Saturday Night Live season 11

The eleventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between November 9, 1985, and May 24, 1986.

Saturday Night Live
Season 11
No. of episodes	18
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	November 9, 1985 (1985-11-09) – May 24, 1986 (1986-05-24)
Season chronology
List of episodes

The season marked Lorne Michaels' return to SNL as showrunner after a five-year hiatus.^[1] Michaels hired new cast members, but instead of his usual approach of recruiting from comedy clubs and improv groups, he cast established names such as Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey Jr., and Joan Cusack.^[2] Due to their relative inexperience in comedy, the new cast failed to connect with audiences.^[3]

The show also featured a frustrated writing crew (including future Simpsons writers Jon Vitti, George Meyer, and John Swartzwelder), who didn't know how to write sketches for such an eclectic cast.^[3] The season was plagued by harsh criticism, low ratings, and rumors of a possible cancellation.^[4] NBC president Brandon Tartikoff planned to cancel SNL after its season finale in May 1986; Michaels, however, pleaded with Tartikoff to let the show go on.^[5] Most of the cast was let go for the following season, with only Dunn, Lovitz and Miller along with featured player Brown returning, making it one of the more notable cast overhauls alongside season 6 and season 20.^[6][7]

Cast

With Dick Ebersol's cast and writers gone, Michaels hired Academy Award nominee Randy Quaid, best known for his work in The Last Detail and National Lampoon's Vacation; as well as Joan Cusack and Robert Downey Jr.^[8] Part of the reasoning that Michaels chose younger performers was due to SNL's original audience, which comprised baby boomers, now nearing middle age, meaning that producers and NBC executives needed to appeal to a younger audience.^[9]

Danitra Vance was added along with stand-up comedians Dennis Miller and Damon Wayans, and improv comedians Nora Dunn^[10] and Jon Lovitz.^[11] Terry Sweeney, who had been a writer on season 6 of SNL,^[1] was added to the cast, making him the first openly gay male cast member.^[12] Don Novello returned as his popular Father Guido Sarducci character. Writer A. Whitney Brown was also added to the cast midseason and Al Franken returned in the finale. Miller became the new anchor for Weekend Update.^[1] Despite the season's negative reception, Lovitz would gain popularity with characters like the Pathological Liar and Master Thespian.^[2]

According to a recent interview with short-term cast member Dan Vitale, actress Anjelica Huston was nearly hired as a cast member this season.^[13] Huston, a friend of Lorne's, was begged to join the show as a cast member; instead she co-hosted the season finale with Billy Martin.^[13]

Incidents

Notable moments of the season included when Chevy Chase hosted the show. Chase was not popular with the cast and crew and, according to the book Live From New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, Chase pitched an idea for a sketch that featured openly gay cast member Terry Sweeney as a person with AIDS who is weighed by a doctor to see how much weight he lost.^[14]

Cast roster

Repertory players Joan Cusack Robert Downey Jr. Nora Dunn Anthony Michael Hall Jon Lovitz Dennis Miller Randy Quaid Terry Sweeney Danitra Vance

Featured players A. Whitney Brown (first episode: February 22, 1986) Al Franken (first episode: May 24, 1986) Don Novello (first episode: November 23, 1985) Dan Vitale (first episode: November 23, 1985 / final episode: February 8, 1986) Damon Wayans (final episode: March 15, 1986)

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 11

This season's writers were A. Whitney Brown, Tom Davis,^[3] Jim Downey, Al Franken,^[3] Jack Handey, Lanier Laney, Carol Leifer,^[15] George Meyer, Lorne Michaels, Don Novello, Michael O'Donoghue, R. D. Rosen,^[9] Herb Sargent, Suzy Schneider, Robert Smigel,^[16] John Swartzwelder, Terry Sweeney, Mark McKinney and Bruce McCulloch. The head writer was Jim Downey. Downey and Sargent were the only writers from the previous season to return to the show.

Episodes

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Host(s)	Musical guest(s)	Original air date
196	1	Madonna	Simple Minds	November 9, 1985 (1985-11-09)
Simple Minds perform "Alive and Kicking".[17] The episode's cold opening, in which Lorne Michaels and Brandon Tartikoff issue urine tests to check the new cast members for drug use, has been cut from nearly all reruns with the exception of Canada's Comedy Channel.[18] Reruns also replace the opening sequence with the one that began later in the season. First appearance of "Limits of the Imagination," a Twilight Zone spoof that recurs throughout the season. Guest appearance by Penn & Teller. Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Nora Dunn, Anthony Michael Hall, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Randy Quaid, Terry Sweeney, Danitra Vance and Damon Wayans' first episode as cast members. Saturday Night News is retitled back to Weekend Update, the news segment's title during the first five seasons. Weekend Update is now hosted by Dennis Miller. Lorne Michaels returns as executive producer.
197	2	Chevy Chase	Sheila E	November 16, 1985 (1985-11-16)
Sheila E performs "Hollyrock" and "A Love Bizarre".[17] First appearance of Tommy Flanagan, The Pathological Liar[19]
198	3	Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman	Queen Ida & the Bon Temps Zydeco Band	November 23, 1985 (1985-11-23)
Queen Ida & the Bon Temps Zydeco Band perform "La Louisiane" and "Frisco Zydeco".[17] Former cast member Robin Duke appears in the "Pee-Wee Herman Thanksgiving Special" sketch as one of the audience members during the performance by Diana Ross (Terry Sweeney). Don Novello rejoins the cast after a five year hiatus. Dan Vitale's first episode as a cast member. According to Dan Vitale, the show considered George C. Scott as a possible host for this episode, before selecting Reubens.[13]
199	4	John Lithgow	Mr. Mister	December 7, 1985 (1985-12-07)
Mr. Mister perform "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie".[17] Guest appearance by Sam Kinison.
200	5	Tom Hanks	Sade	December 14, 1985 (1985-12-14)
Sade performs "Is It A Crime" and "The Sweetest Taboo".[17] The Entertainment Tonight opening sketch references Spying Isn't Cool, a fake public service ad with Brooke Shields that was mentioned as a joke on Weekend Update in the previous episode. Joan Cusack plays Shields, claiming that her movie career stalled after her mother turned down offers for her to play roles with Al Pacino (Scarface) and Robert De Niro (Once Upon a Time in America). Guest appearance by Steven Wright. First appearance of the limo ride through the city during the opening sequence, which will remain for the rest of this season.
201	6	Teri Garr	The Dream Academy The Cult	December 21, 1985 (1985-12-21)
The Dream Academy performs "Life in a Northern Town".[17] The Cult perform "She Sells Sanctuary".[17] Guest appearance by Penn & Teller.
202	7	Harry Dean Stanton	The Replacements	January 18, 1986 (1986-01-18)
The Replacements perform "Bastards of Young" and "Kiss Me On the Bus,"[17] both from the Tim album. The entire band was drunk during both their performances. As one reviewer succinctly observed, the band could quite often be "mouthing profanities into the camera, stumbling into each other, falling down, dropping their instruments, and generally behaving like the apathetic drunks they were." After this incident, they were banned permanently from SNL, although lead singer Paul Westerberg would return as a solo musical guest during the 19th season.[20] Guest appearance by Sam Kinison.
203	8	Dudley Moore	Al Green	January 25, 1986 (1986-01-25)
Al Green performs "Going Away" and "True Love".[17] The episode features a sketch about a beauty pageant for pregnant teenaged girls featuring Danitra Vance's Cabrini Green Jackson character.
204	9	Ron Reagan	The Nelsons	February 8, 1986 (1986-02-08)
The Nelsons perform "Won't Walk Away" and "Do You Know What I Mean".[17] Guest appearance by Penn & Teller. A. Whitney Brown appears on Weekend Update to do "The Big Picture". Dan Vitale's final episode as a cast member.
205	10	Jerry Hall	Stevie Ray Vaughan Double Trouble	February 15, 1986 (1986-02-15)
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble performs "Say What!" and "Change It".[17] Jimmie Vaughan appears on "Change It". Mick Jagger appears in this episode's cold opening where Tommy Flanagan (Jon Lovitz) hits on the host at a bar — told by Hall that Flanagan claims to know him, Jagger "confirms" this and remarks that the two had been on a fishing trip during a recent weekend where Hall didn't know where he was, telling Flanagan "I owe you for this one." Guest appearance by Sam Kinison.
206	11	Jay Leno	The Neville Brothers	February 22, 1986 (1986-02-22)
A. Whitney Brown's first episode as a cast member. The Neville Brothers perform "The Big Chief" and "The Midnight Key".[17]
207	12	Griffin Dunne	Rosanne Cash	March 15, 1986 (1986-03-15)
Rosanne Cash performs "Hold On" and "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me".[17] Guest appearance by Penn & Teller. Damon Wayans' final episode as a cast member. In the "Mr. Monopoly" sketch, Wayans plays a minor police officer character role as a gay stereotype; according to Wayans himself, an utterly furious Lorne Michaels would chew him out for his renegade move after the sketch finished, and proceeded to fire him from the show then and there, though he would finish out the episode and, as mentioned below, would return for the finale as a stand-up guest.[21][22][23]
208	13	George Wendt Francis Ford Coppola	Philip Glass	March 22, 1986 (1986-03-22)
The Philip Glass Ensemble performs "Rubric" from Glassworks and "Lightning" from Songs from Liquid Days.[17] The show's opening theme song was replaced by "Façades," also from Glassworks. Francis Ford Coppola appears in between sketches in a running gag throughout the episode where he, Lorne Michaels, and Terry Sweeney try to improve SNL on the air to boost the show's sagging ratings.[24]
209	14	Oprah Winfrey	Joe Jackson	April 12, 1986 (1986-04-12)
Joe Jackson performs "Right and Wrong" and "Soul Kiss".[17]
210	15	Tony Danza	Laurie Anderson	April 19, 1986 (1986-04-19)
Laurie Anderson performs "Baby Doll" and "The Day the Devil".[17] Guest appearance by Penn & Teller.
211	16	Catherine Oxenberg Paul Simon	Paul Simon Ladysmith Black Mambazo	May 10, 1986 (1986-05-10)
Paul Simon performs "Homeless," "Graceland" and "You Can Call Me Al"; Simon, in fact, performed the latter song to start the show in lieu of an opening sketch, and would be the one to deliver the "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!" line afterwards.[17] Ladysmith Black Mambazo play on "Homeless". Guest appearance by Penn & Teller.
212	17	Jimmy Breslin	Level 42 E.G. Daily	May 17, 1986 (1986-05-17)
Level 42 perform "Something About You".[17] E.G. Daily performs "Say It, Say It".[17] Guest appearance by Sam Kinison and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
213	18	Anjelica Huston Billy Martin	George Clinton Parliament-Funkadelic	May 24, 1986 (1986-05-24)
George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic perform "Let's Take It to the Stage" and "Do Fries Go with That Shake?".[17] Damon Wayans returns to perform stand-up. Al Franken rejoins the cast after a six-year hiatus. This is also his only appearance as a cast member until season 14. Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Don Novello, Randy Quaid, Terry Sweeney and Danitra Vance's final episode as cast members. All the cast members (except Lovitz, who Lorne Michaels purports was because he was the only cast member worth saving) were shown to be trapped in a room on fire as a parody of TV show cliffhangers; this is preceded by the last sketch of the night being interrupted by an "intoxicated" Martin being kicked off, and starting the fire in retaliation.[16][25]

References

1. Belkin, Lisa (November 3, 1985). "A Decade Old, 'Saturday Night Live' Looks to Fresh Faces". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
2. Shales & Miller 2002, p. 293.
3. Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 299–300.
4. Rabin, Nathan (October 3, 2012). "Younger, Sexier, Inherently Doomed Case File #25: Saturday Night Live's 1985–1986 season". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
5. Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 313–314.
6. Atwater, Carleton (January 21, 2011). "Looking Back at Saturday Night Live, 1985-1990". Vulture. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
7. Evans, Bradford (September 27, 2013). "The 8 Biggest Transitional Seasons in 'SNL' History". Vulture. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
8. Shales & Miller 2002, p. 297.
9. Bennetts, Leslie (December 12, 1985). "Struggles At the New 'Saturday Night'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
10. Nelson, Samantha (February 5, 2016). "SNL alum Nora Dunn's show recalls her starstruck days". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
11. Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 297–298.
12. Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 300–301.
13. "Dan Vitale's Saturday Night Live War Stories". Vulture. April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
14. Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 302–303.
15. Shales & Miller 2002, p. 300.
16. Rabin, Nathan (August 4, 2004). "Robert Smigel". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
17. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
18. "10 'SNL' Sketches Cut From the Reruns". Splitsider. May 1, 2012. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012.
19. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 212–213. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
20. Mehr, Bob (February 12, 2016). "Inside the Replacements' Disastrous 'Saturday Night Live' Debut". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
21. Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 308–310.
22. Wright, Megh (October 22, 2013). "Saturday Night's Children: Damon Wayans (1985–1986)". Splitsider. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
23. Fennessey, Sean (October 13, 2010). "SNL and The Curse of the Transitional Season". Vulture. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
24. Seibold, Witney (March 12, 2023). "Francis Ford Coppola's Saturday Night Live Episode Might Just Be The Weirdest". SlashFilm. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
25. Shales & Miller 2002, p. 314.

Works cited

• Shales, Tom; Miller, James Andrew (2002). Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0316781466.