United Together" and "Can't Turn Me Loose"[10]
  • Keith Sykes performed "B.I.G. T.I.M.E."[10]
  • A short film entitled "Fish Heads" for a song of the same title, stars Bill Paxton and Bill Mumy
  • First episode for Eddie Murphy and Patrick Weathers as cast members. Eddie Murphy began a run as a "Weekend Update" commentator with a successful diatribe about basketball players.
  • Doumanian wanted to run a sketch about a nun who was not a virgin, but it was cut by NBC's Standards and Practices department[13]
1104Jamie Lee CurtisJames Brown
Ellen Shipley
December 13, 1980

1115David CarradineLinda Ronstadt
The Cast of The Pirates of Penzance
December 20, 1980

1126Ray SharkeyJack Bruce & FriendsJanuary 10, 1981

1137Karen BlackCheap Trick
Stanley Clarke Trio
January 17, 1981

  • Cheap Trick performed "Baby Loves to Rock" and "Can't Stop It But I'm Gonna Try."[10]
  • Stanley Clarke Trio performed "Deep in the Night."[10]
  • SNL historians Hill and Weingrad wrote that this show "was actually funny all the way through."[14]
1148Robert HaysJoe "King" Carrasco & the Crowns
14 Karat Soul
January 24, 1981

  • Joe "King" Carrasco & the Crowns performed "Don't Bug Me Baby"[10]
  • 14 Karat Soul performed "I Wish That We Were Married" and "This Time It's for Real."[10]
  • Eddie Murphy announces that he has been promoted from featured player to repertory player in this episode.
1159Sally KellermanJimmy CliffFebruary 7, 1981

  • Jimmy Cliff performed "I Am the Living" and "Gone Clear."[10]
  • Sally Kellerman performed "Starting Over Again."
  • A sketch "Lean Acres" features a sadistic fat camp counselor (Sally Kellerman) who punishes two women (Denny Dillon and Ann Risley) for cheating on their diets. The sketch is interrupted by an audience member (portrayed by an unnamed writer) who hates the sketch and vocally speaks out against the sketch's cruel take on plus-sized women. The protester is forcibly removed from the studio after a commercial break.
11610Deborah HarryDeborah Harry
Funky Four Plus One
February 14, 1981

  • With this show, Funky Four Plus One become the first hip-hop act to perform on SNL, as well as the first to appear on national television. They performed "That's the Joint".[10]
  • Deborah Harry performed "Love T.K.O." and "Come Back Jonee".[10]
  • Patrick Weathers' final episode as a cast member.
11711Charlene TiltonTodd Rundgren
Prince
February 21, 1981

  • The debut of Eddie Murphy's "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood" sketch[15]
  • Gail Matthius's final episode as Weekend Update co-anchor
  • Don King guest starred
  • Todd Rundgren performed "Healer" and "Time Heals"[10]
  • Prince performed "Partyup"[10]
  • During the goodnights, Charles Rocket (in a wheelchair after "getting shot" during the last sketch, in a parody of the Who shot J.R.? promotion for Dallas, on which Tilton had played Lucy Ewing) grumbles, "I'd like to know who the fuck did it" in response to Tilton's query on how Rocket felt after being gunned down[16]
11812Bill MurrayDelbert McClintonMarch 7, 1981

  • In the cold opening, Murray encourages the cast members not to worry about ratings or reviews
  • Mark King appeared as Dr. Jonathan Lear during "Weekend Update," now called "Saturday Night Newsline." The news section appears in three segments (King's science portion, an Oscar predictions segment with Murray and a newscast with Charles Rocket).
  • Murray reprised his Nick the Lounge Singer character from his 1977–80 stint on the show
  • Paul Shaffer made a cameo as Nick's pianist
  • Delbert McClinton performed "Givin' It Up for Your Love" and "Shotgun Rider,"[10] with Bonnie Bramlett joining him on vocals
  • Murray announced that the next episode would be hosted by Robert Guillaume with musical guest Ian Dury and the Blockheads,[17] but this episode was cancelled when Ebersol replaced Doumanian.
  • Ann Risley, Gilbert Gottfried, Charles Rocket, and Matthew Laurance's final episode as cast members
  • Jean Doumanian's final episode as executive producer[1]
11913noneJr. Walker & the All-StarsApril 11, 1981

  • Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky and Tony Rosato's first episode as cast members
  • Laurie Metcalf and Emily Prager's first and last episode as cast members (Metcalf only appeared in a pre-taped segment during "Weekend Update"; Prager, despite her billing in the credits, did not appear in the show at all; both hold the record for shortest stint as an SNL cast member)
  • Chevy Chase appeared in the cold open along with Mr. Bill, reminiscing about the good old days, then stumbles and crushes Mr. Bill; also returned to anchor Weekend Update
  • Al Franken joined Chase on "Weekend Update" to discuss season six, frequently using the phrase "me, Al Franken", as he had done in previous seasons when arguing that the 1980s be known as "The Al Franken Decade"[18]
  • Franken announced that he and Tom Davis would host the next episode with musical guest The Grateful Dead,[19] but this episode was cancelled due to the writers' strike.
  • Prior to introducing Jr. Walker & the All-Stars' second musical number, Chase appeared with Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve to tell the audience that the show was improving
  • Denny Dillon, Gail Matthius, and Yvonne Hudson's final episode as cast members (although Hudson, not credited in this episode, would continue to make uncredited appearances until 1984)
  • Jr. Walker & the All-Stars performed "(I'm a) Road Runner", "Shotgun", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" and "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)"[10]
  • Don Pardo's last episode as announcer until his return in season eight
  • Dick Ebersol's first episode as executive producer

Critical reception

Responses to Doumanian's SNL were negative. The Associated Press, mocking the Carters-in-the-Oval-Office sketch, wrote, "The new Saturday Night Live is essentially crude, sophomoric and most of all self-consciously 'cool.' It is occasionally funny... Under producer Jean Doumanian, Saturday Night Live will define 'risk-taking' as a little naughtier, perhaps a little raunchier; it won't wander too far off the beaten path... They're all clones. This is television. If they can be funny once in a while, that's all we can ask."[20]

The New York Times said the season "looked almost exactly as it in previous years, but actually only the shell remained". The review went on to state that the "missing ingredient was the very quality that made the old show so special: an innovative vision", and that the new show was "nothing so much as an unfunny parody of its predecessor".[21]

Hill and Weingrad summarized other reviews:

The Washington Star said the show "strained and groaned" while the humor was "almost completely lost, despite desperate attempts to wring it out of raunch." Newsday's Marvin Kitman, as expected, ravaged the show gleefully, calling it "offensive and raunchy," and worse, not funny. "This new edition is terrible," he wrote. "Call it 'Saturday Night Dead on Arrival'."[22]

Tom Shales's review in The Washington Post was devastating.

Shales had always been Saturday Night's strongest and most prestigious booster, and thus his reaction to the new show was more important than most. The headline on his review read FROM YUK TO YECCCH. The first sentence was: "Vile from New YorkIt's Saturday Night." The show, Shales said, was a "snide and sordid embarrassment." It imitated the "ribaldry and willingness to prod sacred cows" of the Lorne Michaels years without having the least "compensating satirical edge." It was, he wrote, "just haplessly pointless tastelessness." Shales concluded that despite one or two imaginative moments from the show's filmmakers, "from the six new performers and 13 new writers hired for the show, viewers got virtually no good news." ... Jean made it clear that she thought the writing was primarily at fault. "It's just got to be funnier," she said. Then she put a tape of the show on her videocassette machine to begin a sketch-by-sketch critique. According to writer Billy Brown, as she did she said, "Watch this. And I hope you hate it, because you wrote it."[23]

In his book What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History, author David Hofstede included this season as one of 25 runners-up to the list.[24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fennessey, Sean (October 13, 2010). "SNL and The Curse of the Transitional Season". SplitSider.
  2. Bruce Handy (September 1999). "The Pee-wee Herman Story". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  3. Hill and Weingrad, p. 391.
  4. 1 2 Shales, Tom (2003). Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Back Bay. ISBN 0-316-73565-5.
  5. Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost & Found (2005) at the Internet Movie Database
  6. "The SNL Archives 1980". Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  7. Sowa, Tom (April 5, 1981). "Guild plays name game". The Spokesman-Review. p. D10.
  8. "SNL Transcripts".
  9. Hill and Weingrad, pp. 411–412.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  11. Hill and Weingrad, Saturday Night, 1986, p. 413.
  12. Hill and Weingrad, ibid.
  13. Hill and Weingrad, p. 417.
  14. Hill and Weingrad, p. 423.
  15. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 134–137. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  16. Hill and Weingrad, p. 431.
  17. "SNL Transcripts".
  18. Hill and Weingrad, p. 446.
  19. "SNL Transcripts".
  20. Boyer, Peter J. (December 13, 1980). "Saturday Night Live is working trend tired". The Virgin Islands Daily News. Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  21. Schwartz, Tony (January 11, 1981). "Whatever happened to TV's 'Saturday Night Live'?". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  22. Hill and Weingrad, p. 412.
  23. Hill and Weingrad, pp. 412-413.
  24. David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 207–209. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.