By Season 20, "SNL" was still trying to piece itself together without Dana Carvey. Though Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Al Franken, and Norm Macdonald were still in the cast, they mostly rehashed their old characters, including Canteen Boy, motivational speaker Matt Foley, and Stuart Smalley.
Season 20 was in the difficult position of having to replace half of its cast without taking the spotlight away from the big names still around. Phil Hartman, Melanie Hutsell, Rob Schneider, and Julia Sweeney were replaced by Chris Elliott, Janeane Garofalo, and Laura Kightlinger, all of whom had much better careers after their tenure on "SNL."
After the success of the "Wayne's World" movies, Mike Meyers left after Episode 11 and was replaced by future repertory player Molly Shannon. Franken left the show because producers chose Macdonald as the Weekend Update anchor. Steve Martin hosted the premiere and delivered a tremendous outing, as always, while the worst episode came when George Foreman hosted Episode 9.
In "UFO Mission" Farley drops his pants while climbing into a spaceship, Sandler gifts viewers his legendary "The Chanukah Song" on Weekend Update, and Macdonald forged his brand by relentlessly covering the OJ Simpson trial. The "Breaking Into the Central Park Zoo Polar Bear Cage" skit, though unfunny, foreshadowed how Farley, Sandler, and Jay Mohr would get canned before Season 21. Some of the show's best years were on the horizon, but Season 20 remains one of the most inconsistent seasons to date.
