Scot Bertram

A Presidential Shot of Adrenaline and Will Ferrell is Unleashed

Saturday Night Live has always been dependent in some ways on the cultural and political events surrounding the show, but never was that more true than in Season 23. Midway through the season, the show roared to life with news that President Bill Clinton had engaged in an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

The show’s writers took every opportunity to lampoon the Clinton/Lewinsky affair, and they had every right to. Ever since Clinton had taken office six years earlier, SNL had effectively predicted the scandal, and in 1998, the writers got to take their victory lap.

The show needed the shot of adrenaline – with the entire cast back from the season before (minus minor player Mark McKinney), SNL recycled many of the same recurring characters from Season 22. It did add some great new characters, however, including Tim Meadows’ “The Ladies Man,” which seemingly got better every time it appeared on screen.

The show also suffered through one of its most difficult moments in the fourth episode of the season, when former cast member Chris Farley was asked to return to host. Despite his claims he was clean of the drugs that were ruining his life, Farley spent the week of the show holed up in his hotel room with strangers wandering in and out. By show time, he was sweaty, hoarse, and out of breath. Within two months, he would be dead. Watching the episode is almost like seeing a man die on screen. (The show would also tragically lose Phil Hartman shortly after the final episode of the season.)

But on the positive side, Season 23 also featured third-year cast member Will Ferrell now finding his unique comedic voice. Ferrell excelled at playing clueless weirdos, confused game show hosts and old musicians, all of which raised the level of the show immensely. (Sadly, Ferrell’s flourishes of brilliance were often offset by the wretched appearances by Jim Breuer, whose “Goat Boy” character would mercifully be done when he left the show at the end of the season.)

We discuss all these topics and much more on this week’s episode of Wasn’t That Special. Please subscribe and join us for a trip through every year of SNL. And consider joining at the Executive Producer level, where you get a whole load of extra commentary and clips that will help you become an SNL expert.