The sketch centered on a local
public-access television program in
Aurora, Illinois, hosted by
Wayne Campbell (
Mike Myers, 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. 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). 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). 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 in a one-on-one hockey game, upon which
Janet Jones runs to kiss Wayne, and Wayne and Garth meeting
Madonna in a spoof of her
Madonna: Truth or Dare film and controversial music video for "
Justify My Love". 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), 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 with their idols, the rock band
Aerosmith, 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 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==