Saturday Night Live (season 28)

Saturday Night Live (season 28)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	20
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	October 5, 2002 – May 17, 2003

The twenty-eighth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 5, 2002, and May 17, 2003.

Before the start of the season, Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer left the show. The latter gave birth to her baby and went on maternity leave, but decided not to return to the show during her leave. Hired to fill their absences were comedian/musician Fred Armisen and TV writer Will Forte (of The Groundlings), who both joined the show as featured players.

This would be the final season for Dean Edwards, Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan. The latter two would make cameo appearances in many episodes of the following season.

Cast

Repertory players Rachel Dratch Jimmy Fallon Tina Fey Darrell Hammond Chris Kattan Tracy Morgan Chris Parnell Amy Poehler Maya Rudolph Horatio Sanz

Featured players Fred Armisen Dean Edwards Will Forte Seth Meyers Jeff Richards

Cast of 02/03. Back row from left to right: Richards, Edwards, Armisen, Kattan, Sanz, Fallon, Poehler, Forte and Dratch. Front row from left to right: Meyers, Morgan, Rudolph, Fey, Hammond and Parnell.

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Host	Musical guest(s)	Original air date
526	1	Matt Damon	Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band	October 5, 2002
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band performs "Lonesome Day" with Soozie Tyrell, and "You're Missing." Jim Cummings performed voiceover work in the "Smurfette Show" TV Funhouse sketch. Fred Armisen and Will Forte's first episode as cast members.
527	2	Sarah Michelle Gellar	Faith Hill	October 12, 2002
Faith Hill performs "Cry" and "Free", and appears during the "No Wrestling" sketch.
528	3	John McCain	The White Stripes	October 19, 2002
The White Stripes performs "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and "We're Going to Be Friends."
529	4	Eric McCormack	Jay-Z	November 2, 2002
Jay-Z performs "Guns & Roses" with Lenny Kravitz and "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" with Kravitz and Beyoncé.
530	5	Nia Vardalos	Eve	November 9, 2002
Eve performed "Gangsta Lovin'" and "Satisfaction", and appears during the "Dropping The L.B.'s With Missy E" sketch. Tina Fey's mother Jean Fey appears during the opening monologue.
531	6	Brittany Murphy	Nelly	November 16, 2002
Nelly performs "Dilemma" with Kelly Rowland and "Hot in Herre", and appears in the "Astronaut Jones" sketch. Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider appear during the cold open to perform "The Chanukah Song." Garrett Morris appears during the "Astronaut Jones" sketch.
532	7	Robert De Niro	Norah Jones	December 7, 2002
Norah Jones performs "Don't Know Why" and "Come Away with Me." Harvey Keitel appears during the "Very Versace Christmas" sketch.
533	8	Al Gore	Phish	December 14, 2002
Phish performs "46 Days" and "Chalk Dust Torture", and appears in the "Jarret's Room" sketch and the "Peanuts Christmas" cartoon. Tipper Gore appears during the cold open and the Daily Affirmation With Stuart Smalley sketch. The West Wing cast members Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, John Spencer, Martin Sheen, and Richard Schiff appear during the pre-recorded "The West Wing Set" sketch. Al Franken appears during Daily Affirmation With Stuart Smalley, reprising his role as Stuart Smalley. Brad Pitt performs a voice role during the "Peanuts Christmas" cartoon.
534	9	Jeff Gordon	Avril Lavigne	January 11, 2003
Avril Lavigne performs "I'm with You" and "Complicated".
535	10	Ray Liotta	The Donnas	January 18, 2003
The Donnas perform "Take It Off" and "Who Invited You".
536	11	Matthew McConaughey	Dixie Chicks	February 8, 2003
Dixie Chicks perform "Travelin' Soldier" and "Sin Wagon", and appear during the "Jarret's Room" sketch.
537	12	Jennifer Garner	Beck	February 15, 2003
Beck performs "Lost Cause" and "Guess I'm Doing Fine".
538	13	Christopher Walken	Foo Fighters	February 22, 2003
Foo Fighters perform "All My Life" and "Times Like These", with Jim Carrey appearing during their second performance. Steve Martin, Will Ferrell, and Britney Spears appear during Weekend Update. Additionally, Ferrell appears during the "Lovers" sketch.
539	14	Queen Latifah	Ms. Dynamite	March 8, 2003
Ms. Dynamite performs "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee". Dan Aykroyd appears during the cold open, reprising his impression of Bob Dole. Jeff Bergman and Tom Kenny provide the voices of Bugs Bunny and SpongeBob SquarePants respectively during the "X-Presidents" cartoon.
540	15	Salma Hayek	Christina Aguilera	March 15, 2003
Christina Aguilera performs "Beautiful" and "Fighter", and appears during the "Versace Oscar Fashion Preview" sketch. Edward Norton appears during the opening monologue.
541	16	Bernie Mac	Good Charlotte	April 5, 2003
Good Charlotte performs "The Anthem" and "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous".
542	17	Ray Romano	Zwan	April 12, 2003
Zwan performs "Lyric" and "Settle Down".
543	18	Ashton Kutcher	50 Cent	May 3, 2003
50 Cent performs "In Da Club" with G-Unit and "21 Questions" with G-Unit and Nate Dogg.
544	19	Adrien Brody	Sean Paul Wayne Wonder	May 10, 2003
Sean Paul performs "Get Busy". Wayne Wonder performs "No Letting Go". Brody's parents Sylvia Plachy and Elliot Brody appear during the opening monologue. Prior to Sean Paul's performance, Brody gives an improvised introduction while wearing faux dreadlocks and mumbling in a Jamaican accent for Paul, unbeknownst to the cast, crew and Lorne Michaels. Because of this, Brody has been banned from the show.
545	20	Dan Aykroyd	Beyoncé	May 17, 2003
Beyoncé performs "Crazy in Love" with Jay-Z and "Dangerously in Love." Jim Belushi appears during the opening monologue. Chris Kattan's father Kip King appears during the "Rialto Grande" sketch. John Goodman appears during "The Falconer" sketch, the "Donatella Versace Backyard Barbeque" sketch, and the "La Cuisina Canina" sketch. Aykroyd brought in Tom Davis, one of the show's original writers, to help write this episode.[1] Dean Edwards, Chris Kattan, and Tracy Morgan's final episode as cast members.

Specials

Title	Original air date
"The Best of Will Ferrell"	September 28, 2002
Sketches include: "Alta Dena Mandatory Drug Assembly", "Cow Bell", "Dissin' Your Dog", "Spartan Cheerleaders", "The Coconuts Bangers Ball: It's A Rap!", "Celebrity Jeopardy", "Inside The Actors Studio", "Space, The Infinite Frontier with Harry Caray", "Luvahs at the Welshly Arm Motel", "Roxbury Guys", "The Replacement Nude Model", "Tension Dinner" and "Jacob Silj."
"SNL Christmas 2002"	December 17, 2002
Holiday-themed sketches from past episodes are aired. Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey host.
Weekend Update Halftime Special	January 26, 2003
Weekend Update Halftime Special, timed to compete with the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show.

References

1. Davis, Tom (2009). Thirty-nine Years of Short-term Memory Loss. Grove Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-8021-1880-6. When Dan Aykroyd hosted the show in 2003, he brought me along. It was great fun writing and getting stuff on again; it was a terrific show.