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Favorite SNL Sketches: Generalissimo Francisco Franco is Still Dead


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Two from the late 80s stand out:

 

The Church Chat with Joe Montana and Walter Payton, where Payton ad-libs "I just try to penetrate any opening I can find," and Montana (in another ad-lib) actually grabs the Church Lady's backside, causing her to waddle halfway across the stage (Dana was obviously taken by surprise), followed by Montana's pitch-perfect "Sorry, Church Lady, I just couldn't help myself!"

And the People's Court parody, complete with Lovitz in a ridiculous devil suit being introduced as "Mephistopheles (The Devil)," continuing with Jan Hooks giving her occupation as "Barfly," Lovitz/Satan's outraged "Trash on your lawn? Listen here! I am the almighty prince of darkness! If I starting harassing you, YOU'LL KNOW IT!" and culminating with Lovitz/Satan imploring people to worship him, with the sketch's Rusty Burrell stand-in losing patience and hauling him away.

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From (I think) the 85-86 season: The sketch starts off like a Beer commercial, with aggressive upbeat music with "Where you're going, you always know it" lyrics. Randy Quaid and a bunch of other high-paid execs are shown being mean to subordinates, and generally acting like jerks. Then the lyrics say ""Where you're going...YOU'RE GONNA PAY!" and beer is shown flowing from a tap into a glass engraved "HELL". The announcer begins this rant about repenting your sins,  ending with "You're gonna burn. No doubt about it." while the background text (with flames licking around the edge) reads "A Message from Almighty God."

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The SNL 40th show had that big long section devoted to the canned bits. 

 

Which made it odd that the one canned bit the 40th anniversary show most sparked a reaction with me wasn't even part of that, but instead the lead of the In Memoriam section--the (in)famous Belushi "Don't Look Back In Anger" piece.

 

Of course that piece is overplayed.  Anytime anyone talks about Belushi as an indiviudal they lead with that piece.  But also, anytime ANYONE talks about dead SNL alums in total, they also probably lead with that piece.

 

But that's mainly because it's such a GOOD one.

 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/97833

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Garret Morris auditioning for the prison musical by singing "I'm... gonna... get me a shotgun and kill all the whiteys I see!" 

 

The word association job interview with Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase.

 

The diner with Jan Hooks, Nora Dunn, and Alec Baldwin.

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The SNL 40th show had that big long section devoted to the canned bits. 

 

Which made it odd that the one canned bit the 40th anniversary show most sparked a reaction with me wasn't even part of that, but instead the lead of the In Memoriam section--the (in)famous Belushi "Don't Look Back In Anger" piece.

 

Of course that piece is overplayed.  Anytime anyone talks about Belushi as an indiviudal they lead with that piece.  But also, anytime ANYONE talks about dead SNL alums in total, they also probably lead with that piece.

 

But that's mainly because it's such a GOOD one.

 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/97833

 

Yeah, but man, how ironic is that cemetery clip? Belushi as the last one standing when, in reality, he was the first to go. Just so weird.

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The SNL 40th show had that big long section devoted to the canned bits. 

 

Which made it odd that the one canned bit the 40th anniversary show most sparked a reaction with me wasn't even part of that, but instead the lead of the In Memoriam section--the (in)famous Belushi "Don't Look Back In Anger" piece.

 

Of course that piece is overplayed.  Anytime anyone talks about Belushi as an indiviudal they lead with that piece.  But also, anytime ANYONE talks about dead SNL alums in total, they also probably lead with that piece.

 

But that's mainly because it's such a GOOD one.

 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/97833

The thing I love about that piece is Belushi's acting chops. This week I've heard more than a few people say they thought he was overrated, mainly because they knew him from The Blues Brothers or Animal House. But if you look at all his sketches in those first few seasons, you can see that he had quite a bit of range. He could be funny physically but also in quieter moments like this. I always think that if he had survived, he might have had the type of film career that Robin Williams had.

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Just rewatched Animal House last night (on free TV, though, it loses something) and Belushi really is great in it, what little he gets to say. He's just charming in it. He would have had a well-rounded movie career.

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The thing I love about that piece is Belushi's acting chops. This week I've heard more than a few people say they thought he was overrated, mainly because they knew him from The Blues Brothers or Animal House. But if you look at all his sketches in those first few seasons, you can see that he had quite a bit of range. He could be funny physically but also in quieter moments like this. I always think that if he had survived, he might have had the type of film career that Robin Williams had.

He did a lot of interesting stuff in the Samurai sketches, for example.  Pantomime is harder than it looks, and he did it well.

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Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer may still be an all-time fave for me.

 

 

"I'm just a caveman. Your world frightens and confuses me..."

On one level I have to admit I always found UCL kind of cringeworthy. On another though, the LINE delivery is so great. IMO after considering it all together I think maybe they were utterly terrible sketches elevated by Phil Hartman's pure talent level.

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I have a soft spot in my heart for The Chris Farley Show with Paul McCartney.  You could tell that Chris Farley wasn't completely pretending to be nervous around Paul; the way his hands were shaking...and I loved how he turned to the camera and mouthed "AWESOME!" while pointing at Paul.

 

Imagine how much of a nervous wreck he would have been if John Belushi had lived and he back on to SNL just to be in The Chris Farley Show...

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Land Shark!  I'm pleased to see it managed to...heh heh...resurface again in later years.  God, it's so good.

 

One of my all-time favorite one-off sketches was when Charles Barkley was hosting, and there's one where Rob Schneider is an obvious stoner running a tchotchkes kind of shop.  And everything potential costomers ask about, he informs them that they can "put your weed in it!"  It's completely dumb, but his delivery is so hilarious, and it was at the time when such shops were exploding all over the landscape with their whole "indigenous" (i.e. cultural appropriation) spin. 

 

And then the weekend after, my family was all at my Grandma's place, which was tchotchke-central, and my dad and I spent the entire day, picking up things and confiding to each other that "you can put your weed in it!"

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The SNL 40th show had that big long section devoted to the canned bits. 

 

Which made it odd that the one canned bit the 40th anniversary show most sparked a reaction with me wasn't even part of that, but instead the lead of the In Memoriam section--the (in)famous Belushi "Don't Look Back In Anger" piece.

 

Of course that piece is overplayed.  Anytime anyone talks about Belushi as an indiviudal they lead with that piece.  But also, anytime ANYONE talks about dead SNL alums in total, they also probably lead with that piece.

 

But that's mainly because it's such a GOOD one.

 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/97833

 

Those Schiller's Reels are moody and generally fit better with the in memoriam than pretty much anything on the show.  They pop back up when the actors pass away.  Its hard to find any of them until someone passes.  The same writer/director did "Love is a Dream" that memorialized Hartman and Hooks.  I would bet that if Steve Martin weren't hosting the week Gilda Radner passed, they probably would have used the end of La Dolche Gilda, another Schiller's reel. 

 

https://vimeo.com/48286686 from 2:20

 

I just found out that there is a "missing/never released" film from 1984 by Schiller that has Murray and Aykrod in it and Lorne as a producer (was supposed to have Belushi but he died six weeks before).  It just got shown for the first time on TCM last month, thirty years later.  Now I somehow have to remember to watch it  three months from now when it airs again.

Edited by ParadoxLost
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There are so many!

I know it's not classic, but this cold open has always stuck with me. I was 13 years old, didn't know much about the election, but absolutely rolled on the floor after it finished. 23 years later, it's just as funny to me!

https://screen.yahoo.com/cold-opening-bush-clinton-perot-000000359.html

Edit: Thank you SO much for the Tom Hanks Celeb Jeopardy clip, Princess Sparkles!! Literally sobbing from laughing so hard!!

Edited by punkypower
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Father Guido Sarducci in Weekend Updates.... Mr. Bill..... Cheeseburger (ok give me eggs then)...... Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood..... Barry Gibb showing up at the end of The Barry Gibb talk show a few Christmas's ago...... Gilda Radner in anything (RIP)...... Land Shark...... "You look mahvelous"...... Celebrity Jeopardy (its the only thing I like Will Ferrell in)..... Joe Piscipo/Eddie Murphy doing Frank & Stevie...... Steve Martin's "excuussse meeee" correction Steve Martin doing anything. Same for Bill Murray & Eddie Murphy & Phil Hartman (RIP).

oops, just realized Mr. Bill doesn't belong here,

Edited by roamyn
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I have a soft spot in my heart for The Chris Farley Show with Paul McCartney.  You could tell that Chris Farley wasn't completely pretending to be nervous around Paul; the way his hands were shaking...and I loved how he turned to the camera and mouthed "AWESOME!" while pointing at Paul.

Was that the one where Farley talked about the "Paul is Dead" thing and directly asked Paul if he was, in fact, dead?

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Transcript:

 

 

Chris Farley: Rremember.. you remember when you were with The Beatles, and you were supposed to be dead, and, uh, there was all these clues, that, like, uh, you played some song backwards, and it'd say, like, "Paul Is Dead", and, uh, everyone thought that you were dead? That was, um, a hoax, right?

Paul McCartney: Yeah. I wasn't really dead.

 

I really loved that the "Chris Farley Show" sketches weren't at all about his weight, just him being awkward and kind of like a kid around celebrities.

Edited by VCRTracking
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After seeing The Lonely Island perform at the Oscars (which is surreal), I had to go back and rewatch some of my favorites. I already mentioned way upthread that Boombox is my underrated favorite, but I think Motherlover might be my all time favorite.  "We are so cool and thoughtful" and "This is the second best idea that we've ever had" just kill me.  And I will never, ever get tired of I'm On A Boat.

Edited by Princess Sparkle
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That line always tickled me so much.  Probably because I remember going to school with idiots who would say stuff like that.

Hee - me too!  I always love when they have random little asides they throw into the songs, or anytime they kind of acknowledge that something odd is going on.  That's why I love Jack Sparrow and the Reba McIntyre ones so much too.  The absolutely bewildered "What?" once Michael Bolton starts singing about Jack Sparrow makes laugh every time.  That one just works because Michael Bolton is so into it - who knew he had a sense of humor?

 

I never realized quite how much I liked those digital shorts until I started trying to list my favorites.

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Hee - me too!  I always love when they have random little asides they throw into the songs, or anytime they kind of acknowledge that something odd is going on.  That's why I love Jack Sparrow and the Reba McIntyre ones so much too.  The absolutely bewildered "What?" once Michael Bolton starts singing about Jack Sparrow makes laugh every time.  That one just works because Michael Bolton is so into it - who knew he had a sense of humor?

If only real clubbing songs were like that, I'd listen to them more often.

Edited by BatmanBeatles
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In honor of Leonard Nimoy, I would like to add the classic Star Trek cancellation as one of my favorite SNL sketches.  Chevy's Spock was perfect and him finally throwing the hissy fit at the end was priceless.  And of course John nailed Captain Kirk.

 

Fun fact: apparently during rehearsing for the sketch John purposely botched his Shatner impression just to hold back or mess with the directors/writers on purpose, only to wow them on show night.

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"I WANT MY EARS!"

 

LOL, still funny.

 

I liked all the Samurai sketches, but I have a soft spot for Samurai Bakery because it was the last one, a fact that Belushi paid tribute to by waving good-bye to the camera at the end, and proceeding by throwing random props out to the audience.

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Hee - me too!  I always love when they have random little asides they throw into the songs, or anytime they kind of acknowledge that something odd is going on.  That's why I love Jack Sparrow and the Reba McIntyre ones so much too.  The absolutely bewildered "What?" once Michael Bolton starts singing about Jack Sparrow makes laugh every time.  That one just works because Michael Bolton is so into it - who knew he had a sense of humor?

 

I never realized quite how much I liked those digital shorts until I started trying to list my favorites.

 

I had never heard of/seen the Reba one -- that is batshit!!  I kind of love it but I also kind of love Reba (for real, the real woman) so I'm confused as to how I'm supposed to feel.

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I had never heard of/seen the Reba one -- that is batshit!!  I kind of love it but I also kind of love Reba (for real, the real woman) so I'm confused as to how I'm supposed to feel.

The Reba one just kills me, because you start to watch it and think "Are we really not going to acknowledge that Keenan is playing Reba for some reason?  And did she just say she was a stripper" and then they start to acknowledge what is happening, and it just keeps getting funnier and funnier.  

 

"My friends say she's just a man who saw a wig in a dumpster"

"Your friends are smart!"

"Naw, Rebs, they’re just jealous ‘cause I’m dating a star instead of hanging with the fellas"

"Hangin like my nuts!"  

 

It's the motion Keenan does on "hangin like my nuts" that just sends me into fits of laughter.  

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God, that Reba short was one of those that I first was like "Where is this going? Do they even know where this is going?" and then just became awesome. I give Kenan a lot of shit (and I still think he's plateaued in terms of talent and has overstayed his welcome) but damn if he didn't crack me up with that "hangin' like my nuts" bit.

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