THE PAGES A sampling of the obsessive pop-culture coverage you’ll find at vulture.com ost snl viewers have no doubt THE CREATIVE LIFE OF ‘SATURDAY experienced Repetitive-Sketch Syndrome—that uncanny feeling NIGHT LIVE’ WHICH Mthat you’re watching a character or setup you’ve seen a zillion times SEASON WAS THE MOST ORIGINAL? before. As each new season unfolds, the AND DOES IT MATTER? sense of déjà vu progresses from being by john sellers 73.9% most percentage of inspired (A) original sketches season! (D) 06 (B) (G) 62.0% (F) (E) (H) (C) 01 1980–81 55.8% SEASON OF: Rocket Report, Vicki the Valley 51.9% (I) Girl. ANALYSIS: Enter 12 51.3% new producer Jean Doumanian, exit every 08 Conehead, Nerd, and 16 1975–76 sign of humor. The least- 1986–87 SEASON OF: Samurai, repetitive season ever, it SEASON OF: Church Killer Bees. ANALYSIS: taught us that if the only Lady, The Liar. Groundbreaking? breakout recurring ANALYSIS: Michaels Absolutely. Hilarious? returned in season 11, 1990–91 character is an unfunny 1982–83 Quite often. But man-child named Paulie dumped Billy Crystal SEASON OF: Wayne’s SEASON OF: Mr. Robinson’s unbridled nostalgia for Herman, you’ve got and Martin Short, and Neighborhood, The World, Hans and Franz. SNL’s debut season— problems that can only rebuilt with SNL’s ANALYSIS: Even though Whiners. ANALYSIS: Using the second-least- be fixed by, well, more broadest ensemble yet. seasons 4 and 6 as this is one of the most repetitive ever—must 32.0% Eddie Murphy. Manic camera-hogs overstuffed seasons in the be tempered by its guideposts, we see that Dana Carvey and Jon the ideal originality middle show’s history (Toonces, overuse of lame Lovitz were kept in Sprockets, and Chris Rock’s Muppets. But hey, ground may be right check by Phil Hartman, 04 around 53 percent. Nat X) there was still room Lorne Michaels was 1978–79 Jan Hooks, and Kevin for silly, inspired one-offs like still learning the late- Season 8, essentially the Nealon. If only the SEASON OF: Nick the Murphy and Joe Piscopo Slapped by Beaver Tails and night formula. Lounge Singer, The Church Lady wasn’t in newcomer Chris Farley’s show, fell short and nearly half the Nerds, Mr. Bill. ANALYSIS: Chippendale’s-audition proved that SNL staggers episodes! With a few years’ worth without a true ensemble, sketch. We’ll say it: Most. of audience-beloved because the dizzying Original. Season. Ever. characters to play with, highs (anything involving Even though it plus a small, overworked Murphy, especially Velvet mathematically wasn’t. cast, recurring sketches Jones) will be thwarted by outnumbered originals the many toxic lows (e.g. two to one, up sharply Piscopo’s Andy Rooney). from the almost perfectly balanced third season. 1975–1976 1976–1977 1977–1978 1978–1979 1979–1980 1980–1981 1981–1982 1982–1983 1983–1984 1984–1985 1985–1986 1986–1987 1987–1988 1988–1989 1989–1990 1990–1991 1991–1992 1992–1993 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 SEASON The Cast Members, and the Frequently Repeated Nonpolitical Characters They Played ERA: 1975–80 (SEASONS 1–5) ERA: 1980–85 (SEASONS 6–10) ERA: 1985–95 (SEASONS 11–20) The original cast, led by Gilda Radner, John Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy dominated 5–9; Jon Lovitz, Nora Dunn, Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon, Jan Hooks, and Phil Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and Brad Hall, Tim Kazurinsky, and Mary Gross Hartman starred in early seasons of the era; then came Mike Myers, Chris Garrett Morris. Chevy Chase left in season helped. Ten soared with Billy Crystal, Martin Rock, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Al Franken, Rob Schneider, and 2; Bill Murray arrived that season. Short, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer. Julia Sweeney. Creative peaks and valleys abound. 25 episodes = Emily Litella (Radner) 14 = Dr. Jack Badofsky (Kazurinsky) 20 = Wayne Campbell (Myers) 17 = Church Lady (Carvey) 17 = ( C ) Roseanne Roseannadanna (Radner) 10 = The Whiners (Piscopo and Robin Duke) 19 = Hans and Franz (Carvey and Nealon) 13 = Dieter from Sprockets (Myers) 16 = (A) Samurai Futaba (Belushi) 9 = (D) Buckwheat (Murphy) 19 = Stuart Smalley (Franken) 13 = (H) It’s Pat! (Sweeney) 16 = Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) 8 = (E) Gumby (Murphy) 18 = Pat Stevens (Nora Dunn) 12 = (G) Frankenstein (Hartman) 11 = (B) The Coneheads (Aykroyd et al.) 8 = (F) Alfalfa (Gross) 18 = Tommy “The Liar” Flanagan (Lovitz) 7 = (I) Canteen Boy (Sandler) DEVOURING CULTURE shruggingly tolerable to being moderately is it really? To help you avoid an annual repetitive seasons creative low points? irksome, until you reach that moment social-media gaffe, Vulture systematically Or might recurring sketches be an when, after yet another cast member examined the show’s first 36 years—7,798 indication that the humor machine is debuts that Barbara Walters impression sketches and 702 Weekend Updates—to working efficiently? or tries out that anal-retentive talk-show calculate precisely which had the highest Additional reporting by Matthew Kitchen, host, you absolutely must tweet four percentage of repeated sketches, and Cooper Marshall, Brian Raftery, words: Least. Original. Season. Ever. But which had the lowest, and why. Are very Alexa Tsoulis-Reay, and Emily Watkins. 2001–2 SEASON OF: Jarret’s Room, Brian Fellow. 1994–95 ANALYSIS: In Tina Fey’s third season as SEASON OF: Total Bastard head writer and second as Fallon’s Airlines, Matt Foley. ANALYSIS: co-anchor, SNL continued to flourish as an Post–Carvey and Hartman, emphasis was placed on politics (W!) Farley, Adam Sandler, in the wake of the 2000 election and 9/11. David Spade, and Rob The result guaranteed topical laughs but Schneider coasted, and new fewer go-to characters, which would take a further hit with the departure of Ferrell 60.2% cast members (Chris Elliott, Michael McKean) were and his arsenal of man-children. squandered. Not much new (P) caught on (America’s Funniest (N) (Q) 20 Hate Videos?); sometimes repeats are preferable—as are cast overhauls. 50.8% (R) (M) (O) (L) (K) 45.3% 32 2010–11 SEASON OF: Stefon, Garth, (J) and Kat. ANALYSIS: If it 43.3% feels like you’ve been up 27 to your gills in Gilly, you’re partly right. While Wiig’s 36 36.6% ridiculously wigged moron has appeared just five 1997–98 2006–7 times total, and only once SEASON OF: The Culps, SEASON OF: MacGruber, since 2009, modern 23 Mango. ANALYSIS: After a Two A-holes. ANALYSIS: technology has thrown a much needed cast purge, One of the hallmarks of wrench in the repetition Michaels assembled the early Seth Meyers era calculation. On demand another killer ensemble. was balance, and season and web sharing have led But they shared a flaw: 32, his first in the head to significant cult an inability to deviate writer’s chair, zeroed in on followings for Stefon, from established a rare 50-50 split What Up With That?, and, characters. After SNL’s between established and yes, even Gilly. It might be second-most unoriginal fresh ideas. Then why do that SNL sketches are no season to date, you we feel that it’s ground longer measured by the never wanted to see zero for Repetitive-Sketch number of genuine aging cheerleaders, Syndrome? chuckles they produce but aging Catholic-school how many Facebook likes girls, or aging monkey and message-board men ever again. ZOMG!s they rack up. 1993–1994 1994–1995 1995–1996 1996–1997 1997–1998 1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 ERA: 1995–2002 (SEASONS 21–27 ) ERA: 2002–6 (SEASONS 28–31 ) ERA: 2006–11 (SEASONS 32–36) Will Ferrell became a superstar, while Molly Shannon played a self- The Tina Fey–and–Jimmy Fallon heyday Seth Meyers steps up as head writer and proclaimed one (with great frequency). Tim Meadows stuck around and is also frequently punctuated by Rachel gives free rein to Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, contended for sketch time with the likes of Cheri Oteri, Chris Kattan, Ana Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Tracy Morgan, Fred Armisen, Kenan Thompson, Andy Gasteyer, and Jim Breuer. Darrell Hammond did pretty much everything. Amy Poehler, and Will Forte gags. Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, and more Forte. 21 = The Culps (Ferrell and Gasteyer) 15 = (L) Leon “Ladies’ Man” Phelps 12 = (N) Brian Fellow (Morgan) 10 = (R) Stefon (Hader) 18 = Mary Katherine Gallagher (Meadows) 12 = The Boston Teens (Fallon and Dratch) 9 = (P) MacGruber (Forte) (Shannon) 15 = (K) Mango (Kattan) 12 = (M) Jarret’s Room (Fallon and Horatio Sanz) 9 = (Q) Deep House Dish (Thompson) 17 = Spartan Cheerleaders (Ferrell 10 = (J) Goat Boy (Breuer) 9 = (O) The Falconer (Forte) 8 = The Two A-holes (Wiig and Sudeikis) and Oteri) 9 = Roxbury Guys (Ferrell and Kattan) 7 = Debbie Downer (Dratch) 7 = What Up With That? (Thompson) Illustrations by Deinstelle 75.