The absolute best SNL skits

Anything and everything with Gilda Radner. She was brilliant.

Gilda was overrated.

Gilda was great in character - Roseanne RoseannaDanna, Lisa Lupner, etc. Not so great in sketches that didn't center on one of her characters.

Kate McKinnon is overrated.

"You guys have my email and everything, right? Go Windermere!"

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer. Definitely Top 3 or 4.

Liza Minnelli tries to turn off a lamp.

R6 It was just 'ok' -- the skit went on too long.

^Kristin Wiig was as much the giant as Gilda was. The bulk of the best SNL material is from that Maya Rudolf/Kristin/Bill Hader trio period. Kate was just emerging and was hilarious in The Big Gay Sketch Show. R3 is seriously mad that she'll be known as one of greatest SNL players deservedly.

This skit with Katy Perry is particularly memorable for me and shows off Kristin's comedic prowess

The wordless classic. Full body comedy.

R4 I love that one.

R4

I have tears in my eyes.

Amazing skit.

Brenda the Waitress

Jeopardy! The mad scientist sketch with the Rock, the commercial 50 and freaky with Keenan and Sigourney Weaver. There are just so many!

Christopher Guest and Martin Short as synchronized swimmers

My favorite is one I’ve only seen once and can’t find anywhere. It goes back to young Bill Murray playing a minister conducting a funeral service but as a magician would do it. There was something about it that cut right to the heart of what a phony farce religion is and yet it was spiritual too. It’s hard to explain but I’ve never seen anything like it.

Gilda died 31 years ago today. RIP.

There are lots but in recent memory I think Wells for Boys is one of the best. I had tears I was laughing so hard when I first saw this.

Canteen Boy was insanely hysterical and totally inappropriate. And made me love Alec Baldwin.

Kristen Wiig as Kathy Lee was always funny.

From the original cast - A*M*I*S*H Detectives. They arrive a week late in their buggy to solve a bank robbery. Wish video footage of it was on YT.

OP I doubt any Kate McKinnon is “the best”.

Christina Applegate as the Fosse dance instructor, Jillian Chizz.

Most are best when impersonating a famous person or politician. SNL, lately, has not done well with original sketches or characters.

-Harry Carey

-Cheerleaders

-When they do the View past or more present

-the pill lady Cheri Oteri use to do (fucking hilarious)

-Martha Stewart

-All the Bill Clinton sketches (including Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp)

-Jeopardy

I'm trying to remember some of the older skits but I was just a kid.

Not many would agree but I loved RDJ in his one SNL season. I know people like this today.

Tina's Sarah Palin was absolute perfection- acting and writing.

Cheri Oteri's Barbara Walters was likewise.

This was the absolute best Celebrity Jeopardy

Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery + Kate McKinnon' as Justin Bieber, Alec Baldwin as Tony Bennet, Norm McDonald as Burt Reynolds, Jim Carrey as Matthew McConnaughey

And Will Ferrell's exasperated Alex Trebek is always perfect.

Sooo funny!!

thirtysomething cereal always cracks me up. Also the sinatra group with jan hooks as sinead o'connor.

McLaughlin group.

Love this one, esp. when the daughter sings into the dildo.

Stefon's Farewell

Theodoric of York, Medieval barber

Schmitts Gay Beer!

Oops! I Crapped My Pants!

The one about how mothers get celebrity names wrong. Spot on

I loved this one.

R38 You mean this one?

You reminded me of this one, R40, which is perfect on so many levels and fits in perfectly with the extreme technophobia many older DLers exhibit.

I can't even say I did that on purpose, lol

Here is the link and egg on my face

This is also very funny, especially if you've ever been to a Starbucks in NYC-- though it got slammed for being racist and seems to have disappeared from the official SNL YouTube page.

Oddly enough, the link from NBC's site works (there is an ad first)

A lot of these have made me laugh. ALMOST as much as this one always makes me laugh

39 cents

This:

Excuse me!

R44 That's a badly done remake of a brilliant Dan Ackroyd Julia Child sketch.

When did they start relying on cue cards all the time? It's distracting in the recent sketches, because the actors aren't even looking at each other.

Some of their lines aren't even difficult or lengthy. The looking at cue cards lately has become very distracting.

R23 And I don't doubt that you have no sense of humor but it's not really the point of this thread.

Hard to believe r21 was over ten years ago

R48 I could have been clearer about why it’s funny. Dan Ackroyd never spit fake blood directly into anyone’s mouth, causing them to dry heave through the rest of the sketch.

[quote]Christopher Guest and Martin Short as synchronized swimmers

That was Harry Shearer, not Christoper Guest. You fat stupid whore!

R18 I was going to post that! So funny and strange. I love it!

Through the years, Ive tried watching SNL but never found anything funny

Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and, doggone it! People like me.

Stuart has a very special guest, Michael J., to protect his anonymity. I started describing this sketch to a friend, and just the setup cracked her up.

Eddie Murphy, White Like Me

I'm another vote for the Olympic swimmers Harry Shearer and Martin Short, whose choreography was done by the character who would become Corky St. Clair in Waiting For Guffman.

This is a cut-for-time that should have never been cut!

All My Luggage with Susan Lucci

Nothing beats nearly the entire episode starring Lucy Lawless, especially Stevie Nicks Fajita Roundup!

Church Lady with Pat Robertson and Jimmy Swaggart

Collette Reardon the pill lady! Loved her!

The Pepsi Syndrome

Heather Locklear as the racist QVC lady.

Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor word-associating.

Can someone explain how SNL skits that were “cut for time” from a live broadcast are available to watch? Are they dress rehearsals?

TIA.

Yes, R67. Dress rehearsal is around 7:30; that's when they cut sketches for time, and they tape both shows.

Another vote for the synchronized swimmers!

‘Wells for Boys’ and the ‘The Actress’ were both written by my boyfriend, Julio Torres.

A recent one, but so clever and timely.

Coffee Talk with Linda Richman. Featuring Madonna, Roseanne, and Barbra. Classic.

R71 Sorry. Not clever. You're trying too hard to make SNL relevant. Not happening.

Colonel Lingus

Any of the Chistopher Walken skits as The Continental. Here's one:

Career Day:

R71, it is the only skit in recent history I replay frequently.

Wishin’ Boot

Mom Jeans!

Airport Sushi!

Christina Applegate as Cher and Chris Farley as Lori Davis spoofing the "Focus on Beauty" infomercial

I love this one.

Gilda Radner, RIP Phil Hartmann, RIP remember the anal retentive chef??? his cole head wife killed him, herself, orphaned their kids

R67 The dress rehearsals are filmed. At each dress rehearsal there are 3 to 4 extra sketches (they’re sketches not skits - hence sketch comedy) that are performed and some are cut for time or because they bomb or for some other reasons. Sometimes sketches are reworked in a minor or major way between dress and live. If there are technical issues with the sketches during the live show, they will switch out the live for the dress version in reruns.

I saw the Blake Lively/Rihanna dress rehearsal back in 2009. There were minor changes to one sketch from dress to live. Also, one of the cut sketches ended up on the Sofia Vergara episode three years later with Sofia playing the role Blake played.

Thanks R68.

I had higher hopes for that R82

Like a lot of SNL skits, it started out with a funny premise but they quickly ran it into the ground and it didn't go anywhere and then the ending was a complete letdown

This one

Lorraine Newman cracks me up.

Oh. Yeah. John Belushi and rest are funny, too.

This is my all time fave

Tori: Absolutely Christmas

I do have fond memories of the All My Luggage skit at R60. Possibly because I was watching AMC at the time and the spoof was well done in not really adjusting the soap dialogue much, just moved it to a less dramatic setting. It helped that Lucci played it pretty straight and did not try to add extra camp. I think that is one of the reasons she is decent at comedy - she plays it like the character believes what she is saying and does not fall back on the knowing wink-wink to the audience that she is in on the joke. Her entrance into the airport chapel might have induced one of the larger laughs I have heard on the show.

Beck Bennett. Adam Driver. Porn Doctor. With Aidy Bryant.

Harry Potter parody with Lindsey Lohan—except that Blow-Han is staring at the cue cards the whole time. I loved the Adam Driver Star Wars sketch.

The all-time winner. Let's spin for the wad!

This is probably the best known digital short from SNL

Hard to believe it's only seven years old -- seems like a lifetime ago.

R94 That is from 2005.

The one about the TV show Homeland

And Stranger Things

R93 Wow! Who is in blackface? He sounds like Billy Crystal. Short is rehashing his SCTV stuff, Christopher Guest is hilarious, but it would never air today.

Thanks R95--the upload date was 2013.

2005 sounds more like it and makes me feel better about my ability to judge time ;)

John Belushi in Samurai Night Fever. Belush also in Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger.

To add to R80, John Mulaney’s epic trilogy of mind-bending, weird scenarios: Diner Lobster, Bodega Toilet, and Airport Sushi have a special place in comedy, IMO.

Meet Your Second Wife

"Focus on Beauty II" at r81 may be my favorite of all time. It's the only time I've ever found Chris Farley hilarious.

Dynasty's Greatest Fights

R1, I agree.

Judy Miller was as standout.

What are you doing? ………………...'Nothing.'

what kid with a great imagination hasn't used that line?

I also liked the introverted traumatized Colleen that she used to play; she and parents Bill Murray and Kate Jackson took her to therapy and she stole the scene.

Also, Colleen as Christina Crawford, to Jane Curtin's Joan Crawford!

The "Do It On My Twin Bed" song.

"And now it's a whole thing with Jean..."

R102 That skit is far too honest about middle-aged straight men for SNL. I wonder how they snuck it past Lorne?

Although I and many other people hate her now .... in honor of the writers that put this together ...

Roseanne and Phil Hartman Metrocard

To this day I still think about it every time I call a help line.

Too bad there isn't any Goth Talk with Azzzrael Abysssss on youtube.

Loved Grow-A-Guy. Weird SNL is the best SNL

Early days; great satire, dark truths.

"Since you're from France, I'll give you a French kiss!"

"Star Wars, give me those Star Wars!"

Bawbwa Wawa and Mahweenah Deetwick

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

"It's always something."

I love all the ones Lily Tomlin hosted - twice in the 70s (plus a special guest on a third one Steve Martin hosted) and one in the 80s with Eddie Murhpy.

The second show she hosted, the cold opening is Lily whisking into the building late wearing a mink boa and a tiara with an entourage the includes Pepe the dwarf who is there mainly to pour champagne in her glass, and various other Eurotrash hanger-ons.

As she disappears into the studio she tells her party friends, "Don't worry, this will only take about 90 minutes."

Priceless.

Here's the Hard Hat sketch from her first time hosting.

I heard the Frank Zappa episode was legendary - supposedly so bad that it was GREAT, but I can’t find clips of it anywhere.

If you have Hulu, the first five seasons are on there along with season 30 to present.

The first five are complete although the disastrous New Orleans/Mardi Gras episode is not included. The Frank Zappa episode is included along with Louise Lasser, Charles Grodin, and Milton Berle - all of whom were banned from ever appearing again.

I know it was a huge deal getting all the music clearance for seasons 1 to 5. Some of the seasons from 30 to 40 are a little choppy and don’t all include musical performances, again getting all those clearances is difficult.

First CityWide Change Bank

Wish I could get the whole clip, but Heather Locklear was pretty funny in this.

Any and all of Ashton Kushner's "Death by Chocolate" skits. (sorry I am unable to link a clip)

you’re a rat bastard, Charlie Brown

Twin Bed (music video)

r56, The full length Stuart Smalley film is surprisingly sweet.

The Sinatra Group. An unrehearsed discussion of current issues in the recording industry.

Buckwheat has died!!!

First two seasons were funny. Year after year, I scratch my head, why is SNL on the air. These highlight are nearly funny but you have to mine through so much garbage to find them

Gilda's vulnerability, likability, and comment to her characters made her one of a kind.

Ain’t nothing cuter than a fat country baby eating peaches off a hardwood floor.

^ 😉

"He clicked the drop-down menu and then he just randomly selected papyrus, like a thoughtless child just wandering by a garden, yanking leaves along the way."

Bad Clams

Unintentionally funny as they all strain not to laugh.

Dick in a box was pretty good, but the Mothers Day sequel is hysterical.

Close Encounter cracks me up (with Ryan Gosling trying to keep it together)

The funniest thing I ever saw on SNL was The Claudine Longet Invitational, never to be seen again... "Uh-oh! He seems to have been accidentally shot by Claudine Longet!"

anne hathaway spoofing Katie Holmes "Joey isn't your typical teen; she's complexxx and has layers..." was brilliant; also liked her Homeland spoof.

This one got the DL all hot and bothered.

Yeehaw R139

the Fred Willard show from the late 70s was rerun Sat. night.

The funniest sketch in the whole episode was the one in which Bill Murray interviewed Lucille Ball (Gilda);

freaking hilarious.

Here's a great article on the amazing "Stevie Nicks' Fajita Roundup" sketch.

That was awesome, r142!

Kaitlyn. Amy Poehler and RICK!

Molly Shannon is fearless. I taped this when it aired (yes, it was VHS) and forced everyone I knew to watch it.

God, I hated that Kaitlyn skit.

The Douchebags.

r136, that puts me in mind of one of the most memorable sketches I can recall from SNL (it aired long before my time, but I caught it somewhere, and I've never found it again).

It must have made been during the Carter era, when then-WH Press Secretary Hamilton Jordan (why do I even remember this) was caught sniffing cocaine. So the sketch has Jane Curtin, Steve Martin and I guess it was Garrett Morris sitting in a row to be interviewed about how they had witnessed Hamilton Jordan sniffing cocaine. Morris spins some unlikely tale about how he saw the cocaine thing, Curtin says the same and goes on to say that Hamilton Jordan also "pawed her like an animal", and then Martin as a hick farmer says "I saw Hamilton Jordan sniffing cocaine, and I had sex with Margaret Trudeau". One-upmanship from the others ensues, alien abductions are mentioned. I laughed very hard.

Too bad it doesn't seem to come up on YouTube.

Too bad it

Gays in Space.

R26 it’s easy to tell that back then RDJ was spending most of his time with James Spader—in that sketch RDJ seems to be doing a speedy upbeat imitation of Spader, down to the pretentious longwindedness, the mannered and effete way of smoking, and the ersatz plum in his mouth. He even manages the strange occasional staring that James typically did back in his addict days.

R117 “hey, Joychunks!” “I am *NOT* your ‘Baby’!”

Gilda & Danny were so great in that one. And Lily ran that sketch like she owned it. All such funny, clever, eloquent people.

You can see how the general intelligence of SNL has nosedived since the original run.

Dylan McDermott or Dermott Mulroney

I can’t find this filmed commercial satire online, but the “commercial” was about a touring imitation Elvis coat show. Attendees were interviewed about their opinions on the show. One was a man with a thick Eastern European accent who said that he had seen all the imitation coat shows and this one was “by far the best.”

Mick Jagger playing Keith Richards during the news segment. Starts @:50

Colon Blow cereal - my favorite of the SNL commercials.

John Mulaney in "Cha Cha Slide"

"Farewell Mr. Bunting"

Alec Baldwin as the French teacher.

David Spade as the DC Productions receptionist with Roseanne and Phil Hartman as Jesus.

"I'm not pretending!"

Mentioning favorite skits which are seemingly unavailable online - from 1998, the game show parody Old French Whore! with host and musical guest Garth Brooks in drag as an French prostitute named Coco.

This one has brought me many laughs.

If you've ever been poor, you'll probably find this one hilarious.

One of my favorites from the early '90s was Sprockets' version of The Dating Game, "Love Werks".

Jason Priestley as the bachelor; Julia Sweeney, Victoria Jackson & Phil Hartman as the bachelorettes, and of course, Mike Meyers. Everyone's great in it (even that dumb twat Jackson), but especially Phil Hartman. So fucking out there! I remember my sides ached when I first saw it. ("Susan" would appear again in another Sprockets' sketch, "Das Jeopardy").

I can't find a clip of the skit, but the complete SNL episode is on Peacock (which is free). Season 17, Ep. 13.

Chris Parnell's first appearance on the show; hilarious because he is the last person one would expect to break out into a legitimate gangsta rap.

I haven't tuned into the show since the late 1990s, but I recently discovered Wiig's "Sue". This is my favorite sketch involving the character.

"Buckwheat has been shot".

And then, "Buckwheat is dead".

Phil Hartman was my favourite SNL performer.

One of my faves is Amy Poehler sitting at a bar and locking eyes with Josh Brolin, sitting at a table. "I'm No Angel" (Allman Brothers, very cheesy song) is playing on the jukebox. Poehler and Brolin make hand signals and lip-read from a distance and agree to hook up. Amy Poehler gets up from the bar stool and it's revealed that she's hugely pregnant as she waddles over to Brolin. Brolin's face registers shock and dismay at first. Then, he shrugs, accepting the situation, still down to fuck the pregnant Poehler.

Yeah, I think Phil Hartman is top 3 of all-time best on SNL. He was so believable as a cold, sociopathic type that I believed him to be a sociopath. Until his wife murdered him. IMO, a sociopath doesn't get murdered by his wife.

So many of the good ones already mentioned. I always like this one, the Natalie Portman rap. For some reason it always cracks me the hell up every time I see it.

I'm amazed no one's mentioned "More Cowbell."

Toonces the Driving Cat is one of my favorite types of SNL skits: just totally absurd and silly with a simple hilarious premise.

Clinton at McDonald's. Hartman was such a treasure.

"Let me tell you something--there’s gonna be a whole bunch of things we don’t tell Mrs. Clinton!”

of them all, I have to say I love the r136 and all the other space aliens kidnap ones the most, and second has to be the Black Jeopardy ones.

Broadway Superbowl Halftime sketch is one of best in recent years.

^ You just reminded me of this: Peyton Manning for United Way.

It’s so hard to say best skit since there are so many good ones. With that being said, pretty much anything with Cecily Strong(drunk Jeanine Pirro, Cathy Anne, Girl you wish you hadn’t started a convo with) and Martin Short(Jackie Rogers Jr., Ed Grimley, Synchronized swimmers, Irving Cohen) are probably my favorites.

More Cowbell

And cha cha slide was weirdly clever. I will give SNL that.

I thought this spoof of Inside the Actor's Studio was hilarious

This cut for time sketch should have aired.

I like the weirder sketches.

R172 thank you I love that one SO much.

From somewhat more recently I love the one where Martin Short played the Royal gyno (from around 2011 I think) - he’s one of the small handful of celebrities it pains me to read the unflattering stories (on here) about him and I always hope it isn’t true.

Puppy Uppers and Doggie Downers

The infamous "French Chef" sketch.

Jewess Jeans

Does that actually make you laugh r184, or is it just supposed to?

Yes r186, as a matter of fact, I laughed my ass off. I have a sick sense of humor and I'm not ashamed of it.

James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub Party

Game Show Host: “Name three famous Mickeys.” Contestant: “Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mantle.” Game Show Host: “C’mon, you’re so close.” Contestant: “Mickey…Mickey Way!”

Guaranteed laughs. Massive Headwound Harry.

OK, maybe not one of the "absolute best," but I enjoyed Beck Bennett's Architectural Digest tour of his home.

R169 could it have been a preemptive protective strike on Mrs. Hartman’s part?

Always surprised that David Spade’s HOLLYWOOD MINUTE never gets brought up in these SNL discussions. Maybe it’s a little too close to home for us here at the DL...

R194 David should have been a better brother-in-law to me.

I cracked up when I first saw this one.

Barry Gibbs Talk show. Always loved Nights on Broadway my fave Bee Gees song. This one has Madonna and then a heart warming appearance from Barry himself.

None of these is as funny as In Living Color. Wanda on the Dating Game

Grimaldi's Classic Creations Living Nativity:

The Herlihy Boy

Psycho Santa couple at Christmas party

The Californians.

Especially the episode when the maid faints and Fred Arminsen loses it.

Oscar the Grouch - a Joker parody is like a short film in itself.

I like the 'What's Poppin' with the group of white granola 'scat' rappers that were accidentally booked.

'As the drummer starts to tap, get ready for some rap!'

Poor Scrabby!

Circa late 90s:

Female analysts on MSNBC discussing the Monica Lewinsky scandal and it slowly turns into a slumber party.

A news program skit discussing Hollywood anorexia.

Go ahead. Be naughty. I got you.

I loved the spoof on romantic comedies.

Any of The Continental skits with Christopher Walken. The smoking jacket, the mustache, he's the whole hilarious creepy package.

Second prize is a box of candy canes.

I think half the audience had never seen the source, but I thought it was hysterical when Alec fell back into the original character.

One of my favorites with Gilda and Candice.