JIM WHALLEY has taught Film Studies at the University of Salford, Liverpool John Moores University, UK, and the University of East Anglia.

• Introduction 'I'm Chevy Chase and you, you're merely a statistic': Self-reference and Stardom on Saturday Night Live 'I'll write you a note saying you're too well to attend': National Lampoon's Animal House Takes Saturday Night Live to Hollywood 'But the Kids Love Us': The Development of Bill Murray's Star Persona from Saturday Night Live to Ghostbusters 'I Don't Even Like Myself': The Revision and Retreat of Saturday Night Live Stars after Ghostbusters 'Age is a Tough One for Me': Selling Saturday Night Live in the 1980s 'I Still Know How to Party': Mike Myers, Adam Sandler and Generational Change on Saturday Night Live 'A Colorful, Emotional, Working Class Hero'? The Development of Adam Sandler's Fictional and Extra-fictional Personas Conclusion

"This book presents an important study of the historical development of Saturday Night Live and its place in contemporary American cinema and television.It reinvigorates the area of comedian comedy by revisiting existing accounts as well as offering us fresh perspectives on film and television comedy." - Philip Drake, University of Stirling "In this stimulating and agenda-setting book, Whalley reveals a formidable knowledge of Saturday Night Live and its relevant media and cultural contexts, as well as providing an acute and thoughtful analysis of its dynamics, its history, its influence, and its significance. He looks critically at established interpretations of the series and offers an original and convincing discussion that undeniably plugs a gap in scholarly work on contemporary U.S. media comedy." - Frank Krutnik, Reader in Film Studies, University of Sussex