The twenty-ninth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 4, 2003, and May 15, 2004.
History
This season marked the debut of a brand new stage for the host's monologue and the musical guest performing stage. Instead of the wrought-iron fire escape motif with the blinking "ON AIR" light, the stages are now modeled after Grand Central Terminal (right down to the spherical clock).[1]
Cast
Before the start of the season, longtime cast members Chris Kattan[2] and Tracy Morgan,[3] who had both been on the show since 1996, departed the show on their own terms, and Dean Edwards, who had been a featured player since 2001, was let go following the finale. Despite Kattan and Morgan's departures, the two would make guest appearances in several episodes throughout the season and Morgan would later host in 2009 and 2015.
The show added two new African-American cast members: stand-up comedian Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson, a former child star from the Nickelodeon comedy shows All That and Kenan & Kel.[4][1] Thompson became the first SNL cast member to be born after the show's premiere in 1975 (Thompson was born in 1978). Thompson eventually became the longest-tenured cast member in the show’s history.
This was the final season for both Jeff Richards[5] and Jimmy Fallon (who decided to leave the show after the final episode).[6] In an interview at the time, Richards said he left to branch out into other projects,[7] though he later mentioned that his substance abuse was a factor.[8]
John Lutz and Liz Cackowski are hired midway through the season, starting with the Megan Mullally-hosted episode.[11]
This was the final season for longtime writers Michael Schur (who had been a writer since 1998) and Dennis McNicholas (who had been a writer since 1995; and became head writer back in 2001).[12]
Schur left the writing staff after 6½ years, while McNicholas left after nine years with the show, and 3½ as head writer, but returned to producer Weekend Update, 10 years later in 2014.
Dave Matthews & Friends performs "Save Me" and "So Damn Lucky".
John McEnroe makes multiple appearances in this episode, including the monologue, the Billie Jean King sketch and Jock Talk. He also cameos in a short piece after the "British Nanny" sketch where he and Chris Parnell play tennis commentators analyzing Roddick's hosting.
Finesse Mitchell appears during the opening monologue as André 3000 of OutKast and explains he never left after the wrap party from the previous week's show.
Former cast member Tracy Morgan appears in the monologue as the young Al Sharpton, in a sketch about the three wise men getting pulled over, in a reprise of his recurring segment, Brian Fellow's Safari Planet, with Sharpton as Fellow's brother, and in a sketch about racial stereotypes in a 1930s film.
Clay Aiken performs "Invisible" and "The Way" and also appears as himself in the monologue and in the last sketch as a fictional relative named Tray Aiken.
Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan both cameo in a Season's Greetings from SNL musical number. Morgan also reprises his role as Brian Fellow, appears in the Good Times sketch and introduces Janet Jackson's first performance. Kattan also introduces Jackson's second performance.
Simon Cowell also cameos in the Season's Greetings sketch to criticize them before joining in himself. Simon was actually asked to host the show, but would only agree to do a guest appearance.
This episode features a short film about a bald boy named Harold, which was the basis for a film featuring the character.
Announcer Don Pardo appears in the Bloater Brother segment.
Because the show was running long, J-Kwon's second song was cut in order to make room for Jimmy Fallon's farewell sketch.
Jimmy Fallon's final episode as a cast member and as Weekend Update co-anchor.
Specials
Title
Original air date
"The Best of Chris Kattan"
September 27, 2003 (2003-09-27)
Sketches included "The Roxbury Guys," "Mango," "Defense Attorney Suel," "The How Do You Say? Ah Yes, Show," "Mr. Peppers in the Lab," "Auditions for Bon Jovi," "America Undercover," "The Rialto Grande," "Goth Talk," "Sparks," "Oprah," "Larry King's Wedding Reception," "E! Impeachment Coverage," "Loaded-Musical Performance," "Emmy Awards Pre-Show," "Shopping at Home Network," "Siamese Twin Dates," and some "Weekend Update" clips.
"The Best of Tracy Morgan"
October 25, 2003 (2003-10-25)
Sketches include "Wong & Owen, Ex-Porn Stars," "Brian Fellow's Safari Planet," "Pimp Chat," "Woodrow," "The View," "Uncle Jemima's Down House Mash Liquor," "Tracy Confronts Garth," "Astronaut Jones," "Talkin' to the Stars," "Hardball," "Big Bernard," "At the Movies," "Christmas Eve Drinks," "Channel5 Late Night Movie," and a Weekend Update clips.
"The Best of Will Ferrell, Volume 2"
December 20, 2003 (2003-12-20)
A second compilation of sketches featuring Will Ferrell.
"The Best of Christopher Walken"
May 22, 2004 (2004-05-22)
Sketches include "The Continental" (on the TV airing, the "Continental" sketch that aired was the one from season 18; the DVD version also includes the one from season 25 and a dress rehearsal version of the one from season 28 shown picture-in-picture style under the title, "The Making of The Continental"), "Ed Glosser Trivial Psychic", "Rita Snowed In", "Behind the Music: Blue Oyster Cult", "Leon Loves Mango", "Hardball", "Pranksters", "The Bad Raft Captain" (DVD version only), "Colonel Angus" and "Christopher Walken at the 25th Anniversary Special". The DVD version includes two dress rehearsal sketches: "The Black Guardian Angel" (from season 25) and a movie trailer parody called Fonzie (from season 26).
References
^ abMcClintock, Pamela; Adalian, Josef (September 26, 2003). "SNL primed for 29". Variety. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
