10 Great One Season Wonders of SNL

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10. Robert Downey, Jr. (1985–1986)

On the one hand, Robert Downey Jr. surely had enough talent to dominate Saturday Night Live should he have been allowed to continue on the program. On the other hand, his acting is of an elite caliber, and there was little indication before or after his tenure on SNL that he was ever strictly focused on a career in comedy. Whereas other castmembers were plucked from Second City and like-minded comedy clubs, Downey was grooming himself for a career on Broadway when he was hired by Lorne Michaels under pressure to beef up the revamped 1985–1986 season with big name actors (Randy Quaid and Anthony Michael Hall were also bought aboard that season). Ultimately, I decided to include him because watching him go toe-to-toe with Ben Stiller and Jack Black in Tropic Thunder showed the substantial career that could have been if he just relegated himself to being the 6th member of the Brat Pack.

9. Rob Riggle (2004–2005)

The broad-shouldered former Marine (he is an active reserve) and stand-up comic didn’t make much of an impression on his season at SNL. Thanks to his work as a reporter on The Daily Show and a number of scene-stealing film roles (Kicking and Screaming, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, Other Things Will Ferrell Made, etc.), Riggle has maintained a lot of visibility in the world of comedy since. Throughout many of his roles…