| History of Saturday Night Live series: |
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1975–1980 |
This article is about the history of Saturday Night Live from 2005–2010.
Contents |
Saturday Night Live promised changes for the 2005–2006 season, one of which was broadcasting in high-definition. Lorne Michaels added three new featured players: Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig, plus Jason Sudeikis, who was added for the last three episodes of the previous season. Hader became popular for his impersonations, such as Vincent Price in various Variety Vault sketches. Hired along with Samberg were his longtime friends and The Lonely Island collaborators Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer who joined the writing staff. The three would create a new SNL mainstay feature in the SNL Digital Shorts, the most popular being "Lazy Sunday". Wiig, who first appeared when Jason Lee hosted, gained popularity with impersonations of Felicity Huffman and Megan Mullally, and creating memorable characters such as the Female A-Hole and Target Lady. Lorne Michaels extended his contract until the 35th season.
Leaving after the 2006 season were Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey, who had committed to working on her new sitcom 30 Rock, as well as Horatio Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, and Chris Parnell, who were let go due to budget cuts.
The opening montage for the 2005 season was identical to that of the 2004 season, except for several minor variations: the names of new cast members were shown, the names displayed in a different font. It also began broadcasting in widescreen and high definition.
The 2005–2006 commercial bumper formats featured a picture of the host in a white background, with the logo saying "Saturday Night Live", or just "SNL".
Featuring
The opening montage introduced on the 32nd season premiere involved the cast on a roof-top party in New York City. It was a completely new production from the previous montage, featuring a completely new logo and VTR. The font was in a plain greyish colour with bold lettering, where each word is progressively larger than the last in both the title and cast credits, with footage of New York City in the background. The musical guest and host's pictures are simply seen over top of the background footage instead of inserted onto a billboard like the previous season.
With the Jaime Pressly episode airing on October 7, 2006, the montage was changed slightly to include an SNL logo changed to a design and typeface identical to the 1981-1985 SNL logo. The pictures of the host and musical guest were placed over the entire screen, instead of over the New York City footage. This new montage was also used for the rerun for the Dane Cook/The Killers episode, replacing the originally-aired one.
Also changing for the October 14, 2006 repeat was the logo. The logo kept the same look, but condensed to look thinner, and to fit wide screen.
The commercial bumpers featured the host and musical guest in a solid color background, that featured many colors. The logo usually featured the current logo of "Saturday Night Live", or bold lettering of "SNL".
SNL had a smaller cast in the 2006-2007 season due to “massive budget cuts” at NBC.[1] Lorne Michaels told members of the Television Critics Association that cutting staff was chosen over reducing from 20 the number of original episodes produced. In an interview with the NY Post, Lorne Michaels said the new season will be one of the few that does not feature a new cast member, and he specifically hired a large cast for the 2005-2006 season knowing that budget cuts were around the corner. A separate announcement confirmed the departure of Tina Fey, who left to focus on 30 Rock, a new show she created for Broadway Video which is part of NBC's 2006-7 schedule.[2] Rachel Dratch, one of the stars in the 30 Rock pilot (though subsequently replaced by Jane Krakowski), also did not return.[3]
Amy Poehler announced on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that Seth Meyers would replace Tina Fey as co-anchor on Weekend Update.
Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Jason Sudeikis were all promoted to repertory players at the beginning of their second season (the third for Sudeikis including his role as a featured member).
The final cast list included just 11 members, the lowest number since the 1997-1998 season.
The 2007-2008 season of Saturday Night Live began on September 29, 2007 with LeBron James hosting the episode and musical guest Kanye West. Production was suspended due to the 2007 Writer's Strike, after only four episodes were produced. The show's first episode after the writers' strike was aired on February 23, 2008, with former head writer Tina Fey as host. [4]
The opening montage for the 2007-2008 season was identical to that of the previous season, though the artwork for the host and musical guest is now a black and white portrait.
Instead of featuring a solid color background, the background colors for the bumpers were usually white. There were rare occasions of the background being black, or gray. The logo was the same as last season, either featuring the full current logo, "Saturday Night Live", or featuring a bold lettering of "SNL". The logos featured different colors.
Featuring
The 2008-2009 season of Saturday Night Live began September 13, 2008 with host Michael Phelps and musical guest Lil' Wayne.
The opening montage undergoes minor alterations; Some shots are in black and white, some are in color and some are in black and white with a hint of color. The "SNL" logo and the cast credits appear smaller to fit into the 4:3 "safe area". In the second episode of the season, the video for Casey Wilson's credit was changed. In the fourth episode, the show went back to being shown in letterbox in some markets.
The bumpers now have variously colored backdrops instead of the plain white from last season, and the "SNL" logo is being moved into the 4:3 "safe area".
Featuring
The 2009-2010 season of Saturday Night Live began September 26, 2009 with host Megan Fox and musical guest U2.
The opening montage introduced on the 35th season premiere featured the cast in random places in New York City. The montage features the same logo as the previous seasons but instead of the greyish color it's now a light greenish color with bold lettering. The host and musical guest are pictures cover the entire screen when introduced. In the second episode the host and musical guest have a small picture that is circled with bright colors, the background features it going down a city street.
The commercial bumpers featured the host and musical guest in a light color background. The logo usually featured the current logo of "Saturday Night Live", or bold lettering of "SNL".
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