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Saturday Night Live

  • TV-14
  • 1975–
  • 52 seasons
  • Comedy, News
  • 6.9

Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!

A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.

Episodes

Saturday Night Live aired its seventh season during the 1981–1982 television season on NBC. The seventh season started on October 3, 1981 and ended on May 22, 1982. A total of 20 episodes were broadcast. Following the dismissal of producer Jean Doumanian and most of her cast members, the show was shut down due to the commencement of the 1981 WGA strike. Dick Ebersol, the program's developer, was hired as Doumanian's replacement. The new cast of Saturday Night Live for this season were the same ones from the episode Ebersol produced on the April 11, 1981 episode: Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky and Tony Rosato along with the Doumanian era's sole survivors Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo. Denny Dillon and Gail Matthius were fired following the April 1981 episode while Laurie Metcalf and unseen castmember Emily Prager weren't asked back to be cast members on the show. Ebersol then hired two new cast members: Mary Gross and Christine Ebersole. Both were hired to fill the gap left by Metcalf and Prager. Wanting to distance the show from its first five seasons, Ebersol cut the popular opening line Live from New York, It's Saturday Night! from the cold openings. In fact, sometimes cold openings weren't even shown and the monologues were skipped over almost entirely. These changes were not permanent, as Ebersol decided to reverse them for the eighth season.

20 episodes
  1. 1(no host)/Rod Stewart

    67 minOct 3, 1981

    Sketches include ""Our Age is Showing,"" ""The Little Richard Simmons Show,"" ""The Clams"" (film), ""Nuns on the Beach,"" ""A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney,"" ""Prose and Cons"" (film), ""The Khaddaffi Look,"" ""Ruth Deals With Rod,"" ""Andy Warhol,"" Juggling with Michael Davis, and ""Season of Glass"" (film).

  2. 2Susan Saint James/The Kinks

    67 minOct 10, 1981

    Sketches include ""McDonald & Wife,"" ""The Bizarro World,"" ""Buckwheat Sings,"" ""Skanky Fiancee,"" ""Cheap Laffs,"" and ""The Alan Alda Guide to Sensitivity."" The Kinks performed ""Destroyer"" and Christine Ebersole performed ""Single Bars and Single Women."" Also featured is an Anwar Sadat tribute film.

  3. 3George Kennedy/Miles Davis

    67 minOct 17, 1981

    Sketches include ""To Tell the Truth Gone Awry,"" ""Mister Robinson's Neighborhood #2,"" ""Velvet Jones #1,"" and ""Harry Anderson's Grappler Tricks.""

  4. 4Donald Pleasence/Fear

    67 minOct 31, 1981

    Sketches include ""Vomiting for Luck,"" ""Jogger Motel,"" ""Profiles in British Courage,"" ""Last Night I Killed My Husband"" (musical number), ""Sugar Breakfast"" and ""Andy Warhol's TV."" Fear performed ""I Don't Care About You"" and medley of ""Beef Bologna,"" ""New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones,"" and ""Let's Have A War.""

  5. 5Lauren Hutton/Rick James

    67 minNov 7, 1981

    Sketches Include: "Here's 'Cos", "Dressing Room", "Hail To The Chief", "Transeastern", "Whisper", "Cheap Laffs", "Harlequin Romances", "Reach Out", "Velvet Jones School of Technology", "Big Baser", "William Burroughs", "Bitter People"

  6. 6Bernadette Peters/The Go-Go's, Billy Joel

    67 minNov 14, 1981

  7. 7Tim Curry/Meat Loaf

    67 minDec 5, 1981

  8. 8Bill Murray/The Spinners, Yale Whiffenpoofs

    67 minDec 12, 1981

    Sketches include ""The Phone Company,"" ""Tales of the Unlikely,"" ""Washed-Up Tom Snyder,"" ""MX-5 Tampons,"" and ""The Economics of Christmas."" The Spinners perform ""I'll Be Around.""

  9. 9Robert Conrad/The Allman Brothers Band

    67 minJan 23, 1982

  10. 10John Madden/Jennifer Holliday

    67 minJan 30, 1982

  11. 11James Coburn/Lindsey Buckingham

    67 minFeb 6, 1982

  12. 12Bruce Dern/Luther Vandross

    67 minFeb 20, 1982

  13. 13Elizabeth Ashley/Hall and Oates

    67 minFeb 27, 1982

  14. 14Robert Urich/Mink DeVille

    67 minMar 20, 1982

    Sketches include ""He's No Burt Reynolds,"" ""Paul Harvey Radio News,"" ""Golden Age Obedience School,"" and ""Koala Bear Embryo."" Mink De Ville performed ""Maybe Tomorrow.""

  15. 15Blythe Danner/Rickie Lee Jones

    67 minMar 27, 1982

    Sketches include ""Lorne Greene,"" ""The New Celibacy,"" ""20/20,"" ""The Uncle Tom Show,"" ""Senior Spring Fling '82,"" ""Meet the People,"" and ""Help Out Blythe Danner."" Rickie Lee Jones performed ""Pirates"" and ""Lush Life.""

  16. 16Daniel J. Travanti/John Cougar

    67 minApr 10, 1982

    Sketches include ""Save Larry the Lobster,"" ""Whiners' Anniversary,"" ""Hill Street Blues,"" ""Too Many Ethel Mermans,"" and ""Career Corner."" John Cougar Mellencamp performed ""Hurts So Good.""

  17. 17Johnny Cash/Elton John

    67 minApr 17, 1982

    Elton John performs the John Lennon tribute ""Empty Garden."" Sketches include ""Velvet Jones"" and ""Shadows.""

  18. 18Robert Culp/The Charlie Daniels Band

    67 minApr 24, 1982

  19. 19Danny DeVito/Sparks

    67 minMay 15, 1982

    Sketches include ""Louis DePalma's Revenge,"" ""The Executive Test,"" ""The Whiners on an Airplane,"" ""Solomon and Pudge,"" ""Enzo,"" and ""Looks at Books."" Sparks performs ""Mickey Mouse."" Also, Brian Doyle-Murray interviews recently humbled actor-wrestler Andy Kaufman.

  20. 20Olivia Newton-John

    67 minMay 22, 1982

    Sketches include ""Ebony & Ivory,"" ""I Married a Monkey,"" Grease, ""Hitler In Heaven,"" and ""Ballpark Organ Favorites."" ONJ performs the hit ""Physical"" in lieu of the opening monologue.

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Series cast

Kenan ThompsonSelf - Various Characters473 episodes
Darrell HammondSelf (uncredited)295 episodes
Colin JostMarker (uncredited)267 episodes
Seth MeyersSelf - Host264 episodes
Michael CheSelf - Various Characters252 episodes
Fred ArmisenSelf - Various Characters246 episodes
Al FrankenSoldier (uncredited)217 episodes
Cecily StrongSelf214 episodes
Kate McKinnonSelf / Colleen Rafferty214 episodes
Mikey DaySelf - Various Characters213 episodes
Aidy BryantSelf - Cameo (uncredited)208 episodes
Tim MeadowsSelf - Various Characters201 episodes
Bobby MoynihanSelf - Cameo (uncredited)195 episodes
Kyle MooneySelf - Various Characters186 episodes
Maya RudolphGlenda Goodwin / Self (uncredited)179 episodes
Kevin NealonSelf - Various Characters176 episodes
Jason SudeikisChris (uncredited)176 episodes
Pete DavidsonSelf - Various Characters169 episodes

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