In many ways, Season Eight (1982-83) is the natural progression from Season Seven. Eddie Murphy continues to grow, eventually taking over the show to the point at which he actually hosts the show while being a cast member.
(This is almost entirely the result of a mix-up in which Nick Nolte, Murphy’s co-star in 48 Hours was supposed to host but pulled out. Nonetheless, the choice of Murphy to host and the fact that he launched the show by declaring “Live From New York, it’s the Eddie Murphy Show” caused some hurt feelings among the other cast members, specifically Joe Piscopo, who wanted to host the show as his Frank Sinatra character.)
Season Eight also brought SNL a 21-year old recent graduate of Northwestern University named Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Dreyfus was joined by her boyfriend, Brad Hall, and fellow Northwestern improv player Gary Kroeger. They would replace Tony Rosato and Christine Ebersole, cast members who weren’t retained from the year before.
The Northwestern crew was hired specifically to serve as the “B-Team” to Murphy and Piscopo, who owned the show despite the continued presence of mainstays Mary Gross, Robin Duke, and Tim Kazurinsky.
The denouement of the season took place with “The Death of Buckwheat,” a multi-part series of bits in which Murphy’s Buckwheat is shot, his assassin is caught, and who is then himself shot. The whole bit came just two years after an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, which caused problems with network executives - some of whom thought the bits would cause people to think the sketches were really happening.
The season also featured a number of strong hosts, including Stevie Wonder, Joan Rivers, Sid Caesar, and a seven-year-old Drew Barrymore. The best episode appeared at the end of the season, with Stevie Wonder owning the stage both in sketches and at his piano.
We discuss all these issues, including our awards for the best sketches, best cast members, and most memorable hosts on this episode.
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