Saturday Night Live (season 25)

Saturday Night Live (season 25)

Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	20
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	October 2, 1999 (1999-10-02) – May 20, 2000 (2000-05-20)
Season chronology

The twenty-fifth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 2, 1999, and May 20, 2000.

Cast

Changes and notes

The entire cast from last season returned for another year. Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell and Horatio Sanz were all promoted to repertory status, with the cast otherwise unchanged at the start of the season. As the season progressed, the show added two new cast members. Rachel Dratch, recruited from Chicago's The Second City, where she was head writer Tina Fey's comedy partner, joined the show in the episode hosted by Norm Macdonald. Towards the end of the season, Maya Rudolph of The Groundlings joined the show, starting with the episode hosted by John Goodman.

This would be the final season for cast members Tim Meadows, Colin Quinn, and Cheri Oteri.

Cast roster

Repertory players

Featured players

Rachel Dratch (first episode: October 23, 1999)
Maya Rudolph (first episode: May 6, 2000)

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Contract for new cast members

“	SNL, they are the not-ready-for-prime-time players. These are people who are just starting out. I challenge you to name a network, much less a show, that has created this many stars, ever...All we’re asking is, somebody who comes in and is, basically, virtually unknown and young has an opportunity to be on a very, very powerful sketch-comedy show and to be able to launch a film career and be in sitcoms. I think that’s a pretty great opportunity.	”
— Scott Sassa, NBC's West Coast president, at the network's summer press presentation in Pasadena, California^[1]

In July 1999, when executive producer Lorne Michaels held auditions for the season, NBC introduced a new contract for first-year cast members, replacing the five- or six-year deals they had used in the past.^[1] The terms were established by NBC executives Scott Sassa and Garth Ancier. According to Peter Bogdanovich, the new contract came with the following terms:^[1]

NBC can take a Saturday Night Live cast member off the show any time after his or her second year on the program and put him or her in an NBC sitcom.
A cast member has the option of saying no to the first two shows proposed by NBC, but must accept the third deal.
NBC dictates the length of the sitcom contract, which can run as long as six years.
SNL Films, co-owned by Paramount Pictures, NBC and Lorne Michaels, has a three-movie option that would pay the star a set $75,000 for the first film, $150,000 for the second and $300,000 for the third, rates that used to be negotiable.
NBC has the option of paying those same amount to force a cast member to say no to a film deal offered to them by another studio.

The starting salary remained $5,000 per episode.^[1]

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § Season 25

Starting this season Tina Fey is credited as the writing supervisor.

Episodes

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Host	Musical guest(s)	Original air date
466	1	Jerry Seinfeld	David Bowie	October 2, 1999
Dean Winters, Harold Perrineau, J. K. Simmons, and Lee Tergesen appeared as their characters from the HBO prison drama Oz in a pre-taped sketch that has Jerry Seinfeld sent to the Oswald Correctional Facility following his jail time on the series finale of Seinfeld. AJ Benza appeared in the "...And a Pizza Place" sketch. NBC Late Night executive Rick Ludwin briefly shows up as well in this sketch. David Bowie performed "Thursday's Child" and "Rebel, Rebel".
467	2	Heather Graham	Marc Anthony	October 16, 1999
A parody of VH1's Where Are They Now?, featuring former cast members Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon as Hans and Franz, appeared in this episode. Marc Anthony performed "I Need to Know" and "That's Okay".
468	3	Norm Macdonald	Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg & Eminem	October 23, 1999
Rachel Dratch's first episode as a cast member. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg performed "Still D.R.E." for the first performance. Dr. Dre and Eminem performed "Forgot About Dre" for the second performance.
469	4	Dylan McDermott	Foo Fighters	November 6, 1999
Foo Fighters performed "Learn to Fly" and "Stacked Actors".
470	5	Garth Brooks	Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines	November 13, 1999
In a callback to Brooks' appearance when he hosted in season 23, Brooks, as Chris Gaines, does a sketch with Mango then unmasks Gaines. First appearance of The Boston Teens sketch. Chris Gaines performed "Way of the Girl".
471	6	Jennifer Aniston	Sting	November 20, 1999
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? winner John Carpenter appeared in the cold opening. Writing supervisor and future cast member Tina Fey appeared during the monologue as an audience member who asks Aniston a question. Sting performs "Brand New Day" and "Desert Rose". Cheb Mami performs with Sting on the latter song.
472	7	Christina Ricci	Beck	December 4, 1999
Beck performed "Mixed Bizness" and "Sexx Laws". Madeline Kahn, a three-time SNL host, died the day before this episode aired. A tribute dedicated to her memory, which featured a sketch of her parodying her Young Frankenstein character during the 1st season, was shown before the goodnights.
473	8	Danny DeVito	R.E.M.	December 11, 1999
R.E.M. performed "The Great Beyond" and "Man on the Moon". As well, lead singer Michael Stipe makes an appearance in a "Mango" sketch with Chris Kattan. Former cast member Al Franken and his son Joe appear during Weekend Update. The Rockettes guest star in a sketch featuring Molly Shannon's character Sally O'Malley.
474	9	Jamie Foxx	Blink-182	January 8, 2000
Guest appearance by John Goodman. Blink-182 performed "All the Small Things" and "What's My Age Again?"
475	10	Freddie Prinze, Jr.	Macy Gray	January 15, 2000
Angie Everhart appears in a sketch. Macy Gray performed "I Try" and "Why Didn't You Call Me".
476	11	Alan Cumming	Jennifer Lopez	February 5, 2000
Jennifer Lopez performed "Feelin So Good" and "Waiting for Tonight". Ben Stiller appeared in filmed segment from Adam McKay.
477	12	Julianna Margulies	DMX	February 12, 2000
DMX performed "Party Up" and "What's My Name".
478	13	Ben Affleck	Fiona Apple	February 19, 2000
Gwyneth Paltrow makes an appearance in Affleck's monologue (Affleck made an appearance in Paltrow's monologue when she hosted in 1999). The "Fanatic" pretaped sketch, where an orphan (Ben Affleck) meets Anna Nicole Smith (Molly Shannon), was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Fiona Apple performed "Limp".
479	14	Joshua Jackson	'N Sync	March 11, 2000
'N Sync performed "Bye, Bye, Bye and "I Thought She Knew" and also appeared in two sketches. SNL writer and stand up comic Kevin Brennan appeared as himself in a Weekend Update commentary on presidential candidates.
480	15	The Rock (Dwayne Johnson)	AC/DC	March 18, 2000
Professional wrestlers Mick Foley, Triple H and The Big Show appear in the cold opening (alongside Vince McMahon), the monologue, Morning Latte, and the Nicotrel sketch where they (and The Rock) beat up Chris Parnell. AC/DC performed "Stiff Upper Lip" and "You Shook Me All Night Long".
481	16	Christopher Walken	Christina Aguilera	April 8, 2000
Former cast member Dana Carvey returns in this episode as George H. W. Bush during the cold opening. A notable sketch from this episode is "Behind the Music: Blue Oyster Cult," featuring Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell. This is better known as the "Cowbell" sketch. Writing supervisor and future cast member Tina Fey appeared in the "Viagra" fake commercial as one of the unhappy wives. J Mascis performs with the Saturday Night Live Band. Christina Aguilera performed "I Turn to You", "At Last", and "What A Girl Wants".
482	17	Tobey Maguire	Sisqó	April 15, 2000
Sisqó performed "The Thong Song". Steve Buscemi appeared in a short film from Adam McKay.
483	18	John Goodman	Neil Young	May 6, 2000
Maya Rudolph's first episode as a cast member. Neil Young performed "Razor Love" and "Silver & Gold".
484	19	Britney Spears	Britney Spears	May 13, 2000
Cheri Oteri's mother and Sarah Michelle Gellar appear in this episode to introduce Britney Spears's two performances. Britney Spears performed "Oops, I Did It Again" and "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know".
485	20	Jackie Chan	Kid Rock	May 20, 2000
Cameos by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Gina Gershon, Florence Henderson, and former SNL band leader, G.E. Smith. Tim Meadows, Cheri Oteri and Colin Quinn's final episode as cast members. Stage manager Bob Van Ry and musical director Cheryl Hardwick retire effective with this show; both are mentioned by name in a sketch during the show. Stuntman Brad Allan appeared as a thug in the opening monologue. Kid Rock performed "American Bad Ass" and "Only God Knows Why" (with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio). Kid Rock also appeared with Joe C. in the Elvis Impersonator sketch.

Specials

Title	Original air date
"25th Anniversary Special"	September 26, 1999
A special celebrating the 25th anniversary of the show. A long list of cast members, guest hosts and other special people stop by to honor the show's anniversary. Beastie Boys, Elvis Costello, the Eurythmics and Al Green perform. John Belushi, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Michael O'Donoghue, Gilda Radner and Danitra Vance all received a tribute in the special. Dan Aykroyd, Alec Baldwin, James Van Der Beek, Candice Bergen, Garth Brooks, David Bowie, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Michael Douglas, James Downey, Nora Dunn, Al Franken, Sarah Michelle Gellar, John Goodman, Tom Hanks, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jon Lovitz, Norm Macdonald, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Dennis Miller, Jay Mohr, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Kevin Nealon, Laraine Newman, Don Pardo, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Shaffer, Martin Short, Paul Simon, Robert Smigel, Kevin Spacey, David Spade, Lily Tomlin, Christopher Walken and many more attended the event.
"Best of Game Show Parodies"	February 29, 2000
The special featured some of the best material featuring game show parodies featured on the show. Sketches include "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", "Celebrity Jeopardy", "Old French Whore", "Stand-Up and Win", "Who Wants to Eat?", "The Bensonhurst Dating Game", "Who Wants to Be Groped by an Eleven Thousand-aire?" The clip show was hosted by Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek and Darrell Hammond as Regis Philbin.
"The Best of Tim Meadows"	September 9, 2000
A compilation of some of Tim Meadows' best sketches from his 10-year stint on the show.

Superstar film

Main article: Superstar (1999 film)

A Superstar film, based on the Mary Katherine Gallagher sketches, was released on October 8, 1999. Cast members Will Ferrell, Mark McKinney and Molly Shannon appear in the film. The film did modestly well at the box office but was panned by critics.

References

1 2 3 4 Bogdanovich, Peter (August 11, 1999). "SNL's Killer Contract". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2011-09-10.

Saturday Night Live

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Digital Shorts

Films based
on sketches

Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures (1986)
Bob Roberts (1992)
Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
Wayne's World (1992)
Wayne's World 2 (1993)
Coneheads (1993)
It's Pat (1994)
Stuart Saves His Family (1995)
A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
Superstar (1999)
The Ladies Man (2000)
A Mighty Wind (2003)
Harold (2008)
MacGruber (2010)

Anniversary
Specials

15th (1989)
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40th (2015)