Mr. Bill is a clay figurine star of a parody of children's entertainment created by Walter Williams in 1974. The Mr. Bill showing got its start on Saturday Night Live as a series of Super 8 films sent in response to the show's request for home movies during the first season. Mr. Bill's first appearance occurred on the February 28, 1976 episode. After five submitted films, Williams became a full-time writer for the show in 1978 and wrote more than 20 sketches based on Mr. Bill. Each Mr. Bill episode started innocently but quickly turned dangerous for Mr. Bill and his dog Spot. He would suffer various indignities inflicted by "Mr. Hands", a man seen only as a pair of hands. Sometimes the abuse came from Sluggo, another clay character, which Mr. Hands usually jokingly brands as one of Mr. Bill's "best friends". A running gag in the sketches is whenever Sluggo would make his appearance, Mr. Bill would get worried and say, "He's gonna be mean to me!", to which Mr. Hands often gives him reassurance by responding with, "No!". The violence inevitably escalated, generally ending with Mr. Bill being crushed or dismembered while squealing "Ohhhh noooooooooooooo!" in a falsetto voice.
Jonathan Michael Lovitz is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990 for which he was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.
"The Chanukah Song" is a novelty song written by comedian Adam Sandler with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on December 3, 1994. Sandler subsequently performed the song as part of his stand-up act, later updating it with new lyrics. All variations center on the theme of Hanukkah and of religious Jewish children feeling alienated during the Christmas season, and Sandler's listing of Jewish celebrities as a way of sympathizing with their situation.
Chrismukkah is a pop-culture portmanteau neologism referring to the merging of the holidays of Christianity's Christmas and Judaism's Hanukkah. It first arose in the German-speaking countries within middle-class Jews of the 19th century. After World War II, Chrismukkah became particularly popular in the United States, but is also celebrated in other countries.
A Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah, is a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Eight of the nine branches hold lights that symbolize the eight nights of the holiday; on each night, one more light is lit than the previous night, until on the final night all eight branches are ignited. The ninth branch holds a candle, called the shamash, which is used to light the other eight.
Debbie Downer is a fictional Saturday Night Live character who debuted in 2004, and was created and portrayed by Rachel Dratch.
"The Strike" is the 166th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the tenth episode of the ninth and final season. It aired on December 18, 1997. This episode features and popularized the holiday of Festivus.
"Dick in a Box" is a song by the American comedy group The Lonely Island featuring American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. The trio—Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone—co-wrote the song with Timberlake, Katreese Barnes, and Asa Taccone. Barnes and Asa Taccone co-produced it with Jorma Taccone. Saturday Night Live (SNL) creator and producer Lorne Michaels asked Samberg to write a musical sketch for the 2006 Christmas episode with Timberlake, who was returning as both host and musical guest. Samberg developed the concept with other members of the group before working with Timberlake on December 14. They recorded the track around midnight and spent the next day and a half filming the corresponding music video.
The eighteenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 26, 1992, and May 15, 1993.
The sixteenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 29, 1990, and May 18, 1991.
The fifteenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 30, 1989 and May 19, 1990.
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.
The eleventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between November 9, 1985, and May 24, 1986.
The ninth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 8, 1983, and May 12, 1984.
The sixth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between November 15, 1980, and April 11, 1981. Jean Doumanian, who had been an associate producer for the first five seasons of SNL, was given executive producer responsibilities after Lorne Michaels left the show, along with all the cast and almost all the writing staff. Doumanian's first—and only—season in charge was plagued by difficulties, from a reduced budget to new cast members who were compared unfavorably to the Not Ready for Prime Time Players. Critical reception was strongly negative and ratings sank.
A Hanukkah bush is a bush or tree—real or artificial—that some Jewish families in North America display in their homes for the duration of Hanukkah. It may, for all intents and purposes, be a Christmas tree with Jewish-themed ornaments. It is associated with Chrismukkah.
The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between September 24, 1989, and May 19, 1990, the fifteenth season of SNL.
The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between September 13, 2008, and May 16, 2009, the thirty-fourth season of the show.
"Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special" is a three-and-a-half-hour prime-time special that aired on February 15, 2015, on NBC, celebrating Saturday Night Live's 40th year on the air, having premiered on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. The special was produced by Broadway Video and directed by then-series director Don Roy King. This special generated 23.1 million viewers, becoming NBC's most-watched prime-time, non-sports, entertainment telecast since the Friends series finale in 2004. It is the third such anniversary special to be broadcast, with celebratory episodes also held during the 15th and 25th seasons.
