| Saturday Night Live | |
|---|---|
| Season 8 | |
 | |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 25, 1982 – May 14, 1983 |
| Season chronology | |
The eighth season of Saturday Night Live , an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 25, 1982, and May 14, 1983.
For the season, Dick Ebersol brought back the show's opening phrase "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" and the monologues by the hosts. Ebersol also changed Weekend Update's name for the second time, to Saturday Night News. [1] Since Brian Doyle-Murray and Christine Ebersole had both been dropped, [2] a new anchor was needed for the segment. Brad Hall got the gig and became the new anchor. [3]
Notable moments of this season included Drew Barrymore hosting the show—the youngest ever person to host. [4] During the episode, the audience at home was given the chance to vote on whether or not Andy Kaufman should be banned from the show. [5] The vote was conducted by a 1-900 number. At the end of the show, Kaufman was banned from ever performing on SNL again.
Another notable moment was when Eddie Murphy hosted the show. Murphy substituted for his 48 Hours co-star Nick Nolte. [6] Murphy became the only person to have hosted the show while still a cast member. He announced "Live from New York, it's the Eddie Murphy Show!"
Before the start of the season, Brian Doyle-Murray, Christine Ebersole and Tony Rosato were dropped from the cast. To fill the void, Dick Ebersol went to The Second City to look for performers; however, Second City was tired of losing their talent to network shows and instead directed him to The Practical Theatre Company, [7] where Ebersol discovered Brad Hall, Gary Kroeger and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The three were hired to the SNL cast on the spot. [8] [7] [9]
Repertory players
bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Before the season, Paul Barrosse was added as a writer. [9]
This season's writers were Paul Barrosse, Barry W. Blaustein, Robin Duke, Ellen L. Fogle, Nate Herman, Tim Kazurinsky, Andy Kurtzman, Eddie Murphy, Pamela Norris, Margaret Oberman, Joe Piscopo, David Sheffield, Andrew Smith, Bob Tischler, Tracy Tormé and Eliot Wald. The head writers were Bob Tischler and Andrew Smith.
| No. overall | No. in season | Host(s) | Musical guest(s) | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 140 | 1 | Chevy Chase | Queen | September 25, 1982 | |
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| 141 | 2 | Louis Gossett Jr. | George Thorogood & the Destroyers | October 2, 1982 | |
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| 142 | 3 | Ron Howard | The Clash | October 9, 1982 | |
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| 143 | 4 | Howard Hesseman | Men at Work | October 23, 1982 | |
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| 144 | 5 | Michael Keaton | The New Joe Jackson Band | October 30, 1982 | |
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| 145 | 6 | Robert Blake | Kenny Loggins | November 13, 1982 | |
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| 146 | 7 | Drew Barrymore | Squeeze | November 20, 1982 | |
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| 147 | 8 | The Smothers Brothers | Laura Branigan | December 4, 1982 | |
| 148 | 9 | Eddie Murphy | Lionel Richie | December 11, 1982 | |
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| 149 | 10 | Lily Tomlin | Tomlin as Purvis Hawkins | January 22, 1983 | |
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| 150 | 11 | Rick Moranis Dave Thomas | The BusBoys | January 29, 1983 | |
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| 151 | 12 | Sid Caesar | Joe Cocker Jennifer Warnes | February 5, 1983 | |
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| 152 | 13 | Howard Hesseman | Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers | February 19, 1983 | |
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| 153 | 14 | Beau Bridges Jeff Bridges | Randy Newman | February 26, 1983 | |
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| 154 | 15 | Bruce Dern | Leon Redbone | March 12, 1983 | |
| 155 | 16 | Robert Guillaume | Duran Duran | March 19, 1983 | |
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| 156 | 17 | Joan Rivers | Musical Youth | April 9, 1983 | |
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| 157 | 18 | Susan Saint James | Michael McDonald | April 16, 1983 | |
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| 158 | 19 | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | May 7, 1983 | |
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| 159 | 20 | Ed Koch | Kevin Rowland Dexys Midnight Runners | May 14, 1983 | |
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Timothy James Kazurinsky is an American actor and screenwriter best known as a cast member and writer on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the Police Academy films.
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