December 13, 1997 Season 23 episode
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| Episode | 435 |
| Season Episode | 9 |
| Host | Helen Hunt |
| Musical Guest(s) | Hanson |
| Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s) |
"MMMBop" "Merry Christmas Baby" |
| Previous Episode December 6, 1997 |
Next Episode January 10, 1998 |
The ninth episode of Season 23 and the 435th episode of Saturday Night Live premiered on December 13, 1997, hosted by actress Helen Hunt, star of the NBC's hit sitcom Mad About You and the 1997 romantic comedy-drama film As Good as It Gets, with musical guest Hanson, a pop rock band. Hanson made their only musical guest appearance, and this is the 2nd and last hosting stint for Helen Hunt on SNL.
This was Norm Macdonald's final episode as Weekend Update anchor. Macdonald (who had anchored Weekend Update since 1994), was fired from Update after 3½ years.
He did return to the show for the next episode, as NBC wanted him to just do sketches, but Norm left the show altogether just a few episodes later.
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
- Jim Breuer
- Will Ferrell
- Ana Gasteyer
- Darrell Hammond
- Chris Kattan
- Norm Macdonald
- Tim Meadows
- Tracy Morgan†
- Cheri Oteri
- Colin Quinn
- Molly Shannon
† Credited, but did not appear in this episode
Cameos by Hunt's As Good as It Gets co-star Jack Nicholson, Pedro Borbón Jr., Marty Cordova, Russ Davis, Jeff Fassero, Cliff Floyd, Mark Grudzielanek, David Howard, Todd Hundley, Gregg Jefferies, Scott Rolen, Mike Sweeney, Rondell White, Gerald Williams, Mark Wohlers and Todd Zeile
Sketches and Music Performances[]
Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Caroling with the Culps Cold Open | Marty (Will Ferrell) and Bobbie Mohan-Culp (Ana Gasteyer) go Christmas caroling with Senor Franklin (Tim Meadows) and Connie Davenport (Helen Hunt). | |
| Opening montage | ||
| Monologue by Helen Hunt | The cast inundates Helen Hunt with their poor Jack Nicholson impressions, until Nicholson himself appears to tell them “The truth” about their impressions, as she returned to host SNL for the second and last time. | |
| Cookie Dough Sport | Repeat from October 4, 1997. | |
| The Delicious Dish | Margaret Jo McCullen (Ana Gasteyer) and Teri Rialto (Molly Shannon) mistakenly think themselves drunk while drinking eggnog, then welcome gingerbread expert Gertrude Mintz (Helen Hunt) to the show. | |
| Saturday TV Funhouse: Fun with Real Radio | In Rob Smigel’s “Fun with Real Audio”, Jesus struggles to find a modern-day example of good will during Christmas. | |
| The Ladies' Man | Ladies Man Leon Phelps (Tim Meadows) prepares to enjoy the holidays with Charlene (Helen Hunt). | |
| Baseball Dreams | Debaucherously baseball players Todd Hundley, Scott Rolen, Mark Wohlers, Marty Cordova, Jeff Fassero, Gregg Jefferies, Mark Grudzielanek, Rondell White, Todd Zeile, Russ Davis, Cliff Floyd, David Howard, Mike Sweeney, and Gerald Williams pop out of a young boy’s (Chris Kattan) bedroom closet to inspire him to pursue his dream of becoming a ballplayer. | |
| Hanson performs "MMMBop" | ||
| Weekend Update with Norm Macdonald | Drunken Colin Quinn gets sidetracked and angered by Norm Macdonald during his commentary on the International Monetary Fund. This is Norm Macdonald’s final appearance as a Weekend Update anchor. | |
| The Roxbury Guys | Roxbury Guys, Steve (Will Ferrell) and Doug Butabi (Chris Kattan) visit a counselor (Helen Hunt) after striking out at their favorite nightclub. | |
| Joan Rivers' 1997 Fashion Wrap-Up | Skeletal Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers (Cheri Oteri), Issac Mizrahi (Darrell Hammond) and Jodie Foster (Helen Hunt) rate the year’s worst celebrity fashions. | |
| A Burt Reynolds Christmas | Burt Reynolds’ (Norm Macdonald) Christmas special features Jerry Reed (Will Ferrell) and lots of loose hijinks. | |
| A Message From Bill Gates | Lonely computer mogul Bill Gates (Chris Kattan) announces the recent merger between Microsoft and Christmas. | |
| Torturing Hanson | Seeking revenge on the Hanson Brothers, a pair of torturers (Helen Hunt, Will Ferrell) trap them in an elevator and force them to listen to their own music. | |
| Band Shot | ||
| Hanson performs "Merry Christmas Baby" | ||
| Goodnights and Closing Credits | Helen Hunt, Jack Nicholson, and the cast and crew wave good night from the Rockefeller Center skating rink. She thanked Jack Nicholson, Hanson, all the ball players, the brilliant cast, writers and Lorne; she wished everyone "Merry Christmas", "Happy Hanukkah" and "New Years". |
Trivia[]
- Longtime writer/Weekend Update producer Jim Downey is also fired from Update alongside Norm, however, Downey is credited as a regular writer until the end of this season.
| Preceded by: December 6, 1997 |
Saturday Night Live episode | Followed by: January 10, 1998 |