SNL Review index
Updated: April 12, 2025
Individual episode reviews:
Season 6: 1980-81
SNL Up Close: 1980-81
11/15/80: Elliott Gould / Kid Creole & The Coconuts
11/22/80: Malcolm McDowell / Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
12/06/80: Ellen Burstyn / Aretha Franklin, Keith Sykes
12/13/80: Jamie Lee Curtis / James Brown, Ellen Shipley
12/20/80: David Carradine / The Cast of "The Pirates of Penzance" featuring Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith & George Rose
01/10/81: Ray Sharkey / Jack Bruce & Friends
01/17/81: Karen Black / Cheap Trick, Stanley Clarke Trio
01/24/81: Robert Hays / Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crown, 14 Karat Soul
02/07/81: Sally Kellerman / Jimmy Cliff
02/14/81: Deborah Harry / Funky 4 + 1
02/21/81: Charlene Tilton / Todd Rundgren, Prince
03/07/81: Bill Murray / Delbert McClinton
04/11/81: (no official host) / Junior Walker & The All-Stars
Season 6: Final cast and episode summary
Final Thoughts on SNL season 6 (1980-81)
Season 7: 1981-82
SNL Up Close: 1981-82
10/03/81: (no host) / Rod Stewart
10/10/81: Susan Saint James / The Kinks
10/17/81: George Kennedy / Miles Davis
10/31/81: Donald Pleasance / Fear
11/07/81: Lauren Hutton / Rick James & The Stone City Band
11/14/81: Bernadette Peters / The Go-Go's, Billy Joel
12/05/81: Tim Curry / Meat Loaf & The Neverland Express
12/12/81: Bill Murray / The Spinners, Yale Whiffenpoofs of 1982
01/23/82: Robert Conrad / The Allman Brothers Band
01/30/82: John Madden / Jennifer Holliday
02/06/82: James Coburn / Lindsey Buckingham & The Cholos
02/20/82: Bruce Dern / Luther Vandross
02/27/82: Elizabeth Ashley / Daryl Hall & John Oates
03/20/82: Robert Urich / Mink DeVille, Buh-Weet and De Dupreems
03/27/82: Blythe Danner / Rickie Lee Jones
04/10/82: Daniel J. Travanti / John Cougar
04/17/82: Johnny Cash / Elton John
04/24/82: Robert Culp / The Charlie Daniels Band
05/15/82: Danny DeVito / Sparks
05/22/82: Olivia Newton-John
Season 7: Final cast and episode summary
Season 8: 1982-83
SNL Up Close: 1982-83
09/25/82: Chevy Chase / Queen
10/02/82: Louis Gossett Jr. / George Thorogood & The Destroyers
10/09/82: Ron Howard / The Clash
10/23/82: Howard Hesseman / Men At Work
10/30/82: Michael Keaton / The New Joe Jackson Band
11/13/82: Robert Blake / Kenny Loggins
11/20/82: Drew Barrymore / Squeeze
12/04/82: The Smothers Brothers / Laura Branigan
12/11/82: Eddie Murphy / Lionel Richie
01/22/83: Lily Tomlin / "Purvis Hawkins"
01/29/83: Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas / The Bus Boys
02/05/83: Sid Caesar / Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
02/19/83: Howard Hesseman / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
02/26/83: Beau & Jeff Bridges / Randy Newman
03/12/83: Bruce Dern / Leon Redbone
03/19/83: Robert Guillaume / Duran Duran
04/09/83: Joan Rivers / Musical Youth
04/16/83: Susan Saint James / Michael McDonald
05/07/83: Stevie Wonder
05/14/83: Mayor Ed Koch / Kevin Rowland & Dexy's Midnight Runners
SNL 1982-83: Final Thoughts
Season 9: 1983-84
SNL Up Close: 1983-84
10/08/83: Brandon Tartikoff / John Cougar
10/15/83: Danny DeVito & Rhea Perlman / Eddy Grant
10/22/83: John Candy / Men At Work
11/05/83: Betty Thomas / Stray Cats
11/12/83: Teri Garr / Mick Fleetwood's Zoo
11/19/83: Jerry Lewis / Loverboy
12/03/83: The Smothers Brothers / Big Country
12/10/83: Flip Wilson / Stevie Nicks
01/14/84: Father Guido Sarducci / Huey Lewis and the News
01/21/84: Michael Palin & his mother / The Motels
01/28/84: Don Rickles / Billy Idol
02/11/84: Robin Williams / Adam Ant
02/18/84: Jamie Lee Curtis / The Fixx
02/25/84: Edwin Newman / Kool & The Gang
03/17/84: Billy Crystal / Al Jarreau
03/24/84: The Best of Saturday Night Live
04/07/84: Michael Douglas / Deniece Williams
04/14/84: George McGovern / Madness
05/05/84: Barry Bostwick / Spinal Tap
05/12/84: Billy Crystal, Mayor Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Father Guido Sarducci & Betty Thomas / The Cars
SNL 1983-84: Final Thoughts
Season 10: 1984-85
SNL Up Close: 1984-85
10/06/84: (no host) / Thompson Twins
10/13/84: Bob Uecker / Peter Wolf
10/20/84: Rev. Jesse Jackson / Andrae Crouch, Wintley Phipps
11/03/84: Michael McKean / Chaka Khan
11/10/84: George Carlin / Frankie Goes To Hollywood
11/17/84: Ed Asner / The Kinks
12/01/84: Ed Begley Jr. / Billy Squier
12/08/84: Ringo Starr / Herbie Hancock
12/15/84: Eddie Murphy / Robert Plant & The Honeydrippers
01/12/85: Kathleen Turner / John Waite
01/19/85: Roy Scheider / Billy Ocean
02/02/85: Alex Karras / Tina Turner
02/09/85: Harry Anderson / Bryan Adams
02/16/85: Pamela Sue Martin / The Power Station
03/02/85: SNL Film Festival with Siskel & Ebert
03/30/85: Mr. T & Hulk Hogan / The Commodores
04/06/85: Christopher Reeve / Santana
04/13/85: Howard Cosell / Greg Kihn
05/04/85: The Best of Saturday Night Live
SNL 1984-85: Final Thoughts
Season 11: 1985-86
SNL Up Close: 1985-86
11/09/85: Madonna / Simple Minds
11/16/85: Chevy Chase / Sheila E.
11/23/85: Pee-Wee Herman / Queen Ida & The Bon Temps Zydeco Band
12/07/85: John Lithgow / Mr. Mister
12/14/85: Tom Hanks / Sade
12/21/85: Teri Garr / The Cult, Dream Academy
01/18/86: Harry Dean Stanton / The Replacements
01/25/86: Dudley Moore / Al Green
02/08/86: Ron Reagan / The Nelsons
02/15/86: Jerry Hall / Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble
02/22/86: Jay Leno / The Neville Brothers
03/15/86: Griffin Dunne / Rosanne Cash
03/22/86: George Wendt & Francis Ford Coppola / Philip Glass
04/12/86: Oprah Winfrey / Joe Jackson
04/19/86: Tony Danza / Laurie Anderson
05/10/86: Catherine Oxenberg & Paul Simon / Ladysmith Black Mambazo
05/17/86: Jimmy Breslin / Level 42, E.G. Daily
05/24/86: Anjelica Huston & Billy Martin / George Clinton & The Parliament-Funkadelic
SNL 1985-86: Final Thoughts
Season 12: 1986-87
SNL Up Close: 1986-87
10/11/86: Sigourney Weaver / (no musical guest)
10/18/86: Malcolm-Jamal Warner / Run-DMC
11/08/86: Rosanna Arquette / Ric Ocasek
11/15/86: Sam Kinison / Lou Reed
11/22/86: Robin Williams / Paul Simon with Ladysmith Black Mambazo
12/06/86: Chevy Chase, Steve Martin & Martin Short / Randy Newman
12/13/86: Steve Guttenberg / The Pretenders
12/20/86: William Shatner / Lone Justice
01/24/87: Joe Montana & Walter Payton / Debbie Harry
01/31/87: Paul Shaffer / Bruce Hornsby and the Range
02/14/87: Bronson Pinchot / Paul Young
02/21/87: Willie Nelson
02/28/87: Valerie Bertinelli / The Robert Cray Band
03/21/87: Bill Murray / Percy Sledge
03/28/87: Charlton Heston / Wynton Marsalis
04/11/87: John Lithgow / Anita Baker
04/18/87: John Larroquette / Timbuk 3
05/09/87: Mark Harmon / Suzanne Vega
05/16/87: Garry Shandling / Los Lobos
05/23/87: Dennis Hopper / Roy Orbison
SNL 1986-87: Final Thoughts
Season 13: 1987-88
SNL Up Close: 1987-88
10/17/87: Steve Martin / Sting
10/24/87: Sean Penn / LL Cool J, The Pull
10/31/87: Dabney Coleman / The Cars
11/14/87: Robert Mitchum / Simply Red
11/21/87: Candice Bergen / Cher
12/05/87: Danny DeVito / Bryan Ferry
12/12/87: Angie Dickinson / David Gilmour, Buster Poindexter
12/19/87: Paul Simon / Linda Ronstadt with The Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán
01/23/88: Robin Williams / James Taylor
01/30/88: Carl Weathers / Robbie Robertson
02/13/88: Justine Bateman / Terence Trent D’Arby
02/20/88: Tom Hanks / Randy Travis
02/27/88: Judge Reinhold / 10,000 Maniacs
SNL 1987-88: Final Thoughts
Season 14: 1988-89
SNL Up Close: 1988-89
10/08/88: Tom Hanks / Keith Richards
10/15/88: Matthew Broderick / The Sugarcubes
10/22/88: John Larroquette / Randy Newman with Mark Knopfler
11/05/88: Matthew Modine / Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
11/12/88: Demi Moore / Johnny Clegg & Savuka
11/19/88: John Lithgow / Tracy Chapman
12/03/88: Danny DeVito / The Bangles
12/10/88: Kevin Kline / Bobby McFerrin
12/17/88: Melanie Griffith / Little Feat
01/21/89: John Malkovich / Anita Baker
01/28/89: Tony Danza / John Hiatt & The Goners
02/11/89: Ted Danson / Luther Vandross
02/18/89: Leslie Nielsen / Cowboy Junkies
02/25/89: Glenn Close / Gipsy Kings
03/25/89: Mary Tyler Moore / Elvis Costello
04/01/89: Mel Gibson / Living Colour
04/15/89: Dolly Parton
04/22/89: Geena Davis / John Mellencamp
05/13/89: Wayne Gretzky / Fine Young Cannibals
05/20/89: Steve Martin / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
SNL 1988-89: Final Thoughts
A list of SNL Deep Cuts:
Introduction
Part 1: 1975-80
Part 2: 1980-85
Part 3: 1985-90
Part 4: 1990-95
Part 5: 1995-2000
Part 6: 2000-2005
Live reviews (liveblogged):
03/14/09: Tracy Morgan / Kelly Clarkson
04/04/09: Seth Rogen / Phoenix
Post mortems (essays and quick comments):
Capsule Comments on some SNLs I watched
09/26/09: Megan Fox / U2
05/08/10: Betty White / Jay-Z
05/15/10: Alec Baldwin / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
09/28/13: Tina Fey / Arcade Fire
10/05/13: Miley Cyrus
10/12/13: Bruce Willis / Katy Perry
10/26/13: Edward Norton / Janelle Monae
Brief thoughts on #SNL40
Brief thoughts on the current state of SNL (2024)
Season summaries:
Season 35: Final cast and episode summary
SNL Season 35: What's Wrong?
SNL Season 36: Still Ill
SNL Season 38: End Of An Era
SNL Season 39: Autopilot (with Distractions)
SNL Season 40: A post-mortem
SNL Season 41: End of the slump?
Essays:
SNL: Live vs. Rerun
Another Thought on SNL Rerun Edits
Infamously Bad SNL Musical Performances
SNL's Cast Change News
Giving Up On SNL
Fired Rookies, Designated Stars and the Troubling SNL Status Quo
Lorne’s Missing Links: Steve Martin’s Best Show Ever and The New Show
1980-85 wrapup: Last words on the “lost years”
Miscellaneous:
Tom Davis and Nelson Lyon
Name the SNL Extras
Name the SNL Extras (and Guests) #2
Name the SNL Extras (and Guests) #3
Name the SNL Extras #4
As well, I have included my "want list" for my SNL collection.