Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 1995–96

The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced between September 30, 1995, and May 18, 1996, the twenty-first season of SNL.

Get Off The Shed!

A Will Ferrell and David Koechner and Nancy Walls sketch. Ferrell plays a dad hosting a barbecue who, although friendly most of the time, threatens his kids whenever they start climbing on his shed. Debuted September 30, 1995.

Leg Up

Molly Shannon impersonates Ann Miller and Cheri Oteri impersonates Debbie Reynolds, hosting a faux show about dancers.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	September 30, 1995	Mariel Hemingway	Elizabeth Berkley (Mariel Hemingway) is the guest.
21	November 11, 1995	Quentin Tarantino	Quentin Tarantino plays himself as the guest.
21	December 16, 1995	Madeline Kahn	Ludmilla Veshenkova (Madeline Kahn) is the guest.
21	March 23, 1996	Phil Hartman	Frank Sinatra (Phil Hartman) is the guest.

Nightline

A parody of the late-night news program Nightline, with Darrell Hammond impersonating its host Ted Koppel.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host
21	September 30, 1995	Mariel Hemingway
21	December 2, 1995	Anthony Edwards
21	December 9, 1995	David Alan Grier
21	January 20, 1996	Alec Baldwin
21	April 13, 1996	Steve Forbes
21	May 18, 1996	Jim Carrey
22	February 15, 1997	Chevy Chase
22	April 12, 1997	Rob Lowe
22	May 17, 1997	Jeff Goldblum
23	November 22, 1997	Rudy Giuliani
25	February 19, 2000	Ben Affleck
29	February 7, 2004	Megan Mullally
29	March 6, 2004	Colin Firth

Spade in America

David Spade's Season 21 segment where he gives his thoughts, guest interviews, and Hollywood Minute jokes. Makes up fifteen of his nineteen sketch appearances in 95-96.

Episode	Host	Notes
September 30, 1995	Mariel Hemingway	David Spade makes snide comments about the Unabomber and no-show musical guest, Prince.
October 7, 1995	Chevy Chase	David Spade comments on the decline of popular music.
October 21, 1995	David Schwimmer	Jennifer Aniston is nonplussed by David Spade's Hollywood Minute style jokes about "Friends."
October 28, 1995	Gabriel Byrne	David Spade delivers a taped report from the World Series.
November 11, 1995	Quentin Tarantino	David Spade introduces Robert Hegyes to Quentin Tarantino with the hopes of launching a film career for John Travolta's former sitcom co-star.
November 18, 1995	Laura Leighton	Sean Penn agrees to an interview with David Spade as long as he can give the "SNL" star a tattoo.
December 2, 1995	Anthony Edwards	David Spade re-enacts a Thanksgiving barroom encounter with his father.
December 9, 1995	David Alan Grier	David Spade gives a year-in-review Hollywood Minute.
December 16, 1995	Madeline Kahn	David Spade unveils his wish list for 1996.
January 13, 1996	Christopher Walken	Christopher Walken mans the desk so David Spade can deliver a live outdoor remote at the scene of the blizzard, but technical problems result in David Spade never realizing he's on the air as he makes fun of Christopher Walken and the cast of "Saturday Night Live."
February 10, 1996	Danny Aiello	Special guest Newt Gingrich (Chris Farley) delivers a desperate plug for "Black Sheep."
March 23, 1996	Phil Hartman	David Spade delivers a movie-oriented Hollywood Minute.
April 20, 1996	Teri Hatcher	David Spade (Teri Hatcher) and Teri Hatcher (David Spade) insult one another's careers.
May 11, 1996	Christine Baranski	David Spade's biggest fans, Lucien (David Koechner) and Fagin (Mark McKinney), spend the day with him.
May 18, 1996	Jim Carrey	David Spade pokes fun at the new cast, then looks back on his favorite moments from the "Hollywood Minute."

Mickey The Dyke

A Cheri Oteri sketch. Debuted September 30, 1995.

Rita DelVecchio

Rita DelVecchio (Cheri Oteri) is a grouchy, sharp tongued, Italian-American, Brooklyn housewife. Rita hates it when the neighborhood kids's toys wind up landing in her front yard, so she claims the item saying that it's "hers now, I keep it!" and tells the kids to go away. Other times Rita tries to one-up any of her neighbors when it comes to things like the who has the best decorated front lawn on Christmas, or who has the better car, etc.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host
21	October 21, 1995	David Schwimmer
21	January 13, 1996	Christopher Walken
21	April 13, 1996	Steve Forbes
22	October 26, 1996	Dana Carvey
22	December 14, 1996	Rosie O'Donnell
23	September 27, 1997	Sylvester Stallone
23	November 22, 1997	Rudy Giuliani

Mary Katherine Gallagher

A Molly Shannon sketch. Debuted October 28, 1995.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	October 28, 1995	Gabriel Byrne	Mary auditions for a school play.
21	December 2, 1995	Anthony Edwards	Mary makes a toast at a wedding.
21	January 13, 1996	Christopher Walken	Mary visits the guidance counselor.
21	February 24, 1996	Elle Macpherson	Mary competes in a beauty contest.
21	April 20, 1996	Teri Hatcher	Mary crashes a West Side Story rehearsal.
22	October 5, 1996	Lisa Kudrow	Mary is a contestant on Singled Out.
22	November 16, 1996	Robert Downey Jr.	Mary plays Seven Minutes in Heaven.
22	December 14, 1996	Rosie O'Donnell	Mary performs at a Christmas concert.
22	February 22, 1997	Alec Baldwin	Mary meets Tina Turner.
22	March 22, 1997	Mike Myers	Mary auditions for an Aerosmith video.
22	May 17, 1997	Jeff Goldblum	Mary bonds with a popular teacher.
23	October 25, 1997	Chris Farley	Mary attends a school dance.
23	November 22, 1997	Rudy Giuliani	Mary competes in a spelling bee.
23	March 7, 1998	Scott Wolf	Mary trains at a TGI Fridays.
24	November 21, 1998	Jennifer Love Hewitt	Mary auditions to be a deodorant spokesperson.
24	February 6, 1999	Gwyneth Paltrow	Mary tries to join a gang at school.
25	October 2, 1999	Jerry Seinfeld	Mary tries to woo a Jewish basketball player.
26	February 17, 2001	Sean Hayes	Mary sings School's Out.
32	May 12, 2007	Molly Shannon	Mary crashes American Idol.

The Spartan Cheerleaders

Although they did not make the East Lake High School Spartan cheerleading squad, Craig (Will Ferrell) and Arianna (Cheri Oteri) decide to cheer anyway, showing up at events where they were not wanted. Debuted November 11, 1995.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	November 11, 1995	Quentin Tarantino	Football Game
21	December 16, 1995	Madeline Kahn	Basketball Game
21	January 20, 1996	Alec Baldwin	Chess Tournament
21	February 24, 1996	Elle Macpherson	Swim Meet
21	April 20, 1996	Teri Hatcher	Math Competition
21	May 18, 1996	Jim Carrey	Wrestling Tournament
22	September 28, 1996	Tom Hanks	Ping-Pong Tournament
22	November 16, 1996	Robert Downey Jr.	Bowling Tournament
22	December 14, 1996	Rosie O'Donnell	Hickory Farms
22	February 8, 1997	Neve Campbell	Sidney's Party
22	April 19, 1997	Pamela Anderson	Baywatch
23	October 4, 1997	Matthew Perry	Practice
23	December 6, 1997	Nathan Lane	Spartans Dream
23	March 7, 1998	Scott Wolf	East Lake Cinema
23	May 9, 1998	David Duchovny	Cheerleading Camp
24	November 21, 1998	Jennifer Love Hewitt	Maternity Ward
25	December 4, 1999	Christina Ricci	Holiday Parade

Stan Hooper

A Norm Macdonald sketch. Debuted November 11, 1995.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	November 11, 1995	Quentin Tarantino	Stan appears on Clara Turley's Bible Challenge.
21	November 18, 1995	Laura Leighton	Stan goes to a psychic (Laura Leighton).
21	February 24, 1996	Elle Macpherson	Stan emerges from a coma and meets his sister (Elle Macpherson).
21	April 13, 1996	Steve Forbes	Stan appears on Seattle Today as a courtroom sketch artist.

The British Fops

The British Fops, or Lucien Callow (Mark McKinney) and Fagan (David Koechner) appeared in several episodes during SNL's 1995-1996 season. The characters first appeared on "Weekend Update" as the presidents of the Norm Macdonald fanclub, but later appeared in several other sketches, namely monologues. The Fops would appear in late restoration period clothing, and used a silly take on the period's language, mannerisms, and culture, not sparing the subsequent perversion also known for the time. Debuted November 11, 1995.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host
21	November 11, 1995	Quentin Tarantino
21	November 18, 1995	Laura Leighton
21	December 16, 1995	Madeline Kahn
21	January 20, 1996	Alec Baldwin
21	February 24, 1996	Elle Macpherson
21	May 11, 1996	Christine Baranski

Joe Blow

Joe Blow was played by Colin Quinn. A blue collar worker by trade, Blow came onto Weekend Update as a New York public service to deliver local news from Brooklyn, New York. Most of his "news" included family problems and neighborhood gossip. Joe Blow regularly concluded his commentary by asking anchor Norm Macdonald if he would join him for "a beer", which Macdonald (who clearly did not want to socialize with him) would avoid by making up an excuse, or putting it off until a later date. Debuted November 18, 1995.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	November 18, 1995	Laura Leighton
21	January 20, 1996	Alec Baldwin
21	February 17, 1996	Tom Arnold
21	April 20, 1996	Teri Hatcher	The Local News
22	October 26, 1996	Dana Carvey
22	December 14, 1996	Rosie O'Donnell	The Local News
23	November 15, 1997	Claire Danes

Gary Macdonald

Gary Macdonald was the fictitious younger brother of anchor Norm Macdonald. Played by David Koechner, he was supposed to be the funnier of the two Macdonald brothers, but would be overcome by fear and freeze on camera and end nearly everything he said with "no". Because of this, his commentary consisted of choppy, nervously delivered lines such as, "Hey, Janet Reno. Hey, how does that song go, '(Dude) Looks Like A Lady,' no." Debuted December 2, 1995.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	December 2, 1995	Anthony Edwards
21	February 10, 1996	Danny Aiello
21	March 16, 1996	John Goodman	Meeting Sketch
21	May 11, 1996	Christine Baranski

The Joe Pesci Show

This sketch starred Jim Breuer as Pesci, the host of his own late-night talk show. The heard-but-not-seen cameraman was meant to be Pesci's brother. The sketch would usually begin with Italian accordion music and Breuer cheerfully saying "Hey. I am Joe Pesci. I got my own show, my cameraman, and all my friends." Debuted December 2, 1995.

Pesci's personality on the show does not so much resemble the real Joe Pesci as it does Tommy DeVito or Nicky Santoro, his characters from Goodfellas and Casino respectively. While interviewing his guests, each guest would invariably, inadvertently say something that Pesci took as an insult. He would then produce a baseball bat, and proceed to beat the guest senseless.

There were a few guests who were notable exceptions to this fate. The first sketch featured Anthony Edwards as Macaulay Culkin, Pesci's co-star in Home Alone. Pesci hit him on the head with a paint can as he was angered by the fact people laughed at Macaulay Culkin doing it to Pesci. On one episode hosted by Jim Carrey, Carrey played legendary actor James Stewart, while regular cast member Mark McKinney played Carrey. Pesci and Stewart teamed up to beat up Carrey, with Stewart going on to beat up Pesci himself. One episode featuring then Mayor Rudy Giuliani was about to get beaten when his security detail grabs Pesci, then Giuliani grabs a stickball stick and proceeded to beat Pesci. Pesci also spares actors who, like him, are of Italian ancestry and who came to prominence in films about the Sicilian mafia. However, while Italian-Americans were often spared physical assault, Pesci made disparaging remarks, such as when he had his My Cousin Vinny costar Marisa Tomei, Pesci mentions her Academy Award and comments that it must have been quid pro quo ("Whose Joe did you DiMaggio to win that?"), prompting an angry Tomei to state she won it fairly and storm off the set. Kevin Spacey appeared as Al Pacino in one episode, in which the two of them teamed up against Rodney Dangerfield (portrayed by Darrell Hammond). Alec Baldwin, John Goodman and Colin Quinn made appearances as Robert De Niro, though he is reduced to monosyllabic responses to Pesci's prompts: his lines are usually "I heard some things" (a line from Oscar winner Raging Bull, the first movie to star both De Niro and Pesci), and "Li'l bit" (a shortened version of a line from Goodfellas (where De Niro accuses another mobster of being a "little bit out of line" for insulting Pesci's character), another film starring the two actors). The real Pesci and De Niro appeared on one episode, criticizing Breuer for playing caricatures of their film characters. Quinn suddenly says he is not De Niro, but "Colin Quinn from Remote Control." Breuer's and Quinn's weak defense of themselves insults Pesci, who asks De Niro if they were just insulted, to which De Niro responds, "I heard things." The two of them then proceed to beat up Breuer and Quinn.

At the end of the show, Pesci tell the cameraman to turn off the camera, and when they didn't turn it off, Pesci and/or De Niro would take the bat and shatter the camera lens.

A cel-shaded rendering of an episode of The Joe Pesci Show appears in a scene of the movie Waking Life where the television is scanning through several channels.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Guests
21	December 2, 1995	Anthony Edwards	Macaulay Culkin (Anthony Edwards), Jim Carrey (Mark McKinney), Sharon Stone (Nancy Walls).
21	January 20, 1996	Alec Baldwin	Robert DeNiro (Alec Baldwin), Mel Gibson (Mark McKinney), Danny Glover (Tim Meadows), Brad Pitt (David Spade).
21	March 16, 1996	John Goodman	Robert DeNiro (John Goodman), Marisa Tomei (Cheri Oteri), Richard Dreyfuss (Darrell Hammond).
21	May 18, 1996	Jim Carrey	Jimmy Stewart (Jim Carrey), Jim Carrey (Mark McKinney).
22	November 23, 1996	Phil Hartman	Frank Sinatra (Phil Hartman), Michael Jackson (Tim Meadows), Debbie Rowe (Molly Shannon).
22	January 11, 1997	Kevin Spacey	Al Pacino (Kevin Spacey), Rodney Dangerfield (Darrell Hammond), Dennis Rodman (Tim Meadows).
22	April 12, 1997	Rob Lowe	Robert DeNiro (Colin Quinn), Eric Roberts (Rob Lowe), David Spade (Chris Kattan). The real Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro appear at the end of the sketch.
23	November 22, 1997	Rudy Giuliani	Rudy Giuliani as himself, Marion Barry (Tracy Morgan).

G-Dog

A 1990s sitcom about a bald-headed, foul mouthed gangsta rapper played by Tim Meadows who usually appeared wearing only a Speedo or leather pants. He first appeared in a sketch with Teri Hatcher about a sitcom called "The Princess and the Homeboy". Debuted December 2, 1995.

Lenny the Lion

Visiting from the Bronx Zoo, Lenny the Lion (Colin Quinn in a lion suit) would come onto Weekend Update to talk about his life problems. His accent and set of problems (including a violent father, a chaotic family situation and an addiction to tranquilizer darts) are meant to suggest an ethnic working-class man in the Bronx. Lenny would always end his rant with the line "fur is murder". Debuted December 9, 1995.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host
21	December 9, 1995	David Alan Grier
22	December 14, 1996	Rosie O'Donnell
22	May 17, 1997	Jeff Goldblum

The Rocky Roads

A Will Ferrell, Tim Meadows and David Alan Grier sketch. Debuted December 9, 1995.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	December 9, 1995	David Alan Grier
22	January 18, 1997	David Alan Grier

Gerald "T-Bones" Tibbons

A David Koechner sketch. Debuted January 13, 1996.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host
21	January 13, 1996	Christopher Walken
21	February 17, 1996	Tom Arnold
21	February 24, 1996	Elle Macpherson
21	April 13, 1996	Steve Forbes

Bill Brasky

A Will Ferrell, David Koechner, Mark McKinney and Tim Meadows sketch. Debuted January 20, 1996.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host
21	January 20, 1996	Alec Baldwin
21	March 16, 1996	John Goodman
22	February 22, 1997	Alec Baldwin
22	May 10, 1997	John Goodman
24	December 12, 1998	Alec Baldwin
39	December 7, 2013	Paul Rudd

Kevin Franklin

A Tim Meadows sketch. Debuted February 10, 1996.

Suel Forrester

A Chris Kattan sketch. Debuted March 16, 1996. In each appearance by Suel Forrester he has a different occupation in which good, articulate clarity of speech is very important (a teacher, a trial attorney, an air traffic controller), yet he speaks almost entirely in unintelligible gibberish.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	March 16, 1996	John Goodman	Suel is a substitute teacher.
21	April 13, 1996	Steve Forbes	Suel is an army drill sergeant.
22	October 5, 1996	Lisa Kudrow	Suel is an air traffic controller talking a flight attendant (Kudrow) through landing a disabled plane.
22	February 8, 1997	Neve Campbell	Suel is the host of a quiz style game show and the contestants can not understand any of the questions.
22	May 10, 1997	John Goodman	Suel is a talk show host.
24	November 14, 1998	Joan Allen	Suel is a trial attorney.
24	March 13, 1999	Ray Romano	Suel is an NCAA coach.
26	March 17, 2001	Julia Stiles	Suel is a movie director.

The Roxbury Guys

The Roxbury Guys was a recurring sketch that debuted March 23, 1996 as a satire of nightclubs and clubbing culture. It followed the exploits of brothers Doug and Steve Butabi (portrayed by Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell respectively), habitual clubbers dressed in rayon suits, as they attempt to pick up women on their outings. Their trademark was bobbing their heads in unison to the song "What Is Love" by Haddaway, which always played throughout the duration of each sketch. The brothers were extremely unfortunate with the women at the clubs, often gyrating against them in an attempt to get them to dance, but always causing a negative reaction. They were frequently joined by a third person, often the host, who would dress and act in a similar fashion (notably Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, Sylvester Stallone, Martin Short, and Alec Baldwin); this character was usually credited as "Barhop". Skits starring Pamela Anderson and Cameron Diaz were also featured. The sketch spawned a film titled, A Night at the Roxbury.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	March 23, 1996	Phil Hartman
21	May 18, 1996	Jim Carrey	This episode's sketch is the most popular one within the internet community, particularly the head bobbing scene which later became an Internet meme
22	September 28, 1996	Tom Hanks
22	December 7, 1996	Martin Short
22	February 22, 1997	Alec Baldwin
22	April 19, 1997	Pamela Anderson
23	September 27, 1997	Sylvester Stallone
23	December 13, 1997	Helen Hunt	Jack Nicholson makes an appearance as the therapist's boyfriend.
24	September 26, 1998	Cameron Diaz	The final run of the sketch featured another team of two club-hopping brothers: Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd, reprising their early-SNL roles as "Two Wild and Crazy Guys".

Bobby Coldsman

A Phil Hartman sketch about an overbearing, self-obsessed acting class teacher. Debuted March 23, 1996.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	March 23, 1996	Phil Hartman
22	November 23, 1996	Phil Hartman

Goat Boy

Goat Boy was a half-human half-goat hybrid SNL character who hosted the fake MTV show, "Hey, Remember the 80s?" He was played by Jim Breuer. At the outset, Goat Boy was a typical veejay-talk show host who would introduce 80s video clips and guests from the era. During the sketches, he would start braying and kicking and would be subdued by scientists standing by with electric prods. Debuted May 11, 1996.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host	Notes
21	May 11, 1996	Christine Baranski
22	September 28, 1996	Tom Hanks	Hey, Remember the 80s?
22	October 26, 1996	Dana Carvey	Hey, Remember the 80s?
22	December 14, 1996	Rosie O'Donnell
22	February 15, 1997	Chevy Chase
22	April 19, 1997	Pamela Anderson	Hey, Remember the 80s?
23	October 4, 1997	Matthew Perry
23	February 28, 1998	Garth Brooks	Hey, Remember the 80s?
23	April 4, 1998	Steve Buscemi
23	May 9, 1998	David Duchovny

Rolf

A Colin Quinn sketch. Debuted May 11, 1996.

Appearances

Season	Episode	Host
21	May 11, 1996	Christine Baranski
22	February 8, 1997	Neve Campbell
22	March 15, 1997	Sting

References

Preceded by Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 1994–1995	Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches (listed chronologically)	Succeeded by Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 1996–1997