10 SNL Moments

As most of you may know, we are in the midst of SNL’s 50th season, and this weekend is the official celebration of the show’s 50th anniversary. Some of us have already been reflecting and reminiscing while streaming Peacock’s Beyond Saturday Night four-episode docuseries and Questlove’s Ladies & Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music documentary. 

While I must admit I no longer make a point to watch SNL every Saturday night it’s on, you cannot watch these documentaries and deny SNL’s cultural power over these five decades. To commemorate this for LG, I wanted to write about some of my favorite sketches…but how do you narrow down that list? Am I writing about my top 10 SNL sketches of the 90s (probably my favorite decade)? My top 10 sketches from my favorite SNL ladies? Is it my top 10 video segments? Weekend updates? Monologues? Musical sketches? 

So to make this easier, here are 10 SNL comedic moments/people that I think about all the time: 

1.Toonces The Driving Cat - When I was watching these amazing SNL ladies on WWHL, and I was reminiscing on SNL’s past, of course I thought about Toonces “The Cat Who Could Drive a Car.” I loved this sketch so much I named my very first pet that I had as an adult after it. My Toonces was a gorgeous tuxedo cat who was just as much of an asshole as his namesake, and I miss him so much. One of my favorite fun facts about Toonces (the SNL version) is that he has a (suspended) Texas driver’s license. Look it up. 

 2. Anything Phil Hartman did, especially Colon Blow and Unfrozen CaveMan Lawyer. Everything about that Colon Blow commercial is perfection - down to the jingle. Just watch it. And I wish I knew how many times I’ve been annoyed at something my husband has done in the 28 years I’ve known him, and then totally forget my annoyance the moment I hear him say, “I’m just a caveman…your world frightens and confuses me…” Phil Hartman’s death will never not break my heart. My youngest kid loves watching (and rewatching) The Simpsons, so I hear Hartman’s voice in my home often. If it weren’t for a certain podcaster, I think I’d do a Newsradio rewatch right now. 

3. 3. Similarly to Phil Hartman, I loved just about anything Jan Hooks did. When I was younger, I could be a bit of a performer, and though I never wanted to be a comedian, Jan Hooks made me want to be funny. This Calvin Klein spoof gives you a taste of her comedy. I loved when she was cast as Jenna's mom on 30 Rock. 

4. If any of you ever clap sarcastically at anything and then can’t help but say to yourself, “Nice clap,” please know that it was NOT a fever dream, and that sketch you remember is “The Sarcastic Clapping Family of Southhampton” and it is 0 degrees from Kevin Bacon!   

5. Total Bastard Airlines - This sketch has EVERYONE IN IT! But that’s not why I remember it. It really is the David Spade of it all. He and Helen Hunt are such bastards to every single passenger just trying get to off that plane. And they do it so well that I am convinced the people at Star Tours totally copied that Buh-Bye that all of us say to ourselves when we are getting off that Disney ride. 

6. I remember that it took me a bit to warm up to Amy Pohler on SNL, but once I did, I f-cking loved her. For some reason, the sketch we quote the most at home is when she was a Rock of Love contestant and she was “rockin’ one leg”. But what really plays in my head over and over is a sketch where Amy Pohler is hella pregnant and flirting with James Brolin at a bar. It’s called “I’m No Angel.” There’s little dialogue, but you don’t need it. All you need is that belly and her mama’s commitment to her comedy craft. It’s apparently hard to find because of the song rights, but someone on reddit did us a solid. 

7. “I can see Russia from my house.” As soon as Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain’s running mate, people started calling for Tina Fey to come back to SNL to play her, and thus began a series of stunt casting for contemporary political figures. But back when Tina did it, it was pretty novel. On Halloween 2008 I dressed up as my biggest fear realized–President Sarah Palin. Little did I know that scarier things were up ahead.

8. I know I am majorly neglecting the more recent years, but you can go for that to other lists like the most watched SNL sketches of all time on YouTube or whatever. I am your Reina de la Nostalgia here at LG, what do you expect?! Bowen Yang, Ego Nwodim, and Sarah Sherman are probably my favorites of the current cast. And if I must pick one of their sketches, it is The Iceberg on the Sinking of the Titanic that will always have my heart.

9. I am a nerd, OK? I am married to a nerd, and I gave birth to two nerds. I recently had a very serious conversation with someone as we were finalizing an award application…and in this serious conversation I was suggesting that this person change the size and font of their statement of support…so as to get a higher word count and to make the text more readable. Listen, when this application is successful, it will be because of this font choice! Ok, not really, but can I say that I felt seen by the Papyrus sketches? And that I am proud of my kid for being troubled by the use of Comic Sans at the U.S. Passport Office? 

10. Finally, I will end with the genius of Cecily Strong! She was one of the ladies with Andy Cohen the other night, and she looked as beautiful as she was funny. I miss her! Presented without comment because the writing and delivery on both are perfect -  Goober The Clown Who Had an Abortion When She Was 23 and as Jeanine Pirro on Weekend Update discussing the Mexico-United States Border while in a box of wine. 

Honorable Mention - Jingleheimer Junction - The running joke is that 4 adults are unknowingly about to spell a big four letter word in a public access tv show for kids…and every person in the sketch plays the part perfectly. Cameron Diaz nails it as the SNL host, Tim Meadows is the perfect “straight man,” and you know Will Ferrell is gonna f-ck it all up. I knew this sketch word for word because we used to perform it in college as camp counselors! 

Tonight, Jimmy Fallon will host SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, NBC will air the very first episode of SNL (hosted by George Carlin with almost-fifth Beatle Billy Preston as one of its musical guests) on Saturday night, and the network will host a 3-hour primetime anniversary special on Sunday that will be preceded by a red carpet hosted by Leslie Jones, Willie Geist, and Matt Rogers.

What are your top SNL sketches? Let us know at The Squawk! 

Attached - Bowen Yang, Cecily Strong, and Maya Rudolph in New York for SNL rehearsals this week.