This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Saturday Night Live" season 21 – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Saturday Night Live
Season 21
The title card for the twenty-first season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes20
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 30, 1995 (1995-09-30) –
May 18, 1996 (1996-05-18)
Season chronology
← Previous
season 20
Next →
season 22
List of episodes

The twenty-first season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 30, 1995, and May 18, 1996.

History

The season was home to the Rage Against the Machine incident. On April 13, 1996, the band was the musical guest, and was scheduled to perform two songs. The show was hosted that night by ex-Republican presidential candidate and billionaire Steve Forbes. According to RATM guitarist Tom Morello, "RATM wanted to stand in sharp juxtaposition to a billionaire telling jokes and promoting his flat tax by making our own statement."[1] To this end, the band hung two upside-down American flags from their amplifiers. Seconds before they took the stage to perform "Bulls on Parade", SNL and NBC sent stagehands in to pull the flags down.[2] Following the removal of the flags during the first performance, the band was approached by SNL and NBC officials and ordered to immediately leave the building. Upon hearing this, bassist Tim Commerford reportedly stormed Forbes's dressing room, throwing shreds from one of the torn down flags. Morello noted that members of the Saturday Night Live cast and crew, whom he declined to name, "expressed solidarity with our actions, and a sense of shame that their show had censored the performance."[1]

Cast

Only five cast members returned to the show from the previous season: Norm Macdonald, Mark McKinney, Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon, and David Spade.[3]

Cast roster

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 21

Steve Higgins, Adam McKay, Paula Pell, Frank Sebastiano, and Colin Quinn join the writing staff.

Episodes

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		HostMusical guestOriginal air date
3871Mariel HemingwayBlues TravelerSeptember 30, 1995 (1995-09-30)

3882Chevy ChaseLisa Loeb & Nine StoriesOctober 7, 1995 (1995-10-07)

3893David SchwimmerNatalie MerchantOctober 21, 1995 (1995-10-21)

3904Gabriel ByrneAlanis MorissetteOctober 28, 1995 (1995-10-28)

3915Quentin TarantinoThe Smashing PumpkinsNovember 11, 1995 (1995-11-11)

3926Laura LeightonRancidNovember 18, 1995 (1995-11-18)

3937Anthony EdwardsFoo FightersDecember 2, 1995 (1995-12-02)

3948David Alan GrierSilverchairDecember 9, 1995 (1995-12-09)

3959Madeline KahnBushDecember 16, 1995 (1995-12-16)

  • Bush performs "Comedown" and "Glycerine".
  • Sam Waterston appears in the pre-recorded "Old Glory Insurance" sketch.
39610Christopher WalkenJoan OsborneJanuary 13, 1996 (1996-01-13)

39711Alec BaldwinTori AmosJanuary 20, 1996 (1996-01-20)

39812Danny AielloCoolioFebruary 10, 1996 (1996-02-10)

39913Tom ArnoldTupac ShakurFebruary 17, 1996 (1996-02-17)

40014Elle MacphersonStingFebruary 24, 1996 (1996-02-24)

  • Sting performs "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" and "You Still Touch Me".
  • Darrell Hammond filled in as announcer for the ailing Don Pardo.
  • No Spade in America sketch
40115John GoodmanEverclearMarch 16, 1996 (1996-03-16)

40216Phil HartmanGin BlossomsMarch 23, 1996 (1996-03-23)

  • Gin Blossoms performs "Follow You Down" and "Memphis Time".
  • Hartman impersonated Frank Sinatra.
40317Steve ForbesRage Against the MachineApril 13, 1996 (1996-04-13)

  • Rage Against the Machine performs one song, "Bulls on Parade". Their second song was cut after the band attempted to hang inverted U.S. flags from its amplifiers, protesting host Steve Forbes, a Republican presidential candidate.
  • Forbes's family appears onstage during the goodnights.
  • Fred Wolf's first episode as a cast member.
40418Teri HatcherDave Matthews BandApril 20, 1996 (1996-04-20)

  • Dave Matthews Band performs "Too Much" and "So Much to Say".
  • Sam Waterston appears in the pre-recorded "Old Glory Insurance" sketch.
  • Sketch Spade in America is performed by Teri Hatcher (as David Spade) and David Spade (as Teri Hatcher).
40519Christine BaranskiThe CureMay 11, 1996 (1996-05-11)

40620Jim CarreySoundgardenMay 18, 1996 (1996-05-18)

  • Soundgarden performs "Pretty Noose" and "Burden in My Hand".
  • First time "What Is Love" plays in the Roxbury Guys sketch as well as a third member's joining the brothers played by Jim Carrey.
  • Last episode for stage manager Joe Dicso, who had been in that position since the show's 1975 inception.
  • David Koechner, David Spade and Nancy Walls' final episode as cast members.

References

  1. ^ a b Anon., Saturday Night Live Incident, Public release and distribution. Retrieved November 12, 2007.
  2. ^ "Rage Against the Machine". The Flag Burning Page. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
  3. ^ Shales, Tom (2003). Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Back Bay. ISBN 0-316-73565-5.
Categories