Saturday Night Live (Season 11) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Saturday Night Live aired its eleventh season during the 1985-1986 television season on NBC. Though SNL was on the chopping block over the summer of 1985, Lorne Michaels agreed to returned to his executive producer position after a five-year absence. Michaels and NBC Vice-President Brandon Tartikoff asked NBC to bring the show back for an eleventh season so he could prove that he could revive the show, but due to a cast that wasn't experienced in comedy (that featured such now famous faces as Joan Cusack, Randy Quaid, and Robert Downey, Jr.) and a frustrated writing crew (that featured future Simpsons writers Jon Vitti, George Meyer, and John Swartzwelder), that didn't know how to write sketches for such an eclectic cast, Tartikoff planned to cancel SNL after its season finale in May 1986. Lorne Michaels, however, pleaded with Tartikoff to let the show go on, provided that Lorne find better-suited cast members for the next season. Despite these complications, "Weekend Update" returned to its original name for the first time since the 1980-1981 season, with comedian Dennis Miller as the segment's latest anchor, proving to be a highlight in a season plagued by harsh criticism, low ratings, and rumors of a possible cancellation. The season also saw the first (and so far only) time that SNL has ever had a male homosexual cast member (Terry Sweeney, who worked as a writer for Jean Doumanian's ill-fated sixth season) and a seventeen-year-old cast member (Anthony Michael Hall, who starred with Chevy Chase [who hosted this season] in the 1980s movie National Lampoon's Vacation), as well as the first (but not the last) time that SNL hired a black woman (Danitra Vance) to be a repertory player (unlike Season six's Yvonne Hudson, who was just hired as a featured player). The season started on November 9, 1985 and ended on May 24, 1986. Contents [hide] 1 Cast 1.1 Repertory cast members 1.2 Featured cast members 2 Episodes [edit] Cast [edit] Repertory cast members Joan Cusack Robert Downey, Jr. Nora Dunn Anthony Michael Hall Jon Lovitz Dennis Miller Randy Quaid Terry Sweeney Danitra Vance† [edit] Featured cast members A. Whitney Brown (First Episode: February 22, 1986) Al Franken (First Episode: March 22, 1986) Don Novello Dan Vitale Damon Wayans (Final episode: March 15, 1986) [edit] Episodes Episode Number Date Host(s) Musical Guest(s) Remarks 196 November 9, 1985 Madonna Simple Minds Joan Cusack, Nora Dunn, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Randy Quaid, Terry Sweeney, Danitra Vance, Dan Vitale and Damon Wayans's first episode as cast members Don Novello rejoins the cast after a five year hiatus. Prior to being a castmember, Terry Sweeney was a writer for Jean Doumanian's only season of SNL (season six; 1980-1981) and was featured in a sketch that year about Ronald Reagan's (Charles Rocket) birthday. The episode originally had a cold opening that only aired once where Lorne Michaels and Brandon Tartikoff issue urine tests to check the new cast members for drug use, ending with Anthony Michael Hall delivering the opening line, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" (in a bit of foreshadowing, both Robert Downey, Jr. and Anthony Michael Hall would deal with drug abuse issues in the 1990s--Downey, Jr., especially). Network executives found this to be "in bad taste" and asked for it to be cut, so all syndicated versions and reruns go straight to the opening sequence. To fill time, a dress rehearsal performance of Simple Minds' second song aired in repeats (they only performed "Alive & Kicking" in the original live show). In the original airing of this episode, the opening sequence was the paper-cut out opening with the host, cast members, feature players, and musical guests shown in between photographs of New York City. The NBC rerun and one-hour syndicated version use the

second opening, which shows a limo driving through New York City, featuring Joan Cusack staring into the limo through the windshield, Robert Downey, Jr. at a fruit stand, Nora Dunn plastering a flyer on a building, Anthony Michael Hall playing basketball, Jon Lovitz at a cafe, Dennis Miller hitching a ride on the back of a garbage truck, Randy Quaid giving an ice cream cone to a little girl, Terry Sweeney running up the stairs of a townhouse with a box in hand (and flashing a thumbs-up and a smile when he sees the camera), and Danitra Vance getting on a bicycle outside of a laundromat and waving when she notices the camera. According to the book Live from New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, in the "Pinklisting" sketch, a stage light fell in an empty pool, scaring Terry Sweeney to the point that he screamed and nearly fell out of his chair. This action was not planned (on a side note, in Live from New York..., Damon Wayans, who only appeared in the "Jones Brothers" fake commercial in this episode, was erroneously credited with telling this story). 197 November 16, 1985 Chevy Chase Sheila E 198 November 23, 1985 Pee Wee Herman Queen Ida & the Bon Temps Zydeco Band Former SNL castmember Robin Duke appears in the "Pee Wee Herman Thanksgiving Special" sketch as one of the audience members during Diana Ross's (Terry Sweeney) performance. In addition, Phil Hartman (who would later be hired as a season 12 castmember) appeared as a pilgrim in the same sketch and was credited for writing the "Pee Wee Herman Thanksgiving Special" sketch. Hartman and Herman/Reubens worked together on The Pee-wee Herman Show, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and the first season of Pee-Wee's Playhouse. 199 December 7, 1985 John Lithgow Mr. Mister This is the last episode to use the paper cut-out opening sequence. 200 December 14, 1985 Tom Hanks Sade This episode (up until the season finale hosted by Anjelica Huston and Billy Martin) uses the "limo ride through the city" opening instead of the paper cut-out opening. 201 December 21, 1985 Teri Garr Dream Academy The Cult 202 January 18, 1986 Harry Dean Stanton The Replacements The Replacements were banned from playing on the show again as some of the band members were under the influence of alcohol and lead singer Paul Westerberg yelled the "f word" during dress rehearsal. They played "Bastards of Young" and "Kiss Me On the Bus", both from the Tim album. The ban was eventually lifted, as Westerberg performed solo in Season 19. 203 January 25, 1986 Dudley Moore† Al Green The episode has a live show sketch that was only shown once about a beauty pageant for pregnant teenaged girls featuring Danitra Vance's Cabrini Green Jackson character. In reruns, the sketch is replaced with a taped sketch called Big Ball of Sports (from the previous episode hosted by Harry Dean Stanton) and a dress rehearsal sketch where Dudley Moore plays a man who dates a woman (played by Nora Dunn) who reminds him of his ex (played by Joan Cusack). 204 February 8, 1986 Ron Reagan The Nelsons According to the book Live From New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, there was a sketch cut after dress rehearsal where a two homosexual men (Terry Sweeney and Ron Reagan) are hired to redecorate a woman's (Nora Dunn) house. Dan Vitale's final episode as a cast member; he appeared in three episodes total. 205 February 15, 1986 Jerry Hall Stevie Ray Vaughan Jimmie Vaughan Mick Jagger appears in this episode's cold opening where Tommy Flanagan (Jon Lovitz) hits on the host at a bar. 206 February 22, 1986 Jay Leno The Neville Brothers A. Whitney Brown's first episode as a cast member This is Jay Leno's first appearance on an NBC comedy show years before he would be hired to host "The Tonight Show" following Johnny Carson's departure. 207 March 15, 1986 Griffin Dunne Rosanne Cash Damon Wayans, unhappy with the parts he had been getting, decided to play the minor police officer character he'd been assigned in one sketch as gay, though it did not fit the role. For this, Lorne Michaels fired him. 208 March 22, 1986 George Wendt Francis Ford Coppola Philip Glass The Philip Glass Ensemble performs "Rubric" from Glassworks and "Lightning" from Songs from Liquid Days. The show's opening theme song was replaced by "Façades," also from Glassworks. Francis Ford Coppola only appears in between sketches in a running gag throughout the episode where he, Lorne Michaels, and Terry Sweeney try to fix up SNL on the air to boost the show's sagging ratings. Al Franken rejoins the cast after a five and a half year hiatus 209 April 12, 1986 Oprah Winfrey Joe Jackson 210 April 19, 1986 Tony Danza Laurie Anderson 211 May 10, 1986 Catherine Oxenberg Paul Simon Ladysmith Black Mambazo 212 May 17, 1986 Jimmy Breslin Marvin Hagler Level 42 E.G. Daily 213 May 24, 1986 Anjelica Huston Billy Martin† George Clinton Parliament-Funkadelic Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Randy Quaid, Terry Sweeney, Don Novello and Danitra Vance's final episode as cast members, all of the cast members

were shown to trapped in a room on fire as parody of tv show cliffhangers, however Lorne is shown pulling Jon Lovitz out. Credits rolled with question marks on each name. Final appearance of Al Franken as a cast member until 10/17/1987 After having been fired from SNL, Damon Wayans returns to perform stand-up. Brandon Tartikoff, unhappy with SNL's ratings at the time, wanted this episode to be the last one, but Lorne Michaels pleaded with Tartikoff to keep the show on provided that he find a better cast. Preceded by Season 10 Saturday Night Live Season 11 Succeeded by Season 12 [show]v • d • eSaturday Night Live History 1975–1980 • 1980–1985 • 1985–1990 • 1990–1995 • 1995–2000 • 2000–2005 • 2005–Present Seasons 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 Related lists Hosts and musical guests (Five-Timers) • Compilation albums and videos • Commercials • Cast members • Writers Recurring characters and sketches Alphabetical • Chronological • By Cast Member • List of recurring Musical Sketches • Weekend Update characters • Short-lived recurring characters Sketch lists TV shows • Animal • Musical • SNL Digital Shorts • TV Funhouse episodes Sketches A Nonpartisan Message from Governor Sarah Palin & Senator Hillary Clinton • Decabet • Barry Gibb Talk Show • Bill Swerski's Superfans • The Blues Brothers • Celebrity Jeopardy! • The Chris Farley Show • Coffee Talk • The Coneheads • The Continental • The Cork Soakers • Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey • Delicious Dish • Gap Girls • Goth Talk • Happy Fun Ball • Hollywood Minute • Jeffrey's • Landshark • Larry the Lobster • Lazy Sunday • More cowbell • The Needlers • Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy • Olympia Cafe • Rialto Grande • The Schoeners • Sprockets • Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber • TV Funhouse • Wake Up and Smile • Wayne's World • Weekend Update • Z105 with Joey Mack Films based on sketches The Blues Brothers (1980) • Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1980) • Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures (1986) • Bob Roberts (1992) • Mr. Saturday Night (1992) • Wayne's World (1992) • Wayne's World 2 (1993) • Coneheads (1993) • It's Pat! (1994) • Stuart Saves His Family (1995) • A Night at the Roxbury (1998) • Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) • Office Space (1999) • Superstar (1999) • The Ladies Man (2000) • Harold (2008) • Key Party (TBD) Characters Adult Students • Bill Brasky • The Bloder Brothers • The Boston Teens • Canteen Boy • Carol • The Church Lady • Debbie Downer • Ed Grimley • Emily Litella • Father Guido Sarducci • Hanukkah Harry • Hans and Franz • Judy Grimes • Lisa Loopner • Lovers • Mango • Mary Katherine Gallagher • Master Thespian • Matt Foley • Merv the Perv • Nick The Lounge Singer • Pat • Roseanne Roseannadanna • Samurai Futaba • The Spartan Cheerleaders • Stuart Smalley • Toonces the Driving Cat • Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer • Velvet Jones • The Whiners Related topics Lorne Michaels • "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" • Dick Ebersol • Don Pardo • Frank Oz • "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead" • Jean Doumanian • Jim Henson • Mel Brandt • Saturday Night Live Band • Strategery • Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live_(Season_11)" Category: Saturday Night Live seasons