History of Saturday Night Live (1990–1995)

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an American sketch comedy series that was co-created by Dick Ebersol and Lorne Michaels, with Michaels also serving as the producer. The series premiered on the American broadcast television network NBC on October 11, 1975.

The 1990–91 season marked a significant period of transition for the series, introducing major cast changes for the first time in four years. Notable additions to the cast included Chris Farley and David Spade.

Following the departure of most of the original cast, the 1994–95 season saw Lorne Michaels attempt to rejuvenate the show with a blend of existing cast members (Kevin Nealon, Mike Myers) and new talent (Janeane Garofalo, Michael McKean). However, this season, along with the 1980–81 and 1985–86 seasons is often cited as among the least successful in the show's history. In response to the criticism, Michaels overhauled the cast once again for the 1995–96 season.

Transition in progress (1990–1991)
In what has been described as a transitional year, Jon Lovitz and Nora Dunn left the show after the previous season (the latter in a cloud of controversy). Lorne Michaels introduced a number of players who quickly became stars on the show: Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Julia Sweeney.

Over the next few years, the new cast members introduced memorable characters such as Sweeney's Pat, Sandler's Opera Man and Canteen Boy, Farley's Matt Foley, Schneider's office geek The Copy Guy, and Rock's talk-show host Nat X. Spade's caustic commentary piece Hollywood Minute also became a hit. The popularity of these new cast members helped to offset the departure of several popular long-time players over the first two seasons of this era, including Jan Hooks and Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller, as well as Victoria Jackson after the following season.

The already established cast members (Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, and Kevin Nealon) remained popular with audiences. Nealon succeeded Miller as the anchor of Weekend Update. For the remainder of his tenure, Nealon often played the straight man during Update and other sketches, particularly against the newer cast members. His participation in that role increased after Carvey, Hartman, and Myers left the show. Myers introduced many popular new characters during this period, including Linda Richman, host of the fictional talk show Coffee Talk.

Meanwhile, Hartman, who had impersonated President Ronald Reagan on the show, began appearing regularly with his impression of Democratic candidate and soon-to-be President Bill Clinton. Carvey continued to perform his impersonation of President George H. W. Bush while also developing an impression of independent presidential candidate Ross Perot.

Bad Boys of SNL
Sandler, Farley, Schneider, Spade, and Rock would come to be known as the "Bad Boys of SNL" for their more outrageous "frat boy" style of comedy. They remained fairly close in the years after they left the show, often appearing in each other's movies.

Of the new cast members, Farley often used his size and physicality in sketches. In the sketch Chippendales Audition, he played a shirtless dancer opposite the trim and muscular Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze as they competed in an audition for a position with the Chippendales male dance troupe.

Cast
 Repertory players
 * Dana Carvey
 * Phil Hartman
 * Jan Hooks
 * Victoria Jackson
 * Dennis Miller
 * Mike Myers
 * Kevin Nealon

 Middle players 
 * Chris Farley
 * Tim Meadows (first episode: February 9, 1991)
 * Chris Rock
 * Julia Sweeney (first episode: November 10, 1990)

 Featured players 
 * A. Whitney Brown (final episode: March 16, 1991)
 * Al Franken
 * Adam Sandler (first episode: February 9, 1991)
 * Rob Schneider (first episode: October 27, 1990)
 * David Spade (first episode: November 10, 1990)

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

1991–1992 season
Ellen Cleghorne and Melanie Hutsell were added to the cast. Siobhan Fallon also joined the cast, and Beth Cahill debuted later that fall. This would be Fallon and Cahill's only season on the show.

In the period leading up to the 1992 presidential election, Carvey and Hartman dominated the show with their impressions, creating mock debates. The Myers and Carvey characters Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar from the Wayne's World sketch would become household names during the early 1990s following the release of the successful feature film Wayne's World.

Cast
Repertory players
 * Dana Carvey
 * Chris Farley
 * Phil Hartman
 * Victoria Jackson
 * Mike Myers
 * Kevin Nealon
 * Chris Rock
 * Julia Sweeney

Middle players
 * Ellen Cleghorne
 * Siobhan Fallon
 * Tim Meadows
 * Adam Sandler
 * Rob Schneider
 * David Spade

Featured players
 * Beth Cahill (debut: November 16, 1991)
 * Al Franken
 * Melanie Hutsell (debut: November 16, 1991)
 * Robert Smigel

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Carvey and Rock leave (1992–1993)
Dana Carvey, who had been a cast member for six seasons, left midseason. At the end of the season, Chris Rock, who had been frustrated with being limited to playing stereotypical Black archetypes, left to join In Living Color. Key writing staff members like Robert Smigel, Jack Handey, and Bonnie and Terry Turner would also depart after the season's end.

Sinéad O'Connor incident
On October 3, at the end of her second song, a cover of Bob Marley's song "War," musical guest Sinéad O'Connor created controversy by holding up a picture of Pope John Paul II exclaiming, "Fight the real enemy," and tearing the picture to pieces. The gesture was intended as a protest against physical and sexual abuses in the Catholic Church. According to the book Live From New York, this was unrehearsed. Director Dave Wilson refused to light the applause sign after O'Connor's performance. Lorne Michaels said the act was inappropriate and resented how the unplanned moment threw the rest of the episode off balance. However, he permitted O'Connor to join the cast goodnights at the episode's end, though guest host Tim Robbins did not thank her during the closing. Michaels would later say of the incident, "I think it was the bravest possible thing she could do. She'd been a nun. To her the church symbolized everything that was bad about growing up in Ireland the way she grew up in Ireland, and so she was making a strong political statement."

Cast
Repertory players
 * Dana Carvey (final episode: February 6, 1993)
 * Chris Farley
 * Phil Hartman
 * Mike Myers
 * Kevin Nealon
 * Chris Rock
 * Rob Schneider
 * Julia Sweeney

Middle players
 * Ellen Cleghorne
 * Melanie Hutsell
 * Tim Meadows
 * Adam Sandler
 * David Spade

Featured players
 * Al Franken
 * Robert Smigel

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Hartman leaves (1993–1994)
After the end of the 1993-94 season, having already lost cast member Dana Carvey, who left midway through the previous season, SNL's 1994 post-season saw more departures. Julia Sweeney left due to frustration and burnout. Another departure was that of Phil Hartman, whose final moment on the show was at the end of a musical number with the entire cast singing a parody of the song "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music. After all the cast had left the stage, Farley, appearing as his Matt Foley character, was left sitting on the stage with Phil walking back on stage, cuddling next to Farley to sing goodbye and waving at the audience.

Producer Lorne Michaels hired Michael McKean midway through the 1993–1994 season.

Cast
Repertory players
 * Ellen Cleghorne
 * Chris Farley
 * Phil Hartman
 * Melanie Hutsell
 * Michael McKean (debut: March 12, 1994)
 * Tim Meadows
 * Mike Myers
 * Kevin Nealon
 * Adam Sandler
 * Rob Schneider
 * David Spade
 * Julia Sweeney

Featured players
 * Al Franken
 * Norm Macdonald (debut: October 2, 1993)
 * Jay Mohr (debut: October 9, 1993)
 * Sarah Silverman (debut: October 9, 1993)

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Backstage turmoil and cast turnover (1994–1995)
Similar to his decision in the mid-1980s to bring in established actors Randy Quaid, Joan Cusack, and Robert Downey Jr., Michaels added Janeane Garofalo and Chris Elliott to the cast.

Other acquisitions were sketch veteran Mark McKinney of the recently wrapped, Michaels-produced Canadian sketch comedy show The Kids in the Hall. Garofalo left in midseason and was replaced by Molly Shannon. Mike Myers also left in midseason, as would Nealon after the season's end. Nealon's replacement on Weekend Update was Norm Macdonald.

Much like season 6 (or, to a lesser extent, season 11), season 20 is considered one of SNL's worst-received seasons. The season was home to many cast turnovers and much dissension. Longtime featured player Al Franken quit; Ellen Cleghorne, Kevin Nealon, Chris Elliott, and Michael McKean quit the show as well. Featured player Laura Kightlinger left to join Roseanne Barr's ill-fated FOX comedy series Saturday Night Special. Chris Farley, Jay Mohr, and Adam Sandler were fired. British actress Morwenna Banks was hired as a contract player for the last four episodes of the season but did not return for Season 21.

Towards the end of the 1994-95 season, SNL was in a state of turmoil, with the show enacting the highest turnover rate going into the next season. The 1994-95 season had a total of 14 cast members; only five remained for the 1995-96 season: Molly Shannon, Mark McKinney, Norm Macdonald, David Spade, and Tim Meadows.

Cast
Repertory players
 * Morwenna Banks (debut: April 8, 1995)
 * Ellen Cleghorne
 * Chris Elliott
 * Chris Farley
 * Janeane Garofalo (final: February 25, 1995)
 * Norm Macdonald
 * Michael McKean
 * Mark McKinney (debut: January 14, 1995)
 * Tim Meadows
 * Mike Myers (final episode: January 21, 1995)
 * Kevin Nealon
 * Adam Sandler
 * David Spade

Featured players
 * Al Franken (final: May 6, 1995)
 * Laura Kightlinger
 * Jay Mohr
 * Molly Shannon (debut: February 25, 1995)

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor