By ABC staff
Photo: Screenshot
For the past half-century, US sketch show Saturday Night Live has defied the odds, delivering weekly live shows and lifting up some of the most famous comedy creators in history.
This Sunday, the show will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a big blow-out party set to feature former "Not Ready For Primetime Players" from across the decades.
It's almost impossible to honour a full five decades of one show, and each devoted viewer will have their own favourite moments. But, as massive comedy nerds, we thought we'd look back at the sketches that have stayed with us as fans, and the moments that influenced comedy and culture worldwide.
Before anyone says "won't someone think of the musical guests?" Yes, the 50 years of SNL has been littered with groundbreaking performances, from Sinead O'Connor ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II (and receiving a lifetime ban), or Ashlee Simpson tanking her own career.
But for today, it's all about the comedy.
The Muppets - 1975
I was somewhat surprised to discover childhood fave The Muppets were once foul-mouthed characters on Saturday Night Live.
After creating a series of delightful fuzzy characters for Sesame Street, Jim Henson was determined not to be pigeonholed as just a children's entertainer. So he came up with something a little more… grown-up.
The Land of Gorch was a series of sketches across the very first season of SNL, in 1975. It followed the lives of a Muppet royal family in a faraway land but, in keeping with the late-night vibes, they were foul-mouthed and made frequent references to drugs and alcohol.
The segment was a notorious flop. As well as audience skepticism about puppet humour, Writers Guild of America rules meant only SNL staff writers could contribute to scripts. This meant Henson wasn't able to execute his vision, and also bred resentment among the staff who didn't want to "write for felt".
The Land of Gorch didn't live past the first season, but it provided inspiration and momentum for The Muppet Show, which was picked up in 1976 and introduced the world to Miss Piggy and Kermit.
- Katherine Smyrk
Eddie Murphy's Celebrity Hot Tub Party - 1983
Beloved actor and comedian Eddie Murphy is often credited with saving SNL during a rough ratings patch that followed the brief departure of creator Lorne Michaels in the early 1980s (he returned in 1985).
Getting his start on the program at just 19 years old, Murphy's highlights include the light-fingered Mr Robinson - his twist on the beloved children's TV host Mr Rogers - and his mockumentary-style video sketch Mr White, where he dressed up in whiteface and playfully explored white privilege.
But he's perhaps most remembered for impersonating comedy legend James Brown.
Season 9, in 1983, featured a sketch called Celebrity Hot Tub Party, where Murphy gives his all in an energetic impression of the iconic 60s musician and dancer, stripping right down to his golden speedos.
Murphy's recurring impression of the singer was so uncanny that Brown even suggested he should play him in a biopic.
- Rachel Rasker
Wayne's World - 1989
In my family, the first Wayne's World movie is a sacred text. We couldn't tell you any lines from an actual sacred text like The Bible, but we can recite Wayne's gun rack quote like scripture. Ahem…
"A gun rack. I don't even own a gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack. What am I gonna do with a gun rack?" Amen.
Like the Blues Brothers before it, the origins of Garth and Wayne go all the way back to Studio 8H, when they debuted on SNL's 14th season in 1989. The bones of the movie are there: two hip SoCal stoner types have a lo-fi public access show. In their debut sketch they interview a local business owner who turns out to be Garth's dad. Party on.
The idea of extrapolating an entire low-budget comedy film from a series of six-minute sketches feels like a relic of a bygone era, but Lorne Michaels and co did it twice with a 50/50 hit rate. Not bad. Most excellent.
- James Brennan
The Chanukah Song - 1994
One of the great things about SNL is looking back at the many, many, MANY stars that got their first leg-up in studio 8H.
And one of those rising stars (for better or worse) was Adam Sandler, who was an official featured player in his early 20s. While his impressions were nothing to write home about, he really excelled behind the weekend update desk, first as the dramatic Opera Man and then with his iconic 1994 performance of 'The Chanukah Song'.
I was born a year after Sandler first performed this on SNL, so my first introduction to it was through my Dad's crackly car speakers as Sandler rattled off the names of people who I did not know who also happened to be Jewish.
But the tune and Sandler's playful delivery had me so hooked I still frequently revisit the song to this day (I know most of the name-checked people now, not to brag).
Sure, he might have created some of the worst comedy films around but, thanks to SNL, we can always revisit a brighter time when Adam Sandler was young, upcoming and, yeah, I'm gonna say it, hot.
- Velvet Winter
More Cowbell - (2000)
Even with a revered acting career that spans more than seven decades, Christopher Walken has said on many occasions that no performance of his has followed him around more than the SNL Cowbell sketch.
On Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2020 he recalled being at a restaurant in Singapore when a couple called out to him "I think my salad needs more cowbell!"
The sketch, written by Will Ferrell, sees Walken play fictional 70s music producer Bruce Dickinson, who has been called upon to record hit song '(Don't Fear) The Reaper' by (real) rock band Blue Oyster Cult. Ferrell plays Gene, the band's overzealous cowbell player (also fictional), who disrupts the recording several times.
But what truly makes the sketch is Walken's brilliant delivery of iconic lines, such as the immortal "I've got a fever. And the only prescription is more cowbell!" Ferrell really steers things off the rails, causing the cast (most notably Jimmy Fallon) to break character and laugh several times.
You can watch this sketch over and over and it'll never stop being funny. And it will never stop haunting poor Christopher Walken.
Gotta have more cowbell, baby!
- Christian Harimanow
Politicians in SNL - 2000-present
Impersonating political figures of the day is very standard and important fare for any comedy show worth their salt, and SNL has embraced it wholeheartedly over the years.
Will Ferrell's impersonation of George W Bush in 2000 had the former US President convinced he had actually said the word "strategery" while debating with Al Gore.
We've had Fred Armisen as Barack Obama and Larry David as Bernie Sanders. Maya Rudolph perfectly embodied Kamala Harris, with Andy Samberg at her side as a simpering Doug.
Tina Fey's impersonation of Alaskan senator and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin won the actor and comedian a Primetime Emmy (Amy Poehler as an enraged Hillary Clinton is also worthy imo).
Kate McKinnon - who was also the first out lesbian in the SNL cast - is a particular master at transforming herself. The MVP of the Barbie film is not only an effortless Elizabeth Warren, she has also morphed into former attorney-general Jeff Sessions and, most hysterically, Rudy Giuliani.
A special shout-out must go to Melissa McCarthy as Trump's former White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, and Sarah Saltman as former congressman and alleged statutory rapist Matt Gaetz - both of these jump-scares still haunt my dreams.
- Katherine Smyrk
The Lonely Island - 2005
From Dick in a Box to Jizz In My Pants and I'm On A Boat, the music of comedy troupe The Lonely Island (SNL cast member Andy Samberg and writers Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer) was on the lips of every young person in the late 2000s/early 2010s.
But beyond giving teens grotty things to yell out in class, did you know that The Lonely Island changed the internet forever with their second digital short?
Back in 2005, The Lonely Island boys wrote and performed a skit called Lazy Sunday, which featured Samberg and SNL cast mate Chris Parnell rapping about their perfect Sabbath day, including cupcakes and catching a screening of The Chronicles of Narnia.
The sketch just happened to debut on broadcast TV the same week a brand new video-sharing website was launched: YouTube, maybe you've heard of it?
SNL fans jumped on the clip, uploading multiple unofficial versions that clocked a cumulative 5 million views in just a few days, making it one of the very first examples of a viral video.
So, next time you're enjoying a Vine or cute cat compilation. throw some thanks to the three boys and multiple internet pirates that made it possible.
- Velvet Winter
Stefon on Weekend Update - 2010
On Saturday Night Live, there are three constants: a celebrity host, a musical guest and Weekend Update. The latter is extremely fertile ground for oddball freaks to look down the barrel of the camera and flourish. Enter Stefon, created by Bill Hader and then writing partner John Mulaney.
Stefon is the type of character that could only really find its footing in the pressure cooker environment of a weekly live sketch show. Having originally appeared in a failed sketch alongside Ben Affleck in 2008, the weirdo "club kid" was then plonked on Update two years later as a way to fill time.
Stefon segments go as follows: Weekend Update host Seth Meyers brings him out to introduce "family-friendly" events for tourists in New York. Stefon then describes completely absurd and hedonistic watering holes that would probably make tourists either cry or puke.
But there's a meta element in every Stefon sketch that takes the segment from good to classic. Between dress rehearsal and air, then staff writer Mulaney would swap out lines with new jokes that Hader hadn't seen.
Hader has described himself as a "light touch" when it comes to breaking live on air, and Mulaney knew exactly how to push his buttons in the best ways possible.
- James Brennan
Liza Minnelli Tries to Turn Off a Lamp - 2012
Kristen Wiig is among SNL's all-time best physical comedians, with an elasticity that lets her scrunch her face and body to suit any impersonation or original oddball. Her Liza Minnelli - a broad brushstroke that's all jittery energy, slurred words and absurd poses, but clearly made with love for Liza - is a perfect show of her talents.
In this sketch, Liza and a friend are off to a Broadway production of Cats - but first, Liza has to turn off a lamp at her apartment. Cue the jazz drums, as Wiig slinks around trying various dance moves to turn it off while offering nonsensical one-liners punctuated by sharp horns and jazz hands.
Host Jonah Hill plays a perfect straight man to Wiig, suggesting Minnelli's absurd behaviour is part and parcel of being her friend. He's never irritated as he repeatedly, across the four minutes, suggests she simply find the switch.
Warning: Once you watch this, there's a high chance that "Will a Fosse neck do it?" will enter your regular lexicon.
- Jared Richards
The arrival of Sarah Sherman - 2021
Every now and then, a new player lands on the show and immediately enriches it with a fresh brand of unhinged comedy. The most recent example of this is Sarah Sherman, who was performing under the moniker Sarah Squirm before landing SNL.
As her stage name would suggest, this lady is the ruler of gross-out humour. Her on-air sketches have included sentient, singing meatballs that grow out of her skin, an impromptu infomercial for the "Glamgina" make-up kit at a gynaecology check-up, and a business meeting where she reveals she has replaced her eyes with plastic googly ones.
Much like Hader's Stefon, Sherman shines brightest when she's brought to the Weekend Update desk to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting host. Her first Update feature had her laying verbal traps for Colin Jost in an attempt to "gotcha" him with unflattering headlines. These poked fun at his Hamptons home, his famous wife and overall "white Harvard guy" vibe.
This angle has pretty much become a staple of Colin Jost's stint as Weekend Update host, with writers and other cast members expanding the premise to hilarious heights.
- James Brennan
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