Saturday Night Live aired its twentieth season during the 1994–95 television season on NBC. The twentieth season began on September 24, 1994 and ended on May 13, 1995. Much like seasons six and eleven, this season was lambasted by critics for its decline in quality. Season twenty suffered from having sketches based on very thin premises, a high number of which focused on or mentioned O. J. Simpson's 1995 murder trial.
Much like the 1980–1981 season and the 1985–1986 season, NBC worried over SNL's decline in quality and initially decided that now would be the best time to pull the plug on the show once and for all. According to the prime time special Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation, Lorne Michaels credits this season as the closest he's ever been to being fired. In the end, the cast member firings and crew turnover resulting from this season represented the biggest involvement into the show's affairs by NBC executives since the 1980–1981 season and the biggest cast overhaul since the 1985–1986 season.
This season saw the deaths of two SNL alumni: Danitra Vance and Michael O'Donoghue. The Sarah Jessica Parker/R.E.M. episode featured a special appearance by Bill Murray, who introduced a clip of "Mr. Mike's Least Favorite Bedtime Stories" in O'Donoghue's memory.
Social
Reviews
Community reviews for Saturday Night Live, shown here with its season details.
G
GenerationofSwine
1.0
It was good, then it was great, then it was good again and now it stinks.
As of 2018 The edginess is gone. There are no risks in the jokes. They all consist of two things, 1. Trump is bad. and 2. This was a thing, remember it?
Neither of those really work for me. Make fun of Trump all you want, but do it with a punch line. Most of the time they forget the punchline. Simply not liking him is NOT a punchline. You have to exaggerate something, make it satire, mock it in some way. I don't even care if it's a cruel mockery...so long as it doesn't seem like they are just stating an opinion.
Opinions are NOT jokes.
The same thing goes with their "remember this, this was a thing" jokes...
They leave you sitting there waiting for them to say something funny about it. You're with them for a little while, "Yeah I remember it, go on..." then you realize that, no, that was the joke.
That's not a joke, that's just asking me to remember something.
Again, if they had a punch line, if they said something about what they were asking me to remember, then it might be funny...but they don't. The jokes are literally "this was a thing, laugh at it." and that's not funny. It has to be followed up with something.
Like with Trump, an opinion is NOT a joke unless it is followed by something. The same thing with a memory, a memory is NOT a joke in and of itself. They both have to be followed by something
s
sethdozerman
Saturday Night Live will always be my comfort show. The longevity and influence SNL has had on the comedy scene is unmatched. It has been the catalyst for so many careers, e.g. Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Will Ferrell etc... The show has definitely had its ups and downs but, in taking a step back it is evident that the show has remained consistently mixed in it entire run.
Not every season has had great writers or talent, some actors have been much more successful than others, and yet it has always found an audience. My favourite era of the show was the mid 2000s with Bill Hader and Andy Samberg, but most people have a a preference for whatever season they had as a teenager. The consistency of structure and crew unites all the different casts, creating a familiar image and sensibility, found in every season.
There will always be a host monologue, musical guest, Weekend Update and most importantly, it will always be LIVE! The production process of a pitch meeting with the host, staying up all night on Tuesdays to write, read-through and dress rehearsal. Whether it's 1975 or 2023, everyone endures the same experience (although whether they have the aid of cocaine is certainly a difference!).
The argument SNL hasnt been funny since the "insert previous ten years" is redundant. Every season of the show has been criticised for not being funny but every season of the show has produced hilarious sketches and shone a light on the new faces of comedy. In the 70s they had Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, the 80s they had Julia Louis Dreyfus and Conan O'Brien, the 90s they had Will Ferrell and Eddy Murphy, the 2000s Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the 2010s Kate McKinnon and Vanessa Bayer and finally in the 2020s we have Bowen Yang and Marcello Hernandez.
The show continues to inspire and entertain the next generation of aspiring creatives with it's ground approach to sketch comedy. It is an American institution that will always hold a very dear place in my heart.
Episodes
Episode 1
Steve Martin/Eric Clapton
NR
Sep 24, 199467 min
Sketches include ""Clinton Auditions,"" ""The Ron Wood Show,"" ""Baseball Cruise,"" ""Steve Martin's All-Natural Penis Beauty Creme,"" and ""Bad Ad Campaign."" ""Court TV: O.J. Simpson Trial,"" ""Total Bastard Airlines,"" and ""The Better Baby."" Bathroom Monkey Commercial"", ""Weekend Update with Norm MacDonald"", ""Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey"", ""Leland-Meyers Home Headache Test Commercial"".
Episode 2
Marisa Tomei/Bonnie Raitt
NR
Oct 1, 199467 min
Sketches include "Bill Clinton," "Court TV: O.J. Simpson Trial," "Adult Education Class," "Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley," and "Monsters of Monologue '94."
Episode 3
John Travolta/Seal
NR
Oct 15, 199467 min
Sketches include ""Bathroom Monkey,"" ""Coffee Talk With Linda Richman,"" ""Dracula's Not Gay,"" ""Quentin Tarantino's Welcome Back Kotter,"" ""Women's Self-Defense,"" ""Larry King Live,"" ""Small Office,"" ""Deaf Drug Dealer""
Sketches include ""Concession Speech,"" ""Good Morning Brooklyn,"" ""Nice and Naughty Guitarists,"" ""Confucius,"" ""The Casting Couch,"" ""The Munchkins,"" and ""Tribute to Michael O'Donoghue"".
Episode 6
John Turturro/Tom Petty
NR
Nov 17, 199467 min
Sketches include ""It's a Wonderful Newt,"" ""Christopher Walken's Celebrity Psychic Friends Network,"" ""Phone Hang-Ups,"" ""Taxi Driver: The Musical,"" ""Stop That,"" ""The Movie Club""
Episode 7
Roseanne/Green Day
NR
Dec 3, 199467 min
Sketches include ""Jesse Helms,"" ""Roseanne Goes to Therapy,"" ""USAir,"" ""Rescue 911,"" ""Civil War Memories,"" and ""Yogurt Store.""
Episode 8
Alec Baldwin/Beastie Boys
NR
Dec 10, 199467 min
Sketches include ""Joycelyn Elders,"" ""Japanese Game Show,"" ""Los Angeles Breast and Penis,"" ""Celebrity Memorial Auction,"" and ""Family Auto Trip.""
Sketches include ""Newt Gingrich,"" ""Connie Chung and Newt Gingrich's Mom,"" ""Martin Luther King Day,"" ""Mystery Dinner Theatre,"" ""Eterna-Rest,"" ""Film Beat,"" ""Entertainment Tonight""
Episode 11
David Hyde Pierce/Live
NR
Jan 21, 199567 min
Sketches include "O.J. Simpson", "Rock Poetry Class", "Tales of Little Women", "Scottish Soccer Hooligan Weekly", "Robot Spy Onboard", "Nervous Habits", "Jersey Kids Meet the Foreigner", "Perspectives", "Claire Tries Internet Sex", and "Movie News".
Episode 12
Bob Newhart/Des'ree
NR
Feb 11, 199567 min
Sketches include ""C-SPAN: Colin Ferguson,"" ""Ricki Lake,"" ""Book Buzz,"" ""Baywatch,"" ""Poster Worker Evaluation,"" ""Hi Bob,"" and ""Sports Beat.""
Des'ree performed ""You Gotta Be"" and ""Feels So High.""
Episode 13
Deion Sanders/Bon Jovi
NR
Feb 18, 199567 min
Sketches include: ""O.J. Simpson Tour,"" ""The 1995 ESPY Awards,"" ""Rappers With Simple Lyrics,"" ""Perspectives,"" ""Deep Thoughts By Jack Handey,"" and ""Sick Boy""
Episode 14
George Clooney/The Cranberries
NR
Feb 25, 199567 min
Sketches include ""Black History Month,"" ""Mandy the Whale,"" ""Tales of Fraud and Malfeasance in Railroad Hiring Practices,"" ""Taxicab Confessions,"" and ""Zagat's"".
Episode 15
Paul Reiser/Annie Lennox
NR
Mar 18, 199567 min
Sketches include ""Newt Gingrich's Sister,"" ""Where's Superman?,"" ""Mad About You Aliens,"" ""Sparklebrite Toothpaste,"" and ""One Brother Cafe.""
Episode 16
John Goodman/Tragically Hip
NR
Mar 25, 199567 min
Live from New York, it's…Dan Aykroyd!
Sketches include ""This Week With David Brinkley,"" ""Superfans Return,"" ""The Late Late Show With Tom Snyder,"" ""Dog Park,"" ""Howard Stern,"" ""Self-Deluded Losers,"" ""Unsolved Mysteries,"" ""Coal Miners,"" and ""Penis-Measuring Device.""
Episode 17
Damon Wayans/Dionne Farris
NR
Apr 8, 199567 min
Sketches include: ""Judge Ito,"" ""Men on Film,"" ""Spit Valves,"" ""Black Names,"" ""Christopher Walken for Skittles"", and ""Court TV: The O.J. Trial.""
Sketches include ""Tony Vallencourt,"" ""Fast,"" ""America's Funniest Hate Videos,"" ""Fashion Designer,"" ""Where In the World is San Diego, California?"", ""Boyz II Men,"" ""Karl's,"" ""Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey,"" ""Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley,"" ""Pacemaker""
Episode 20
David Duchovny/Rod Stewart
NR
May 13, 199567 min
Live from New York, for the last time, it's…Michael McKean!
Sketches include ""Beastman of Studio 8H,"" You Think You're Better Than Me?, Zagat's, ""New England General Store,"" Ricki Lake, ""Rock and Roll Realtor,"" and ""Polar Bears.""