Between its 1984 and 1985 seasons, Saturday Night Live went through well known major changes when creator Lorne Michaels returned to the show, replacing producer Dick Ebersol. What few remember is that Ebersol’s tenure had been cut short by three episodes thanks to the 1981 writers’ strike, and he was still under contract to deliver those shows.The solution: an experiment in Summer 1985 saw three more SNLs produced, with the option for a recurring summer spot if they were successful. Instead, these three episodes would never air again.
Here’s a piece of absurd alternate history from Scharpling (The Best Show) and Wurster (Superchunk): the lost season of SNL. Here’s the premise of this “oral history”:In these three episodes, they say, the cast was comprised of former NFL defensive tackle Alex Karras, Night Court’s Ellen Foley, character actor Vincent Schiavelli, extremely-tall-guy-who-played-Predator Kevin Peter Hall, and Josh Mostel, who played “Bluto’s brother Blotto in Delta House, the TV version of Animal House.” I know it’s a joke, but man, I would really love to have seen these episodes.
