Assemble your SNL Dream cast

Cafe Society
1

Here are the rules:

You can have up to 8 cast members (9 really, but Eddie Murphy is accepted as a given

No more than 4 can come from the original NOT READY FOR PRIME-TIME PLAYERS

Regardless of what era the cast members appeared, for the Dream Cast they are in their prime
My choices:

John Belushi (he was crazy and obnoxious and a junkie but he had the talent)

Gilda Radner

Bill Murray (probably on everybody’s)

Garrett Morris (I always thought that he was majorly underrated- he didn’t get much time to shine, but when he did it was incredible {the “shotgun/whiteys” song, Chico Escuela, etc.- I think it’d be interesting to see what he could do)

Phil Hartman

Tina Fey

Martin Short

Maya Rudolph
Who would yours be?

2

My cast:

Will Ferrell
Darrell Hammond
Bill Murray
Gilda Radner
Phil Hartman
Jane Curtin
Tim Meadows
Norm MacDonald (for Update)

Tina Fey, Dan Aykroyd and Al Franken are definitely leading my writing team.

Now all of you can tell me how wrong I am for including Ferrell and Hammond.

3

Dan Aykroyd
Dana Carvey
Jane Curtin
Tina Fey
Janeane Garafalo
Mike Meyers
Bill Murray
Eddie Murphy
Damon Wayans

4

Bill Murray
Eddie Murphy
Phil Hartman
Tina Fey
Amy Poehler
Maya Rudolph
Will Ferrell
Horatio Sanz for the obligatory fat clown (let the flaming commence!)
Toss-up: Jon Lovitz, Darrell Hammond, or Damon Wayans

First host: Christopher Walken

5

I maintain that you can’t have Ferrell without Hammond, or vice versa. Look at how well they worked off each other even before the 2000 election, and how Hammond hasn’t been quite the same since Will left for Hollywood.

6

I was surprised to see one without Phil Hartman!

I need to preface my list. It does NOT include Eddie Murphy. I freely admit that his time on SNL far outshines ANYONE who has EVER been on the show. He is the SNL and post-SNL gold standard. But he was a one man show. The cast I am assembling is an ensemble. Eddie’s enormous talent wouldn’t fit in well. Or be needed like it was in the early 80’s.

So here is my cast:

  1. Hartman
  2. Carvey
  3. Ferrell
  4. Hammond
  5. Nealon
  6. Meadows
  7. Fay (will have to do more than just the news)
  8. Rudolph
  9. Hooks

First Host: Tom Hanks (followed by John Goodman)
First Musical Guest: Ashlee Simpson

7

Phil Hartman
Dana Carvey
Mike Myers
Bill Murray
Eddie Murphy
Chris Farley
Jane Curtin
Will Ferrell
Jon Lovitz

8

Too many I know, but WTF, it’s my list:
Darrel Hammond
Will Ferrell
Phil Hartman
Eddie Murphy
Dan Ackroyd
Martin Short
Tina Fey
Maya Rudolph
Julia Sweeney
Dennis Miller (update)
A. Whitney Brown (The Big Picture/writer)

The Waste of talent group(good talent, did little):
Jay Mohr
Janeane Garofalo
Joan Cusack
Mark McKinney
Damon Wayans
Robert Downey, Jr.
Brian Doyle-Murray
Chris Rock
“What were they thinking?” group:
Gilbert Gottfried
Brad Hall
Rich Hall
Anthony Michael Hall
Charles Rocket
Gary Kroeger

9

Let’s see . . . almost anyone who has touched the show in the last 10 years is unfunny, and most of the people before that have become unfunny since then (for instance, Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy will never do anything else funny for the rest of their lives. Bet on it.) So this is going to be tough…

Bill Murray
Chris Farley
Phil Hartman
Norm MacDonald
Sarah Silverman
David Spade (I’m grasping in the dark here, but if I get Farley I want Spade)
Jon Lovitz
Eh . . . I guess Myers and Carvey will make 9, since I am not picking that hack Eddie Murphy.

10

Kroeger (who to my knowledge has done nothing worth talking about since), Hall and Julia Louis Dreyfuss (aka Mrs. Brad Hall) were a package deal, which is why they took all three. (Personally I’d have passed on all three.)

Rocket at least had one memorable moment (the first use of the ‘F’ word I can think of on TV other than Scared Straight).

11

Saturday Night Dead:

John Belushi
Gilda Radner
John Candy
Phil Hartman
Chris Farley

12

There’s just too many to pick from. How about we just start categorizing them into class A, B, and C?

The grades could be determined like this:

A - people who have created numerous iconic characters, or who were consistently hilarious, who routinely elevated skits they were in, and who left a lasting impact on the history of SNL and comedy in general

B - people who are consistently funny or otherwise talented (singing, acting, etc), but for some reason didn’t ‘break through’. They either didn’t have the creativity to create truly unique and funny characters, or they couldn’t consistently stay at the top of the pack and were often forgettable through entire episodes

C - people who should never have been on the show.

A Grade

Dana Carvey
John Belushi
Dan Ayckroyd
Bill Murray
Will Ferrel
Eddie Murphy
Chris Farley
Mike Meyers
David Spade
Phil Hartman
Gilda Radner
Chris Rock
Martin Short
Jon Lovitz
Adam Sandler

A - Weekend Update anchors

Dennis Miller
Chevy Chase
Norm MacDonald
Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

B Grade

Jane Curtin
Amy Poehler
Tina Fey
Julia Sweeney
Jan Hooks
Darrell Hammond
Christopher Guest
Billy Crystal
Chevy Chase
Garret Morris
Maya Rudolph
Kevin Nealon
Tim Meadows
Jimmy Fallon
Horatio Sanz
Mary Gross
Brian Doyle-Murray

B Grade Update Hosts

Kevin Nealon
Colin Quinn
Dan Ayckroyd
Bill Murray

C - Grade

Brad Hall
Rich Hall
Anthony Michael Hall
Charles Rocket
Gary Kroeger
Christine Ebersol (anyone remember her?)
Gail Matthias (remember her?)
Brad Hall

C - Weekend Update Anchors

Charles Rocket
Mary Gross
Brad Hall
Christopher Guest (what a waste of talent)

There’s lots more to add, but I’m burned out now.

13

Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman
Dana Carvey
Eddie Murphy
Mike Meyers
John Belushi
Julia Sweeney
John Lovitz
Chris Farley
Phil Hartman

14

Unusual list, in part. I have a soft spot for Norm’s humor, and I can see where his unique, only-halfway-trying style adds something truly unique. . .plus he could do nothing else but impersonate Burt Reynolds and still be worth keeping. That never got old for me.

Sarah Silverman? Belongs in my “waste of talent” category. I was excited when she joined the cast, as I thought she was very funny, but I can’t remember anything she ever did on the show. . .but she’s so attractive, I could EASILY be persuaded to keep her :smiley:

-DocJon

15

Heh, that explains a lot. I hate Brad Hall. He reminds me of a game-show host. A bad one.

Thanks for the info, and I remember the ‘f’ word incident. I couldn’t believe I’d heard that right. Those were more genteel times, and you just didn’t hear that on tv.

-DocJon

16

All these lists are good, but they lack a certain “Piscopoglian” quality.

17

I’d have to violate the OP’s rule about original cast, and add Murphy and Hartman to Season One. Period. Everything since has been awful, as a whole.

18

Chris Parnell
Darrell Hammond
Will Ferrell
Phil Hartman
Amy Poehler
Ana Gasteyer
Jane Curtin
Gilda Radner
Update: Dennis Miller
Host: Buck Henry or Christopher Walken. Whoever wins the coin toss.
Musical Guest: Lorne, I’ll see your $3200, and raise you an extra million. That’d be $1,003,200.00 (split 4 ways, of course) if the Beatles would come on and do one song.

19

Phil Hartman
John Belushi
Mike Myers
Dana Carvey
Eddie Murphy
Jane Curtin
Christopher Guest
Bill Murray
Jon Lovitz

And Steve Martin as host, back in his White Suit period when he was there all the time.

20

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'kay, so I’m biased. :stuck_out_tongue: