This is the only season 6 broadcast to be rerun as part of NBC's "Classic Saturday Night Live" late night block on April 30, 2005, but was preempted on most stations, due to coverage involving Pope Benedict XVI's first day in office. The original master tape was also damaged in certain spots in the show, due to storage issues, particularly during Eddie Murphy's editorial segment on Weekend Update and during the end credits.
According to Kenny Vance, the show's musical director, James Brown's second performance ran too long, which explains the bizarre pacing for the rest of the show.
This was the first time Eddie Murphy is a credited cast member of the show. He would become the only cast member from Season 6 to achieve stardom. Nearly all the cast members from the first 5 seasons achieved stardom outside of the show. All of them left the show as regulars at the end of Season 5.