Saturday Night Live season 20

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Saturday Night Live aired its twentieth season during the 1994-1995 television season on NBC. Much like seasons six and eleven, this season was lambasted by critics for its decline in quality. However, unlike seasons six and eleven, which were criticized for having weak writing and a cast with no chemistry, season twenty suffered from having sketches based on very thin premises (mostly centered on O.J. Simpson's famous murder trial) and a mix of castmembers who have been on the show for too long along with newcomers who regularly clashed with the older ones (particularly Janeane Garofalo, according to her account on the book, Live From New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live). Norm Macdonald became the Weekend Update anchor at the beginning of the season, replacing Kevin Nealon (who, despite, leaving his post as Weekend Update anchor, still stayed on the show).

This season saw the death of two more SNL castmembers: Danitra Vance (SNL's first black female repertory player who was on the show's 11th season) who died of breast cancer (after three years of the cancer being in remission following a radical masectomy) and Michael O'Donoghue (a longtime writer and sometimes castmember known for his dark, sadistic humor and frequent migraine headaches) who died of a cerebral hemorrhage (the Sarah Jessica Parker/R.E.M. episode had a special appearance by Bill Murray who showed a clip of "Mr. Mike's Least Favorite Bedtime Stories" in his memory).

The twentieth season began on September 24, 1994 and ended on May 13, 1995.

Cast

Repertory cast members

Featured cast members

Episodes

Episode # Air Date Host(s) Musical Guest(s) Remarks
367 (20.1) September 24, 1994 Steve Martin Eric Clapton
  • Martin Short was originally planned to host, but backed out.
  • Chris Elliot, Janeane Garofalo and Laura Kightlinger's first episode as cast members
368 (20.2) October 1, 1994 Marisa Tomei Bonnie Raitt
  • In one sketch, Tomei reprised her role as Mona Lisa Vito, a character from My Cousin Vinny, for which she won an Academy Award.
369 (20.3) October 15, 1994 John Travolta Seal
  • The Comedy Central version of this episode cuts out the cold opening where Travolta walks the halls of Studio 8H while The Bee-Gees' "Staying Alive" plays, parodying his role in the movie Saturday Night Fever. The E! version leaves the scene intact.
  • Quentin Tarantino (who would host in season 21) directs this episode.
370 (20.4) October 22, 1994 Dana Carvey Edie Brickell
  • George H. W. Bush made an appearance in the cold opening and monologue, critiquing Dana Carvey's impersonation of him.
371 (20.5) November 12, 1994 Sarah Jessica Parker R.E.M.
  • Bill Murray appears near the end of the episode to announce the death of former SNL writer, Michael O'Donoghue, and to replay one of his famous sketches, "The Soiled Kimono".
  • R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe sings, "Don't fuck with me" in the song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" The line was not caught by the censors and remains in all rebroadcasts.
372 (20.6) November 19, 1994 John Turturro Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  • Joey Buttafuoco cameos during the monologue.
373 (20.7) December 3, 1994 Roseanne Green Day
  • Green Day's use of the word "shit" in second song "Geek Stink Breath" was not caught by the censors and remains in syndicated versions of the broadcast.
374 (20.8) December 10, 1994 Alec Baldwin Beastie Boys
  • Gary Sinise was originally scheduled to host.
  • Alec Baldwin mentions the infamous "Canteen Boy Goes Camping" sketch and the resulting complaints in the monologue (and performs a more politically correct version of the sketch with Adam Sandler as Canteen Boy).
375 (20.9) December 17, 1994 George Foreman Hole
376 (20.10) January 14, 1995 Jeff Daniels Luscious Jackson
  • The names of former NBA stars Bob McAdoo, Kevin McHale, and Kurt Rambis are used for characters in the "Mystery Dinner Theater" sketch.
  • Mark McKinney's first episode as a cast member
377 (20.11) January 21, 1995 David Hyde Pierce Live
  • Mike Myers's final episode as a cast member.
378 (20.12) February 11, 1995 Bob Newhart Des'ree
  • The end of the episode has a part where Bob Newhart wakes up next to Suzanne Pleshette (as he did on the last episode of "Newhart") and tells him about his nightmare hosting SNL. Pleshette's remark, "Saturday Night Live? Is that show still on?" is a jab at the show's longevity and (at the time) perceived decline in quality.
379 (20.13) February 18, 1995 Deion Sanders Bon Jovi
  • In the "Juggernaut Force" sketch, when Chris Farley runs up the stairs of the spaceship, his pants fall down, revealing his bare buttocks. All reruns on NBC and in the TV special "SNL Remembers Chris Farley" (during the montage of Farley's many pratfalls, culminating in the famous blooper where he flies over the Weekend Update desk and gets stuck in the stagelights) digitally blur out Farley's rear end. The 60-minute syndicated version doesn't air the "Juggernaut" force sketch at all.
380 (20.14) February 25, 1995 George Clooney The Cranberries
  • Janeane Garofalo's final episode as a cast member
  • Molly Shannon's first episode as a cast member
381 (20.15) March 18, 1995 Paul Reiser Annie Lennox
382 (20.16) March 25, 1995 John Goodman The Tragically Hip
  • Dan Aykroyd made an appearance reprising two of his recurring characters in this episode: dangerous toy manufacturer Irwin Mainway from "Consumer Probe" and Elwood Blues from The Blues Brothers. He also introduces The Tragically Hip before they play.
383 (20.17) April 8, 1995 Damon Wayans Dionne Farris
  • Damon Wayans brought some of his famous characters from In Living Color over to this episode, including homeless wino Anton Jackson and flamboyant Men on Film film critic Blaine Edwards. During the sketch featuring the latter character, David Alan Grier reprised his role as Antoine Merriweather, Blaine's co-host.
  • Morwenna Banks's first episode as a cast member
384 (20.18) April 15, 1995 Courteney Cox Dave Matthews Band
  • During Cox's monologue, Adam Sandler appeared on stage as Bruce Springsteen. Cox appeared in Springsteen's video, "Dancing in the Dark."
385 (20.19) May 6, 1995 Bob Saget TLC
  • Al Franken's final episode as a cast member
386 (20.20) May 13, 1995 David Duchovny Rod Stewart
  • Kevin Nealon, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Ellen Cleghorne, Morwenna Banks, Jay Mohr, Laura Kightlinger, Michael McKean and Chris Elliott's final episode as cast members.
Preceded by Saturday Night Live
Season 20 		Succeeded by
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