Ever since the full-blown 50th anniversary weekend of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” a couple of weeks ago, I have been diving deep into the program’s history. Other than watching the behind-the-scenes documentary specials and the excellent film about the show’s musical guests through the years, I’ve been reading a couple of books about the series and listening to a variety of podcasts having to do with all things SNL. And, finally, I watched the recent movie about the making of the first episode called “Saturday Night”.
The anniversary show proper was three-and-a-half hours long, but played like a supersized episode of the series in that they did very few vintage callbacks; it was a mash-up of casts from different eras mixing together in a variety of sketches.
Speaking of sketches, we wouldn’t be celebrating the magic of Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center were it not for the greatest of all time. There are many choices, and bloggers have been having fun counting them down. Here are some of mine, submitted for your observation.
10. “Motivational Speaker Matt Foley”: Chris Farley was one of the greatest performers to ever appear on SNL, and his full commitment to anything he was given is the reason why. Exhibit A is his “van down by the river” line as he tries to rehabilitate and counsel his clients.
9. The Festrunk Brothers: These “two wild and crazy guys” played by Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd are from Czechoslovakia, and spend most of their time obsessing over hooking up with American foxes. I don’t know why, but I laugh out loud at these two every time.
8. “Celebrity Jeopardy!”: There are many installments of this, but I’ve got to go with the one that features Will Ferrell’s spot-on Alex Trebek being constantly insulted by Darrell Hammond’s crude Sean Connery … as well as Norm McDonald’s Burt Reynolds (who insists on being called Turd Ferguson).
7. “Star Wars Undercover Boss”: Adam Driver’s intensity as the evil Kylo Ren from the Star Wars films was hilarious in this digital short that parodied the reality show of the same name.
6. “Beavis and Butt-head”: Mikey Day and Ryan Gosling keep being told they look a lot like the cartoon characters, but they’ve never heard of them. This sketch from the current season of SNL has already racked up over 17 million views on YouTube, making it the most successful in show history.
5. “Mom Jeans”: As commercial parodies go – and there have been some great ones, like “Colon Blow” – it’s tough to beat Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Poehler in this truly hysterical one.
4. April 22, 1978: Perhaps the greatest single episode in series history, Steve Martin hosts (and debuts what would become his only hit single, “King Tut”) while the Blues Brothers – John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd – serve as the musical guests and perform “Soul Man” as the cold open. It just doesn’t get much more exciting than this when it comes to SNL lore.
3. “Wayne’s World: Aerosmith”: In the early ‘90s, Aerosmith were bigger than ever. Wayne & Garth sat in their basement week after week, producing the low-budget show on their local cable access channel, gushing over the greatness of the band. And then, all of a sudden, Aerosmith show up!
2. “James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub Party”: Eddie Murphy had dozens of great characters and impressions, from Gumby to Mister Robinson to Stevie Wonder. This classic sketch involves R&B shouter James Brown and his band having a hot tub party with celebrity guests. The idea is so ludicrous, but the execution is genius.
1. "More Cowbell”: There are partisans for the Olympia Cafe (cheeburger, cheeburger).. Weekend Update installments.. the “Wolverines” sketch.. the Coneheads.. Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer.. the “Five-Timers Club”.. or Adam Sandler’s funny songs. But I believe the greatest sketch in the history of SNL is from 2000, when Christopher Walken, as record producer Bruce Dickinson, instructs the members of Blue Oyster Cult to give the cowbell its due as they perform “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” You will laugh out loud every time as Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz, and Jimmy Fallon give a performance for the ages!
All fifty seasons of “Saturday Night Live” are streaming on Peacock.
Michael Bird is a music professor at Faulkner University.
