The twenty-first season began September 30, 1995 and ended on May 18, 1996. 20 episodes were produced. SNL once again dodged cancellation from season twenty's low ratings and scathing reviews about the show's decline in quality. Only five cast members: Norm Macdonald, Mark McKinney, Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon and David Spade returned to the show from the previous season. This would be the final season for David Spade. Spade had agreed to stay only for a year so that he could be a bridge between the old and new casts. Newcomers David Koechner and Nancy Walls were also let go after this season.
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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.
Sketches include: ""NFL on NBC,"" ""The Mark Fuhrman Show,"" ""Althea,"" ""Lobotol,"" ""The Blame Game,"" ""Jim Breuer and Braveheart,"" ""Spade in America,"" and ""Fuzzy Memories"".
Episode 3
David Schwimmer/Natalie Merchant
NR
Oct 21, 199567 min
Sketches include ""Darius Rucker,"" ""Kids vs. Grownups,"" ""Rita Delvecchio,"" ""Fuzzy Memories,"" ""The Elevator,"" ""Secrets,"" ""Spade in America,"" ""Slim Shannon,"" and ""Triumph Performers"".
Episode 4
Gabriel Byrne/Alanis Morissette
NR
Oct 28, 199567 min
Sketches include: ""Halloween in New Hampshire,"" ""Grayson-Moorhead,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Cooking With Keith,"" ""Marshall Power Tools,"" ""Spade in America at the 1995 World Series,"" Fuzzy Memories, and ""Firing a Prison Guard.""
Sketches include ""Air Force One,"" ""Psychic Reading,"" ""Midgets,"" and ""Spade in America.""
Episode 7
Anthony Edwards/Foo Fighters
NR
Dec 2, 199567 min
Sketches include ""Inside Politics,"" ""Grimaldi's,"" ""The Joe Pesci Show,"" ""Nightline,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""G-Dog Does the Nasty,"" ""Spade in America,"" ""Turning Point,"" and ""Hulk Hogan Talk Show"".
Episode 8
David Alan Grier/Silverchair
NR
Dec 9, 199567 min
Sketches include ""Nightline,"" ""Rocky Roads,"" ""The Today Show,"" ""Three Wise Men,"" ""Wake Up and Smile,"" ""Spade in America,"" ""Black People,"" and ""Perspectives"".
Episode 9
Madeline Kahn/Bush
NR
Dec 16, 199567 min
Sketches include ""Bosnian Goodwill Tour,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""John-John Mackie,"" ""Giant Bird,"" ""Leg Up,"" ""Lucien and Fagin,"" ""Spade in America,"" and ""Wedding Vows"".
Episode 10
Christopher Walken/Joan Osborne
NR
Jan 13, 199667 min
Live from New York, it's...Rudolph Giuliani
Sketches include: ""Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki Apologize For SNL's Low Quality,"" ""Rita Delvecchio,"" ""Spade In America,"" ""The Continental,"" ""Fuzzy Memories,"" ""T-Bone The Executioner,"" ""Connie Stinston"", and ""Mary Katherine Gallagher's Dancing Fantasy"".
Joan Osborne performs: ""One of Us""
Episode 11
Alec Baldwin/Tori Amos
NR
Jan 20, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Nightline,"" ""The Joe Pesci Show,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Navy Guys,"" ""Talking About Bill Brasky,"" and ""Accidentally Shot by Hunters.""
Episode 12
Danny Aiello/Coolio
NR
Feb 10, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Inside Politics,"" ""Spaghetti Sauce,"" ""The Kevin Franklin Show,"" ""Time Life's Valentine's Day Arguments,"" ""Althea,"" ""Spade in America,"" ""Hi-C and Turkey,"" ""Martha Stewart Living,"" and ""Fuzzy Memories"".
Episode 13
Tom Arnold/Tupac Shakur
NR
Feb 17, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Presidential Candidates,"" ""The Life We Lead/Channel 7 Action News,"" ""Ranger Ron and his Tree Slice,"" ""St. Gabriel's Annual Bake Sale,"" ""A Criminal and his Grandmother,"" and ""Drunk Surgeon.""
Episode 14
Elle MacPherson/Sting
NR
Feb 24, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Presidential Candidates,"" ""Mary Katherine Gallagher,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Winston Graff,"" ""Stan Hooper,"" ""Dinner at Oliver's,"" and ""Australian Phone Sex.""
Episode 15
John Goodman/Everclear
NR
Mar 16, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Suel Forrester,"" ""The Real World,"" ""Steve Forbes,"" and ""The Joe Pesci Show.""
Episode 16
Phil Hartman/Gin Blossoms
NR
Mar 23, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Leg Up,"" ""Acting Class,"" ""Fuzzy Memories,"" ""Bug-Off,"" ""Unfrozen Cave Man Lawyer,"" ""Petchow Rat Poison,"" ""Hollywood Minute With David Spade"".
Episode 17
Steve Forbes/Rage Against the Machine
NR
Apr 13, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Class Reunion,"" ""Nightline,"" ""House Workers,"" ""Entering Penn State,"" ""Seattle Today,"" ""Greyson-Moore,"" ""Gibberish Sergeant,"" ""Fuzzy Memories,"" ""Steve Forbes and the Flies""
Episode 18
Teri Hatcher/Dave Matthews Band
NR
Apr 20, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Kazinsky and his Lawyers,"" ""Spade in America,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""The Princess and the Homeboy,"" ""Romantic Music,"" and ""St. Gabriel's Women's Charity for the Needy.""
Episode 19
Christine Baranski/The Cure
NR
May 11, 199667 min
Sketches include ""Bob Dole Press Conference,"" ""AM Ale,"" ""The Courtney Love Show,"" ""Get Off The Shed!,"" ""20 Years and One Week,"" ""Terminally Ill Amateur Singer,"" ""Spade in America,"" ""Rolf,"" ""Goat Boy,"" ""Personality Alteration,"" ""Lansing Phone Sex,"" ""Fuzzy Memories"".
Episode 20
Jim Carrey/Soundgarden
NR
May 18, 199667 min
Sketches include: ""Nightline,"" ""Spartan Cheerleaders,"" ""Roxbury Guys,"" ""Overprotective Lifeguard,"" ""I'll See You In Hell,"" ""Spade in America,"" ""The Joe Pesci Show,"" and ""Jimmy Tango's Fat Busters"".