Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 1987–88

Last updated

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between October 17, 1987, and February 27, 1988, the thirteenth season of SNL.

Contents

Pumping Up with Hans and Franz

Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon play two Austrian jocks, inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Debuted October 17, 1987.

Appearances
SeasonEpisodeHostNotes
13 October 17, 1987 Steve Martin
13 November 21, 1987 Candice Bergen
13 December 19, 1987 Paul Simon
13 January 23, 1988 Robin Williams
13 February 27, 1988 Judge Reinhold
14 October 8, 1988 Tom Hanks
14 November 12, 1988 Demi Moore
14 December 3, 1988 Danny DeVito
14 February 25, 1989 Glenn Close
14 May 20, 1989 Steve Martin
15 October 7, 1989 Rick Moranis
15 November 18, 1989 Woody Harrelson
15 February 10, 1990 Quincy Jones
16 October 27, 1990 Patrick Swayze
16 March 23, 1991 Jeremy Irons
16 April 20, 1991 Steven Seagal
17 October 26, 1991 Christian Slater
18 October 31, 1992 Catherine O'Hara
20 October 22, 1994 Dana Carvey Weekend Update
25 October 16, 1999 Heather Graham Where Are They Now?

Dennis Miller

Dana Carvey impersonates the Weekend Update anchor beside him.

Appearances
SeasonEpisodeHostNotes
13 December 19, 1987 Paul Simon
14 October 22, 1988 John Larroquette
14 December 17, 1988 Melanie Griffith
15 October 28, 1989 James Woods
16 December 8, 1990 Tom Hanks with "Dennis Miller" (Tom Hanks)
17 May 16, 1992 Woody Harrelson during Johnny Carson final show spoof cold open (solo, not with Dennis Miller)

Tonto, Tarzan and Frankenstein's Monster

This trio showcased three popular film characters who were probably least likely to get together and sing because they are all known for their inability to speak proper English. Tonto (played by Jon Lovitz) and Tarzan (played by Kevin Nealon) mostly spoke the lyrics in broken English, leaving out certain verbs and pronouns, while Frankenstein's Monster (played by Phil Hartman) usually just growled and moaned, rarely forming any semblance of the actual words, though he could opine that "bread good" and "fire bad". They came together to sing "We Are the World", and during the holidays they would usually sing Christmas carols. On one occasion, they recited Edgar Allan Poe's classic poem "The Raven". For Easter, the trio were joined by Frankenstein's Monster's evil twin (Mel Gibson), who spoke whole sentences; they sang "Here Comes Peter Cottontail". All four, plus Tarzan's own Jane, starred in their own sporadic soap opera, "As World Turn" (taken from the long-running As the World Turns ). Debuted December 19, 1987 and appeared in the early 1990s.

Appearances
SeasonEpisodeHostNotes
13 December 19, 1987 Paul Simon
14 December 17, 1988 Melanie Griffith
14 January 28, 1989 Tony Danza
14 April 1, 1989 Mel Gibson
14 May 20, 1989 Steve Martin
15 October 28, 1989 James Woods
15 November 18, 1989 Woody Harrelson
15 December 16, 1989 Andie MacDowell
15 February 10, 1990 Quincy Jones
17 December 14, 1991 Steve Martin with Chris Farley replacing Tonto
Appearances

Tarzan:

Frankenstein's Monster:

Learning To Feel

A Nora Dunn sketch. Debuted January 23, 1988.

Appearances
SeasonEpisodeHostNotes
13 January 23, 1988 Robin Williams
13 February 13, 1988 Justine Bateman
14 October 15, 1988 Matthew Broderick

Girl Watchers

A Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz sketch. Two men comment to each other as they leer at passing women. Their cocksure tone of voice never changes, even as they acknowledge that no woman would ever find them attractive. Debuted February 20, 1988.

Appearances
SeasonEpisodeHostNotes
13 February 20, 1988 Tom Hanks
14 October 8, 1988 Tom Hanks
15 February 17, 1990 Tom Hanks

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Carvey</span> American comedian and actor (born 1955)

Dana Thomas Carvey is an American stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, screenwriter and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church Lady</span> Fictional character

Enid Strict, better known as The Church Lady, is a fictional character portrayed by Dana Carvey on American sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live. The character appeared on the show from 1986 to 1990, and again in 1996, 2000, 2011, and 2016. She also appeared on The Dana Carvey Show in March 1996, reading a Top Ten List, "New Titles for Princess Diana."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Smigel</span> American comedian, writer, puppeteer and actor

Robert Smigel is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and puppeteer, known for his Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. He also co-wrote the first two Hotel Transylvania films, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and Leo, all starring Adam Sandler.

Pat (<i>Saturday Night Live</i>) Fictional character on Saturday Night Live

Pat O'Neill Riley is an androgynous fictional character created and performed by Julia Sweeney for the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 1990 to 1994. The character was later featured in the film It's Pat. The central humorous aspect of sketches featuring Pat is the inability of others to determine the character's gender.

Hans and Franz are characters in a recurring sketch called "Pumping Up with Hans & Franz" on the television sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, played by Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Nealon</span> American comedian (b. 1953)

Kevin Nealon is an American comedian and actor. He has earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live sketches, organized alphabetically by title. The referenced date is the date when the sketch first appeared.

Weekend Update has been a platform for Saturday Night Live characters to grow and gain popularity ever since Gilda Radner used it to create Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna. Many cast members have used Update as the primary vehicle for a certain character. Don Novello was featured almost exclusively on the news segment as his breakout character, Father Guido Sarducci, and Tim Kazurinsky, in the face of Eddie Murphy's overshadowing popularity, created characters almost exclusively for Update. Before becoming an anchor on Update, Colin Quinn used the segment as his main sounding board as well.

Saturday Night Live has long mocked the television medium with many fake commercials and parodies of TV shows themselves. Another of the show's frequently used styles of recurring sketches has been the talk show format. However, anything from cop shows to children's shows has been fair game for the ever-changing cast.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> season 12 Season of television series

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 following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between November 9, 1985, and May 24, 1986, the eleventh season of SNL.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between October 11, 1986, and May 23, 1987, the twelfth season of SNL.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between October 8, 1988, and May 20, 1989, the fourteenth season of SNL.

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 29, 1990, and May 18, 1991, the sixteenth season of SNL.

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live (SNL) characters and sketches introduced between September 28, 1991, and May 16, 1992, the seventeenth season of SNL.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> 40th Anniversary Special Episode of the 40th season of Saturday Night Live

"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. It is produced by Broadway Video. 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.

The sketch comedy television series Saturday Night Live (SNL) has parodied President Joe Biden since 1991, covering his time as a United States Senator, his time as Vice President under President Barack Obama, during his campaign to defeat president Donald Trump for the presidency, and as the president of the United States.

References

    Preceded by
    Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 1986-87
    Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches (listed chronologically) Succeeded by
    Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 1988-89