I get it. Saturday Night Live is not funny, they say. Saturday Night Live should have been cancelled years ago, they say. Saturday Night Live is not what it used to be, they say. To all the haters: maybe it’s not perfect and sure, there are a couple of misses in every episode, but at the same time, there’s a slew of comedy gold moments that should not be dismissed. With the 46th season finale of Saturday Night Live quickly approaching—in no particular order—it’s time to remember all the stand-out sketches, commercials, and musical performances from this past season.
- Christmas Morning
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Mark my words, I truly believe that this pre-recorded musical segment will go down as part of SNL’s yearly Christmas episode which compiles only the very best holiday sketches on the show. I’m not even a mom and yet I found this to be somehow super accurate and hilarious to watch. In this Christmas sketch, Kristen Wiig plays a mom who unfortunately does not enjoy Christmas morning the same way everyone in the house does. After the poor mom made her family breakfast and watched them open all their awesome presents, they all took a picture with Wiig wearing her only present, a drab pink robe. Heck, even the dog got more presents than the mom. The takeaway? Remember to treat your mom with a Christmas gift that is anything but a robe.
- Tiny Horse
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Timothee Chalamet’s performance as Ernest in this sketch is not only endearing but also pretty funny. To stay afloat Ernest and his family must sell their farm, including all their beloved animals. More importantly, Ernest is saddened when he realizes that he’ll have to get rid of his adorable Tiny Horse, a horse so tiny that it fits in the palm of his hand. To grieve over the loss of Tiny Horse, Ernest sings a surprisingly very catchy and sweet song about losing his pal. The best part of the sketch? Probably has to be the ‘git’ that Chalamet passionately yells to Tiny Horse repeatedly, waiting a while for him to leave the barn with his super short legs.
- Madame Vivelda
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In this sketch, host Adele goes back in time with some friends to visit a fortune-teller—Madame Vivelda (Kate McKinnon)—thinking the worst of 2019 was over. While reading the palms of the participants, Madame Vivelda sees shocking glimpses into their futures. Predictions like yelling at a boyfriend to use more soap while washing a bag of Doritos; crying on the phone with FedEx about her missing adult colouring book; and trading a bag on a road trip because they’re too afraid to use public bathrooms. Not only is it hilarious, but the sketch manages to capture the thoughts we all shared last year on what if somebody had told us in 2019 that 2020 would be what it was and whether or not we would have believed them or not. I mean, a global pandemic? Zoom conversations with loved ones? It sure sounds like an overly-ambitious sci-fi film to anyone prior to the pandemic.
- So You Think You Can Get The Vaccine
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In this cold open spoofing any regular old game show, contestants here play to get a shot at the COVID vaccine. The host of the game show obviously was America’s doctor himself, Dr. Anthony Fauci, played by SNL’s Kate McKinnon. “The vaccine rollout is going strong, but it’s also very confusing. Who can get it? How? When? Where is it? Do both doses go in the same arm or different arms or what? I don’t know.” Alongside Fauci, the show had three judges: California Governor Gavin Newsom (Alex Moffat), New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (Pete Davidson) and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (Cecily Strong). Contestants come on and tell the judges why they deserve the vaccine, even if they truly aren’t worthy. Exhibit A: A Michigan woman (Heidi Gardner) says she deserves it because she does IT for the OnlyFans website. The best part of the sketch though has to be the final contestant and winner of the show: an old man, played by Mikey Day. Despite being the winner, he has to make an appointment online but unfortunately, isn’t tech-savvy enough. Poor guy.
- Loco
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Through a catchy song sung by Ego Nwodim, Pete Davidson, Regé-Jean Page and Bad Bunny, SNL does it again by perfectly summing up how we all have been feeling since the pandemic started more than a year ago. The sketch asks the question: What exactly does spending a year in isolation do to our brain? Though the sketch starts pretty normal with Nwodim hanging out at the bar, everything goes sideways the moment she meets Page’s character who tells her she’s still at home dreaming it all up. According to the segment, it could make you strike up conversations with people who aren’t there or hear a song sung by Reggie the houseplant. Not only is it super relatable for its take of what a year in quarantine can do to someone, but it’s also funny.
- Mr. Chicken Legs Pageant
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In a bizarre but strangely funny sketch about a terrible beauty pageant featuring grown-up men who have skinny legs, somehow, it works. Competing are three guys: Chris-Michael Donahue (Mikey Day) with his school-girl-inspired legs, Shawn Cruck (Andrew Dismukes) and Todd Dodley (Pete Davidson). Stealing the show is Pete Davidson doing a Jack Skellington-inspired entrance to the stage. It’s worth mentioning that he ends up winning the pageant. The cherry on the top though has to be Cecily Strong’s performance as Denise Poots, belting out the show’s theme without a care in the world.
- Strollin’
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In a funny yet tragically accurate sketch, a group of four Black voters— Crazy Legs Jimmy (Kenan Thompson), Rubber Band Ronnie (Chris Redd), Pitty Pat Patricia (Punkie Johnson) and Michelle, just Michelle (Ego Nwodim)—stroll to the polls while singing a groovy, ’70s-styled song to cast their vote and make their voices heard. As they dance their way to the polling station, they find it’s been shut down forcing them to walk along the highway to the polls. When they finally do reach an open polling location, they’re forced to wait hours and meet a heavily armed Boogaloo Boy. The sketch is fun but hits home to the ongoing problem that many minorities have to face just to cast a vote in their communities. Political satire at its finest, folks.
- Zillow
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In this parody of those late-night phone-sex commercials, you see sometimes watching cable television, we learn that real-estate listings on Zillow and other related websites are what really turn on people in their late 30s. Zillow is there to satisfy the surfers’ late-night desires with expensive and unattainable properties, allowing them to enjoy their fantasies whenever. The constant lip-biting is hilarious, the innuendo is almost too perfect, and the idea of the sketch itself is just too relatable to those who want to move out of their parent’s house already. To cut the tension though is ReMax realtor Donna Lazzarini (Cecily Strong) where in just two short appearances, she wakes the users up by pouring a bucket of ice-cold reality onto the fires of real-estate lust.
- Dr. Wayne Wenowdis
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Although it’s technically a recurring sketch on Weekend Update, it’s still hilarious to watch Kate McKinnon breaking character even if it’s on purpose. With a crazy costume, an overly-large-sized syringe, some laughs and a dose of honesty, it’s always fun to see McKinnon and Colin Jost reflect on the wacky year that was 2020 or about COVID vaccines. Honestly, anything with Kate McKinnon is going to be funny.
- Now That’s What I Call Theme Songs Sung By The Stars Of The Show
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Essentially, this pre-taped musical segment featured cast members putting lyrics to the opening themes of well-known TV shows such as The Mandalorian, Stranger Things, and Bridgerton. The highlight of the segment has to be John Krasinski’s rendition of The Office theme with lyrics paying homage to the show repeating “Scranton” several times, as a nod to the city where the series takes place. Also, Krasinski referring to Jim Halpert’s nemesis Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) as “the bad guy” will never not be funny.
And there you have it! I’m sure I missed out on a couple of other great sketches from this past season but these were the ones that were most memorable to me. There are also a couple of episodes left in the 46th season with some top-notch hosts (Daniel Kaluuya, anybody?) so stay tuned for even more SNL content. Here’s to another awesome season of Saturday Night Live!
*Cue Lenny Picket and the amazing Saturday Night Live band belting out the closing theme*