Saturday Night Live (season 23)
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| The title card for the twenty-third season of Saturday Night Live. | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 27, 1997 – May 9, 1998 |
The twenty-third season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 27, 1997, and May 9, 1998.
This season saw the deaths of two former cast members. Six weeks after he came back to host, Chris Farley became the fifth SNL cast member to die prematurely. Similar to his idol, John Belushi, Farley died of a speedball overdose at the age of 33. Two weeks after the season finale, long-time performer Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife who then committed suicide. Following their deaths, NBC aired two SNL specials as tributes to Farley and Hartman as they were both dedicated to their memories during this season.
Cast
Before the season, Mark McKinney left the show. Colin Quinn was promoted to repertory status. This season is the first season to not include any featured players or new cast members.
During the season, a controversy arose in which Weekend Update anchor Norm Macdonald was removed from the Update segment after angering NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer with his O. J. Simpson jokes. The weekly inclusion of O.J. jokes upset Ohlmeyer, who was good friends with Simpson. Ohlmeyer arranged to have Macdonald fired from the segment, but not from the show. Macdonald's final episode as Update anchor was on December 20, 1997. Quinn was then promoted to the job and anchored the segment in the next live episode, which aired January 10, 1998. Even though Macdonald still performed in sketches, he was not happy and eventually quit the show; his final appearance was on March 14, 1998.
This was also the final season for Jim Breuer as he left the show at season's end to move on to other acting opportunities.
It was also the only season to have an opening sequence that did not show any shots of New York City, instead featuring a 1950s-inspired design.
Cast roster
Repertory players
- Jim Breuer
- Will Ferrell
- Ana Gasteyer
- Darrell Hammond
- Chris Kattan
- Norm Macdonald (final episode: March 14, 1998)
- Tim Meadows
- Tracy Morgan
- Cheri Oteri
- Colin Quinn
- Molly Shannon
bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Writers
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Tina Fey joins the writing staff in this season. Jim Downey leaves the show after Norm Macdonald was taken off Weekend Update (since Downey co-wrote Update with Macdonald).
Episodes
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| No. overall |
No. in season |
Host | Musical guest(s) | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 427 | 1 | Sylvester Stallone | Jamiroquai | September 27, 1997 |
| 428 | 2 | Matthew Perry | Oasis | October 4, 1997 |
| 429 | 3 | Brendan Fraser | Björk | October 18, 1997 |
| 430 | 4 | Chris Farley | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones | October 25, 1997 |
| 431 | 5 | Jon Lovitz | Jane's Addiction | November 8, 1997 |
| 432 | 6 | Claire Danes | Mariah Carey | November 15, 1997 |
| 433 | 7 | Rudolph Giuliani | Sarah McLachlan | November 22, 1997 |
| 434 | 8 | Nathan Lane | Metallica | December 6, 1997 |
| 435 | 9 | Helen Hunt | Hanson | December 13, 1997 |
| 436 | 10 | Samuel L. Jackson | Ben Folds Five | January 10, 1998 |
| 437 | 11 | Sarah Michelle Gellar | Portishead | January 17, 1998 |
| 438 | 12 | John Goodman | Paula Cole | February 7, 1998 |
| 439 | 13 | Roma Downey | Missy Misdemeanor Elliott | February 14, 1998 |
| 440 | 14 | Garth Brooks | Garth Brooks | February 28, 1998 |
| 441 | 15 | Scott Wolf | Natalie Imbruglia | March 7, 1998 |
| 442 | 16 | Julianne Moore | Backstreet Boys | March 14, 1998 |
| 443 | 17 | Steve Buscemi | Third Eye Blind | April 4, 1998 |
| 444 | 18 | Greg Kinnear | All Saints | April 11, 1998 |
| 445 | 19 | Matthew Broderick | Natalie Merchant | May 2, 1998 |
| 446 | 20 | David Duchovny | Puff Daddy & Jimmy Page | May 9, 1998 |
Specials
| # | Special | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "SNL Halloween '97" | November 1, 1997 |
| 2 | "SNL Sports Extra '98" | January 24, 1998 |
| 3 | "Best of the New Season '97-'98" | January 31, 1998 |
| 4 | "SNL Remembers Chris Farley" | February 21, 1998 |
| 5 | "SNL Remembers Phil Hartman" | June 13, 1998 |
| 6 | "The Best of Eddie Murphy" | August 22, 1998 |
