Season 37 Saturday Night Live: Top 20 Best Sketches from the season (20-11)


FOR PART TWO (10-1), CLICK HERE.

As cool as the Mick Jagger episode was, I sort of opted out of doing a formal recap of it. Maybe I was just emotional over Kristen Wiig’s exit (more on that in the next post). But for some reason or other, I decided I didn’t feel like writing a recap. But again, I thought it was a very cool episode. Mick Jagger, although somewhat cringe worthy, still made me laugh a few times. And it was overall a lively show with a lot of fun musical performances.

Anyway, it’s now time to countdown the best sketches from this season (in my opinion of course). As the last remaining human who actually genuinely enjoys the show, it’s up to me to honor this season by reliving the best moments. So here it goes, 20-11.

* Note: I don’t include Weekend Update sketches. As much as I love “Get in the Cage,” Stefon and Kristen Wiig’s “flirt expert,” I don’t think there’s really a place for those segments on this list. If enough people read these next two posts, maybe I’ll countdown my favorite Weekend Update moments. Maybe.

20. Michael Buble Christmas Duets (Jimmy Fallon) - I just love it when the cast members imitate various singers. And this sketch featured some very strong impressions. My favorite would probably have to be the gun toting M.I.A. played by Nasim Pedrad. I also crack up when Abby Elliot’s Kesha sings “I HAVE HEP C”. And, Jimmy Fallon definitely delivered with his three impressions, particularly his Sting impression. So accurate.

19. Steve Buscemi Monologue - There’s going to be a lot of sketches on this list that feature cast members impersonating celebrities so deal with it! This was another one of those sketches. Because, before Boardwalk Empire, Steve Buscemi was mostly a character actor, he gets a lot of questions from common movie characters. I particularly like Kenan Thompson as the “magic negro” (not the show’s exact words), Abby Elliot as the quirky best friend from romantic comedies, and Andy Samberg as the popular guy who loses his girlfriend to the new kid at the end of movies and says “Hey Bro!…You take care of her.”

18. Ferrari Calendar (Anna Faris) - I feel slightly embarrassed putting this on the list…but I can’t freakin’ help it. This sketch makes me crack up…and I’m apparently the only person is the world who thinks so. In this sketch, two women (played by the host and Wiig) pine over the models in a calendar. They say increasingly gross things that apparently look attractive to them (like that he has NO. NOSE. JUST. HOLES.) It was a weirdly risky, off beat sketch…and in my opinion, it paid off.

17. Tell Him (Anna Faris) – Oh look! Another Anna Faris sketch. This one involved all the females (minus Kate McKinnon) in the cast. In the sketch, they sing a song about the the things you say and do to get a guy to like you (to the tune of “Tell Him”.) It’s funny, but more than that, it’s extremely well made, and features the talent of the underused members of the female cast whose name doesn’t rhyme with “Schmisten Fig”. Love it! Too bad it’s not on Hulu…

16. Almost Pizza (Sofia Vergara) – One of the funnier SNL commercials. Here, we get introduced to “Almost Pizza,” a pizza in every way…except for a few small ones. It’s not a tofu pizza. You can put tofu on a pizza and still legally call it pizza. But don’t try calling this pizza. It’s Almost Pizza! This commercial gets me every time!

15. The Californians (Josh Brolin, Mick Jagger) – A parody of soap operas…with Californians who are obsessed with giving directions. So absurd, yet hilarious. I just love how they pronounce things (“ooo-what arrrre yoo doing hee-ar, Devin!”) This is nice leading moment for Fred Armisen. And even though Kristen Wiig was the best thing about these two sketches, I hope they continue this series without her. I think it could work (esp. if Kate McKinnon is given a bigger role).

PS…I put a link to the “dress rehearsal” version of the Josh Brolin episode…the actors break even more there.

14. Pantene Commercial (Sofia Vergara) – I have high hopes for Kate McKinnon. Why? Because she absolutely killed it in her first starring sketch. Here, Sofia Vergara and Penelope Cruz (played by McKinnon) film for a Pantene commercial. While Vergara is given easy lines like “Aloe! Yay!”, Kate McKinnon is given equally easy lines like “Ammonium Laureth Sulfate” and “Phytomorphogenesis”. So funny. Kate McKinnon could definitely become the next “alpha female” after Wiig departs.

13. The Real Housewives of Disney (Lindsay Lohan) – The Lindsay Lohan episode may have been disappointing, but this sketch surely wasn’t it. The title says it all. A “Real Housewives” parody using Disney princesses. Lohan played Rapunzel. Abby Elliot played Belle. Vanessa Bayer played Snow White. Nasim Pedrad played Jasmine. And Wiig played a drunk Cinderella (with Taran Killam played a his closeted prince…”who’s really into shoes.”) Another great sketch that utilized the female cast.

12. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why a Caged Bird Laughs (Maya Rudolph) – “It was an act of whimsy”.This is pretty much Maya Angelou’s version of “Betty White’s Off Her Rockers”. Except with dignity!!! I just love how they portrayed Angelou as being so passionate and loved…even when she’s committing the stupidest of pranks. Hey! She is one of the greatest American writers from the last century. And who else cracks up with this line? “The sands of time are like rain on a tin roof: Never stopping. Never ceasing. Now, watch me punk Steven King!” Just the way Maya says it makes me laugh.

11. Melissa McCarthy Monologue -  A lot of the monologues this season have actually been quite good. This monologue is among the most “quite good” we’ve seen yet. It involves McCarthy and Wiig giving a performance where they are getting ready to dance, although they never actually dance (unless you count the real dancers hidden behind those silhouette screens). There are just some really great sound bites in this one (“BALLET YOU BET!” “LET’S CROSS!” “WE’RE ANTICIPATIN’…” “IT’S TIME TO COOK!”); and, again, Bobby Moynihan and Taran Killam: who knew those two could dance so well? It’s just nice to see these two actresses have so much fun and such great chemistry together.

I will be posting part 2 tomorrow. I’ll put a link of it on this post. Or you can just subscribe to this blog, whatever works for ya! I’ll also, of course, be discussing Kristen Wiig and her departure, Andy Sandberg and Jason Sudeikis, and what I hope will happen in the next season. See ya then! PART TWO IS HERE.

OK…just as a spoiler. Here some honorable mentions that DID NOT make my top 20. A heads up as to what potential sketches won’t be making my top 10:

What’s Wrong with Tanya (Anna Faris), Someone Like You (Emma Stone), The Miley Cyrus Show (with Steve Buscemi and Maya Rudolph as Whitney Houston), Half Jewish, Half Italian, Completely Neurotic (from the Jimmy Fallon episode), Beethoven (Jimmy Fallon), Spin the Bottle (Daniel Radcliffe), Fifty Shades of Grey commercial, Lazy Sunday 2, and the various installments of J Pop America Fun Time Now and Secret Word.

Thanks for reading!

  1. Hoo-ray! Now I can pretend that SNL is an annual 2-hour special that’s actually funny, by simply only watching these clips! Good show.

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