Jason Priestley tumbles through SNL's 'Figure Skating Cold Open'

When Jason Priestley hosted Saturday Night Live on February 15, 1992, he took the ice as Brian Demming, a young skater competing at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. The sketch opens with commentators Verne Lundquist (Phil Hartman) and Scott Hamilton (Dana Carvey) setting high expectations for Demming's routine.

Lundquist calls him “a young man from Rockford, Illinois, a real Cinderella story,” and Hamilton adds that “all he has to do is skate the program he skated this afternoon and Brian will have his medal.” The moment optimism turns to calamity on his very first jump, when he falls flat on his back and then begins slipping and sliding across the rink, colliding with walls and traveling entirely on his stomach.

Despite ending the routine bloody and injured, Brian keeps a smile on his face as the commentators react in stunned disbelief. “Could this cause permanent... OH! ...damage?” Lundquist asks, and Hamilton replies, “Yes, he really should... OH! Someone should really stop this, but Olympic rules prohibit...

France, Albertville

jason priestley, snl, brian demming, figure skating, albertville, winter olympics, phil hartman, dana carvey, rockford illinois, olympic rules