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Saturday Night Live
Season 10
The title card for the tenth season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes17
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseOctober 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

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
1791(none)Thompson TwinsOctober 6, 1984 (1984-10-06)

1802Bob UeckerPeter WolfOctober 13, 1984 (1984-10-13)

1813Jesse JacksonAndrae Crouch
Wintley Phipps		October 20, 1984 (1984-10-20)

1824Michael McKeanChaka Khan
The Folksmen		November 3, 1984 (1984-11-03)

1835George CarlinFrankie Goes to HollywoodNovember 10, 1984 (1984-11-10)

1846Ed AsnerThe KinksNovember 17, 1984 (1984-11-17)

1857Ed Begley, Jr.Billy SquierDecember 1, 1984 (1984-12-01)

1868Ringo StarrHerbie HancockDecember 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.
1879Eddie MurphyThe HoneydrippersDecember 15, 1984 (1984-12-15)

18810Kathleen TurnerJohn WaiteJanuary 12, 1985 (1985-01-12)

  • John Waite performs "Saturday Night".[2]
  • Harry Shearer's final episode as a cast member.
18911Roy ScheiderBilly OceanJanuary 19, 1985 (1985-01-19)

19012Alex KarrasTina TurnerFebruary 2, 1985 (1985-02-02)

19113Harry AndersonBryan AdamsFebruary 9, 1985 (1985-02-09)

19214Pamela Sue MartinPower StationFebruary 16, 1985 (1985-02-16)

19315Mr. T
Hulk Hogan		The CommodoresMarch 30, 1985 (1985-03-30)

19416Christopher ReeveSantanaApril 6, 1985 (1985-04-06)

19517Howard CosellGreg KihnApril 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

TitleOriginal 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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.
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