Saturday Night Live - Season 20
Description: Saturday Night Live aired its twentieth season during the 1994–95 television season on NBC. The twentieth season began on September 24, 1994 and ended on May 13, 1995. Much like seasons six and eleven, this season was lambasted by critics for its decline in quality. Season twenty suffered from having sketches based on very thin premises, a high number of which focused on or mentioned O. J. Simpson's 1995 murder trial.
Much like the 1980–1981 season and the 1985–1986 season, NBC worried over SNL's decline in quality and initially decided that now would be the best time to pull the plug on the show once and for all. According to the prime time special Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation, Lorne Michaels credits this season as the closest he's ever been to being fired. In the end, the cast member firings and crew turnover resulting from this season represented the biggest involvement into the show's affairs by NBC executives since the 1980–1981 season and the biggest cast overhaul since the 1985–1986 season.
This season saw the deaths of two SNL alumni: Danitra Vance and Michael O'Donoghue. The Sarah Jessica Parker/R.E.M. episode featured a special appearance by Bill Murray, who introduced a clip of "Mr. Mike's Least Favorite Bedtime Stories" in O'Donoghue's memory.
Episodes
Steve Martin/Eric Clapton
Aired: Sep 24, 1994
Sketches include ""Clinton Auditions,"" ""The Ron Wood Show,"" ""Baseball Cruise...
Marisa Tomei/Bonnie Raitt
Aired: Oct 1, 1994
Sketches include "Bill Clinton," "Court TV: O.J. Simpson Trial," "Adult Educatio...
John Travolta/Seal
Aired: Oct 15, 1994
Sketches include ""Bathroom Monkey,"" ""Coffee Talk With Linda Richman,"" ""Drac...
Dana Carvey/Edie Brickell
Aired: Oct 22, 1994
Sketches include ""George Bush,"" ""Virtual Reality Books,"" ""Johnny Carson,"" ...
Sarah Jessica Parker/R.E.M.
Aired: Nov 12, 1994
Sketches include ""Concession Speech,"" ""Good Morning Brooklyn,"" ""Nice and Na...
John Turturro/Tom Petty
Aired: Nov 17, 1994
Sketches include ""It's a Wonderful Newt,"" ""Christopher Walken's Celebrity Psy...
Roseanne/Green Day
Aired: Dec 3, 1994
Sketches include ""Jesse Helms,"" ""Roseanne Goes to Therapy,"" ""USAir,"" ""Res...
Alec Baldwin/Beastie Boys
Aired: Dec 10, 1994
Sketches include ""Joycelyn Elders,"" ""Japanese Game Show,"" ""Los Angeles Brea...
George Foreman/Hole
Aired: Dec 17, 1994
Sketches include ""Bill Clinton,"" ""Time Boxer,"" ""Looking Good,"" ""Matt Fole...
Jeff Daniels/Luscious Jackson
Aired: Jan 14, 1995
Sketches include ""Newt Gingrich,"" ""Connie Chung and Newt Gingrich's Mom,"" ""...
David Hyde Pierce/Live
Aired: Jan 21, 1995
Sketches include "O.J. Simpson", "Rock Poetry Class", "Tales of Little Women", "...
Bob Newhart/Des'ree
Aired: Feb 11, 1995
Sketches include ""C-SPAN: Colin Ferguson,"" ""Ricki Lake,"" ""Book Buzz,"" ""Ba...
Deion Sanders/Bon Jovi
Aired: Feb 18, 1995
Sketches include: ""O.J. Simpson Tour,"" ""The 1995 ESPY Awards,"" ""Rappers Wit...
George Clooney/The Cranberries
Aired: Feb 25, 1995
Sketches include ""Black History Month,"" ""Mandy the Whale,"" ""Tales of Fraud ...
Paul Reiser/Annie Lennox
Aired: Mar 18, 1995
Sketches include ""Newt Gingrich's Sister,"" ""Where's Superman?,"" ""Mad About ...
John Goodman/Tragically Hip
Aired: Mar 25, 1995
Live from New York, it's…Dan Aykroyd! Sketches include ""This Week With D...
Damon Wayans/Dionne Farris
Aired: Apr 8, 1995
Sketches include: ""Judge Ito,"" ""Men on Film,"" ""Spit Valves,"" ""Black Names...
Courteney Cox/Dave Matthews Band
Aired: Apr 15, 1995
Sketches include ""Matt Foley,"" ""Good Morning Brooklyn,"" ""Gapardy,"" ""Melan...
Bob Saget/TLC
Aired: May 6, 1995
Sketches include ""Tony Vallencourt,"" ""Fast,"" ""America's Funniest Hate Video...
David Duchovny/Rod Stewart
Aired: May 13, 1995
Live from New York, for the last time, it's…Michael McKean! Sketches incl...