Saturday Night Live (season 10)

Saturday Night Live
Season 10
No. of episodes	17
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	October 6, 1984 (1984-10-06) – April 13, 1985 (1985-04-13)
Season chronology
← Previous season 9 Next → season 11
List of episodes

The tenth season of Saturday Night Live , an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 6, 1984, and April 13, 1985. Only 17 episodes were produced due to a writers' strike and budget constraints.

Cast

During the previous season, Eddie Murphy left the show mid season. Because of Murphy's departure Joe Piscopo also left the show because he did not want to do it without Murphy. Dick Ebersol fired Robin Duke, Brad Hall and Tim Kazurinsky. Ebersol then wanted to add seasoned comedians instead of newcomers. He hired Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Harry Shearer, Martin Short and New Zealander Pamela Stephenson. Guest became the anchor of Saturday Night News.

In the middle of the season, Harry Shearer left the show due to "creative differences". Shearer told the AP, "I was creative, and they were different." ^[1]

Cast roster

Repertory players

• Jim Belushi
• Billy Crystal
• Mary Gross
• Christopher Guest
• Rich Hall
• Gary Kroeger
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Harry Shearer (final episode: January 12, 1985)
• Martin Short
• Pamela Stephenson

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 10

Billy Crystal, Larry David, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Rob Riley, and Martin Short joined the writing staff. Jim Downey, Herb Sargent, and Harry Shearer rejoined the staff after a four-year hiatus. Robin Duke, Adam Green, Tim Kazurinsky, Michael McCartney, Eddie Murphy, Pamela Norris, and Joe Piscopo left the staff.

This season's writers were Jim Belushi, Andy Breckman, Billy Crystal, Larry David, Jim Downey, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Nate Herman, Kevin Kelton, Andy Kurtzman, Margaret Oberman, Rob Riley, Herb Sargent, Martin Short, Harry Shearer, Andrew Smith, Bob Tischler and Eliot Wald. The head writer was Bob Tischler.

Episodes

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Host(s)	Musical guest(s)	Original air date
179	1	(none)	Thompson Twins	October 6, 1984 (1984-10-06)
The Thompson Twins performs "Hold Me Now" and "The Gap". [2] Billy Crystal (as Fernando) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus anchor Saturday Night News . Contains the first appearance of Ed Grimley on SNL, [3] as well as the "Synchronized Swimming" sketch. [4] Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Martin Short and Pamela Stephenson's first episode as cast members. Harry Shearer rejoins the cast after a four-year hiatus.
180	2	Bob Uecker	Peter Wolf	October 13, 1984 (1984-10-13)
Peter Wolf performs "Lights Out" and "I Need You Tonight". [2] Bob Uecker anchors Saturday Night News. Guest appearance by Yogi Berra.
181	3	Jesse Jackson	Andrae Crouch Wintley Phipps	October 20, 1984 (1984-10-20)
Jesse Jackson performs "Red Rubber Ball" and "Jean". [5] Andrae Crouch performs "Right Now" and Wintley Phipps performs "Tell Me Again". [2] The first appearance of Willie and Frankie. [6] Jesse Jackson anchors Saturday Night News.
182	4	Michael McKean	Chaka Khan The Folksmen	November 3, 1984 (1984-11-03)
Chaka Khan performs "I Feel for You" and "This Is My Night". [2] Edwin Newman anchors Saturday Night News. Cameraman Bobby Fraraccio fills in for Barry Manilow on "Fernando's Hideaway". Contains the first appearance as the faux-folk group The Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer), performing their "hit", "Old Joe's Place" (in addition to a pre-taped segment featuring the band's "reunion"). The Folksmen appeared 19 years later in the film A Mighty Wind . Larry David appears off-camera during the monologue as a heckler. Michael McKean joined the cast of SNL 10 years later at the end of season 19, making him one of only two people to be a host, musical guest (as part of Spinal Tap in season 9) and cast member of SNL (Dan Aykroyd being the other).
183	5	George Carlin	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	November 10, 1984 (1984-11-10)
Frankie Goes to Hollywood performs "Two Tribes" and "Born to Run". [2] George Carlin anchors Saturday Night News.
184	6	Ed Asner	The Kinks	November 17, 1984 (1984-11-17)
The Kinks performs "Do It Again" and "Word of Mouth". [2] Ed Asner anchors Saturday Night News.
185	7	Ed Begley, Jr.	Billy Squier	December 1, 1984 (1984-12-01)
Billy Squier performs "Rock Me Tonite" and "All Night Long". [2] This episode contains the sole sketch Larry David got on the air. [7] Christopher Guest's first episode as Saturday Night News anchor.
186	8	Ringo Starr	Herbie Hancock	December 8, 1984 (1984-12-08)
Herbie Hancock performs "Junku" and "Rockit". [2] This is the only episode of the series not to have a news segment, like "Saturday Night News", as it was known then. Cameo by Barbara Bach, wife of host Ringo Starr.
187	9	Eddie Murphy	The Honeydrippers	December 15, 1984 (1984-12-15)
The Honeydrippers performs "Rockin' at Midnight" and "Santa Claus Is Back in Town". [2] Murphy's last appearance on the show until hosting again during the forty-fifth season in 2019 (not counting a brief appearance during the 40th Anniversary Special in 2015). Larry David also appears in the 2019 episode.
188	10	Kathleen Turner	John Waite	January 12, 1985 (1985-01-12)
John Waite performs "Saturday Night". [2] Harry Shearer's final episode as a cast member.
189	11	Roy Scheider	Billy Ocean	January 19, 1985 (1985-01-19)
Billy Ocean performs "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy". [2]
190	12	Alex Karras	Tina Turner	February 2, 1985 (1985-02-02)
Tina Turner performs "What's Love Got to Do with It," "Better Be Good to Me" and "Private Dancer". [2] Turner also appears in an Ed Grimley sketch.
191	13	Harry Anderson	Bryan Adams	February 9, 1985 (1985-02-09)
Bryan Adams performs "Somebody" and "Run to You". [2] Carol Burnett, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Christopher Reeve and Marty Stuart appear in the audience.
192	14	Pamela Sue Martin	Power Station	February 16, 1985 (1985-02-16)
Power Station performs "Some Like It Hot" and "Get It On (Bang a Gong)". [2] Pre-recorded guest appearances by Ann-Margret, Morgan Fairchild, Teri Garr, Susan Lucci and Lynn Swann.
193	15	Mr. T Hulk Hogan	The Commodores	March 30, 1985 (1985-03-30)
The Commodores performs "Nightshift" and "Animal Instinct". [2] Guest appearances by Steve Landesberg, Liberace, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Bob Orton, Jr.
194	16	Christopher Reeve	Santana	April 6, 1985 (1985-04-06)
Santana performs "Say It Again" and "Right Now". [2] Guest appearance by Steven Wright. Late Night with David Letterman regular Calvert DeForest appears in an audience cameo during Saturday Night News.
195	17	Howard Cosell	Greg Kihn	April 13, 1985 (1985-04-13)
Greg Kihn performs "Boys Won't" and "Lucky". [2] Jim Belushi, Billy Crystal, Mary Gross, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Gary Kroeger, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Short and Pamela Stephenson's final episode as cast members. Christopher Guest's final episode as Saturday Night News anchor. Dick Ebersol's final episode as executive producer.

Specials

Title	Original air date
"SNL Film Festival"	March 2, 1985 (1985-03-02)
Hosted by Billy Crystal, presenting short films and commercial parodies. Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, Robin Williams, Tim Kazurinsky, and Stevie Wonder make appearances in pre-recorded segments from previous seasons. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert review the show. John Candy and Eugene Levy plug next week's show with musical guests Hall & Oates (who don't end up appearing due to a writers strike).
"The Best of John Belushi"	August 3, 1985 (1985-08-03)
The special included material featuring John Belushi during his stint on the show. Sketches include Sam Peckinpah, Beethoven Composes 'My Girl', Beethoven Composes 'What I Say', Vito Corleone in Therapy, Samurai Deli, Wilderness Comedian, The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise, The Bee Honeymooners, Dragnet, Tomorrow with Tom Snyder, Mussolini Reenactment, Little Chocolate Donuts, Olympia Cafe, Don't Look Back In Anger, The Academy Awards, Superhero Party and Miles Cowperthwaite, Part Two: I Am Nailed to the Hull". The special also features musical numbers Belushi performs on the show: Belushi as Joe Cocker performs A Little Help From My Friends and The Blues Brothers performs "King Bee," "Soul Man," and "B-Movie Boxcar Blues".

References

1. Steele, Brian (April 26, 2015). "11 Things We Learned About Harry Shearer From His WTF Episode". IFC. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
2. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp.  124–127. ISBN   978-0-395-70895-8.
3. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp.  156–158. ISBN   978-0-395-70895-8.
4. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp.  159. ISBN   978-0-395-70895-8.
5. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp.  264. ISBN   978-0-395-70895-8.
6. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp.  160–161. ISBN   978-0-395-70895-8.
7. "Watch Saturday Night Live Highlight: Going Up - NBC.com". NBC.com. NBC . Retrieved October 26, 2021.