European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse I 1 anything but the show. A nowadays anyone coming Here knows what the formula is a couple of hit characters then you get a movie. They want to keep their options open with the Industry on the West coast so you get a More measured kind of involvement. It makes the show harder to do. That a not just sentimentality its simply if Downey sounds beleaguered he is. He received much of the blame for in la a problems last season and he a feeling considerable pressure now to turn the show around. Downey knew sooner than most that rebuilding was in order. For several years his cast had been gradually depleted As Many of its stars a Jon Lovitz and Jan Hooks to name two a left to pursue movies or sit corns culminating last season with the departure of the invaluable Dana Carvey. At the same time no fewer than five Veteran writers a some of the most productive on the staff a also moved on. Downey was left with a nervous group of relative neophytes on both sides of the cameras. The critics lacerated the show while the ratings which during the previous season had hit an 11-year Peak dropped sharply. Downey feels the drubbing the show took last season was overplayed a backlash against an Ove Rabun dance of Praise the previous season. Still there was no shortage of recrimination within the sol offices. So uneven were the casts performances that toward seasons end Michaels Felt compelled to Call a rare cast meeting to urge that they Force themselves to be More professional. There were also a number of internal feuds and an unusual amount of bickering especially Between staff members who Felt they were doing the bulk of the work while others a phoned it the sheer number of changes in the cast indicates. The crisis of Confidence saturday night endured last season. So does the fact that so Many of the newcomers this season arrive having already developed reputations. Yet another performer Mark Mckinney from the Canadian satirical troupe the kids in the Hall is expected to join the cast in january up to now Michaels has almost invariably hired and developed relative unknowns he also has a reputation for being extremely reluctant to fire people. Downey seems to carry the Burden of his troubles on his shoulders. Only a few years ago he looked like a combination Choirboy and zen acolyte now he often appears bleary eyed harried and depressed. According to colleagues who spoke Only on the condition of anonymity last season he would shut himself away in his office or simply disappear for hours at a time. Downey denies he suffered anything approaching severe depression saying he was working so hard that if he Wasny to on the scene he was probably somewhere sleeping. Still he acknowledges a i would question the grip on reality of anyone in my position who was t depressed at certain Points last Chris Rock and Chris Farley on sol in 1990. Abc he knew that Abc executives were pressuring Michaels to fire him and he was angry about it. A a you re exhausted you be left a lot of blood on the floor. That a the last thing you want to hear a he says a a. A a a. A a a. A a a if those executives had any idea of the crucial role he played on saturday night live he adds they think of asking him to leave. A i was surprised they did no to make More thorough inquiries within the show a he a no question Downey is a Central and in Many was revered figure at saturday night live. He a considered a master comedy writer and he still writes some of the shows most Brilliant sketches but his principal contribution is shepherding the other scripts from Conception through rewrites. A calling Jim a a writer does no to do him Justice a says Dave Mandel an sol writer. A piece after piece show after show he makes things better a Downey is the first to admit that he a less enthusiastic about other aspects of Iris Job including Pla eating the often delicate egos of the cast. Ostensibly that a Michaelso Job too but because Michaels juggles so Many other responsibilities a producing feature films dealing with the network producing5late night with Conan of Brien main. Taining a Busy social schedule a some of the finer Points tend to get overlooked. Saturday night live one staff member says a is a brutal place for people who Arentt doing in contrast to Downey Michaels 49, comes across As a Man who possibly be rattled. Asked about the pressure Abc put on saturday night live last season Michaels chuckles and says that the first time he had to allay network a a panic was when Chevy Chase decided to leave the cast at the end of the first season. He argues that Many of the network s current worries Stem from its bungled handling of the Johnny Carson David transition last year. Don Olvil Mcyr president of no cd a West coast division arrived after that debacle but according to Michaels he is making it his business to see that no cd slate night schedule suffers no further Detrio ration. A you have a much More activist management at Abc a that show they like to View themselves a. Michaels says. A a they re very involved in the running. Of the tonight show. They re very involved in later with Greg Kin car. They re very involved with the Gonan of Brien show. I think with this show which still runs just the Way we always did it there was a fear that a wait a minute. This last jewel in the a Ohl Mcyr prefers to put a much More positive spin on these discussions. A if i was Able to do anything i was Able to pose some questions a he says. A the answers Are All he acknowledges that Downey a tenure had been one of the questions posed in part he says because of How a a bedraggled the producer looked and that another source of concern had been the a focus and attention Michaels was devoting to the show. A there was never any question that lome could fix the problems a Ohlmeyer says. A it was just a matter of saying a lets suck it up and do a Michaels he adds a has picked up the Challenge. He is totally focused right All the focus in the world however wont enable Michaels to free himself from the ghosts of saturday nights Pash and he is clearly weary of trying. The one time he raised his voice during an interview that lasted Well Over an hour was when the subject of those ghosts came up. A when i was first rebuilding the show in �?T85 and �?T86 and �?T87,�?� he says a i would continually pick up the paper and get beat Over the head with a the Golden years the Golden , Damn it i was Here in a the Golden years a and it Wasny to so Golden All the time. I was hearing saturday night dead from 1976 on. Its never that said his tone modulates and he shrugs. A we got beat up last year and this is a very proud group of people a he says. A believe me in a not interested in supervising the decline of saturday night live. A rebuilding is Tough to live through and Tough to do but i think that the show will be Here in five years. And its my expectation that i will be Here As Doug Hill is co author of saturday night a backstage history of Quot saturday night Uvo Quot a Abc a a Abc a. A. A Franken has Hung around the whole 20 years with saturday night live which also stars Mike Myers of Wayne a world Fame and Laura Kightlinger. Ndoc october 23, 1994 sunday Page 23
