Saturday Night Live season 13
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2015) |
| Saturday Night Live | |
|---|---|
| Season 13 | |
 | |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 17, 1987 – February 27, 1988 |
| Season chronology | |
The thirteenth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 17, 1987 and February 27, 1988.
Although the changes to the cast were minimal there were, however, major events that impeded the show's production. During production of the season premiere, a fire broke out near Studio 8H during dress rehearsal.
Despite plans to cancel the show for the week, Steve Martin (the episode host) pushed the cast to carry on with the show, making the Steve Martin/Sting episode the only episode without a dress rehearsal.[1]
On March 7, 1988, the Writers Guild of America went on strike, cancelling many planned episodes (and ultimately cutting the season short), including one originally planned to be hosted by original cast member Gilda Radner. (After Radner discovered that her ovarian cancer had returned by the end of 1988, she would never get the chance to host the show as she died the following May [the day of the following season's finale] from the disease.) The host for the March 12, 1988 broadcast (the first episode to be cancelled due to the strike of 1988) was never confirmed.
Cast
Minimal changes occurred before the beginning of the season. Kevin Nealon was promoted to repertory status.
Cast roster
|
Repertory players |
Featured players
|
bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Writers
New hires this season were Greg Daniels, Conan O'Brien and Bob Odenkirk.
The writers for this season included A. Whitney Brown, Tom Davis, Greg Daniels, Jim Downey, Al Franken, Jack Handey, Phil Hartman, George Meyer, Lorne Michaels, Conan O'Brien, Bob Odenkirk, Herb Sargent, David Borowitz, Rosie Shuster, Robert Smigel, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner and Christine Zander. The head writer, like the previous season, was Jim Downey.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Host | Musical guest(s) | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 234 | 1 | Steve Martin | Sting | October 17, 1987 |
| 235 | 2 | Sean Penn | LL Cool J Michael Penn | October 24, 1987 |
| 236 | 3 | Dabney Coleman | The Cars | October 31, 1987 |
| 237 | 4 | Robert Mitchum | Simply Red | November 14, 1987 |
| 238 | 5 | Candice Bergen | Cher | November 21, 1987 |
| 239 | 6 | Danny DeVito | Bryan Ferry | December 5, 1987 |
| 240 | 7 | Angie Dickinson | Buster Poindexter David Gilmour | December 12, 1987 |
| 241 | 8 | Paul Simon | Linda Ronstadt | December 19, 1987 |
| 242 | 9 | Robin Williams | James Taylor | January 23, 1988 |
| 243 | 10 | Carl Weathers | Robbie Robertson | January 30, 1988 |
| 244 | 11 | Justine Bateman | Terence Trent D'Arby | February 13, 1988 |
| 245 | 12 | Tom Hanks | Randy Travis | February 20, 1988 |
| 246 | 13 | Judge Reinhold | 10,000 Maniacs | February 27, 1988 |
Canceled episodes with booked guests
| Airdate | Host | Musical Guest | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 1988 | Gilda Radner | U2 | Gilda Radner was an original cast member. She was planned to host, but her episode was cancelled due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America Strike. She would never get a chance to host, due to her death in 1989. This episode would have marked the first time a female cast member came back to host, a milestone that didn't happen until Julia Louis-Dreyfus hosted on May 13, 2006. U2 would perform on the show on December 9, 2000. |
References
- ^ Shales, Tom; Miller, James Andrew (7 October 2002). Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live (1st ed.). Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-3167-8146-6.