Saturday Night Live
George Wendt / Elvis Costello
TV Flash files “George Wendt / Elvis Costello” as the last listed hour of season 16 — Saturday Night Live (1975–present) on NBC, season 16, episode 20, aired 1991-05-18, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S16E20: listed hour 306 of 1009 in the Saturday Night Live guide, last listed hour of season 16. It aired 1991-05-18 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “Delta Burke / Chris Isaak” (S16E19). Next is “Michael Jordan / Public Enemy” (S17E01). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
George Wendt hosts with musical guest Elvis Costello.
Viewer FAQ
Where does George Wendt / Elvis Costello sit in the Saturday Night Live guide?
S16E20 is listed hour 306 of 1009 — last listed hour of season 16, season 16 episode 20.
When did Saturday Night Live S16E20 air?
George Wendt / Elvis Costello aired 1991-05-18 and is listed at 90 minutes.
Where should I start if I cannot watch fifty seasons?
Do not start at season forty and scroll. Take the first Carlin hour for the live contract, Pryor for the danger, then one later event night (Walken or Timberlake) to see the factory still printing heat.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Not for a thousand recaps — for the live stain. Cold opens as weather, musical guests as alibis, and a talent factory that still prints stars, firings, and Sunday-morning arguments no For You page can schedule.
Flash: October 11, 1975, George Carlin in a cream suit that already looks like a dare, Billy Preston and Janis Ian as the musical alibi, and a late-night hour NBC had not yet learned how to brand. They called it Saturday Night. The afterglow is still on. Someone in 8H is already whispering that the host is terrified, the sketch will run long, and the cut that matters will not be the one Standards & Practices circled. Live television is a carpet that cannot be steam-cleaned until Sunday. I live for that stain.
Filed against
- Lorne Michaels as Creator / Executive Producer
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- Chevy Chase as Not Ready for Prime Time Player
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- John Belushi as Not Ready for Prime Time Player
John Belushi was an original Not Ready for Prime Time Player when Saturday Night Live was still called Saturday Night — Studio 8H as afterparty, talent mill, and live stain. Cold opens as weather, musical mythology in the building. On TV…
- Dan Aykroyd as Not Ready for Prime Time Player
Dan Aykroyd helped invent Saturday Night Live’s original chaos — Bass-O-Matic energy, Blues Brothers heat, and the talent factory that never fully sleeps. Live sketch as career launchpad from a 1975 hour NBC had not yet learned to brand.…
- Gilda Radner as Not Ready for Prime Time Player
Gilda Radner was an original Not Ready for Prime Time Player on Saturday Night Live — Studio 8H as after-party and talent mill, live television as a carpet that cannot be steam-cleaned until Sunday. TV Flash files her as the first-look…