The Whiners

The Whiners were recurring characters on Saturday Night Live, from 1982 to 1984. Joe Piscopo, playing Doug Whiner, and Robin Duke, playing Wendy Whiner, spoke all their lines in a whining, nasal tone, hence, a double meaning of their name. They both claimed to suffer from diverticulitis, and neither would eat anything but macaroni and cheese.

In 1998, writer Stanley Ribbles, in a Turner-Allan magazine article, said this of "The Whiners":

“

We weren't thinking, 'Hey, let's make characters that our audience is going to despise.' But we did like Joe [Piscopo] a lot, and we wanted to give him more air-time.... At the end of the night, you have the options of staying up or going to bed. We had a glass of milk and watched television.

”

List of SNL Episodes Featuring The Whiners

• "Whiners Anniversary" April 10, 1982 host: Daniel J. Travanti
• "The Whiners on a Plane" May 15, 1982 host: Danny DeVito
• "The Whiners at the Doctor" October 9, 1982 host: Ron Howard
• "Whiners Adoption" November 20, 1982 host: Drew Barrymore
• "The Whiners Taken Hostage" January 29, 1983 hosts: Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas
• "The Whiners in the Hospital" February 5, 1983 host: Sid Caesar
• "The Whiners at SNL" April 9, 1983 host: Joan Rivers
• "Whiner in the War" May 14, 1983 host: Ed Koch
• "Whiner Show Ideas" October 8, 1983 host: Brandon Tartikoff
• "2 On The Town" May 5, 1984 host: Barry Bostwick

See also

• Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches