IT’s hard to top the Chippendales sketch.
I always had a soft spot as MC Hammer as Wilt Chamberlain in “Remembrances of Love.” “She was number 12,419. But in my heart, she was number one… thousand, seven hundred and eighty-six.”
I loved the one where Phil Hartman was interviewing a scientist about the elements. He attempts to pocket a sample of gold, knocks over a sample of a very heavy element that falls off its pedestal and then through several floors below, and lifts the cover off of a radioaactive element and sets off an alarm, plus some other funny stuff.
“More Cowbell” is a classic.
I also liked the “If it isn’t Scottish it’s CRAP!” skit.
Another yet unmentioned favorite–a spoof of Invasion of the Body Snatchers featuring hippies singing “The answer, my friend, is Ronald Reagan”—as the camera zooms out to show them all connected to pods.
Phil Hartman as Reagan… one moment, lovable grandpa, next moment, Cold Warrior from Hell.
My wife and I, back when we started dating, had a bonding moment over a Dabney Coleman SNL sketch where he was a bitter HS football coach trying to get his team to come up with a new name and they kept on flubbing it with names like “The Flaming Envelopes”. Then there was the commercial for the hypnotist which had a line we still repeat to each other, over 20 years later… “It was much better than Cats. I will see it again and again.”
One of my all-time favorites: “Sincere Guy Stu.” It featured a casual first date-type scenario, where you could hear what each person was thinking. At the end, Joe Montana, the roommate, walks in, and everything he’s thinking is exactly what he says. The way this skit ended, and the way Joe Montana delivered the zinger, still cracks me up. I can’t find a video, but here’s the transcript.
I also enjoyed one with Phil Hartman as Trent Markham, Lung Doctor where it’s set in the 50’s and mocks their lack of knowledge about smoking. He informs the man that he’s contracted the elusive “Lung Fever” while all the characters smoke constantly. Again no video I could find, but the transcript.
The Census is hands-down my favorite SNL skit ever. It’s just perfect in every way. It builds slowly, has a great last line, and is uncannily suited for Mr. Walken’s acting style.
Honorable mentions go to much of Alec Baldwin’s work, including the doctor who mispronounces everything. But not Schweddy Balls. Ugh, that is so over-played. And, it’s not close to being the best skit ever, but “Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother!” is possibly the least-likely laugh line in history and still cracks me up today.
I don’t either. I only found it mildly amusing at best.
I like the lost ending to It’s a Wonderful Life and Steve Martin singing King Tut.
I think the appeal of “More Cowbell” is just the way that Will Farrell plays it so over the top.
Amazing Timesavers with Heather Locklear and MIke Myers is a classic. (I can’t find the video, link is to the transcript).
This.
“Dick in a Box.”
Another vote for “What the hell is that?” Steve Martin and Bill Murray. Classic.
Also, Roseanne Barr and Phil Hartman for MetroCard, a credit card advertising its supposedly excellent customer service. She’s a snarky phone rep, he’s a hapless customer who lost his wallet and needed a new card pronto. Transcript, but really it needs video to do it justice.
This is what I came here to say. This was so funny.
I also wanna mention the first “Debbie Downer” with Lindsay Lohan as the host. The absolute funniest “the cast starts to laugh” moments in the entire run of the show. I can’t find it on youtube, but oh lord is it funny.
[ SUPER: “When you do only one thing, you do it better” ]
Customer #1: I needed to take the bus, but all I had was a five-dollar bill. I stopped by First Citiwide, and they were able to give me four singles and four quarters.
[ SUPER: “At First Citiwide Change Bank, We just make change” ]
Paul McElroy: We will work with the customer to give that customer the change that he or she needs. If you come to us with a twenty-dollar bill, we can give you two tens, we can give you four fives - we can give you a ten and two fives. We will work with you.
Customer #2: I went to my First Citiwide branch to change a fifty. I guess I was in kind of a hurry, and I asked for a twenty, a ten, and two fives. Their computers picked up my mistake right away, and I got the correct change.
[ SUPER: “Correct Change” ]
Paul McElroy: We have been in this business a long time. With our experience, we’re gonna have ideas for change combinations that probably haven’t occurred to you. If you have a fifty-dollar bill, we can give you fifty singles. [ SUPER: “We can give you fifty singles” ] We can give you forty-nine singles and ten dimes. We can give you twenty-five twos. Come talk to us. [ SUPER: “We can give you twenty-five twos” ] We are not going to give you change that you don’t want. If you come to us with a hundred-dollar bill, we’re not going to give you two-thousand nickels… [ SUPER: “We’re not going to give you two thousand nickels” ] - unless that meets your particular change needs. We will give you… the change… equal to… the amount of money… that you want change for!
[ SUPER: “At First Citiwide Change Bank, Our business is making change” ]
Bank Representative: That’s what we do.
I’ve always been a big fan of Dana Carvey doing Bush’s “Desert Storm” State of the Union Address, while Michael J. Fox was behind him as Dan Quayle, having a hard time figuring out when to give a standing ovation.
I would love to see again the skit with Buck Henry in which one of the characters is living about 2 seconds in the future. He keeps reacting to things that are about to happen, to the confusion of the rest of the people. I saw this about 20 years ago on a UFH rerun, but never again. When will NBC let us see the pieces we want?
Oh man, I hadn’t thought of that one in years, thanks. That was Phil Hartman doing an impression of Peter Graves and his “Discover” science show. I seem to remember other skits where Hartman did Graves but maybe I’m conflating MST3K.
“The pedestal was too weak to hold the osmium, wasn’t it, doctor?”
Steve Martin singing “King Tut.” I win.
“More Cowbell”, for me, derives a lot of yuks from me being very familiar for many years with the song “Don’t Fear The Reaper” (a Classic Rock staple), but I had somehow never noticed that there was a cowbell being played. But now, I can never hear the song again without thinking of Will Ferrell going nuts, then his heartfelt plea, “Come on… How many other chances will I get, as a COWBELL PLAYER, to feature in a song?” And that inimitable Chris Walken intonation: “I got a fever. And the only cure… Is more COWBELL!”
“Dick In A Box” is a big winner too.
But, most of my SNL memories are from before 1990 (excuse me while I reapply the Ben-Gay). Two “single sketch” favorites not already mentioned are:
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“Return of the Iguana”. Meek seeming Tim Kazurinksy and his wife go to some small Caribbean dive bar where he has a secret, and darkly passionate, history. “So, you’ve come back, Iguana!”
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A skit portraying a talk show host discussing how people “remembered exactly where they were when JFK was shot”, and collected 3 middle-aged people to talk about it. The second guy talks about how he found out backstage of this very theater, when he was just passing by outside, and the host is amazed at the coincidence. He’s deflated when it turns out he had only just found out as they were about to go on-air just now, from one of the other guests (the first guy). The third guy, of course, had not known and freaks out (“WHAT? Kennedy was shot?!”), but the 2nd guy is the one that really cracked me up.
My ultra-nerd dad has calculated the biggest benefit you can get (affordably) from the USPS, and according to him, it’s mailing Osmium.
He also calculated the mass lost per revolution of his car tires, so there’s another clue about him…