Saturday Night Live (season 12)

Saturday Night Live
	Season 12
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	20
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	October 11, 1986 –; May 23, 1987
Season chronology

The twelfth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 11, 1986 and May 23, 1987.

History

The season opened with Madonna, host of the previous season opener, reading a "statement" from NBC about season 11's mediocre writing and bad cast choices.[1] According to the "statement", the entire 1985–86 season was "... all a dream. A horrible, horrible dream."

The season included "Mastermind," a skit written by Jim Downey and Al Franken, in which Phil Hartman portrayed two sides of Ronald Reagan; 25 years later Todd Purdum called the skit "surely among the show's Top 10 of all time".

Also during this season, singer David Johansen made several guest appearances as his famous persona, Buster Poindexter, performing with the SNL house band.

A new logo was introduced for this season: it consisted of a yellow square and a small black rectangle; the yellow square had "SATURDAY" and "LIVE" in it; between them was a black rectangle with the word "NIGHT" in it. It was used only until the following season.

Cast

Most of season 11's cast members were fired, except for A. Whitney Brown, Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz and Dennis Miller. Al Franken was rehired as a writer. The new cast members included Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson and Kevin Nealon.[2] Phil Hartman helped write sketches in season 11's Thanksgiving episode hosted by Pee-wee Herman, and appeared in a sketch as a Pilgrim. Jan Hooks had auditioned for the show twice, firstly for season 10, but lost to Pamela Stephenson and the second time for season 11, but lost to Joan Cusack.

Cast roster

Repertory players

Featured players

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

This season's writers were Andy Breckman, A. Whitney Brown, E. Jean Carroll, Tom Davis, Jim Downey, Al Franken, Jack Handey, Phil Hartman, George Meyer, Lorne Michaels, Kevin Nealon, Herb Sargent, Marc Shaiman, Rosie Shuster, Robert Smigel, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Jon Vitti and Christine Zander. Downey also served as head writer.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Host(s)	Musical guest	Original air date
214	1	Sigourney Weaver	None	October 11, 1986 (1986-10-11)
Madonna appeared in the cold opening to read a statement from NBC about the 1985–86 season: "It was all a dream—a horrible, horrible dream." This was a reference to the famous ninth season of Dallas, which was later revealed to be a dream. Buster Poindexter and the playwright Christopher Durang appear as special guests. Poindexter performed "Oh Me, Oh My", "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (as a duet with Weaver), and "Smack Dab in the Middle".[3] First appearance of The Church Lady.[4] Dana Carvey (as Derek Stephens) sings "Chopping Broccoli".[5] Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson and Kevin Nealon's first episode as cast members.
215	2	Malcolm-Jamal Warner	Run-DMC	October 18, 1986 (1986-10-18)
Run-DMC performs "Walk This Way" and "Hit It, Run".[3] Guest appearances are made by Sam Kinison, Buster Poindexter performs "Hit the Road Jack" and Spike Lee introduces Run-DMC as his Mars Blackmon character from She's Gotta Have It. First appearance of The Sweeney Sisters.[6]
216	3	Rosanna Arquette	Ric Ocasek	November 8, 1986 (1986-11-08)
Ric Ocasek performs "Emotion in Motion" and "Keep on Laughin'".[3] The episode was actually recorded and scheduled to air two weeks prior, but delayed due to NBC's broadcast of the legendary sixth game of the 1986 World Series between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox (the series was eventually won by the Mets); the aired version began with a taped segment in which Mets pitcher Ron Darling playfully apologized for the cancellation. Ric Ocasek appeared as himself in Church Chat.
217	4	Sam Kinison	Lou Reed	November 15, 1986 (1986-11-15)
Lou Reed performs "I Love You, Suzanne" from 1984's New Sensations and "The Original Wrapper" from 1986's Mistrial.[3] Guest appearance by porn star Seka. A guest appearance by Buster Poindexter is mentioned in the intro; Kinison apologizes that he was cut for time in the goodnights.
218	5	Robin Williams	Paul Simon	November 22, 1986 (1986-11-22)
Paul Simon performs "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes", "The Boy in the Bubble" and "The Late Great Johnny Ace".[3] The first song featured Ladysmith Black Mambazo, making their second appearance on the show, while "The Late Great Johnny Ace" opened with a still shot of John F. Kennedy, marking the 23rd anniversary of his assassination (which is referenced in the song.) Simon also appears in the "Ticket Line", "Hamlet" and "Baycrest Jewish Retirement Home" sketches. Art Garfunkel appears in the "Ticket Line" sketch with Paul Simon. Whoopi Goldberg makes a cameo appearance, introducing Simon's second song.
219	6	Chevy Chase Steve Martin Martin Short	Randy Newman	December 6, 1986 (1986-12-06)
Randy Newman performs "Longest Night" and "Roll with the Punches".[3] Chevy Chase acknowledges his recent stint in the Betty Ford Center in the monologue and cold opening, a sketch where klutzy people hold a support group meeting called Stumblebums Anonymous. In a sketch written by Jim Downey and Al Franken, Phil Hartman portrays President Ronald Reagan as Masterbrain, a "sweet, befuddled old man in public, who in private becomes the hard-charging director of the covert operation to finance the Nicaraguan Contras". Guest appearance by Eric Idle.
220	7	Steve Guttenberg	The Pretenders	December 13, 1986 (1986-12-13)
The Pretenders performs "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "How Much Did You Get for Your Soul?".[3] Guest appearances by Penn & Teller and Buster Poindexter. Poindexter and Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde performed "Rockin' Good Way".[3] Tim Robbins appears in a short film, "Profiles: Bob Roberts". His directorial debut, "Bob Roberts", was based on this segment.
221	8	William Shatner	Lone Justice	December 20, 1986 (1986-12-20)
Lone Justice performs "Shelter" and "I Found Love".[3] This show features a sketch where William Shatner, sick of Star Trek fans asking him inane questions, tells them to "Get a life!"[7] Comedian Kevin Meaney makes a guest appearance. Special guest Buster Poindexter played "Zat You, Santa?".[3]
222	9	Joe Montana Walter Payton	Deborah Harry	January 24, 1987 (1987-01-24)
Deborah Harry performs "French Kissin" and "In Love with Love".[3] Buster Poindexter performs "Scotch and Soda".
223	10	Paul Shaffer	Bruce Hornsby & the Range	January 31, 1987 (1987-01-31)
Bruce Hornsby & the Range performs "The Way It Is" and "Mandolin Rain".[3]
224	11	Bronson Pinchot	Paul Young	February 14, 1987 (1987-02-14)
Paul Young performs "War Games" and "The Long Run".[3] Guest appearances by Paulina Porizkova and Buster Poindexter, who performed "Heart of Gold".[3]
225	12	Willie Nelson	Willie Nelson	February 21, 1987 (1987-02-21)
Danny DeVito makes a guest appearance. Willie Nelson performs "Blue Eyes" and "Partners After All".[3] In a sketch, Nelson accompanies Victoria Jackson on "The Boyfriend Song".
226	13	Valerie Bertinelli	Robert Cray Band	February 28, 1987 (1987-02-28)
Robert Cray Band performs "Smoking Gun" and "Right Next Door".[3] Bertinelli's then-husband, Eddie Van Halen, appeared in a sketch and played with the SNL Band. Van Halen performed "Stompin' 8H".[3] Guest appearance by Edwin Newman.
227	14	Bill Murray	Percy Sledge	March 21, 1987 (1987-03-21)
Percy Sledge performs "When a Man Loves a Woman".[3] The cold opening for the episode (where Lorne Michaels meets Bill Murray backstage and discusses his contract with him) has been either edited in reruns (as seen on Comedy Central and E!) or replaced with the cold opening from the Bronson Pinchot episode where Liberace (Phil Hartman) is playing the piano in Heaven and tells the audience that the censors won't let him do anything else besides that (as seen with the streaming version formerly shown on Netflix and now shown on NBC's Peacock).
228	15	Charlton Heston	Wynton Marsalis	March 28, 1987 (1987-03-28)
Wynton Marsalis performs "J Mood" and "Juan (E. Mustaad)".[3] The episode features a short film by future cast member Ben Stiller.
229	16	John Lithgow	Anita Baker	April 11, 1987 (1987-04-11)
Anita Baker performs "Sweet Love" and "Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)".[3]
230	17	John Larroquette	Timbuk 3	April 18, 1987 (1987-04-18)
Timbuk 3 performs "Just Another Movie" and "Hairstyles & Attitudes".[3]
231	18	Mark Harmon	Suzanne Vega	May 9, 1987 (1987-05-09)
Suzanne Vega performs "Luka" and "Marlene on the Wall".[3]
232	19	Garry Shandling	Los Lobos	May 16, 1987 (1987-05-16)
Los Lobos performs "Is That All There Is" and "One Time, One Night".[3] Tracey Ullman appeared in the filmed Hollywood Mom sketch. Nell Campbell appeared in Tenny Café. A number of sketches had Shandling breaking the fourth wall, referring to the style of the then-airing It's Garry Shandling's Show.
233	20	Dennis Hopper	Roy Orbison	May 23, 1987 (1987-05-23)
Roy Orbison performs "Crying", "Oh, Pretty Woman" and "In Dreams".[3]

References

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86amadonna.phtml
Gendel, Morgan (30 September 1986). "Another Groundling Hops To 'Snl'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 214–217. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 120. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 218–219. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 42. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.

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[1] ttp://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86amadonna.phtml

[LATimesCast-2] Gendel, Morgan (30 September 1986). "Another Groundling Hops To 'Snl'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 January 2015.

[SNL-3] Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.

[4] Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 214–217. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.

[5] Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 120. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.

[6] Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 218–219. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.

[7] Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 42. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.