Saturday Night Live has long mocked the television medium with many fake commercials and parodies of TV shows themselves. Another of the show's frequently used styles of recurring sketches has been the talk show format (e.g. "The Brian Fellowes Show", "Barry Gibb Talk Show", etc.). However, anything from cop shows to children's shows has been fair game for the ever-changing cast.
Sketches with TV show themes are listed here chronologically by order of first appearance.
- The Mr. Bill Show – February 28, 1976
- Consumer Probe (Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Candice Bergen) - December 11, 1976
- E. Buzz Miller and Christie Christina (Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman) - January 22, 1977
- Leonard Pinth-Garnell (Dan Aykroyd) - March 12, 1977
- The Ex-Police (Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray) – October 15, 1977
- Woman to Woman (Gilda Radner) – October 21, 1978
- Telepsychic (Dan Aykroyd) – December 9, 1978
- The Bel-Airabs (Don Novello, Bill Murray, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman) – December 8, 1979
- What's It All About (Gilbert Gottfried, Denny Dillon) – November 15, 1980
- Mister Robinson's Neighborhood (Eddie Murphy) – February 21, 1981
- Fernando's Hideaway (Billy Crystal) – November 3, 1984
- The Limits of the Imagination (Randy Quaid) – November 9, 1985
- The Pat Stevens Show (Nora Dunn) – November 16, 1985
- The Church Lady (Dana Carvey) – October 11, 1986
- Instant Coffee with Bill Smith (Kevin Nealon) – October 18, 1986
- Miss Connie's Fable Nook (Jan Hooks, Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller, Kevin Nealon) – November 8, 1986
- Pumping Up with Hans & Franz (Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon) – October 17, 1987
- Learning To Feel (Nora Dunn) – January 23, 1988
- Wayne's World (Dana Carvey, Mike Myers) – February 18, 1989
- Cooking with the Anal Retentive Chef (Phil Hartman) – April 1, 1989
- Tales Of Ribaldry (Jon Lovitz) – April 1, 1989
- Sprockets (Mike Myers) – April 15, 1989
- Lank Thompson (Mike Myers) – October 21, 1989
- The Dark Side with Nat X (Chris Rock, Chris Farley) – November 10, 1990
- Simon (Mike Myers) – November 10, 1990
- Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley (Al Franken) – February 9, 1991
- Coffee Talk with Linda Richman (Mike Myers) – October 12, 1991
- Theatre Stories (Mike Myers, Julia Sweeney, Dana Carvey) – December 14, 1991
- Sassy's Sassiest Boys (Phil Hartman) – February 6, 1993
- The Denise Show (Adam Sandler) – October 2, 1993
- Good Morning Brooklyn (Jay Mohr) – November 12, 1994
- Perspectives with Lionel Osbourne (Tim Meadows) – January 21, 1995
- Scottish Soccer Hooligan Weekly (Mike Myers, Mark McKinney) – January 21, 1995
- The Joe Pesci Show (Jim Breuer) - December 2, 1995
- The Quiet Storm (Tim Meadows) – October 19, 1996
- Shopping At Home Network (Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan) – November 16, 1996
- Delicious Dish (Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon, Rachel Dratch, Alec Baldwin) – November 16, 1996
- Celebrity Jeopardy! (Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, Norm Macdonald, and various others) – December 7, 1996
- Goth Talk (Molly Shannon, Chris Kattan, Jim Breuer) – April 12, 1997
- Leon Phelps, The Ladies Man (Tim Meadows) – October 4, 1997
- Issues with Jeffrey Kaufman (Jim Breuer) – October 18, 1997
- Morning Latte (Cheri Oteri, Will Ferrell) – October 25, 1997
- Pretty Living (Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer) – March 14, 1998
- Hello Dolly (Ana Gasteyer) – October 3, 1998
- The How Do You Say? Ah, Yes, Show (Chris Kattan, Jimmy Fallon) – October 17, 1998
- Dog Show (Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon) – December 5, 1998
- Pimp Chat (Tracy Morgan, Tim Meadows) – December 5, 1998
- Jarret's Room (Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz) – December 16, 2000
- Wake Up Wakefield! (Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz) – March 17, 2001
- America Undercover (Chris Kattan, Amy Poehler) – November 3, 2001
- The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show (Horatio Sanz) – March 16, 2002
- Top O' the Morning (Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon) – October 19, 2002
- Pranksters (Seth Meyers) – February 22, 2003
- Spy Glass (Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers) – November 1, 2003
- Appalachian Emergency Room (Seth Meyers, Chris Parnell, and various others) – January 10, 2004
- The Prince Show (Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph) – February 14, 2004
- ¡Show Biz Grande Explosion! (Fred Armisen as Fericito (see 2002–2003), Horatio Sanz) - March 6, 2004
- Vincent Price's Holiday Special (Bill Hader) - November 19, 2005
- Deep House Dish (Kenan Thompson, Rachel Dratch, Andy Samberg) - November 19, 2005
- The Dakota Fanning Show (Amy Poehler) - February 3, 2007
- Dateline (Bill Hader) - November 22, 2008
Famous quotes containing the words saturday night, saturday, night, live, show and/or sketches:
“Saturday night was for wives, but Friday night at the Copa was always for the girlfriends.”
—Nicholas Pileggi, U.S. screenwriter, and Martin Scorsese. Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)
“The return of the asymmetrical Saturday was one of those small events that were interior, local, almost civic and which, in tranquil lives and closed societies, create a sort of national bond and become the favorite theme of conversation, of jokes and of stories exaggerated with pleasure: it would have been a ready- made seed for a legendary cycle, had any of us leanings toward the epic.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“To introduce a new play only six weeks after another has been banned is also a way to speak one’s piece to the government. It proves that art and liberty can grow back in one night under the clumsy foot which crushes them.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“The philosopher’s conception of things will, above all, be truer than other men’s, and his philosophy will subordinate all the circumstances of life. To live like a philosopher is to live, not foolishly, like other men, but wisely and according to universal laws.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, The LORD’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Exodus 33:19.
“Turning one’s novel into a movie script is rather like making a series of sketches for a painting that has long ago been finished and framed.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)