SNL Up Close: 1987-88

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By the summer of 1987, Saturday Night Live had survived leadership changes, cast and writer turnover, and the threat of cancellation several times over; for the first time in years, the show was in a period of stability. New performers such as Dana Carvey, Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman quickly made their mark with characters such as the Church Lady and the Sweeney Sisters, and the writing had noticeably improved, with a renewed emphasis on political satire. It would make sense that the new season would look very similar to the last.

There were small changes here and there: featured player Kevin Nealon was promoted into the main cast and the home base stage had some tweaks. Lorne Michaels was also able to take a less involved role in production, with Jim Downey assuming the role of producer this season. The writing staff was more or less intact, though a handful from the previous season (Eddie Gorodetsky and Jon VItti) didn’t return, George Meyer would leave in December, and Andy Breckman, Marc Shaiman and Rosie Shuster were only contibuting occasionally. However, Jack Handey was back full-time, and a few new names (Bob Odenkirk, Conan O’Brien, Greg Daniels, and Shannon Gaughan) joined the writer’s room over the course of the year.

The upcoming election proved to be a fertile source of inspiration, with Carvey debuting his George Bush impression this season, as well as Dan Aykroyd making his first cameo appearance since leaving the show to play Bob Dole. As well, the show continued to generate memorable new characters, including Carvey and Nealon’s Hans & Franz, and their take on Tarzan (Nealon), Tonto (Jon Lovitz) and Frankenstein’s monster (Hartman).

However, this season had its own challenges, specifically in the form of work stoppages. A NABET strike in the summer and fall affected the first couple of shows, but the show still just went on, just with a few technical issues here and there. More damaging was the Writer’s Guild of America strike that began on March 7, forcing SNL to cancel the rest of the season after the February 27 show. Despite a few announced lineups and a few new compilations of previously aired material, the show wouldn’t return live until the fall.

As usual, I will be posting sketch-by-sketch reviews, with new posts uploaded every weekend. Any information regarding the sketches (such as sketch authorship) and shows is certainly welcome, and will be incorporated into my reviews with acknowledgement (if requested).

The episodes (with links to episode summaries in the SNL Archives):

As well, I will be using the original live versions for these reviews when available, and keeping track of any differences between live and repeat broadcasts.