Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
OIL SPILL PRESS CONFERENCE
Tony Hayward (BIH) lists absurd ideas to stop Deepwater Horizon oil spill
— I love Jason’s little “We’re baaaaaack” early on.
— I’m really enjoying the accent Bill’s using.
— Some decent laughs from the absurd ideas of how to stop the oil spill, such as “Dolphins With Mops”.
— Bill’s delivery of the line “we will get back to do what we do best: robbing you blind at the gas pump” made me laugh, and deserved a better audience reaction.
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
host shunts Steve Martin-on-tape [real] & gives SNL commencement address
— Our obligatory Betty White mention, with Alec Baldwin mentioning in a jokingly bragging manner that he’s hosted 14 times more than Betty.
— Alec mentions he’s now tied Steve Martin in number of SNL hosting stints, and we get a welcome callback to the famous SNL “rivalry” between Alec and Steve.
— Second monologue in these past five episodes to have a Steve Martin cameo.
— Another Betty White reference, with Steve humorously thanking Facebook Mexico for campaigning for him to appear in this monologue.
— I like Steve re-activating the TV monitor he was on that Alec had just turned off.
— Interesting premise of an “SNL commencement address”, which is very fitting for a season finale.
— Meh, Alec’s commencement speech is kinda losing me.
— Okay, I did like the Charlie Sheen twist just now at the end of the commencement speech.
— When telling us Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are here, Alec doesn’t follow it with the usual “Stick around, we’ll be right back” final words. The monologue instead just ends without him saying it.
STARS: **½
GREAT DAY
coked-up (ANS) blithely wrecks his life; Tom Petty cameo
— Already some big laughs right from the start of the song performed by a coked-up Andy.
— A great “HEY, GET THE (*BLEEP*) OFF ME!!!” outburst from Andy when one of the backup dancers innocently taps him on the shoulder.
— This already-funny song has now gotten even more hilarious when the tempo has gotten much faster in an insane way.
— Good way to include both the host and musical guest.
— A priceless shot of Andy suddenly saying “OR WAS IT?!?” into the camera with a cartoonishly demonic face and voice.
STARS: ****½
ARIZONA EVENINGS
incompetent bucktoothed script supervisor Starfish (KRW) ruins soap opera
— Meh at the reveal of this new wacky Starfish character (who thankfully never goes on to become a recurring character). From the traits we’re seeing of Starfish so far, she seems way too typical of Kristen’s general characters.
— An AWFUL main joke with Starfish repeatedly interrupting the filming by walking into the shot or blocking the camera with various things.
— Was that “ending” even an ending?
— Overall, I found this sketch to be completely laughless. Even typically weak Wacky Wiig Showcase sketches like the Don’t Make Me Sing sketch from earlier this season had some merits, unlike this Starfish sketch.
STARS: *
SWIM TEAM AWARDS
coach (host) disses his swimmers at a high school sports awards banquet
— (*sigh*) Will Forte’s final appearance as a cast member. And it’s only a very brief, non-comedic role at the beginning of this sketch, which is also his ONLY appearance all night. Geez. I’m aware that it wasn’t known by SNL at the time that this would end up being Will’s final episode (I believe, a week or so later, Will would say in an interview for the movie MacGruber that he’s planning on returning to SNL for another season), but still, this is an extremely disappointing way for such a strong and reliable 8-year veteran to spend his final episode.
— Some funny insults from Alec towards each swim team member he presents an award to.
— Very typical that Fred would be cast as the character of this sketch who’s accused of being gay.
— I love the little exchange between Alec and Jason.
— Another good exchange, this time between Alec and Kenan.
— A fairly interesting way to get the entire cast to appear in a sketch, one-by-one, even if most of them aren’t being truly utilized here, as most of them are given nothing noteworthy to do. I always like when a season finale has a sketch that uses the entire cast, though I prefer said sketch to air at the end of the show.
STARS: ***
BIRTHDAY COOKOUT
at her 14th birthday party, non-juvenile Bedelia worships her dad (host)
— Good to see the return of this solid slice-of-life character of Nasim’s. Also nice to see this sketch appearing in a much earlier spot than it did in its first installment earlier this season.
— At the beginning of this sketch, Alec accidentally calls Nasim’s Bedelia character “Belinda”.
— Between the first installment of this sketch and tonight’s installment, it’s interesting how Bedelia’s parents are played by the two leads of the show 30 Rock (Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin).
— Bedelia to her father: “Heard mom doesn’t want anymore kids. You gettin’ snipped?”
— A funny inappropriate and unsettling compliment from Bedelia about how her dad’s new fit shape has probably carried over into the bedroom.
— This sketch ends in basically the same way the first installment of this sketch did, with Bedelia meeting her male counterpart, but I like this installment’s ending better, as it doesn’t have Bedelia’s male counterpart being played by Justin Freakin’ Bieber, who’s overexposed presence in that episode soured the ending of that night’s Bedelia sketch for me.
STARS: ****
PRENIVA
Sally Field (ABE) recommends Preniva after fomenting bone loss fears
— A very solid Sally Field impression from Abby, and it’s good to see Abby front-and-center in a rare showcase.
— Abby’s Sally Field, after disclosing some harrowing facts about bone loss: “Are ya bummed yet?”
— I like Abby-as-Field’s ending line, “I’m not f(*bleep*)ing around, you guys”, delivered in a suddenly stern manner.
STARS: ***
GRADY WILSON’S INTIMATE & INTERNATIONAL
Greek (host) & Grady Wilson partner for sex DVD
— I feel like I’m finding Grady Wilson’s sex moves less and less funny with each passing installment of this sketch.
— At least Alec’s humorous Greek accent is providing some chuckles to the otherwise fairly stale feel of these sex move demonstrations. His delivery of “I poke you” during the Facebook scene is especially funny to me.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Should Have Known It”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Snooki (BOM) is ready for Jersey Shore’s summer excursion to Miami
Stefon isn’t able to think of mainstream attractions for NYC travelers
unrehearsed Garth & Kat preview their outdoor summer concert series
— Bobby’s always very fun as Snooki, managing to make both the tired man-in-drag trope and some of the hacky orange jokes work.
— I absolutely love Bobby-as-Snooki’s legitimately funny explanation for why her nickname is Prison Jumpsuit: “Because I’m bright orange, and once I’m on you, you really start to question the life decisions that led you to this point.”
— Showing what an instant hit Stefon’s first Update appearance was, SNL already brings him back just two episodes later, and he already gets HUGE cheers from the audience upon his entrance tonight. He’s broken out and has become a beloved character a lot faster than most Update characters.
— One of the bizarre club features Stefon mentions is a cat from a bodega. Knowing that John Mulaney writes these Stefon pieces, that bodega mention reminds me of a Bodega Bathroom sketch that I heard Mulaney would later star in and (I assume) write himself in one of his hosting stints, as part of a series of musical epics that traditionally appear in Mulaney-hosted episodes. (I can only go by what I’ve heard on online SNL boards, because, remember, I’ve been on a still-ongoing hiatus from watching new SNL episodes since December 2018, and thus, the only one of those musical epics from Mulaney-hosted episodes that I’ve seen is the first one: Diner Lobster.)
— My favorite bizarre club features mentioned by Stefon in tonight’s commentary are Germfs (German Smurfs) and D.J. Baby Bok Choy.
— Oh, are you kidding me? In an Update with Stefon, SNL instead chooses to have fucking GARTH AND KAT close this season of Update out?!? Get this mess off my screen.
STARS: ***
TIMECROWAVE
meals cooked in the Timecrowave can disrupt the space-time continuum
— After a very-straightforward-though-subtly-funny first minute-and-a-half of this sketch, this has started to get really amusing and fun with all the history-altered differences in Alec and Kristen’s respective physical appearance each time the camera cuts to an individual close-up of them.
— The second consecutive segment tonight with Bobby in drag. Amusingly, his fingers noticeably still have a faint tinge of orange left over from his Snooki makeup on Weekend Update.
— A hilarious background gag with Nazi flags now appearing on the houses seen through the background window.
— Alec has begun accidentally delivering his long spiel right now into the wrong camera.
— I love the creepy ending with the giant cat outside the window, and how the giant cat meows in an unsettling slow, deep voice.
STARS: ****
WHISTLE IF YOU CAN
in a 1952 movie, (host) humanizes a hooker (JES) before re-debasing her
— This ends up being Jenny’s final SNL appearance as a cast member before getting fired that summer, but at least this final appearance of hers is a co-starring role. Rather surprising in hindsight that she, a one-season featured player not known for doing all that much on the show, gets a big showcase in what ends up being her final episode while Will, an established veteran, got nothing but a bit role tonight (even though it wasn’t known at this time that neither Will nor Jenny would return the following season).
— After a season of some iffy performances and occasional gaffes, Jenny’s actually giving a very solid performance here. This fact is bittersweet in hindsight, as it makes you wonder what might’ve been if Jenny had been given a second season to continue the growth she’s showing as a performer in this sketch.
— A big laugh from the twist with Alec’s blunt “Gertrude….give me a handjob” request, after his tender and heartwarming treatment of her.
STARS: ***½
SNIPERS
snipers (JAS) & (KET) don’t know if (host) wants them to take the shot
— Jason playing another character from his real-life hometown of Kansas City, I see.
— Alec’s performance is pretty fun here so far.
— The conceit of this sketch just doesn’t work, especially when you can very easily tell what supposedly-unintelligible thing Alec is yelling (“Taayy the shaaahhh” = “Take the shot”).
— What the hell just happened? Alec seemed to mistakenly jump ahead of the script before realizing his mistake: he got on top of Jason’s body as if he was about to begin to do something, but then he laughed out of character, immediately got off of Jason, and then rolled over to Kenan to do the part of the sketch that he was apparently supposed to do. Jason’s facial reaction to this blooper was kinda funny.
— Alec has now mistakenly started saying his “God, you must be addicted to doing squats” line to Jason too early, before he even got on top of Jason’s body (the latter of which explains why Alec mistakenly got on top of Jason’s body at the wrong time a little earlier in the sketch, as mentioned above). Some of this sloppiness in Alec’s performance isn’t helping the weak script of this sketch.
— All of Alec’s occasional homoerotic lines towards Jason and Kenan are just unnecessary, but that’s season 35 for you.
— A very lame twist with Alec revealing that his yells of “Taayy the shaaahhh” actually meant “Stand by”, because, as he explains, “I’m inconsistent”. Blah.
— This ends up being our final sketch of the season? Disappointing.
STARS: *½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Jefferson Jericho Blues”
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A better season finale than I remember, which I guess is fitting, given the fact that this season as a whole was not as bad as I and certain others had remembered. (I’m aware that, in my recent review of this season’s Zach Galifianakis episode, I provided a link to an old 2010 review of mine that contained a huge rant about how supposedly “bad” this season was, as I wanted to give you readers an idea of how this season was perceived by me and certain others back when it originally aired, but here’s a different link to another long rant of mine about the “bad” quality of this season, in my end-of-season wrap-up from my original 2010 review of this Baldwin season finale [the rant can be seen in the last large group of paragraphs at the end of the review].) For the most part, Alec Baldwin was good tonight, but this certainly wasn’t one of his more memorable hosting stints, and he also seemed a little sloppier than usual, noticeably making some Gabourey Sidibe-esque flubs throughout the episode.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Great Day
Birthday Cookout
Timecrowave
Whistle If You Can
Swim Team Awards
Preniva
Oil Spill Press Conference
Weekend Update
Monologue
Grady Wilson’s Intimate & International
Snipers
Arizona Evenings
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Betty White)
a slight step down
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS ENTIRE SEASON, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2008-09)
a step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Season 36 begins, with host Amy Poehler, and four new additions to the cast
It’s ironic that one song in the Grady Wilson sketch is just called Panini, considering Lil Nas X actually WOULD name a song “Panini” (though, if his Twitter was any indication, it was not for the sandwich, but for a Cartoon Network character.)
John Lutz wrote “Timecrowave,” in his final episode on the writing staff.
I think Mulaney, Rich, and Sawyer wrote “Whistle If You Can.”
Next season sees us get introduced to Vanessa Bayer, Taran Killiam, Jay Pharaoh and Paul Britain. Can’t wait for that.
Man watching Kristen in these years is like watching a completely different cast member compared to her first couple of seasons. I can’t remember a cast member doing a complete 180 like that halfway through their tenure. I guess Fred to a lesser extent.
Of all the longtime cast members, I think Will Forte maybe had one of the worst goodbye episodes, but yeah to be fair I guess SNL didn’t know he was leaving at that point, didn’t Will only decide over the summer, I think he said he had been on the fence already, but then I wanna say a family member got sick or something and that was when he officially made up his mind it wasn’t to move back to California to be closer to his family.
It’s hard to explain what I felt when Will Forte joined the show. I had been a fan, off and on, for a little over a decade, and I had just about had my fill of SNL. Wondering when Kattan would ever leave, Horatio yelling his lines, Tina smugging on Update, Jimmy’s awful recurring characters, Parnell being so badly used, the general immaturity, the never-ending gay jokes, the cringeworthy attempts at seeming “hip,” the general tired, lazy feeling where you’d get plenty of boy band sketches but nothing to make you pay attention. For me, Will was an almost immediate breath of life. There was something very pure about him – there was none of the desperation and none of the emptiness that I had come to associate with the show by that time. He had such a gonzo spirit about him, and I immediately felt a connection with his work. He made me remember why I loved SNL. It’s the closest I think I have ever come to feeling like a cast member arrived just for me.
That still wasn’t enough to keep me watching for much longer, but I always had fond memories of his work, so much so that I was afraid when I went back to rewatch I would be let down. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. I was just as impressed, if not even more. Will was one of the most reliable and most delightful performers the show ever had, always bringing not just commitment, and energy, but a sheer joy that can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. A part of me wishes he had stayed one more season for a goodbye, especially since Taran Killam and especially poor Paul Brittain don’t have the happiest of tenures and I think Will has said he wasn’t sure he made the right choice in leaving when he did, but overall, he was probably right to go. I remember reading a review of a 10-11 episode (I think Jon Hamm’s) just asking, point blank, why Kristen and Jason were still there when they could do so much better. By that point the same would have been true for Will. So I will just be glad for what we had, and hope he might come back to host someday, while we still have a chance.
As for season 35, I’m not sure how I would have felt if I had watched live at the time. Watching along with your reviews, I feel like it was not a huge step from season 34, just as 34 was a natural downward shift from season 33. I guess at the time, with Palinpalooza so heavy in 34, the shift must have felt more jarring. I think the choices made in that season (like sticking with Fredbama and sidelining the other female players) charted the course for what we get in 35. There are exceptions, like the huge crash from seasons 18 to 19, but more often SNL has a long, slow, painful downward slope.
Considering Abby’s fate (I wonder if fans at the time thought she might go over Jenny as Abby seemed to REALLY lose steam in the back half of this season), and some fans saying Nasim gets less and less airtime as each year passes, I guess Jenny wasn’t going to get much better than what she got this season, but I do wonder what might have been, just a tiny bit. She seemed to finally get more comfortable in her last few episodes, and the hair and makeup people finally seemed to start knowing what to do with her. Anyway, at least she got a decent goodbye sketch.
Here is Simon Rich talking about that sketch:
“Of any sketch I ever worked on, this is the one I’m most shocked that it aired. There is about two or even three minutes without a single attempt at a joke. It’s like three minutes of pure drama, and then a disgusting joke. The read-through played exactly like it played on TV: just bewilderment and confusion. Sometimes at the table, you’ll get pity laughs when a very sweet writer, usually Paula, would chuckle occasionally during a terrible sketch to try to make sure the writer didn’t go and kill themselves. I remember this getting a number of pity laughs because people thought we had lost our minds. Then finally we got to our disgusting payoff.”
https://www.vulture.com/2016/01/simon-rich-favorite-obscure-saturday-night-live-sketches.html
This is a better episode than I remembered–at the time, I remember thinking it was pretty disappointing. It has some great bits (the short, the microwave time travel sketch, the pretty dead-on Sally Field ad parody). However, distressingly, for such an experienced and capable host as Alec Baldwin, this has the feel of being a “solid episode for a lesser host.” Baldwin is rarely at the center of any of the really funny stuff–this isn’t necessarily a problem, but some of his performances, as Stooge notes, aren’t even that good. Perhaps just an off week, but it also may be a sign that the current writing stuff doesn’t always click with longtime classic hosts.
After the lack of success the show had with Casey, Michaela, and Jenny (not really the performers’ fault) and middling results with Abby/Nasim (again, not really their fault), it’s great that the featured player haul next season would be huge–Paul Brittain had the weakest career and even he would have a number of fine moments, while Taran, Vanessa, and Jay would become excellent cast members.
Yeah I remember kinda being surprised Jenny got the boot over Abby. Despite a rough start, it seemed like Jenny had a busier season (and a regular recurring character no less) than Abby who aside from some WU spots, was pretty invisible for most of the season.
Another ep that I either missed or don’t remember…
Good post!
I thought this episode was fine ten years ago, and I still think so. Agreed about Starfish (I dreaded her return) and the Sniper sketch. This was also Tom Petty’s last appearance on SNL, which is a shame; I think The Heartbreakers were the first band to get Five Timer status. Forte did deserve a better sendoff, even though he was undecided at that point.
I might sound like a broken record, but I’m looking forward to the Year 36 reviews. IIRC, there were only two shows that whole season that I didn’t like. There’s an insane winning streak until the Elton John/Leon Russell show.
I absolutely LOVED Jenny Slate over Abby Elliot. She said she was never cut out for sketch comedy, but I disagree. She fit right in. As far as Forte is concerned, I don’t think he was a genius as some do. Talented, yes, but not a powerhouse. This season was a mish-mash but enjoyable nonetheless. I look forward to your season 36 reviews. Hope everyone enjoys the premiere of Season 46!
We have the “Tiny Hats” sketch coming up in the premiere that caused some controversy as some saw it as a rip of Tim and Eric I believe.
Hey Strummer. Who Is Tim And Eric ? ?
I remember when seeing on the s-n-l dot com board that people felt that Paul was too attached to the cue cards. He and Taran did not break out right away, yet Vanessa and Jay each made an impression right off the bat.
As for keeping Abby over Jenny, my guess is that Abby had an edge with her impressions. Had Jenny came back, and that’s if they wanted to bring Abby back as well, Vanessa might not have been added to the show.
Here are the average ratings for Season 35:
*may not represent review’s perception*
3501: 5.3 (Megan Fox)
3502: 7.2 (Ryan Reynolds)
3503: 6.0 (Drew Barrymore)
3504: 6.1 (Gerard Butler)
3505: 6.8 (Taylor Swift)
3506: 5.2 (January Jones)
3507: 6.3 (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
3508: 6.6 (Blake Lively)
3509: 4.9 (Taylor Lautner)
3510: 5.6 (James Franco)
3511: 7.3 (Charles Barkley)
3512: 5.6 (Sigourney Weaver)
3513: 7.3 (Jon Hamm)
3514: 6.0 (Ashton Kutcher)
3515: 5.9 (Jennifer Lopez)
3516: 6.4 (Zach Galifianakis)
3517: 5.8 (Jude Law)
3518: 5.8 (Tina Fey)
3519: 5.8 (Ryan Phillippe)
3520: 4.8 (Gabourey Sidibe)
3521: 7.0 (Betty White)
3522: 5.9 (Alec Baldwin)
Best Episode: 3510 (Charles Barkley) + 3513 (Jon Hamm)- 7.3 (tie)
Worst Episode: 3520 (Gabourey Sidibe)- 4.8
Season Average: 6.1
Season Averages Ranked:
#14 – 7.2
#15 – 7.1
#18 – 7.1
#17 – 7.0
#21 – 7.0
#22 – 7.0
#24 – 7.0
#16 – 6.9
#23 – 6.9
#26 – 6.8
#13 – 6.7
#25 – 6.7
#34 – 6.7
#3 – 6.6
#4 – 6.6
#27 – 6.6
#2 – 6.5
#12 – 6.5
#33 – 6.5
#1 – 6.3
#10 – 6.3
#32 – 6.3
#5 – 6.2
#9 – 6.1
#28 – 6.1
#31 – 6.1
—> #35 – 6.1 <—
#8 – 6.0
#19 – 6.0
#7 – 5.8
#11 – 5.7
#29 – 5.7
#20 – 5.6
#6 – 5.3
#30 – 5.3
Five-Timers Individual Rankings:
8.8 – Alec Baldwin/The B-52’s (15.18)
7.8 – Alec Baldwin/Luciano Pavarotti (24.09)
7.7 – Alec Baldwin/Paul McCartney (18.13)
7.1 – Alec Baldwin/Beastie Boys (20.08)
7.1 – Alec Baldwin/Coldplay (26.16)
7.1 – Alec Baldwin / Christina Aguilera (32.05)
7.0 – Alec Baldwin/Tori Amos (21.11)
6.9 – Alec Baldwin/Tina Turner (22.14)
6.8 – Alec Baldwin/Whitney Houston (16.14)
6.7 – Alec Baldwin/P.O.D. (27.18)
5.9 – Alec Baldwin/Shakira (31.08)
5.9 – Alec/Baldwin/Tom Petty (35.22)
5.6 – Alec Baldwin/Jonas Bros (34.16)
5.5 – Alec Baldwin/Missy Elliott (29.06)
5.3 – AB & KB/UB40 (19.13)
Watching the episode in full, I have to say that while it wasn’t that great, it’s probably one of the Baldwin episodes where I felt he was more engaging in performance, especially for his later hosting years. Stuff like that tired Grady Wilson reprisal he genuinely made fun. He was sloppy, but other than the mistake with the camera in Timecrowave it didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment. That Snipers sketch was nonsense, as if they found some Suel Forrester sketch they dusted off and rewrote, but his performance is loose enough to where I ended up seeing it as dumb but fun rather than just dumb.
It’s fitting that a season which repeatedly reminded me of 93-94 ends on the same note. Honestly I kind of hated that coach sketch – it is the exact type of pure bile that was so heavy in my least favorite season. I do like the bit with Jason, but that isn’t enough. In contrast, the Timecrowave sketch reminded me of some of the crazy-but-effectively-executed concepts which would pop up during that season, and it was a breath of fresh air for the more boilerplate modern SNL.
The Sally Field parody, especially the tough tone (accusing her – and Boniva – of fearmongering), also felt out of place with modern SNL, in a good way. A strong impression from Abby, especially the voice. I do think this could have used a slight trim.
I enjoy most of Great Day, especially the increasingly disorienting elements, but does anyone else think the ending falls very flat?
This Snooki appearance seemed to have much stronger writing than the first two. In contrast, Garth & Kat I could barely get through this time – was it longer than the first G&K segments or was I just in some sort of purgatory?
The cold open is another example of the strange lack of chemistry I feel between most of the cast of this period, which continues to confuse me given the close friendships many of them share. Other than seeing Bill basically do his own version of Dana Carvey’s Robin Leach impression, I wasn’t a fan.
The final bumper of Baldwin and Tom Petty is lovely, especially as this was Tom’s final involvement with SNL.
Here are the five star sketches from the 09-10 season:
On The Ground (Ryan Reynolds)
What Up With That? (Gerard Butler)
Monologue (Joseph Gordon Levitt)
Potato Chip Thief (Blake Lively)
Macgruber x 2 (Charles Barkley)
Sergio (Jon Hamm)
Game Time With Randy and Greg (Jon Hamm)
Hamm and Buble (Jon Hamm)
Closet Organizer (Jon Hamm)
Bar (Jon Hamm)
Smash Mouth (Jennifer Lopez)
Monologue (Zach Galifianakis)
The Shake Weight Commercial DVD (Ryan Phillippe)
13 sketches., though I combined the Macgruber appearences and separated the Closet Organizer pieces, so this could be a 12 or 14 depending on perspective. Down a few from 08-09, but the second highest total of this five-year era and, aside from 08-09, the highest total since 00-01. Hmm.
Before Stooge’s reviews of this season, I had long viewed 09-10 as one of the worst season in the show’s history – not bottom tier bad, but in the 81-82 or 93-94 zone of badness. Of course, the one star tabulation from this season may flesh out that story a bit more, but it’s hard to argue with the quality this season delivered. I may not be as hot on some of these sketches as Stooge (I applaud What Up With That? for its execution, but the central joke has never done much for me – maybe that’s the point), but I really found myself swayed by his enthusiasm. OF COURSE Threw It On The Ground is a Lonely Island classic. OF COURSE Joseph Gordon Levitt delivers an all-timer monologue. OF COURSE that Shake Weight commercial is still hilarious. I maybe wasn’t over the moon with them at the time, but Stooge’s retroactive take is bang on.
Last point though – thank God for the Jon Hamm episode.
And now the ****½ sketches:
Tampax To The Max Tournament Of Champions 1991 (Drew Barrymore)
Game Time with Randy and Greg (Gerard Butler)
Monologue (Taylor Swift)
A Lady’s Guide To Throwing A Party (January Jones)
Two Worlds Collide (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
What Up With That? (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
Shy Ronnie (Blake Lively)
Kickspit Underground Rock Festival (Blake Lively)
What Up With That? (James Franco)
The Tizzle Wizzle Show (James Franco)
MacGruber pt. 3 (Charles Barkley)
James Cameron’s Laser Cats 5 (Sigourney Weaver)
An Even-Tempered Apology (Ashton Kutcher)
Zach Drops By The Set (Zach Galifianakis)
Twilight Zone (Jude Law)
MacGruber pt. 3 (Betty White)
Thank You For Being A Friend (Betty White)
Great Day (Alec Baldwin)
Hey Stooge. Galileo Has NOT Seen John Mulaney’s Episode That He Hosted In February 2020 Either ! ! Both You And Galileo NEED To See This Episode Because The Monologue IS Hilarious ! The Musical Guest Is David Byrne And He Has These Dancers That Have Various Musical Instruments Around Their Waist And ALL OF Them Dance ALL Over the Stage And The Choreography IS Fabulous ! ! There Is A Sketch Called Sushi AT The Airport And I Think It Is Better Than The Lobster Sketch ! John Mulaney Is There To Promote March ! David Byrne Sings On The Plane To Nowhere ! That Was THE Best Episode OF 2019-2020 ! I Would Make Eddie Murphy Be Second And Adam Driver Be Third ! !
Here are all the sketches under 2 stars from the last five years
Season 31
ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (Catherine Zeta-Jones) *
COLD OPEN-A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT (Lance Armstrong) *
LANCE’S SONG (Lance Armstrong) *1/2
WEEKEND UPDATE (Jason Lee) *1/2
WEEKEND UPDATE (Eva Longoria) *1/2
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT THE “DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES” VANITY FAIR PHOTO SHOOT (Eva Longoria) *1/2
FIRMIUM (Eva Longoria) *1/2
BROKEBACK GOLDMINE (Alec Baldwin) *1/2
WEEKEND UPDATE (Alec Baldwin) *1/2
MEDICARE (Alec Baldwin) *1/2
CAT FANCY MAGAZINE (Peter Sarsgaard) *1/2
WEEKEND UPDATE (Peter Sarsgaard) *1/2
GAYS IN SPACE (Peter Sarsgaard) *
SUPER BOWL NATIONAL ANTHEM (Steve Martin) *
SURFERS (Steve Martin) *
LARRY KING LIVE (Natalie Portman) *1/2
ART DEALERS (Natalie Portman) *1/2
WEEKEND UPDATE (Matt Dillon) *1/2
THE 13TH ANNUAL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACHES’ FASHION AWARDS (Antonio Banderas) *1/2
ANTONIO’S STAND-IN (Antonio Banderas) *1/2
MONOLOGUE (Lindsay Lohan) *1/2
NEUTROGENA COIN SLOT CREAM (Lindsay Lohan) *
DEEP HOUSE DISH (Lindsay Lohan) *
DEBBIE DOWNER (Lindsay Lohan) *1/2
UNIVERSAL THEME PARK (Tom Hanks) *1/2
WEEKEND UPDATE (Tom Hanks) *1/2
OPRAH WINFREY’S LEGENDS BALL SPECIAL (Kevin Spacey) *1/2
Season 32
ST. AMBROSE SCHOOL (Jamie Pressly) *
THE NASCARETTES (Jamie Pressly) *1/2
BIG WIGS (Jamie Pressly) *
KIM JONG IL’S ADDRESS (John C. Reilly) *
SHE’S A MESS (John C. Reilly) *
MCMILLAN FAMILY MOMENT (John C. Reilly) *
THE BEAR SHARK PROJECT (John C. Reilly) *1/2
MCMILLAN FAMILY MOMENT (John C. Reilly) *
MCMILLAN FAMILY MOMENT (John C. Reilly) *
SADDAM’S DEFENSE TEAM (Alec Baldwin) *1/2
STUDENT-TEACHER ROMANCE (Annette Bening) *
ELF AUDITION (Justin Timberlake) *
TRUMP PRESS CONFERENCE (Jake Gyllenhaal) *1/2
VERSACE SUPER BOWL PARTY (Drew Barrymore) *1/2
LOVE WHITNEY: WHITNEY HOUSTON’S VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL (Forest Whitaker) *
ART DEALERS (Rainn Wilson) *1/2
RIVER BLISS (Rainn Wilson) *1/2
300 (Peyton Manning) *1/2
COLD OPEN-WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE (Scarlett Johansson) *1/2
MONOLOGUE (Scarlett Johansson) *1/2
PROM DRESS SHOPPING (Scarlett Johansson) *
KUATOS (Scarlett Johansson) *
MELISSA (Zach Braff) *
Season 33
BIG KIDS (Seth Rogen) *1/2
AMERICA’S FIRST COLONISTS (Seth Rogen) *1/2
MAD JOE DIXON (Seth Rogen) *1/2
A VISIT WITH FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE (Jon Bon Jovi) *1/2
WHERE’S MY PURSE? (Jon Bon Jovi) *
MAYBELLINE FOR MEN (Brian Williams) *
LARRY KING LIVE (Brian Williams) *1/2
SHOPPING WITH VIRGINIACA (Ellen Page) *1/2
FIERCE: THE HOT MESS MAKE-OVER SHOW (Amy Addams) *1/2
LARRY KING LIVE (Christopher Walken) *1/2
THE BEST LOOK IN THE WORLD (Shia LeBeouf) *1/2
NEW YORK FUNKY (Shia LaBeouf) *1/2
Season 34
BIG KIDS (Michael Phelps) *1/2
AGENT 420 (James Franco) *1/2
HEY! (MURRAY HILL) (James Franco) *1/2
SURPRISE (Josh Brolin) *
AFFECTIONATE FAMILY (Paul Rudd) *
LAMPS (Hugh Laurie) *1/2
COOKIES (Hugh Laurie) *1/2
TODAY (Neil Patrick Harris) *1/2
FRAN & FREBA (Neil Patrick Harris) *1/2
COLD OPEN-VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY: THE FINAL INTERVIEW (Rosario Dawson) *1/2
GILLY (Rosario Dawson) *1/2
MADOFF INVITES (Steve Martin) *
MAKE-UP COUNTER (Steve Martin) *
TODAY (Bradley Cooper) *1/2
INTERVENTION (Bradley Cooper) *1/2
BIG LOVE (Tracy Morgan) *1/2
THE FAST & THE BI-CURIOUS (Seth Rogen) *
GILLY (Zac Efron) *1/2
Season 35
COLD OPEN-UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY (Megan Fox) *1/2
RUSSIAN BRIDES (Megan Fox) *
BIKER CHICK CHAT (Megan Fox) *1/2
LARRY KING LIVE (Drew Barrymore) *1/2
300 (Gerard Butler) *1/2
COTTAGE CHEESE IDEAS (Gerard Butler) *
REAR WINDOW (January Jones) *
SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM (January Jones) *
COLD OPEN-CHINA PRESS CONFERENCE (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) *1/2
SECRET WORD (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) *1/2
WOMAN TO WOMAN (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) *1/2
SKIRT SHOPPING (Blake Lively) *
ROSE BOWL PROMO (Taylor Lautner) *1/2
SURPRISE (Taylor Lautner) *1/2
SHOW CHOIR (Taylor Lautner) *1/2
LAB PARTNERS (Taylor Lautner) *1/2
AFFECTIONATE FAMILY (James Franco) *
THE MANUEL ORTIZ SHOW (James Franco) *1/2
COLD OPEN-THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER (Charles Barkley) *1/2
DISCO BOOTY JUNCTION (Sigourney Weaver) *1/2
RILEY (Sigourney Weaver) *
COURT STENOGRAPHER (Jon Hamm) *
SLAVE BOY (Ashton Kutcher) *1/2
BESOS Y LAGRIMAS (Jennifer Lopez) *1/2
COLD OPEN-HEALTH CARE REFORM (Zach Galifianakis) *
AFFECTIONATE FAMILY (Zach Galifianakis) *
MONOLOGUE (Jude Law) *1/2
SECRET WORD (Jude Law) *1/2
COURT STENOGRAPHER (Jude Law) *
LONELY TEACHER (Tina Fey) *
TEEN TALK (Ryan Phillippe) *1/2
COLD OPEN-WALL STREET LUNCH (Gabourey Sidibe) *
I DID IT IN MY STYLE, THE STORY OF FRANK SINATRA (Gabourey Sidibe) *1/2
2010 PUBLIC EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR AWARDS (Gabourey Sidibe) *1/2
ARIZONA EVENINGS (Alec Baldwin) *
SNIPERS (Alec Baldwin) *1/2
Hey Stooge. Something’s Wrong With My Keyboard ! ! It Keeps Capitalizing EVERY Word I Write ! ! And I Can’t Seem To Stop No MATTER How Inane My Thoughts Are ! ! Can Somebody HELP Me ! ! I’m Stuck At The BUS Station ! ! Or In Some Kind Of HELL Of My Own Mental Design ! ! That LOOKS Like A Bus Station ! ! Klaatu Barada NIKTO !
Here’s a recent article on SNL involving Baldwin and how the show has changed over the years for better or worse, from stunt casting to the now-HUGE cast size.
https://uproxx.com/tv/snl-jim-carrey-alec-baldwin/
Was curious how the first and last episodes rank. Here’s the ranking:
Season Premiere:
8.5 – Tom Hanks (S14)
8.0 – Kyle McLachlan (S16)
7.7 – Michael Jordan (S17)
7.6 – Rob Lowe (S26)
7.3 – Steve Martin (S3)
7.3 – Cameron Diaz (S24)
7.3 – Jerry Seinfeld (S25)
7.3 – Dane Cook (S32)
7.1 – Sylvester Stallone (S23)
7.0 – Steve Martin (S13)
7.0 – Nicholas Cage (S18)
7.0 – Mariel Hemingway (S21)
7.0 – LeBron James (S33)
6.8 – Rolling Stones (S4)
6.8 – Chevy Chase (S8)
6.7 – George Carlin (S1)
6.7 – (no host) (S10)
6.6 – Tom Hanks (S22)
6.6 – Matt Damon (S28)
6.5 – Lily Tomlin (S2)
6.5 – Steve Martin (S5)
6.5 – Bruce Willis (S15)
6.5 – Michael Phelps (S34)
6.4 – (no host) (S7)
6.4 – Sigourney Weaver (S12)
6.3 – Steve Carell (S31)
6.1 – Brandon Tartikoff (S9)
6.0 – Charles Barkley (S19)
5.8 – Madonna (S11)
5.8 – Reese Witherspoon (S27)
5.8 – Jack Black (S29)
5.5 – Elliott Gould (S6)
5.3 – Ben Affleck (S30)
—> 5.3 – Megan Fox (S35)
4.9 – Steve Martin (S20)
Season Finale:
8.1 – Jim Carrey (S21)
7.7 – Steve Martin (S14)
7.7 – Christopher Walken (S26)
7.5 – George Wendt (S16)
7.3 – Will Ferrell (S34)
6.9 – Buck Henry (S2)
6.9 – Buck Henry (S5)
6.9 – Heather Locklear (S19)
6.9 – Sarah Michelle Gellar (S24)
6.9 – Dan Aykroyd (S28)
6.8 – Jeff Goldblum (S22)
6.7 – Billy Crystal & Others (S9)
6.6 – Woody Harrelson (S17)
6.6 – David Duchovny (S23)
6.6 – Winona Ryder (S27)
6.5 – Howard Cosell (S10)
6.5 – Kevin Kline (S18)
6.4 – Buck Henry (S4)
6.4 – Judge Reinhold (S13)
6.4 – Candice Bergen (S15)
6.1 – David Duchovny (S20)
6.1 – Kevin Spacey (S31)
6.1 – Steve Carell (S33)
5.9 – Kris Kristofferson (S1)
5.9 – Olivia Newton-John (S7)
5.9 – Dennis Hopper (S12)
—> 5.9 – Alec Baldwin (S35)
5.8 – Olsen Twins (S29)
5.6 – (no host) (S6)
5.5 – Jackie Chan (S25)
5.5 – Zach Braff (S32)
5.3 – Buck Henry (S3)
5.3 – Ed Koch (S8)
5.3 – Anjelica Huston (S11)
4.7 – Lindsay Lohan (S30)
Hey all, it’s my ranking of all the five star sketches from the 05-10 era. Or as I like to call it: “Will Forte, then everyone else.” Of course, these rankings are personal, opinions are like assholes etc. etc. etc. There are 56 sketches here. I don’t dislike a single one. I’d probably give 40 of them top marks. I don’t think my rankings are particularly controversial btw. I think most people, if tasked with ranking these, would come in with comparable results.
Anyway, enjoy!
1. Locker Room Motivation (Peyton Manning) 06-07
It was always a horse race between my top two sketches here. If you asked me in 2010 which I preferred, I would have held up Carpool’s timeless writing as the deciding factor. But all these years later, Dancing Coach is the one that still elicits ACTUAL fits of laughter. I admire Carpool, but I still adore Dancing Coach. It’s always the same cycle. First I watch it to observe Forte (who, as you will see from this list, is a GOD) in all his insane glee. Then I watch it again to see each of the actors in the background slowly lose their composure as they observe this wild solo performance. I’m not the biggest fan of corpsing, but there is something incredible about watching each castmember (and the host) get hit by a wave of giggles one by one. Best of all, their corpsing doesn’t actually get in the way of the sketch. No flow is interrupted. It is a feature and in no way a deterrent. Fifteen or so years on, this sketch is still one of the truest, purest laughs I can derive from sketch comedy.
2. Carpool (Alec Baldwin) 06-07
The best-written sketch of the era, playing on a simple premise and escalating to delirious extremes. To watch this masterclass in timeless comedy is to mourn the manic direction Kristen Wiig took as her star began to shine brighter. Wiig is one of those performers who are better reactors than actors and her first three seasons were a joy to experience in real time.
3. Spelling Bee (Jack Black) 05-06
The power of Will Forte. The Jack Black episode is one of the most important 90 minute chunks in the show’s history, with the inaugural Two A-Holes announcing the arrival of the new core group and Lazy Sunday creating a feverish excitement for these new fangled Digital Shorts. On top of that, Robert Smigel delivers a TV Funhouse that remains a SNL holiday staple. That said, they all pale in comedic comparison to Forte’s little end-of-the-night oddity – a rake joke for the ages. Forte – a man who never once broke character, not once not ever – delivers a herculean performance, while Chris Parnell – a man who never REALLY broke, though I saw him crack half a smile in the 2001 TGI Fridays sketch – matches with trademark deadpan. The tacked on Tenacious D part exists outside of the meaty part of the sketch, but plays like a tone-perfect denouement to one of SNL’s finest works of simple stupidity.
4. The Falconer (Kevin Spacey) 05-06
All Falconer sketches are magical little creations and remain completely unique in the realm of SNL recurring pieces (give or take a Toonces or an Astronaut Jones). To a sketch, they’re all wonderful. This ambitious oddity, however, is the clear apex. Nothing beats a sketch that ropes in a full cast, especially a weird mixture like this one (there is no T-Shirt that says “Sanz & Meyers & Mitchell & Wiig”). What you want in a sketch is madcap grandiosity, and this sketch is absolutely drunk on its own supply. It’s an addictive energy and one I still happily latch onto.
6. Vice Presidential Debate (Anne Hathaway) 08-09
At the time, the Sarah Palin persona felt like a comedic godsend – not a cultural godsend, mind, but the comedy was fun while it lasted. Nowhere was the Palin wave more exciting than in this debate sketch, which cast Fey’s brilliant Palin against a Jason Sudeikis Joe Biden impression that expertly threads the needle between foil, straight man and comic engine in his own right. Beginning in 2000, SNL began saturating their debate sketch market. In 2021, I wouldn’t feel sad if SNL completely bypassed the trope altogether for the next election cycle. But the 20-year glut did have some highlights, none better than this fierce little number, which found SNL crushing both the zeitgeist and their own satirical aspirations.
7. Closet Organizer & Bar (Jon Hamm) 09-10
More Forte. Of course. Get used to it. The 09-10 was the end of the road for Will Forte, with the balance of power fully shifting away from Forte’s unique comedic voice toward the indulgence eras of Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig. That said, when Forte was given space to work, he invariably hit paydirt, possibly with a higher batting average than ever before. This two-parter is a masterpiece in tone shifts, from the hyper-silly absurdity of the Closet Organizer commercial to the slice of life hostility of the Bar sketch. Very little ties the two pieces together other than the fact that Forte is basically playing the same guy, but that willingness to link the scenes was a payoff in itself and a huge influence on some of the coming era’s finest pieces.
8. Potato Chip Thief (Blake Lively) 09-10
Will Forte’s strangest, most confrontational, most potentially divisive sketch. But commitment is an asset and on Potato Chip Thief, Forte’s famously unparalleled commitment to the bit is suddenly paralleled by a rarely-better Jason Sudeikis and a stunningly game Blake Lively. Potato Chip Thief felt like an oasis of weird for those who could sense those elements slipping away from the show. It never fully left the show, but it’s hard to think of too many sketches that dare to get as deeply strange as this cult classic.
9. Doppelgangers (Matt Dillon) 05-06
My highest ranking Digital Short. Weird call, I know, but I think I like Doppelgangers best because of the fact that it’s still just a pure, no frills, straight down the middle piece of timeless sketch comedy. First time I saw it, it was like watching a Kids In The Hall classic. Yes, it lacks the flash of all the more popular music videos, but show this to someone 20 years from now and it’ll register the same amount of laughs as it did 15 years ago. Lazy Sunday? Eh, you had to be there. Doppelgangers? Forever and always.
10. Goodnight Saigon (Will Ferrell) 08-09
A recent rewatch of this sketch yielded something I hadn’t cared to notice the first time around (I was too busy freaking out over Artie Lange): this is a really funny, well-written sketch. That seems like a weird thing to say for a clear five star classic, but take away the honored hosts, alumni and Lange appearances and you still have the bones of a sketch that totally works on its own merits. Too often, the presence of stunt casting usually helps to boost middling material, but aside from the necessity of Ferrell’s performance, everything here inspires giggles in its most basic form.
11. The Platinum Lounge (Alec Baldwin) 06-07
Yes, it’s proto-cameo overload hell and the five-timer fappery eventually got tiresome, but for a short period of time, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin really were a joyous little comedy duo. It’s a shameless piece – especially with the Paul McCartney cameo at the end – but the comedic tomfoolery that Baldwin, Martin and Short fall into really does feel like three masters at work.
12. Macgruber x 2 (Charles Barkley) 09-10
13. MacGruber (Josh Brolin) 08-09
14. MacGruber (Shia LaBeouf) 07-08
I lumped them together because, honestly, they’re all just so fabulous. Even the ones that didn’t make this list – just incredible examples of SNL’s quick-cut renaissance. It’s amazing to me that there are people who STILL don’t realize that MacGruber is the funniest comedy of the last…15? 20? years. THIS is how you do recurring in the modern SNL era. I wish we had something that could deliver with the same level of consistent absurdity today.
15. Countdown With Keith Olbermann (Ben Affleck) 08-09
Justin Timberlake got all the accolades and press, but to me the most enjoyable 2000s-era five-timer is Ben Affleck, who brought a loose, egoless, try-anything energy to all five of his hosting appearances (yeah, even the somewhat subdued fifth appearance). Affleck’s value as a host reached its zenith with a veritable solo piece that asks an incredible amount from the host over the course of the sketch’s nine-minute runtime. We can debate the accuracy of Affleck’s Keith Olbermann impression, but what’s undeniable is Affleck’s energy and commitment to the bit. There are very few times a single performance leaves me in awe, but this remains one for the ages. You can have your Omelettevilles and copious bouts of recognition applause, I will take Affleck absolutely throwing himself into a wild and ambitious one-off any day of the week.
16. TV Funhouse (Peyton Manning) 06-07
God I miss the late years of TV Funhouse when Smigel could really dig into his satire without hitting the same old tired beats of The Ambiguously Gay Duo, The X-Presidents and even Fun With Real Audio. It’s definitely a hit-or-miss era for TV Funhouse, but I find the hits of the era to be far more satisfying. This Dora parody is brilliantly imbued with weird, almost hostile, energy and stands as a particularly meaty late-period highlight.
17. Business Meeting (Rainn Wilson) 06-07
I like my pre-taped sketches (not music videos) to use editing to their advantage. I think, in the early digital short era, there were a couple pieces that could have played just as well, if not better, in a live setting (the Steve Martin episode’s close talkers piece for example), but this one perfectly plays to the pre-tape strengths, with quick cuts, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it absurdity and the kind of machine gun delivery style that simply couldn’t work anywhere else. This is a head-spinner and the kind of fun I wish the show still would try.
18. Indoor Gardening Tips From A Man Who’s Very Scared Of Plants (Christopher Walken) 07-08
There was a degree of self-awareness that entered into the Christopher Walken episodes sometime in the middle of 2000’s Census sketch that kind of took me out of the whole Walken episode experience. But really, it was only the most minor of setbacks. This little solo piece is pure “Christopher Walken as Christopher Walken” but there are no laughs lost through the self-awareness. It’s somewhat unfortunate that this is the end of the line for the consistently weird and wonderful Walken episodes, but this is as perfect a swan song as you will find.
19. MySpace Seminar (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) 05-06
The “ships passing in the night” 05-06 season was absolutely stacked with dudes who could play pedophiles – who knew? A less dark and disturbing take on the 94-95 season’s online predator sketch (with Chris Elliott – lots of dark material from that man that season), the nouns may be outdated, but the jokes still land really hard. Although this sketch kind of represents the end of the road for Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell and even Seth Meyers as a live performer, it really highlights the very best of what these men are capable of.
20. Poland Spring Delivery Men (Dane Cook) 06-07
The thing that I still love about this sketch is the different degrees of profound idiocy on display. Even with the desperation of Dane Cook’s performance style, this oft-overlooked Will Forte gem is funny for a bunch of different reasons – nonsensical motivations, the absurd stupidity of the characters, Kristen Wiig’s expert underplaying (she really was amazing in those first three seasons), a hall of fame worthy “Rake” joke and a rich bit of meta-criticism.
21. Foot Rub (Zac Efron) 08-09
I don’t think Jason Sudeikis’ talent and value can be overstated. Immediately thrust into SNL’s every-bro role, Jason brought a commitment, naturalism and a level of precision that became easy for fans to take for granted. Jason’s big feature moments, at least in the pre-Maine Justice era, tended to be slice-of-life pieces rooted less in really over-the-top characterizations than they were in Jason’s lived-in charisma. This sketch isn’t concept heavy at all. Instead it revels in Jason’s ability to generate his own comedic momentum in a way that seemed effortless, but is really the stamp of SNL’s most underrated actor.
22. Clancy T. Bachleratt and Jackie Snad Sing Songs About Spaceships, Toddler, Model T. Cars and Jars Of Beer (Jonah Hill) 07-08
More manic Forte brilliance, this time ably assisted by Kristen Wiig, who was always a perfect foil. Wish Hill could keep his shit in line during this one, but can’t say I blame him one bit.
23. History Buff (Matthew Fox) 06-07
Slightly lost to time, but this absolute gem combines the two pillars that comprise a sketch masterpiece: a simple, but wonderfully skewed premise (never learning to count…ha!), and pure manic Will Forte energy. I should lament the fact that this sketch isn’t more well-known, but at some point, when you have a hot streak as powerful as Forte’s 05-10 run (probably the hottest run…anyone has ever had on SNL – yeah, I’m saying it), it’s somewhat predictable for an absolute killer to slip through the cracks.
24. Monologue (Zach Galifianakis) 09-10
Zach Galifianakis episodes could be hit or miss, but the one thing that was always guaranteed was a monologue that was funnier than anyone else’s during a given season. Sure, this is more or less the same standup set that he’d been doing since the 90s, but he was at least a decade ahead of the game then, so this is just time catching up with him. Also, I’ll never tire of the Hoobastank gag.
25. Trick Or Treat (Jon Hamm) 08-09
There are a couple cornball elements to how this sketch is presented (Forte’s “Whaaaaat?” always seemed liked an unnecessary attempt at a catchphrase), but the premise is absolutely magical and it all plays like a very suspect Abbott and Costello bit. Love it.
26. Fart Face (Josh Brolin) 08-09
One of those cult classics whose reputation as a “bomb” is overstated. But even if Fart Face has a seemingly narrow appeal, it’s performed with such wild gusto (Forte, natch, but Hader more than keeps pace), that it, at the very least, entered into my own marital lexicon (“fartface” is a term of endearment in my house…I think).
27. The Falconer (Jason Lee) 05-06
I’m basically of the opinion that, with the exception of one Falconer, all Falconers are created equal. This one is no better or worse than any of the 4.5 star editions, which is actually high praise.
28. TV Funhouse (Jack Black) 05-06
The 2005 Jack Black episode is one of the great “ships passing in the night” episodes in SNL history, with “new guard” hits like Lazy Sunday and The Two A-Holes announcing the arrival of the new generation and Forte’s Spelling Bee re-certifying his role as a show stealer. This Smigel piece shows that the old dogs still had some new tricks too, creating a new Christmas classic that the show can still lean on in the Hi-Def era. The Smigel pieces were a weird match for the Digital Short era, but that doesn’t mean Smigel’s work had lost an inch of its satirical impact.
29. Rocket Dog (Tracy Morgan) 08-09
There are too many people who get to be SNL royalty. Wiig? Armisen?? Rudolph??? Hard pass on all three. Tracy Morgan is the one who remains evergreen and whose hosting appearances should stand as the ideal for returning alumni: sure, you’re allowed to play the nostalgia game, but you need to deliver a modern classic in the same episode or you shouldn’t be allowed back. Morgan’s second episode is even better for this, I’d say.
30. Dear Sister (Shia LaBeouf) 06-07
Good God, this short was huuuuuuge back in the day, but man, I can’t think of a sketch more stuck in its moment than Dear Sister. Then again, like the great SCTV sketches of yore, you don’t necessarily need to know the source material to appreciate the humor here. My kids certainly got a kick out of it and they have no idea what tropes the sketch is taking aim at.
31. United Way (Peyton Manning) 06-07
The Peyton Manning episode has my favorite sketch of the era, but this one remains the most popular (damn you music licensing!). I don’t begrudge it though – the big laugh moments come in steady supply during this excellent short.
32. A Nonpartisan Message From Hillary Clinton & Sarah Palin (Michael Phelps) 08-09
The beginning of the end…if you consider SNL’s propensity toward stunt casting to be “the end.” I kind of do, but it’s hard to blame SNL for taking the layup that was offered to them. I think when people rave about Tina Fey’s contribution to the show as a cast member (top 10 all time according to Rolling Stone), they are really thinking of the two-and-a-half excellent Sarah Palin sketches that emerged in the fall of 2008. Like her tenure as head writer and as the lead Update anchor, I think Fey’s Palin period is more symbolically important than, um, comedically important, but I won’t deny just how strong a couple of these sketches were. I hate that they had to bring in a ringer (Casey Wilson would have been fine with the same writing), but SNL still met the moment.
33. Duluth Live (Scarlett Johansson) 05-06
It’s a common premise. Too common, I’d say. In fact, just a few seasons later, this same basic premise would explode with What’s Up With That. So, yeah, I can’t get too excited. I’ve seen SNL do this too many times before and for someone like Will Forte, this kind of premise seems beneath him. Then again, this sketch has Forte in the point position and he fucking GOES FOR IT like you will rarely see on SNL (and basically haven’t seen since). As a piece of sketch writing, I’m extremely meh on this, but as a performance piece, it’s nearly an all-timer.
34. Doogie Howser Theme (Neil Patrick Harris) 08-09
A very fun way to play with the nostalgia element of Harris’ presence. It really balances the joy and absurdity quite nicely.
35. Mother Lover (Justin Timberlake) 08-09
Funnier than the original. Also catchier too.
36. Monologue (Joseph Gordon Levitt) 09-10
No, it’s not hilarious and Levitt’s obsequiousness exists in the Timberlake realm, but I’m not going to act like he doesn’t absolutely kill it here in this Singing In The Rain homage.
37. Hamm and Buble (Jon Hamm) 09-10
The original Jon Hamm John Ham sketch was a very funny little curio in the middle of a very strong episode. This sequel ups the ante to become a certified classic that still plays as a little curio in an even stronger episode.
38. The Shake Weight Commercial DVD (Ryan Phillippe) 09-10
It’s like tee-ball – you don’t really get credit when you hit a home run, but you look like the ultimate dork if you strike out. To SNL’s credit, they grabbed the freebie and crushed it.
39. On The Ground (Ryan Reynolds) 09-10
I originally thought this was a mid-tier Lonely Island, but then it became a favorite of my kids’. Now I’ll vouch fully for its quality.
40. Jizz In My Pants (John Malkovich) 08-09
The moment we all discovered that you could say “Jizz” on TV. It made me laugh hard then. Now…eh, it’s still fun.
41. Read To Achieve (Lebron James) 07-08
A perfect Sudeikis performance (as always), but I always thought this one developed its status through its constant presence in SNL Sports specials more than its inherent quality.
42. Game Time With Dave & Greg (Dwayne Johnson 08-09
43. Game Time With Randy and Greg (Jon Hamm) 09-10
Perfectly conceived and executed in every way, one of those ideal marriages of writing and performance. I should love this so much more. The fact I merely like it a lot baffles me.
44. Dick In A Box (Justin Timberlake) 06-07
The struggle was to create something as big or bigger than Lazy Sunday. It was an impossible task, but Dick In a Box – just one year later – was up to the challenge. Why this one? Who knows? It’s no better or worse than any of the glut of the other 2006 Digital Shorts. Obviously one reason it blew up was that people were VERY into Justin Timberlake at the time. He’s perfect for this piece, using his boy band techniques for more ironic purposes. This sketch alone kind of lifted all boats – it certified the Lonely Island brand, jolted SNL with impossible momentum and turned Justin Timberlake into appointment television whether he deserved it or not (he did not).
45. Lazy Sunday (Jack Black) 05-06
The Digital Short that made it ALL happen. I mean, everything. Modern SNL. YouTube. Online culture. If SNL exists on an axis, it has to be the Lazy Sunday divide that demarcates the two eras of the show, for better or worse. Looking back, the most fascinating part is the video’s simplicity and relative lack of…like, a strong joke. I enjoyed the brunt of the Lonely Island run, but they really mastered the art of “style over substance.” Their albums tended to be funnier because they had to load their songs with strong premises to overcome the lack of visuals, but the biggest SNL hits are all pretty one note. I don’t mean that as a total diss either. There was an excitement to the big Lonely Island songs that was palpable – like you knew there was a big moment coming. In the post-Lonely Island era, SNL has tried to return to the music video realm with less interesting visuals and the same paucity of jokes. I’m probably in the minority because I feel no love for things like “Do It On Your Twin Bed” or any of the Pete videos, but there’s no denying the fact that the SNL music videos tend to garner excitement without really having to do ALL the writing work.
TLDR: Lazy Sunday is great, but SNL maybe learned the wrong lessons.
47. Staten Island Zoo (Forest Whitaker) 06-07
An excellent little throwaway featuring Kristen Wiig’s best trait – quiet bafflement.
48. Annuale (Tina Fey) 07-08
Return Of The Jedi to Kotex Classic’s Star Wars and Mom Jeans’ Empire Strikes Back. The least of the trilogy, but still damn fun.
49. Sergio (Jon Hamm) 09-10
Wonderful high gloss absurdity from Hamm and Samberg, though it’s Jenny Slate’s weird dancing that left the lasting impression. Other sketches from this episode fly higher, but still a worthy Digital Short entry.
50. I’m On A Boat (Bradley Cooper) 08-09
I’ll be honest, my first pass with I’m On A Boat left me somewhat flummoxed. I struggled to quite place the joke amid the flash and energy. Was it a parody of rap boat videos? Was that a thing? I don’t even know. Good song though. Maybe one of Lonely Island’s best pure songs (though a notch below “Boombox,” my favorite standalone Lonely Island track).
51. Monologue (John Malkovich) 08-09
Malkovich, wearing a most disconcertingly baggy pair of jeans, delivers this somewhat slow monologue with the perfect degree of weird menace. I think I’d add an extra joke or two to boost the laughs per minute, but Malkovich really is kind of perfect here (“Itchy, itchy!”).
52. Save Broadway (Neil Patrick Harris) 08-09
This well-executed, if somewhat perfunctory, piece uses the cast to the best of their abilities – Sudeikis holding down the utilitary/reactionary role, Michaela Watkins’ withering contempt, Hammond’s non-performance. It scoots along at a nice pace and I especially appreciate how the sketch’s premise is established with a couple newspaper headlines at the outset, but it’s still pretty thin.
53. Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals (Anne Hathaway) 08-09
Too simple and silly to really go to bat for, but it’s a pretty sterling example of the kind of low stakes fun Samberg brought to the show – the first to really excel at it since the early Sandler seasons. The following week’s Mark Wahlberg walk-on is pretty painful though.
54. A Day In The Life of Natalie Portman (Natalie Portman) 05-06
Perfectly executed, though I’m one of those people who quibble with the hard-ass raps from a dainty white girl conceit. I mean, Lazy Sunday already kind of dances too closely with this cliche, Natalie Raps just blasts right through it.
55. What Up With That? (Gerard Butler) 09-10
Given five stars because it was the first of a widely loved and quite consistent run of sketches. Is it the best of the lot? Who’s to say? I will say that I always grudgingly enjoyed What Up With That and appreciated what they did for Kenan’s SNL tenure (it’s basically Kenan pre-WUWT and Kenan post-WUWT imo), but let’s not act like it’s not the dustiest premise in SNL history. Sudeikis, as always, is the difference maker.
56. Smash Mouth (Jennifer Lopez) 09-10
Love the central premise and absolutely believe it’s one of the best pieces of the 09-10 season. I think the execution is JUST shy of perfection. There’s just a touch too much wobble for me.
57. Death By Chocolate (Ashton Kutcher) 07-08
A fun format break, though I find the joke payoff relatively mild.
58. American Taser (Jason Lee) 05-06
A fun, funny, slight piece that suffers from not being able to hold its escalation properly. I love what this sketch could have been, but it feels a bit flabby in its execution. Some people are wonderfully funny here, but it’s not consistent throughout.
Always enjoy these lists, Carson. Love the Forte love, including the top 10 placement of my number one pick from this era (Potato Chip Thief). My main quibble would be that I was much more into the Digital Shorts than you (though I respect ranking Doppelgangers that high, even if it wouldn’t break into my top 10 Digital Shorts). Agree on the bottom two though, I can take or leave them.
Yeah, it’s a tricky one with the Digital Shorts. I do generally like them and still value the comedic voice of the Lonely Island crew (I would have given five stars to a whole wack of them). I think their hit-to-miss ratio was surprisingly strong, but some of the comedic conceits fall apart slightly under a bit of scrutiny.
But yeah, I tend to prefer straight up classic sketch comedy – which Forte was the master of.
I will admit that even some of my favorite Lonely Island songs can really just be described as “rapping/singing confidently about a lame activity” but as you say I value that a lot of their stuff brought an online sensibility the show hadn’t really seen before.
Of course I was 12 (the perfect age) when Jizz In My Pants and I’m On A Boat hit, and started watching in the middle of S34 literally because I heard The Lonely Island had a weekly spot on the show, so I’m always going to have a bit of bias.
Hey all, it’s been so long since I posted here and it’s especially been a long time since I’ve posted one of my time wasting lists. When Stooge killed this site dead, I was saddened that I may not have a venue to post my thoughts. The new site (cheap plug: onesnladay2.wordpress.com) reminded me of how much I love writing about SNL (and I how much I love writing reviews). The new season should be coming shortly on there, but until then, I thought I’d share my 10 favorite sketches that Stooge did NOT give five stars during the 05-10 era:
1. Office Wallflowers (Lindsay Lohan) 05-06
A low-key entry into the re-emergence of Will Forte and one of the key sketches that make me look back fondly on Kristen Wiig’s sometimes frustrating tenure. Forte and Wiig made for an indelible pair, playing at different ranges of intensity. These are smaller characters, but no less hilarious. They would return to this well a few times and the results barely wavered. A perfect combination of writing and performance.
2. MacGruber (Molly Shannon) 06-07
The first recurrence of the MacGruber sketch already has a full grasp on how to fully heighten the bit. Not just within the three installments found within this episode (beautifully capped off of a parody of the drunk David Hasselhoff video), but also at the macro level. The inaugural installment of the MacGruber triptych was a simple, low-brow joke. By round two, the world had expanded, the stakes had increased and the joke stretched into something meatier. Forte et al would never look back.
3. Nancy Pelosi (Alec Baldwin) 06-07
These days I can’t stomach SNL’s approach to Pelosi in the post-clap meme era. But in the early Pelosi days, SNL, and Kristen Wiig in particular, still had a strong handle on their “both sides” skewering. Sure, 2006 was a far different time, but returning to this sketch now still feels refreshing. Easily one of SNL’s strongest cold opens of the era.
4. Usual Suspects (Kevin Spacey) 05-06
Sure, it’s a hallmark’s “why show it live when we can needlessly pre-tape it” era, but this triflingly silly Usual Suspects parody still feels like a perfectly realized little diamond of a sketch. The parodic touches are well-played and the absurdist turns are gleefully stupid in the ways all the best Samberg pieces could pull off.
5. Celebrations (Amy Adams) 07-08
In hindsight, the 07-08 season was sort of the last completely pure season of SNL. Incessant stunt casting was a season away, SNL’s caste system was more narrowly rendered and, with that, the female cast was true democracy. The following season Tina Fey would be parachuted in for SNL’s most high profile political gig and Amy Poehler would depart, creating the destructive imbalance that was the Kristen Wiig era. But in the Spring of 2008, things seemed promising. Poehler and WIig held down equal positions as SNL’s twin female pillars while newcomer Casey Wilson was given the opportunity to find her footing as a newcomer. This wonderful slice of life piece gives Wilson her first major showcase, expertly playing with the comedy “rule of threes” with a healthy dose of physical comedy. For one brief moment, it appeared SNL was on the verge of another female renaissance. Alas, we got a few years of Gilly instead.
6. Job Interview (Drew Barrymore) 06-07
It seems like another lifetime ago that the stock-and-trade SNL “reaction” sketch actually felt, you know, actually organic. Take Job Interview, a low-key highlight from one of the era’s low-key highlight episodes (this episode’s Body Fuzion, Dakota Fanning Show and Jojo The Valet could have all easily shown up on this list). Here, we get to see the difference between Kenan reactions and “KENAN REACTS.” The scene’s foils (Kenan, Amy and Maya) have grounded reactions instead of cued and staged stink faces. While Stooge dismissed it as standard James Anderson fare and John dismissed it as akin to a typical Kristen Wiig, the criticisms don’t hold water. Job Interview avoids any future pitfalls with its modest setting and a fabulous solo turn from Drew Barrymore, who goes for it in a manner reminiscent to Ben Affleck’s more celebrated Keith Olbermann performance. It may not be set up to be a classic, but SNL really has never repeated this approach to the “wacky character disturbs the normies” trope ever since.
7. Grease Rehearsal (Christopher Walken) 07-08
Christopher Walken showing up in a late 2000s episode now feels like a weird anomaly; it’s like he was never really meant to share a stage with Kristin Wiig or Bill Hader. That said, SNL’s writers still held a firm grasp of the Walken formula, delivering easy crowd-pleasers (Walken Family Reunion) and oddities (Gardening Tips) with equal aplomb. The Grease Rehearsal sketch splits the difference. Grease Rehearsal probably would have been great with any host, but the extra element of Walken’s presence makes it worthy entry into the upper echelon of Walken sketches.
8. Song Memories (Rainn Wilson) 06-07
I’ve read the criticisms and the point is fair. Not all edgy jokes age well and this specific installment does have a somewhat baffling final punchline that kind of compromises the piece (“His pee came out of my nose!”). But as a recurring piece, I can think of few others (Brasky maybe?) too boast such a fun framing device. With the era’s three best male leads at the helm, this was a repeater I was always more than happy to sing through.
9. Virginia Horsen’s Hot Air Balloon Rides (Tina Fey) 07-08
That lo-fi public access anti-performance style was all the rage at this time, but peak-era Kristin Wiig was hyper-capable of delivering this kind of stilted gold. Somewhere, Kyle Mooney was watching and crafting an entire persona out of this sketch.
10. Vagisil Superstars of Bowling Tournament 1989 (Blake Lively) 09-10
Like my Nos.1, 2 and 8 picks, you have to give it up for recurring bits that, even without the element of surprise, never lose steam. SNL hit these sketches HARD during the somewhat sputtering 09-10 season, but the Sudeikis/Forte duo never waned in their manic commitment to these two beautiful idiots. I picked the Blake Lively version because I always felt like it was a bit of a refinement on the original.
13 years later, I’m still kind of sore about how this being Forte’s last episode. It’s gotta be the worst, most disheartening last episode a veteran cast member has ever had. Even Nealon and Kattan at least got to say goodbye in their final shows. And yea, I know Forte had initially committed to a ninth season, but still, it sucks he went out like this.