NEOBlog: Canonically Irrelevant

Tonight I present part 4 of my top 25 SNL sketches series, including numbers 5-9. Not much longer now until the top 5!

9. Delicious Dish (with Alec Baldwin #1)
from episode 24.09 - Alec Baldwin, Original Air Date 09/12/1998



This is one of those Christmas classics that for some reason or another works on several different levels. The Delicious Dish sketches were always dead-on parodies of NPR programming, and both Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon (in a rare subdued role) perfectly spoof the typically smooth-voiced hosts of public radio, complete with lame jokes and square puns. Alec Baldwin is the real show stopper here, however, as he just as monotonously described his holiday creations with little to no regard to the rampant double entendres spewing out of his mouth. Most people have seen this sketch at some point or another, but the perfectly delivered punchline always delivers to me. Good times, good times.


8. The Angry Boss
from episode 26.18 - Pierce Brosnan, Original Air Date 05/05/2001



I think it's safe to say that this might be Will Ferrell's craziest moment on SNL, and that's really saying something. Will is always good at playing angry, hyper-manly characters, but I think the writing is what really takes this one over the top, as well as Brosnan's attempts at not laughing and the usual brilliance from Chris Parnell as Will's "nemesis." Many of the jokes seem to be prototypes of what would later appear in Anchorman, so I'm willing to bet that they had the same writer. Above all this sketch perfectly utilizes the rule of over-doing something just the right amount to keep it funny.


7. Space: The Infinite Frontier (with Jeff Goldblum)
from episode 22.20 - Jeff Goldblum, Original Air Date 05/17/1997

What, two Will Ferrell sketches in a row? I say it's unavoidable in a list like this, and several other sketches with him just barely didn't make the cut. Anyway, Will was not the greatest impressionist during his tenure on SNL, however like his predecessor Dana Carvey, he became known for exaggerating certain aspects of his subjects' personality and forming his impression off of that. His eccentric take on legendary Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray would certainly qualify as exaggerated, and while quite amusing in his own right (see this runner-up video of him on Colin Quinn's first Update), the absurdity is taken to another level when the character is inexplicably placed in his own space show. Add in Jeff Goldblum, and needless to say, hillarity ensues.


6. Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker (with Christina Applegate)
from episode 18.19 - Christina Applegate, Original Air Date 05/08/1993



Chris Farley was one of the most genuinely funny guys to ever grace the SNL stage, and in doing so created one of the most memorable characters of the 1990s. Farley had a penchant for physical humor, throwing himself about the stage with remarkable ease and dexterity while flailing his arms and legs and shouting in his loud, thundering voice. All of these elements combined to create a diminutive, angry motivational speaker who despite all his shortcomings still managed to find work over 3 seasons on SNL. The first sketch will always be the best, though, with a rare crack-up from David Spade as he understandably is overwhelmed by Farley's brute force sense of humor.


5. Behind the Music: Blue Oyster Cult
from episode 25.16 - Christopher Walken, Original Air Date 04/08/2000



Considered by some to be the greatest SNL sketch of all time, the infamous "More cowbell" sketch lands on my list and number 5. There's not much I can really say about this that hasn't already been said. While Ferrell and Walken are thr ones who usually get credit for the shear absurd hillarity of this sketch, there's no way it would have been as funny without Parnell's straight-man, and yes, even Jimmy Fallon's standard laughter plays a key role in this, for it sets off the chain reaction that eventually gets the entire cast, including Ferrell, to laugh, a rare occurance indeed. I've got a fever!

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I decided spontaneously to go back through my entire Facebook profile and archive all of the random video things that I've ever put up into one neat and tidy blog post. As a side note, I was quite surprised to find how far back my Facebook records actually go (January 2005). That's some scary stuff. Anyway what follows is some not so scary stuff, chronologically from most current to oldest. Things that I consider especially awesome are in bold.

July 8 2009 - Web Site Story (CollegeHumor)
July 7 2009 - Conan Explores the Universal Studios Lot (The Tonight Show, Hulu)
July 4 2009 - Team America music video (MySpace)
July 2 2009 - Me dancing to Journey from 2007 (YouTube)
June 30 2009 - Jeff Goldblum "Memorial" (The Colbert Report, Hulu)
June 23 2009 - Johnny Strange Interview (The Tonight Show, Hulu)
June 20 2009 - Triumph Visits Bonnaroo (The Tonight Show, NBC.com)
June 17 2009 - Obama kills fly during interview (YouTube)
June 15 2009 - Crossfire commercial (YouTube)
June 10 2009 - Conan and Andy Canoe the LA River (The Tonight Show, Hulu)
June 2 2009 - Conan Takes the Universal Tram (The Tonight Show, Hulu)
June 2 2009 - Tonight Show Cold Open (The Tonight Show, Hulu)
May 17 2009 - Celebrity Jeopardy w/Tom Hanks, Norm MacDonald (SNL, Hulu)
May 12 2009 - Kia "Soul Hamsters" commercial (YouTube)
May 10 2009 - Torii Hunter's amazing catch (MLB.com)
May 10 2009 - Motherlover (SNL, Hulu)
May 3 2009 - Jack in the Box Menopause smoothie commercial (YouTube)
March 18 2009 - AIG/St. Patty's Day protesters (The Daily Show, Comedy Central)
March 12 2009 - Saturday Morning Watchmen (YouTube)
March 4 2009 - Mess-o'Potamia: The War is Over (The Daily Show, Comedy Central)
March 1 2009 - WKUK: Dumb Newscast (Whitest Kids U Know, YouTube)
February 27 2009 - Bobby Jindal's Republican Response (The Daily Show, Comedy Central)
February 22 2009 - Conan/Colbert String Dance-Off (Late Night w/Conan O'Brien, Hulu)
February 16 2009 - Scheduling Meeting from hell (SNL, Hulu)
February 9 2009 - Really?!?: Michael Phelps edition (SNL, Hulu)
February 5 2009 - Stephen Colbert's Remix Challenge (The Colbert Report, Comedy Central)
January 27 2009 - Guantanamo Baywatch: The Final Season (The Daily Show, Comedy Central)
January 19 2009 - Gitmo Closing Ad (SNL, Hulu)
January 13 2009 - Whopper Virgins (SNL, Hulu)
January 13 2009 - Orchestral Doogie Howser Theme (SNL, Hulu)
January 7, 2009 - Puppedential Debate (The Daily Show, Comedy Central)
December 16 2008 - White House 2008 Barneycam (CBS, YouTube)
December 16 2008 - Jizz in My Pants (SNL, YouTube)
November 28 2008 - Mad Men: The Carousel (Mad Men, YouTube)
November 20 2008 - CNN Magic Wall Conspiracy Thriller (The Daily Show, Comedy Central)
November 12 2008 - Role Playing w/Dwight (The Office, Hulu)
November 7 2008 - Sarah Palin is So Dumb... (The Daily Show, Comedy Central)
November 3 2008 - Vote or Lie (YouTube)
October 30 2008 - Obama and McCain Dance Off (YouTube)
October 25 2008 - Mandalorian Dance (DailyMotion)
October 24 2008 - SNL Update Thursday: Bush Endorsement (SNL, Hulu)
October 24 2008 - 10,000 McCainiacs (The Daily Show, Comedy Central)
October 24 2008 - More Hatred at a Palin Rally (YouTube)
October 16 2008 - Vincent Lin Must Die! Special Edition (YouTube)
October 10 2008 - SNL Update Thursday: Debate Opening (SNL, Hulu)
September 28 2008 - Couric / Palin Opening (SNL, Hulu)
September 27 2008 - Katie Couric exclusive Palin interview (CBS.com)
September 15 2008 - Hillary / Palin Cold Opening (SNL, Hulu)
September 5 2008 - The Pretentious and the Belligerent (Nickochoa.com)
July 8 2008 - ImprovEverywhere: Suicide Jumper (YouTube)
July 8 2008 - ImprovEverywhere: Food Court Musical (YouTube)
May 21 2008 - WKUK: What Really Happened to Abe Lincoln (Whitest Kids U Know, YouTube)
April 9 2008 - Googly Eyes Gardener (SNL, Hulu)
February 5 2008 - Yes We Can Obama song by Will.i.am (YouTube)
January 6 2008 - The Pretentious and the Belligerent Promo Scene #1 (YouTube)
December 22 2007 - Santa Saves Xmas (YouTube)
August 16 2007 - Colbert Ingmar Bergman Tribute (The Cobert Report, Comedy Central)
June 14 2007 - Brains and Brawn Promo Scene #1 (YouTube)
May 17 2007 - Open Toes Trailer #1 (YouTube)
March 26 2007 - The Meeting (Nickochoa.com)
February 7 2007 - Interruption. (YouTube)

And there you have it. I assume that before 2007 Facebook didn't have video posting capability, so that is EVERYTHING. Kind of amazing how much higher the volume is now than 2 years ago.
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