Saturday Night Live (season 35)

Saturday Night Live (season 35)
The title card for the thirty-fifth season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 22
Release
Original network NBC
Original release September 26, 2009 (2009-09-26) – May 15, 2010 (2010-05-15)

The thirty-fifth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 26, 2009, and May 15, 2010.

A total of 22 episodes were broadcast during the show's eight-month-long season, which included a two-week break in February due to the 2010 Winter Olympics. The season was accompanied by three prime-time episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday and three prime-time SNL clip shows.

Prior to the start of the season, many cast changes occurred. Darrell Hammond, the last cast member from the 1990s, left the show after a record 14 seasons in the cast.[1] Featured players Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson were both let go from the show before the start of the season.[2] To fill their absence the show brought in two new featured players, Nasim Pedrad of The Groundlings and stand-up comic Jenny Slate.[3] Abby Elliott and Bobby Moynihan continued as featured players.

A notable moment of the season was when an internet campaign was created to get actress Betty White to host an episode of the show. The campaign was started in early 2010 on Facebook and the group was called "Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!" The campaign was successful, and White became the oldest person ever to host the show. For White's episode, Lorne Michaels brought back former cast members Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon. The episode garnered the show's highest ratings in over a year. with a rating of 5.8 in the 18–49 rating, demographic and with 12.1 million viewers overall.[4]

This season would also be the last for longtime cast member Will Forte, who had been with the show since 2002.[5] This would also be the only season for featured player Jenny Slate, who was let go after the season ended.[6]

Cast

Writers

Second City theater performer Mike O'Brien joins the writing staff.[7] He would join the cast for the show's thirty-ninth season. Season 35 would prove to be the final season with Lonely Island member Jorma Taccone as a credited writer. He would make contributions to select Lonely Island sketches.

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
HostMusical guestOriginal air dateRatings/
Share
6591Megan FoxU2September 26, 20094.6/11[8]

  • U2 performs "Breathe", "Moment of Surrender" and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)".
  • Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate's first episode as cast members.
  • A new opening sequence which mentions SNL's 35 years on-air debuts with this episode.
  • During the "Biker Chick Chat" sketch, Jenny Slate accidentally says, "You stood up for yourself, and I fuckin' love you for that!" Most of the sketch before and after consisted of everyone saying "Friggin'," "frickin'" or "freakin'". Slate quickly holds her breath after realizing her mistake.
  • Brian Austin Green cameoed in the Transformers Digital Short.
6602Ryan ReynoldsLady GagaOctober 3, 20094.7/12[9]

6613Drew BarrymoreRegina SpektorOctober 10, 20094.6/11[10]

6624Gerard ButlerShakiraOctober 17, 20094.8/11[11]

6635Taylor SwiftTaylor SwiftNovember 7, 20095.0/12[13]

6646January JonesThe Black Eyed PeasNovember 14, 20094.7/12[14]

6657Joseph Gordon-LevittDave Matthews BandNovember 21, 20094.3/11[15]

6668Blake LivelyRihannaDecember 5, 20094.4/12[16]

  • Rihanna performs "Russian Roulette" and "Hard" and appears in the SNL Digital Short.
  • Young Jeezy performs with Rihanna for her second song.
  • On this episode's installment of Weekend Update, Abby Elliott appears as actress-singer Brittany Murphy, following a report about Murphy's alleged firing from a recent film. This portion of Update was cut from reruns in light of Murphy's death later that month.
6679Taylor LautnerBon JoviDecember 12, 20095.1/12[17]

66810James FrancoMuseDecember 19, 20094.4/11[18]

66911Charles BarkleyAlicia KeysJanuary 9, 20104.4/19[19]

67012Sigourney WeaverThe Ting TingsJanuary 16, 20105.4/14[20]

67113Jon HammMichael BubléJanuary 30, 20105.0/12[21]

67214Ashton KutcherThem Crooked VulturesFebruary 6, 20105.3/13[22]

67315Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezFebruary 27, 20106.3/15[23]

67416Zach GalifianakisVampire WeekendMarch 6, 20105.0/12[24]

67517Jude LawPearl JamMarch 13, 20104.5/11[26]

67618Tina FeyJustin BieberApril 10, 20105.7/14[27]

67719Ryan PhillippeKe$haApril 17, 20105.2/13[29]

67820Gabourey SidibeMGMTApril 24, 20104.7/12[30]

67921Betty WhiteJay-ZMay 8, 20108.8/21[31]

68022Alec BaldwinTom Petty and the HeartbreakersMay 15, 20105.8/14[34]

  • Will Forte[35] and Jenny Slate's final episode as cast members.
  • Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performs "I Should Have Known It" and "Jefferson Jericho Blues", two songs from their 2010 album Mojo. Petty appears in the SNL Digital Short.
  • Steve Martin made a cameo appearance in the opening monologue.

Specials

TitleOriginal air date
"Saturday Night Live Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas"December 17, 2009

Holiday-themed sketches from past episodes are aired, including Adam Sandler's "The Hanukkah Song", Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg's "Dick In A Box" Digital Short, Delicious Dish and many more.

Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin make guest appearances.

Kristen Wiig hosts as her character Gilly, with Will Forte, Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynihan and Abby Elliott reprising their roles as the sketch's supporting characters.
"Saturday Night Live Presents: Sports All-Stars"January 31, 2010

Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis host the show as Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink, their recurring ESPN Classic sports announcer characters.

Sketches featuring appearances by professional athletes including: Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Charles Barkley and others are shown (most of which previously appeared in last year's SNL clip show special about sports-related sketches).
"Saturday Night Live in the 2000s: Time and Again"April 15, 2010

The special featured insight on the show during the 2000s: topics discussed include Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey as the new Weekend Update anchors after the departure of Colin Quinn, how SNL became popular for its spoofs on the 2000 United States presidential election, how the show's humor survived the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax scare, Will Ferrell's departure at the end of season 27 and the search for a replacement cast member to play George W. Bush, SNL's shaky years between seasons 28 and 30 due to Jimmy Fallon's and Horatio Sanz's cracking up on camera, Jimmy Fallon's departure from the show, Amy Poehler teaming up with Tina Fey for Weekend Update, the hiring of Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Kristen Wiig, and SNL regaining its popularity with the Digital Shorts, its return from the WGA strike of 2007–2008, the introduction of new fan-favorite hosts like Justin Timberlake and Jon Hamm, and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.

Fred Armisen, Alec Baldwin, Rachel Dratch, Abby Elliott, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Will Forte, Bill Hader, Darrell Hammond, Chris Kattan, Marci Klein, John McCain, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Tracy Morgan, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Horatio Sanz, Akiva Schaffer, Molly Shannon, Michael Shoemaker, Jason Sudeikis, Jorma Taccone, Kenan Thompson, Justin Timberlake, Christopher Walken and Kristen Wiig provided comments for the special.

Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

The second season of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, a limited-run series based on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" sketch, has aired in conjunction with this season. The show is hosted by Seth Meyers, Update's current host, and former Update co-host Amy Poehler. Like the sketch, the show is a parody of local news broadcasts and satirizes contemporary news stories and figures. As of June 2010, three episodes have aired. An additional three episodes were scheduled to air in spring 2010, but were scrapped.[36]

Episode number Original airdate Notes
Episode 1 September 17, 2009
Episode 2 September 24, 2009
Episode 3 October 1, 2009

MacGruber film

The first SNL film since 2000's The Ladies Man, MacGruber was released on May 21, 2010. The film, starring SNL cast members Will Forte and Kristen Wiig and former cast member Maya Rudolph, is based on the "MacGruber" sketches from the show. It received mixed reviews from critics and, in spite of a wide initial release, was a box office bomb. After a two-week opening commitment during which it was shown in 2,546 theaters, it was dropped from all but 177 theaters starting in its third week, a drop exceeded since 1982 only by Meet Dave and The Rocker.[37]

References

  1. "Darrell Hammond Leaving "SNL" — Hammond Retires from "Saturday Night Live"". PopCrunch. October 8, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  2. Leo, Alex (October 20, 2009). "Michaela Watkins & Casey Wilson FIRED From 'SNL'". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. Leo, Alex (October 17, 2009). "Jenny Slate & Nasim Pedrad: SNL's New Hires". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  4. Seidman, Robert (May 13, 2010). "Update: Betty White Hosting Turn on "Saturday Night Live" Averages 12.1 Million Viewers and a 4.6 Rating With Adults 18-49". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  5. Barrett, Annie (August 26, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live': Will Forte reportedly leaving on amicable terms. 'Vagisil!'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  6. Itzkoff, Dave (September 7, 2010). "'Saturday Night Live' Cast Adds Four and Loses One More". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  7. Pang, Kevin (August 14, 2009). "Second City sends another one of its own to 'Saturday Night Live'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  8. Gorman, Bill (September 28, 2009). "Saturday Night Live Premiere TV Ratings: Way Down vs. 2008 With No Sarah Palin/Tina Fey". TV By The Numbers.
  9. Gorman, Bill (October 5, 2009). "Saturday Night Live Still Really Misses Sarah Palin / Tina Fey". TV By The Numbers.
  10. Gorman, Bill (October 12, 2009). "Saturday Night Live Ratings Down A Fraction From Last Week". TV By The Numbers.
  11. Gorman, Bill (October 19, 2009). "Saturday Night Live Hits Season Highs". TV By The Numbers.
  12. Steinberg, Brian (2009-10-15). "Bud Light Golden Wheat to Be Sole Advertiser on Next 'SNL' | News – Advertising Age". Adage.com. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  13. Seidman, Robert (November 8, 2009). "Wanda Sykes Show premieres 100% better than Spike Feresten, but nowhere near SNL". TV By The Numbers. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  14. Gorman, Bill (November 16, 2009). "Saturday Night Live w/ January Jones & Black Eyed Peas Scores 4.7 Household Rating". TV By The Numbers.
  15. Gorman, Bill (November 23, 2009). "Saturday Night Live, w/ Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dave Matthews Band Scores A 4.3 Metered-Market Household Rating". TV By The Numbers.
  16. Gorman, Bill (December 7, 2009). "Saturday Night Live With Blake Lively & Rihanna Scores A 4.4 Household Rating". TV By The Numbers.
  17. Seidman, Robert (December 14, 2009). ""Saturday Night Live" Hits Season Highs With Taylor Lautner". TV By The Numbers.
  18. Gorman, Bill (December 20, 2009). "Saturday Night Live With James Franco and Muse Scores 4.4 Household Rating". TV By The Numbers.
  19. 1 2 Seidman, Robert (January 14, 2010). "Charles Barkley Leads Saturday Night Live To 10.4 Million & Best Performance In 14 Months". TV By The Numbers.
  20. Gorman, Bill (January 18, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Sigourney Weaver & The Ting Tings Scores Among The Best Ratings This Season". TV By The Numbers.
  21. Seidman, Robert (February 1, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Jon Hamm Down A Bit". TV By The Numbers.
  22. Seidman, Robert (February 8, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Ashton Kutcher Up a Bit". TV By The Numbers.
  23. Gorman, Bill (February 28, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Jennifer Lopez Second Highest Rated Of Season, Behind Only Charles Barkley's". TV By The Numbers.
  24. Seidman, Robert (March 8, 2010). "Saturday Night Live hosted by Zach Galifianakis scores a 5.0 Household Rating in Metered Markets". TV By The Numbers.
  25. "Saturday Night Live – SNL Backstage: Zach Shaves His Beard – Video". NBC.com. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  26. Seidman, Robert (March 15, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Jude Law Ratings A Bit Below Average in Preliminaries". TV By The Numbers.
  27. Seidman, Robert (April 11, 2010). "Corrected: Tina Fey Hosted "Saturday Night Live" Scores Best Ratings Since Jennifer Lopez". TV By The Numbers.
  28. 1 2 62nd Emmy Nomination List (PDF), Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences, archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2011
  29. Gorman, Bill (April 19, 2010). "Saturday Night Live With Ryan Phillippe & Ke$ha Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
  30. Seidman, Robert (April 26, 2010). ""Saturday Night Live" With Gabourey Sidibe and MGMT Ratings". TV By The Numbers.
  31. Gorman, Bill (May 9, 2010). "Betty White Scores! Saturday Night Live Sees Best Overnight Ratings In 18 Months". TV By The Numbers.
  32. "Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!". Facebook. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  33. Levin, Gary (March 12, 2010). "Live, from New York, it's ... Betty White hosting 'SNL'". USA Today. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  34. Seidman, Robert (May 16, 2010). ""Saturday Night Live" Hosted by Alec Baldwin Delivers Best Season Finale Ratings in Five Years". TV By The Numbers.
  35. Itzkoff, Dave (August 26, 2010). "Will Forte is Leaving 'Saturday Night Live'". The New York Times.
  36. Carter, Bill (May 4, 2009). "Return of 'Weekend Update Thursday". The New York Times.
  37. "Biggest Theater Drops". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.