"Wayne's World" was originally a recurring sketch from the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television series ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. The first "Wayne's World" sketch appeared in the 13th ''Saturday Night Live'' episode of the
1988–1989 season, on February 18, 1989. It evolved from a segment "Wayne's Power Minute" (1987) on the
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
series ''
It's Only Rock & Roll'', as the main character first appeared in that show. The ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch spawned a hit
1992 film, its
1993 sequel, and several catchphrases which have since entered the pop-culture lexicon.
Characters and format
The sketch centered on a local
public-access television
Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...
program in
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. It is located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River west of Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, second-most populous city in Illinois, with a popul ...
, hosted by Wayne Campbell (
Mike Myers
Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...
, the same actor from "Wayne's Power Minute"), an enthusiastic long-haired
metalhead. Wayne lives with his parents and broadcasts his show "live" from the basement of their house every Friday evening at 10:30. A prototype of the Wayne character had appeared several years prior on
CITY-TV in Toronto's overnight show ''
City Limits
City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary (real estate), boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. ...
''.
The show was co-hosted by Wayne's timid and sometimes high-strung, yet equally metal-loving sidekick and best friend, Garth Algar (
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, screenwriter and producer.
Carvey is best known for his seven seasons on ''Saturday Night Live'', from 1986 to 1993, which earned him five consecutive Pri ...
). Carvey developed this character based on his brother.
In the early sketches, Wayne and Garth are high school students, and their guests on the show included their teachers (including one played by
Ed O'Neill, who would later play a very similar character in both films), and other students from school (such as Nancy, a "babe" played by
Jan Hooks
Janet Vivian Hooks (April 23, 1957 – October 9, 2014) was an American actress and comedian. She was best known for her tenure on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', where she was a repertory player from 1986 to 1991. After le ...
). Other frequent guests included Garth's father, "Beev" (played by
Phil Hartman), so named because of his teeth. He was often ridiculed by Wayne despite the fact that he was married to Hillary Algar (
Candice Bergen), whom Wayne considers a "babe".
The show would open with Wayne and Garth singing the opening theme, accompanied by Wayne's frenetic strumming of his guitar, and Garth drumming on his lap with drumsticks. The two would introduce themselves (Garth: "Party on, Wayne." Wayne: "Party on, Garth.") and then proceed into their various exploits, including discussions of their love of hard rock bands and "babes", as well as juvenile antics, such as the "Extreme Close-Up" (where a camera would zoom in on Wayne and Garth as they screamed) and tricking their unsuspecting guests into saying vulgar words. Garth would frequently get overexcited and lose control, upon which Wayne would have to tell him, "Take your
Ritalin."
Sketches also often included dream sequences where Wayne and Garth imagine themselves in fantasy settings. The sequences were introduced with Wayne and Garth imitating a
fade-out by waving their arms in front of them and imitating a commonly used fade-out sound effect accompanied by an excerpt from
Gary Wright's "
Dream Weaver". Notable dream sequences include Wayne defeating
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
in a one-on-one hockey game, upon which
Janet Jones runs to kiss Wayne, and Wayne and Garth meeting
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
in a spoof of her ''
Madonna: Truth or Dare'' film and controversial music video for "
Justify My Love
"Justify My Love" is a song released as a single by American singer Madonna. It does not appear on any of her studio albums, but is included on her first greatest hits album, ''The Immaculate Collection'' (1990). The song was written by Lenny ...
". Wayne dares Madonna to make out with him while Garth is seen dancing in a parody of the video.
In later appearances Wayne and Garth appear to be young adults (although Wayne still lives with his parents—a theme which would carry over to the first
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
), and their discussions shifted more towards current events and pop-culture phenomena, with the show featuring actual celebrity guests.
A notable sketch featured Wayne and Garth in a
jam session
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...
with their idols, the rock band
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
, performing an extended, hard rock version of the "Wayne's World" theme song, written by Myers and ''SNL'' music director
G. E. Smith.
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
played Garth's cousin, Barry, who was an Aerosmith
roadie who checked the microphone and set up the performance. This sketch was listed as moment #1 in the TV special ''Saturday Night Live: 101 Most Unforgettable Moments''.
Merchandise
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
released a ''Wayne's World'' VCR Board Game in 1992. The game featured a videotape with approximately 30 minutes of new footage recorded of Myers and Carvey as Wayne and Garth.
A video game loosely based on the first film was released in 1993 for
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
(NES),
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
(SNES), Nintendo
Game Boy
The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
, and
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...
. There was also a PC
point and click
Point and click are one of the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse or other pointing device (''click''). An example of point and click is in hypermed ...
adventure.
A "Wayne's World" sketchbook was also sold around the time of the premiere of the first film. It included a mail-in-offer for Wayne's trademark ballcap and showed various celebrities such as
Elvira
Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin.
In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...
and
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
modeling the same hat Wayne wore.
"
Gawain's Word", a regular segment on the children's educational show ''
Between the Lions'', takes inspiration from both the "Wayne's World" sketch and its theme song. It was also spoofed in the film ''
Stay Tuned'' with the sketch "Duane's Underworld" (Myers and Carvey were offered the chance to cameo as their characters but were filming ''Wayne's World'' at the time). An episode of the sitcom ''
Step by Step'' also featured character J.T. (
Brandon Call) hosting his own show, appropriately titled "J.T.'s World", in which J.T. (with sidekick Cody) singing the theme song, which sounds similar to Wayne's theme. On a 1995 episode of ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'',
Telly Monster and
Big Bird hosted "Telly's Town", which featured Myers guest starring as Wayne, though portrayed as a delivery man.
The "Wayne's World" soundtrack contained the extra-long hard rock version of the theme song that was performed by Aerosmith in the famous sketch. As the song is winding down, an
easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...
can be heard where Myers and Carvey are peppering the guitar riffs with quips from their other SNL characters such as "Isn't that special?" (
Church Lady), "Don't look at my bum!" (Simon), "Not gonna do it! Not gonna do it!" (
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
).
The films
The sketch was adapted into a film, ''
Wayne's World
"Wayne's World" was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series ''Saturday Night Live''. The first "Wayne's World" sketch appeared in the 13th ''Saturday Night Live'' episode of the Saturday Night Live season 14, 1988–1989 seas ...
'', in 1992, and a sequel, ''
Wayne's World 2
''Wayne's World 2'' is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Stephen Surjik and starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a public-access television cable television show in Aurora, Illinois. The film is the sequel to ''Wayne's World'' ...
'', in 1993.
Overseas
In the United Kingdom, where ''Saturday Night Live'' is rarely shown, ''Wayne's World'' sketches were extracted from ''SNL'' broadcasts and individually packaged as 10-minute episodes which aired on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
as part of the ''
DEF II
DEF II was a programming strand on BBC2, which aired at 6 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 May 1988 to 23 May 1994, to serve the teenage market. It was produced by Janet Street-Porter, and followed on from her influential youth TV show '' ...
'' programming strand, simply as a tie-in with both ''Wayne's World'' movies.
Other appearances
1991 MTV VMA Awards
Wayne and Garth presented the technical awards at the 1991 VMAs on MTV. The segment was pre-shot, not live on the stage, but was not shot on the standard "Wayne's basement" set. They explained the categories of visual effects, art direction, and cinematography, and show the difference between good editing and bad editing. Clips from the winning videos were then shown, after which Wayne and Garth send a message to Cindy Crawford.
MTV Specials
MTV did three hour-long specials promoting the two films, the "Wayne's World Special" in 1992, and the "Wayne's World 2 Special" and "Wayne's World Babe-a-licious Countdown" specials in 1993. Wayne and Garth hosted, showing various videos and clips from the films.
2008 MTV Movie Awards
Mike Myers and Dana Carvey reprised their roles as Wayne and Garth for the first time since 1994 at the
2008 MTV Movie Awards. Nothing about the two seems to have changed, except both are now in their late-forties/early-fifties, and Garth has grown pubic hair. The sketch features them discussing
Tila Tequila and making a list about the best
pornographic movie titles based on films from 2007 and 2008, which is reminiscent of the sketches during Myers and Carvey's years at ''Saturday Night Live''.
2011 ''SNL'' reprise
In 2011, Myers and Carvey once again reprised their roles on the February 5 edition of ''Saturday Night Live'', which Carvey hosted. ''Wayne's World'' appeared as a
cold open
A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...
, in which the two discuss their picks for the upcoming
Oscars
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...
. They favor the movie ''
Winter's Bone
''Winter's Bone'' is a 2010 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Debra Granik. It was adapted by Granik and Anne Rosellini from the 2006 novel by Daniel Woodrell. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as a poverty-stricken teenage girl na ...
'' because its name lends itself to double entendres, and also joke about the Oscar hosts,
James Franco
James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...
and
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...
.
Phil Hartman's "Cable 10 Public Access" introduction preceded the segment, in tradition with other reprised sketches (
Church Chat,
The Continental, etc.)
2015 ''SNL'' reprise
In 2015, Myers and Carvey again reprised their roles for the ''
Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special''. In their ''Wayne's World'' segment, the two gave a Top 10 list of the things they love about ''SNL''. The sketch also featured a cameo appearance by musical guest
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
who made the Top 5 and the duo humorously referencing Kanye's various interruptions of Myers,
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
and
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
. Hartman's "Cable 10" introduction again preceded the segment.
2021 Super Bowl advertisements
For
Super Bowl LV, Myers and Carvey reprised their roles for several
Uber Eats advertisements, with the message of supporting local businesses;
Cardi B
Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...
makes an appearance in a couple of the ads.
List of ''SNL'' episodes featured
#February 18, 1989 (
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.
He made his a ...
)
#March 25, 1989 (
Mary Tyler Moore)
#May 13, 1989 (
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
)
#September 30, 1989 (
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...
)
#December 2, 1989 (
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...
)
#January 13, 1990 (
Ed O'Neill)
#February 17, 1990 (
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
) (
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
guest star in this skit)
#March 24, 1990 (
Debra Winger)
#May 19, 1990 (
Candice Bergen)
#December 1, 1990 (John Goodman)
#January 19, 1991 (
Sting)
#March 23, 1991 (
Jeremy Irons)
#May 11, 1991 (
Delta Burke) (Madonna guest stars in this skit)
#September 28, 1991 (
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
)
#January 18, 1992 (
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...
)
#April 11, 1992 (
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...
)
#December 5, 1992 (
Tom Arnold)
#November 20, 1993 (
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...
)
#May 14, 1994 (
Heather Locklear) (Wayne fantasizes he is in ''
Melrose Place'')
#February 5, 2011 (
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, screenwriter and producer.
Carvey is best known for his seven seasons on ''Saturday Night Live'', from 1986 to 1993, which earned him five consecutive Pri ...
)
#February 15, 2015 (
Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special)
See also
*
List of recurring ''Saturday Night Live'' characters and sketches
References
{{Wayne's World
Mass media franchises introduced in 1988
Fictional television shows
Heavy metal mass media
Saturday Night Live sketches
Saturday Night Live in the 1980s
Saturday Night Live in the 1990s
Wayne's World