Season 8 is the eighth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 25, 1982, and May 14, 1983. The season premiered on September 25, 1982 on NBC with original (and former) cast member Chevy Chase as the host, and musical guests Queen, and ended on May 14, 1983, with host Mayor Ed Koch, and musical guests Kevin Rowland & Dexy's Midnight Runners.
Format changes[]
For the season, Dick Ebersol brought back the show's opening phrase "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night", the monologues by the hosts and Don Pardo returns as announcer. Ebersol also changed Weekend Update's name for the second time, to Saturday Night News. Since Brian Doyle-Murray and Christine Ebersole had both been dropped, a new anchor was needed for the segment. Brad Hall got the gig and became the new anchor.
Notable moments[]
Notable moments of this season included Drew Barrymore hosting the show—the youngest ever person to host.[4] During the episode, the audience at home was given the chance to vote on whether or not Andy Kaufman should be banned from the show.[5] The vote was conducted by a 1-900 number. At the end of the show the people had spoken, and Kaufman was banned from ever performing on SNL again.
With the release of the film 48 Hrs. during season eight, Eddie Murphy's star began to eclipse the other cast members.[6] Murphy's co-star in the film, Nick Nolte, was scheduled to host the show, but canceled at the last minute. Ebersol offered Murphy the chance to host, a move that Piscopo would perceive as a major slight.[7] Piscopo would later claim that Ebersol used Murphy's success to divide the two erstwhile friends and play them against one another.[8]
Cast Changes[]
Before the start of the season, Brian Doyle-Murray, Christine Ebersole and Tony Rosato we're dropped from the show. To fill the void, Dick Ebersol went to The Second City to look for performers; however, Second City was tired of losing their talent to network shows and instead directed him to The Practical Theatre Company, where Ebersol discovered Brad Hall, Gary Kroeger and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (the former two would eventually become married). The three were hired to the SNL cast on the spot.
Following the finale, there were no changes had made to the cast, and everyone returned for the next following season.
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
Births[]
- Michael Che (May 19, 1983)
- Heidi Gardner (July 27, 1983)
Opening montage[]
S8
Opening sequence. Don Pardo returns as announcer, after a one-year hiatus, and would remain in the role until his death in 2014.
Trivia[]
- Eddie Murphy became the first, and so far only, cast member to host while still within in principal cast.
- His 48 Hours co-star, Nick Nolte was supposed to host his episode but dropped out midweek.
- Drew Barrymore became SNL's youngest host at age seven.
- Andy Kaufman was banned from SNL forever due to a 1-900 vote by audience members.
- This is the first time the band Queen performed on American television.
| Preceded by: Season 7 |
Season 8 (1982— 1983) |
Followed by: Season 9 |
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