Saturday Night Live (season 17)

Saturday Night Live (season 17)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	20
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 28, 1991 – May 16, 1992

The seventeenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 28, 1991, and May 16, 1992.

Many changes happened before the start of the season. A. Whitney Brown, Jan Hooks and longtime Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller all left the show. Following Miller's departure, Kevin Nealon was promoted to anchor.

New cast members included Ellen Cleghorne, Siobhan Fallon and writer Robert Smigel. Beth Cahill and Melanie Hutsell also later joined the cast. Chris Farley, Chris Rock and Julia Sweeney were upgraded to repertory status, while Tim Meadows remained in the middle group. Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade were promoted to the middle group.

This was the final season for Victoria Jackson. At the time, Jackson became the longest serving female cast member, with a total of six seasons on the show. She was later surpassed by Molly Shannon in the 26th season. This would be Beth Cahill and Siobhan Fallon's only season on the show.

Cast

Repertory cast members Dana Carvey Chris Farley Phil Hartman Victoria Jackson Mike Myers Kevin Nealon Chris Rock Julia Sweeney

Also Starring Ellen Cleghorne Siobhan Fallon Tim Meadows Adam Sandler Rob Schneider David Spade

Featured cast members Beth Cahill (first Episode: November 16, 1991) Al Franken Melanie Hutsell (first Episode: November 16, 1991) Robert Smigel

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Host(s)	Musical guest(s)	Original air date
307	1	Michael Jordan	Public Enemy	September 28, 1991
Ellen Cleghorne, Siobhan Fallon and Robert Smigel's first episode as cast members. Guest appearances by George Wendt, Spike Lee, and Jesse Jackson, who read Green Eggs and Ham[1] during Weekend Update. Public Enemy performs "Can't Truss It" and "Bring the Noise."[2]
308	2	Jeff Daniels	Color Me Badd	October 5, 1991
This episode features the first appearance of "The Chris Farley Show." Color Me Badd performs "I Wanna Sex You Up" and "I Adore Mi Amor."[2]
309	3	Kirstie Alley	Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers	October 12, 1991
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers perform "Into the Great Wide Open" and "Kings Highway."[2] Alley's Cheers co-stars Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, and George Wendt appear as themselves in the opening monologue.
310	4	Christian Slater	Bonnie Raitt	October 26, 1991
John McLaughlin makes an appearance as himself in the cold opening. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a guest appearance. Bonnie Raitt performs "Something to Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me."[2]
311	5	Kiefer Sutherland	Skid Row	November 2, 1991
Skid Row performs "Piece of Me" and "Monkey Business."[2]
312	6	Linda Hamilton	Mariah Carey	November 16, 1991
Edward Furlong appears as his Terminator 2 character, John Connor, in a Terminator parody. Martin Scorsese appears as himself in "The Chris Farley Show." Beth Cahill and Melanie Hutsell's first episode as cast members. Mariah Carey performs "Can't Let Go" and "If It's Over."[2]
313	7	Macaulay Culkin	Tin Machine	November 23, 1991
Tin Machine performs "Baby Universal" and "If There Is Something."[2] Kieran Culkin appears as Froggy in a Richmeister sketch. George Wendt (who played Culkin's father in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Black or White") reprises his role as Bob Swerski in "Bill Swerski's Superfans."
314	8	MC Hammer	MC Hammer	December 7, 1991
Hammer performs "Too Legit to Quit", "Addams Groove", and "This Is The Way We Roll."[2] Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman introduce "Addams Groove."
315	9	Steve Martin	James Taylor	December 14, 1991
James Taylor performs "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' 'Bout That",[2] "Shed a Little Light",[2] and "Sweet Baby James." Martin and the cast perform the "Tonight Song"[3]
316	10	Rob Morrow	Nirvana	January 11, 1992
Rob Morrow shows a clip from the "Substitute Judge" sketch on the season five episode during the monologue, pointing out that Morrow played one of the jurors. Nirvana performs "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Territorial Pissings."[2] The band trashed their instruments during the latter song.
317	11	Chevy Chase	Robbie Robertson Bruce Hornsby & the Range	January 18, 1992
Guest appearance by George Wendt. Robbie Robertson performs "Go Back to Your Woods" and "The Weight."[2]
318	12	Susan Dey	C&C Music Factory	February 8, 1992
C+C Music Factory performs "Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)", "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" and "A Deeper Love."[2]
319	13	Jason Priestley	Teenage Fanclub	February 15, 1992
Teenage Fanclub performs "Concept", "What You Do to Me", and "Pet Rock."[2]
320	14	Roseanne Arnold Tom Arnold	Red Hot Chili Peppers	February 22, 1992
Madonna appears in a Coffee Talk sketch as a panelist. At the end of the Coffee Talk sketch, Barbra Streisand makes an appearance as herself. Red Hot Chili Peppers performs "Stone Cold Bush" and "Under The Bridge."[2]
321	15	John Goodman	Garth Brooks	March 14, 1992
Garth Brooks performs "Rodeo" and "The River."[2]
322	16	Mary Stuart Masterson	En Vogue	March 21, 1992
En Vogue performs "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)", "Hold On", and "Free Your Mind."[2]
323	17	Sharon Stone	Pearl Jam	April 11, 1992
Pearl Jam performs "Alive" and "Porch."[2] Guest appearance by Jon Lovitz.
324	18	Jerry Seinfeld	Annie Lennox	April 18, 1992
Annie Lennox performs "Why" and "Legend in My Living Room."[2]
325	19	Tom Hanks	Bruce Springsteen	May 9, 1992
Guest appearance by Jay Leno. Bruce Springsteen performs "Lucky Town", "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)", and "Living Proof."[2] Joe Pesci was the original host for this episode, but had to cancel due to the filming of Home Alone 2 running late.
326	20	Woody Harrelson	Vanessa Williams	May 16, 1992
Victoria Jackson, Beth Cahill and Siobhan Fallon's final episode as cast members. Vanessa Williams performs "Save the Best for Last" and "The Comfort Zone."[2]

Specials

Title	Original air date
"Halloween Special"	October 28, 1991
Wayne (Mike Myers) & Garth (Dana Carvey) host this compilation of some of SNL's greatest Halloween-themed sketches.
"All the Best for Mother's Day"	May 10, 1992
The cast and their mothers take a look at some of the best sketches from the 16th and 17th seasons. Sketches include "The Tonight Song," "Wayne's World," "The Chris Farley Show," "Massive Headwound Harry," and "Coffee Talk."

Wayne's World film

Wayne's World, a film based on the popular "Wayne's World" sketches, was released on February 14, 1992. Cast members Dana Carvey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Chris Farley and Mike Myers appear in the film. The film received positive reviews and was commercially successful, becoming the highest grossing SNL film to date. A sequel was produced in 1993, titled Wayne's World 2.

References

1. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. p. 264. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
2. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
3. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. p. 121. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.