Saturday Night Live is as American as apple pie and activism. The 40-plus-year sketch comedy show has stood the test of time and continually grown its audience with relevant, political and always hilarious sketches. Saturday nights can be spent out on the town or living your best life on the couch and laughing along with the show’s stars. My love for this show runs deep. I’ve read a 800 page book detailing the history, watched episodes from the very first seasons and live for SNL Rewind episodes where past cast members detail their personal experiences. Here’s a few of the best SNL skits of all time.
1. Jeopardy
“The Celebrity Jeopardy” sketch is one of my favorites. In the early 2000’s Alex Trebek was played by Will Farrell, and everything Will Ferrell does is genius. Nickelodeon child-star Kenan Thompson plays Steve Harvey in the “Black Jeopardy” version. Both actors embody the character fully and interact with the “players” with witty comebacks trying to keep them in check.
2. Chippendales
If you’ve never seen a Chris Farley clip, then you’re not living. He basically held the the cast up from 1990 to 1995. Patrick Swayze competes with Chris Farley to fill in the slot as a Chippendales dancer, Farley commits wholeheartedly and proves to be one one of the greatest cast members in SNL history.
3. Brian Fellows Safari Planet
Tracy Morgan is comedy gold. Brian Fellows is a man with a sixth grade education, who is not a licensed zoologist but interviews handlers. The sketch features real animals which just adds to the rawness of the comedy because often they don’t cooperate. The theme song of the sketch goes, “He loves animals and they love him back,” the irony is that Fellow is often suspicious of the animals and constantly asks the animal handlers to keep the creatures away.
4. Katie Couric interviews Sarah Palin
Oh, the 2008 election. It was a simpler political time yet still provided some of the best political sketches. Tina Fey plays former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, she perfects her mannerisms, voice, even hand gestures. When you put the real Palin next to the caricature version, it was still hard to differentiate as both were crazy, when one of them probably wasn’t supposed to be.
5. Back Home Ballers
So this one isn’t technically a sketch but the clip lets the women shine. I now look forward to anytime the cast does a music video. The women go home for Thanksgiving and bask in the enjoy all that their homes have to offer, like food in the refrigerator, a good WIFI connection and bowls of M&M’s at your disposal. This one’s for the college girl or anyone who’s returned home after long periods away, it’s painfully relatable.
6. Debbie Downer
I’m not sure what’s funnier in this sketch: Rachel Dratch, who plays Debbie Downer or the other cast members breaking character around her and laughing so hard tears start to form. The characters are at the happiest place on earth, Disney World, but Debbie Downer keeps the conversation down. I oddly relate as I’m also the girl to bring up negative comments on current events at the wrong times.
7. NPR’s Delicious Dish: Schweddy Balls
Probably the thing I’m most proud of in my life is being able to quote this entire sketch verbatim. I listen to NPR everyday and whenever they have a segment similar to this I can’t help but laugh. Alec Baldwin, who now plays the president on current episodes, was was Pete Schweddy, a ball-like treat. It’s a play on words and done so with so much seriousness.
Do you have a favorite SNL sketch that didn’t make the list? Comment below!