History of Saturday Night Live (2005–2010)

This article is about the history of "Saturday Night Live" from 2005-2010.

2005-2006 season

"Saturday Night Live" promised changes for the 2005-2006 season, one of which was broadcasting in high-definition. Lorne Michaels added three new featured players: Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig, plus Jason Sudeikis, who was added for the last three episodes of the previous season. Hader became popular for his impersonation of Vincent Price in various "Variety Vault" sketches. Samberg gained notoriety for creating multiple "SNL Digital Shorts," the most popular being "Lazy Sunday". Wiig, who first appeared when Jason Lee hosted, gained popularity with impersonations of Felicity Huffman and Megan Mullally, and creating memorable characters such as the Female A-Hole and Target Lady.

Leaving after the 2006 season were Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey, who had committed to working on her new sitcom "30 Rock", as well as Horatio Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, and Chris Parnell.

Opening montage

The opening montage for the 2005 season was identical to that of the 2004 season, except for several minor variations: the names of new cast members were shown, the names displayed in a different font. It also began broadcasting in widescreen and high definition.

Bumper format

The 2005-2006 commercial bumper formats featured a picture of the host in a white back ground, with the logo saying "Saturday Night Live", or just "SNL".

Cast

*Fred Armisen
*Rachel Dratch
*Tina Fey
*Will Forte
*Darrell Hammond
*Seth Meyers
*Finesse Mitchell
*Chris Parnell
*Amy Poehler
*Maya Rudolph
*Horatio Sanz
*Kenan Thompson"Featuring"
*Bill Hader
*Andy Samberg
*Jason Sudeikis
*Kristen Wiig (first episode: November 12, 2005)

Notes

* Tina Fey, absent on maternity leave for the first several episodes, returns for the Catherine Zeta-Jones/Franz Ferdinand episode. Maya Rudolph is also absent on maternity leave for several episodes, and returns for the Steve Martin/Prince episode. Rudolph then takes a second hiatus before the end of the season for undisclosed reasons.
* With the March 11, 2006 broadcast, Tina Fey surpasses Dennis Miller as "SNL"'s longest-tenured Weekend Update anchorperson.
* Thompson and Mitchell are upgraded to contract players.
* Hader and Samberg are added to the cast as featured players. Kristen Wiig is added to the cast in November.
* Beginning in 2005 the show is being broadcast in high definition television, letterbox format.
* Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg's "Lazy Sunday" skit is featured in an episode hosted by Jack Black. It quickly becomes an internet phenomenon.
* Due to the budget problems, Lorne Michaels was forced to cancel a March episode, leaving this season only nineteen episodes instead of the usual twenty.

2006-2007 season

Opening montage

The opening montage introduced on the 32nd season premiere involved the cast on a roof-top party in New York City. It was a completely new production from the previous montage, featuring a completely new logo and VTR. The font was in a plain greyish colour with bold lettering, where each word is progressively larger than the last in both the title and cast credits, with footage of New York City in the background. The musical guest and host's pictures are simply seen over top of the background footage instead of inserted onto a billboard like the previous season.

With the Jaime Pressly episode airing on October 7, 2006, the montage was changed slightly to include an "SNL" logo changed to a design and typeface identical to the 1981-1985 "SNL" logo. The pictures of the host and musical guest were placed over the entire screen, instead of over the New York City footage. This new montage was also used for the rerun for the Dane Cook/The Killers episode, replacing the originally-aired one.

Also changing for the October 14, 2006 repeat was the logo. The logo kept the same look, but condensed to look thinner, and to fit wide screen.

Bumper Format

The commercial bumpers featured the host and musical guest in a solid color background, that featured many colors. The logo usually featured the current logo of "Saturday Night Live", or bold lettering of "SNL".

Cast changes

"SNL" had a smaller cast in the 2006-2007 season due to “massive budget cuts” at NBC. [http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6355566.html?display=Breaking+News SNL Cast To Shrink] , a July 2006 article from "Broadcasting & Cable"] Lorne Michaels told members of the Television Critics Association that cutting staff was chosen over reducing from 20 the number of original episodes produced. In an interview with the NY Post, Lorne Michaels said the new season will be one of the few that does not feature a new cast member, and he specifically hired a large cast for the 2005-2006 season knowing that budget cuts were around the corner. A separate announcement confirmed the departure of Tina Fey, who left to focus on "30 Rock", a new show she created for Broadway Video which is part of NBC's 2006-7 schedule. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205128,00.html Tina Fey Leaving 'Saturday Night Live' for Prime-Time Comedy Show] , a July 2006 Associated Press article via Fox News] Rachel Dratch, one of the stars in "30 Rock", also didn't return. [ [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/15101453.htm Fey, Dratch leaving "SNL" for "30 Rock"] , a July 2006 Associated Press article via the "San Jose Mercury News" website]

According to an August 22, 2006 story in the "New York Post", four cast members besides Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch would be let go and no new ones will be hired.cite news|first=Don|last=Kaplan|title=All Eyes on 'SNL'—Again: Auditions Next Week|url= http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/all_eyes_on_snl___again_entertainment_don_kaplan.htm|work=New York Post|date=2006-08-22|accessdate =2006-08-22] However, the actual number turned out to be three. Several reports published during the summer claimed that Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, and Kenan Thompson would be among the departing cast members. Sanz's decision was reportedly based upon his not receiving the Weekend Update anchor position.cite web|date=September 19, 2006|url=http://alivefromnewyork.blogspot.com/2006/09/funny-short-people.html|title=Funny Short People|publisher=blogspot.com|accessdate=2006-09-20] Thompson ended up returning. Chris Parnell confirmed the departure of himself and Finesse Mitchell to a fan after performing in a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade theatre.

It was rumored that Jason Sudeikis would be sole anchor of Weekend Update; however, Amy Poehler retained her place at the Update Desk, and Seth Meyers took over Tina Fey's old position.

Amy Poehler announced on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" that Seth Meyers would replace Tina Fey as co-anchor on Weekend Update. This was rumored two years ago when Seth would take over the newsdesk when Jimmy Fallon left "SNL" altogether. [cite web|last=Asuiello|first=Michael|date=August 30, 2006|url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ausiello/AskAusiello/default.htm?rmDate=08302006|title=Ask Ausiello, August 30th, 2006|work=TVGuide.com|publisher=News Corporation|accessdate=2006-09-01]

Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Jason Sudeikis were all were promoted to repertory players at the beginning of their second season (the third for Sudeikis including his role as a featured member), which is not usual for featured players.

The final cast list included just 11 members, the lowest number since the 1997-1998 season.

Cast

*Fred Armisen
*Will Forte
*Bill Hader
*Darrell Hammond
*Seth Meyers
*Amy Poehler
*Maya Rudolph
*Andy Samberg
*Jason Sudeikis
*Kenan Thompson
*Kristen Wiig

Notes

* Seth Meyers shares head writer status with Paula Pell and Andrew Steele (writer). Due to this position, like Fey before him, he appears rarely on the show outside of "Weekend Update", but is credited as a repertory player. Pell returned to the show after her failed attempt at creating a sitcom, "Thick and Thin", went unaired.

2007-2008 season

The 2007-2008 season of "Saturday Night Live" began on September 29, 2007 with LeBron James hosting the episode and musical guest Kanye West. Production was abruptly suspended due to the 2007 Writer's Strike, after only four episodes were produced.The show's first episode after the writers' strike was aired on February 23, 2008, with former head writer Tina Fey as host. [cite web|url=http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/tina-fey-to-host-first-post-strike-episode-of-snl/|date=February 12, 2008|title=Tina Fey To Host First Post-Strike Episode of ‘SNL’|publisher=New York Times]

Opening montage

The opening montage for the 2007-2008 season was identical to that of the previous season, though the artwork for the host and musical guest is now a black and white portrait.

Bumper Format

Instead of featuring a solid color background, the background colors for the bumpers were usually white. There were rare occasions of the background being black, or gray. The logo was the same as last season, either featuring the full current logo, "Saturday Night Live", or featuring a bold lettering of "SNL". The logos featured different colors.

Cast

*Fred Armisen
*Will Forte
*Bill Hader
*Darrell Hammond
*Seth Meyers
*Amy Poehler
*Maya Rudolph (final episode: November 3, 2007)
*Andy Samberg
*Jason Sudeikis
*Kenan Thompson
*Kristen Wiig

"Featuring"
*Casey Wilson (first episode: February 23, 2008)

Notes

* The first four episodes feature the same cast as Season 32. When the show returned in 2008, Maya Rudolph is replaced with Casey Wilson.
* A special clip show episode entitled "SNL Family Thanksgiving Leftovers" airs on November 24, 2007, and features a compilation of previously-aired sketches from earlier Thanksgiving episodes throughout SNL's 33-year history. The special opens with a sketch in which Debbie Downer (Rachel Dratch) disrupts this holiday's dinner in her usual pessimistic manner, and Paul Simon reluctantly opens the show - from a previous SNL hosting - dressed in a turkey costume. Special includes guest appearances by Ed Asner, Julianna Margulies, Brittany Murphy, Gwyneth Paltrow, George Wendt, Luke Wilson, and Macauley and Kieran Culkin. The earliest of these sketches aired November 18, 1978 featuring The Loud Family (played by Bill Murray, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner and guest-host Carrie Fisher), a hilariously loud-speaking group whose daughters (Radner and Fisher) double-date with characters portrayed by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, Garrett Morris playing a policeman.
*At its annual fall schedule presentation on April 2, 2008, NBC revealed it would air three half-hour episodes of "SNL Thursday Night Live", a presidential election-themed Weekend Update special, on Thursdays starting October 16, 2008. [Philpot, Robert. [http://www.star-telegram.com/television/story/561627.html "NBC releases lineup far in advance"] , "Fort Worth Star-Telegram", April 3, 2008. Accessed April 4, 2008. ]
* Amy Poehler was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show.

2008-2009 season

The 2008-2009 season of "Saturday Night Live" began September 13, 2008 with host Michael Phelps and musical guest Lil' Wayne.

Opening montage

The opening montage appears mostly unchanged, however the "SNL" logo and the cast credits appear smaller to fit into the 4:3 "safe area". In the second episode of the season, the video for Casey Wilson's credit was changed. In the fourth episode, the show went back to being shown in letterbox.

Bumper Format

The bumpers now have variously colored backdrops instead of the plain white from last season, and the "SNL" logo is being moved into the 4:3 "safe area".

Cast

*Fred Armisen
*Will Forte
*Bill Hader
*Darrell Hammond
*Seth Meyers
*Amy Poehler (last expected episode: November 1, 2008)
*Andy Samberg
*Jason Sudeikis
*Kenan Thompson
*Kristen Wiig

"Featuring"
*Bobby Moynihan
*Casey Wilson

Notes

* This season will have 22 episodes instead of the usual 20. This is being done to make up for season 33. This is the first time this has been done since the second season.
*Amy Poehler will be starring in The Untitled Office Spin-Off in 2009 and expects her first child in late fall. She will not be returning after the birth of her child.

References