Rachel Dratch
jD, Matt, and Thomas are joined by Will Norman to discuss the potential Hall of Fame career of Rachel Dratch.
Transcript:
Track 2:
[0:42] All right. Thank you so much, Doug DeNance. It is great to be back here at the SNL Hall of Fame podcast.
Step inside the SNL Hall of Fame if you would, but please wipe your feet.
The SNL Hall of Fame podcast is a weekly affair.
Each episode, we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest, or writer, and add them to the ballot for your consideration.
Once the nominees have been announced, we turn to you, the listener, to vote for the most deserving and help determine who will be enshrined for perpetuity in the hall.
That's how we play this game.
It's all about you, ultimately. You get to listen, you get to vote, you get to enjoy the members as they regale us in the SNL Hall of Fame.
So there's that i hope you're doing well this week we've got a spectacular episode for you we are talking about rachel dratch and we're going to be joined by a repeat guest will normanwho always brings the goods in conversation with thomas senna but before we do any of that it's time for me to walk down the hall to our friend matt's.
Track 3:
[1:56] Minutiae minute corner hey matt Matt, how's it going, buddy? Great, JD, and you?
I am super star-rific. Talking about Rachel Dratch today, and I think she's funny as hell.
Me too, me too. She is one of those people who I have always felt is underappreciated.
Underappreciated, yeah. All of the heavy lifting that she does.
So you want to hear some facts about Rachel? Sure do. Okay, Rachel Dresch, 4'11 and 1 1⁄2, born February 22, 1966.
She grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, attending the National Theater Institute at Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut.
Now, she is a Second City alum, and she attended Second City and Improv Olympics with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Many of their sketches are still available on YouTube.
So if you want to see very young Tina, Amy and Rachel, just Google them.
And it's it's actually it's still it still holds up a lot of old Second City sketches done by the theater groups back then did not hold up. But this one did.
[3:11] It's because it's pure Rachel just being Rachel.
Now, she studied under Del Close and that for improv nerds out there is like improv Jesus.
He is.
Like one of the creators of the form. And additionally, she also spent time in the Groundlings.
[3:34] And so she's done the improv trifecta, as well as being a founding member of UCB.
Jeez. Not to mention, she was also on the Harvard Lampoon.
So she is basically a member of the comedy Illuminati at this point.
So she graduated in 1988 from Dartmouth College and has played cello since high school.
So she's a talented musician in her own right.
[3:59] She has 127 acting roles and was the original Jenna Maroney on 30 Rock before being recast. Right, I forgot about that.
Yeah, if you watch that original pilot, it's a very different energy.
As much as I love Rachel, I can understand why they changed the casting to mix it up a bit.
The good thing about that is we have her variety of bonkers secondary characters, from the cat wrangler to the weird blue hallucination when the gas is left on in the gas episode.
Her first television role was on SNL, but she simultaneously made her film debut on Serious Business that same year.
She is also a published author with Girl Walks Into a Bar, which is flipping awesome.
And if you get it, I recommend getting the audiobook because she reads that, which is really, it's on Audible.
Not a plug for Audible, but it's on there and it's awesome.
She has produced a one-woman show called My Life as an SNL cast member, which she ran at UCB before her Broadway debut in Wicked.
[5:10] Um as tina after which she wrote the off-broadway play tail spin uh this tail exclamation mark spin exclamation mark which is why i said it a bit weird there yeah she's won thejoseph jefferson award for an actress in a review for paradigm lost uh in 1998 and for promise keepers losers Losers Weepers, in 1999 at Second City Chicago.
So from the get-go, she was recognized for her improv chops, has done voice work appearing in movies and television shows, including Spider-Man Across the Universe, or excuse me,Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse, as Ms.
Weber, the guidance counselor, which when you look at the picture, like a still of that character, of course it's her.
It looks so much like her. Oh, wild.
[6:34] Um, yeah. So for example, she did the escape from Scientology trivia obstacle course, the Julia Robsticle course, uh, Julia Roberts themed trivia obstacle course, and the escapeMargot Robbie's moment course.
And they are all as bonkers as you can, can guess.
They she and billy are actually quite close and she subsequently did a parody of jay-z's empire state of mind with billy eichner called forest hills state of mind and it is hilarious also onyoutube which i highly recommend, Cool. Well, I think we're locked and loaded here and ready to go downstairs with Thomas and his special guest, Will Norman.
Excellent. Can't wait. All right, Thomas, take it away.
Track 4:
[7:50] All right, J.D., Matt, thank you so much for that.
And we are in the midst of season five of the SNL Hall of Fame.
This is our second nominee that we're talking about this season.
The one, the only Rachel Dratch is our topic today. And to join me to talk about all things Rachel Dratch on SNL, a returning guest here on the SNL Hall of Fame, it's Will Norman.
Mr. Will Norman, my guest for Beyonce and for Daryl Hammond.
Welcome back to the SNL Hall of Fame, Will.
It is great to be back, Thomas. Thanks for having me. I'm just trying to slowly climb towards a five-timers jacket, so thanks for letting me come back, at least today.
But yeah, I'm excited to talk about Rachel with you today.
Obviously, we'll get into the details, but, you know, one of my favorite cast members and excited to kind of talk about her career and all her contributions to the show.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It was a lot of fun going back and rewatching stuff, doing the prep for this.
It's always fun. Rachel kind of pops off screen.
[8:53] So it's always fun to revisit a lot of what Rachel did on SNL.
And you are my guest, Will, for Daryl Hammond, who is a newly minted SNL Hall of Famer.
Will, so pat yourself on the back. What do you think, Daryl Hammond, Hall of Famer? We did it. We did it, Thomas.
I feel like we made a great case for him. And Daryl's definitely deserving of it. So happy that he was able and the fans recognized his contributions and got him in. So it's awesome.
Yeah, absolutely. In my book, probably in your book, we've mentioned top 20 cast member, in my opinion.
To me, that's an SNL Hall of Famer. If you're top 20, you're an SNL Hall of Famer in my book. So people agreed. That's awesome. Yeah, couldn't agree more.
Yes, absolutely. So we'll see if Rachel Dratch can get there.
I know on the SNN's cast member countdown, she was pretty high.
I think she was in the top 30 on the Saturday Night Network's cast member countdown.
So she appears to be beloved by a lot of viewers and a lot of fans, myself included, yourself included, Will.
I wanted to ask you about Rachel. So what were your impressions of Rachel Dratch when you first saw her?
It could be on SNL or wherever you first saw her.
[10:04] Yeah, I mean, I think my introductions to Rachel, I think were, you know, obviously during her time during SNL, I think in my time watching the cast that she came into was one ofmy favorite casts and kind of seeing her grow a little bit.
And, you know, I've always thought of her as just being a very, you know, a great character actor, like she is so good at finding these nuances and weird characters to bring to life.
She's also really good at being a part of an ensemble you know she's willing to be in the mix just not necessarily be centered in the sketch but she always makes the sketch better being apart of it and a couple other things that like i might still got to know rachel was like, she's very good at self-deprecation which i think uh yes you know is is is something i really appreciateit's one of my favorite types of of humor since the humor so she always brings that to her her comedy styles and her sketches and then this is kind of an another i think separate But a lot oftimes we talk about all the male performers, how well they are at portraying women.
And I feel like Rachel is very great as a performer portraying men.
And you see that in some of the characters that she does so much.
And I think that kind of goes under the radar a lot.
But I've always heard her ability to play different characters and kind of be really weird with it.
[11:14] Great line delivery, be in the mix, but also make everything better has always stood out to me. And so it's been it was fun to go back and rewatch her stuff and watching herprogression as a cast number two and get her flowers throughout her time on the cast.
What about you? Yeah, no, you're right. That's such a good point.
One of the things that I did know was how she portrayed like especially older men really well, older, kind of like kooky, squirrely kind of men really well.
Well, she almost inhabited or, you know, harnessed like a Dana Carvey kind of spirit in an interesting way when she did those characters. That's something that stood out to me.
And then that's an interesting point you brought up about the self-deprecation.
And that came through the, I automatically think of like these weekend update corresponded things that she would do with Amy and Tina.
Where she would be like, I'm on location out here reporting the blizzard or whatever.
And then they make her stay out there. where Amy and Tina are drinking like hot tea at the desk and they're like, oh, this is so good.
And then Rachel's out there shivering and freezing. And so she's able to, yeah, she's able to poke fun at herself.
There's also another one where she and Tracy Morgan had like a little talk show and John Stewart was on.
And she was almost kind of she was the straight laced one, like kind of nervous talking to John Stewart. And Tracy was kind of ribbing her a little bit.
John, do you think you're going to remain on cable or might you consider expanding to a wider market?
[12:41] Look at Dress pretending to be all interested in TV markets when she's just trying to get her freak on.
What? You don't care about no daily show. You're just trying to be his daily ho.
[12:53] Freaky, that is not true. Look at Dress starting all red.
Oh, my God. I'm really sorry. um okay um so she makes fun of herself a lot of the uh the writing on the show made fun of her but it's in a loving way like everybody obviously lovedrachel and it's just sort of like in a in a it was almost like big hug when when they would do that with rachel she's so likable that's something that stands out to me and stood out to me atthe time will she's so likable yes yes she definitely is and that's where you know i think she's she's already likable in her presence on on the show and the sketches that she shows up in andthen her willingness to make fun of things to find the funny and to your point never felt like it was a mean spirit it always felt like it was something that she was like if this is funny i'mgonna do it and going to you know put my all into it and so i've always really liked how um like i said like you said how likable she she has been in the sketches that she did and how she'shas a warmth to her performance a lot of times but can be super weird as well where you're rooting for even she's playing weirdo yeah exactly and And and when when when she joinedthe cast.
[13:57] I remember when she did, she almost reminded me of like a Sherry Oteri who was still on the cast. And they overlapped for one year.
They were on the cast together. It's one of those strange SNL things where it's like, oh, I forgot Rachel Dratch and Sherry Oteri were on the cast together.
That's certain pairings that happens sometimes.
Like you forget. Like I was going through old sketches today.
I'm like, I forgot that Vanessa Bear and Melissa Villasenor were on the cast at the same time.
That's just kind of a weird one to me. but sherry and rachel uh well that was that was one of those weird ones but rachel reminded me of sherry so i think initially i was wondering like youknow they kind of have somebody like this but it turned out that was sherry's last season so i think rachel was a good successor to sherry but also added some different elements i think shewas able to even get a little bit.
[14:43] Weirder uh in in some ways than even sherry did yes no i agree she definitely i do think she did did get weirder than than than sherry did for sure and i think uh to your point whenyou have those new cast members that come in and they're on it's a deep cast and there's a bench coming in it's one it's fun to go back and see someone they're a featured player you knowthey're going to be awesome later you're like oh that's that's fun like there's that crossover there and.
[15:08] She did, you know, as you mentioned just now, like she definitely did bring a Sherry O'Terry energy and vibe to the show.
And I think one thing we'll talk about over the time here is similar to Sherry, such a great scene partner that Rachel was with a lot of the cast that she was with, specifically Jimmy Fallonor Will Ferrell.
She was a really great scene partner with him and able to, you know, find great characters to have lasting impressions on the show while inhabiting that same energy that Sherry brought.
Yeah yeah exactly another one i just thought about molly shannon was on the cast with chris farley and adam sandler no i didn't realize that that's kind of weird you know she started at theend of season 20 so she overlapped by a few episodes but technically molly shannon was on the cast with chris farley and adam sandler so that that's another one that's kind of wild to me.
[15:56] Yeah so you had mentioned and we talked about you know she joined sherry o'terry was there but also Also, I mean, she joined and established Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, AnaGasteyer, Chris Catan, all those people were on the cast already for a few years. Rachel joined in season 25.
So this was the fifth season that a lot of those people had been on the cast together.
So what do you think might be like the expectations of a new cast member when you're joining a big group of veterans?
Where does a new cast member from a viewer standpoint, where do you want them to fall in?
Yeah, you know, that's a great question. And I think when, when you see, when you have a stack cast that you love and you, and you like all the people that are on the cast, you see a newperson show up, I think in some ways it's, it's helpful for the cast member because there's not pressure on them to immediately be great.
You know, you had those years where all of a sudden there's a bunch of new people and it's like, okay, I got to love somebody here. Like someone's got to take the torch.
[16:51] But when you have an established cast, you're kind of wondering one, okay, what role is this person going to fill?
You know, we have an absolutely stacked team. We brought in this rookie. what skill set are they bringing to the table are they going to be you know of the archetypes of SNL they'regoing to be the impressionist are they going to be someone who's going to be great as a character actor are they going to be someone who's going to um just be a you know a feature playerjust kind of be in the mix of things they're straight person to sketches kind of figuring out what their actual style of comedy is going to be and then you're also looking at it morespecifically do they inhabit any of the same kinds of personality types that a current cast number does is this the next generation's version of you know a sherry or terry is this person goingto be like an adam sandler they're going to do songs and stuff on update or they're going to be doing features you're trying to figure out where they fit in the grand scheme of the show andso.
[17:39] I think when I'm watching new cast members, my own personal criteria is I'm just kind of seeing how do you meld with the rest of the cast?
Who are they pairing you up with? What parts are they giving you as they kind of help you go along?
And then I've said this before, I'm sure in previous podcasts, but I'm always a big, fairly or unfairly, I really judge people's first weekend update appearances because it's one of the firsttimes you get to see that cast member somewhat as themselves, probably doing something they auditioned on the show with to see what their style is.
So those are kinds of the things you have that wait and see approach with new cast members.
I want to love every new cast member that comes in. I think most fans don't see them on the bumper and go, I hope this person's terrible.
You want the show to be good, right?
[18:19] So I'm rooting for them. I just want to see where they fit in.
So that's kind of where I view it. But what about you? What are your criteria? What are you looking at?
Yeah, I think a lot of it's similar. It's almost like a new present in a way that the show is giving us every year.
It's just like the possibilities are endless like what skill set to this person have i don't i i tend to look for something that's like skill sets that aren't overlapping is is a big one because if it'sjust complete overlapping skill sets just like okay well show's probably not going to use that much because i already have somebody who does this so it's just like finding out how thatperson sticks out uh then a good example this year chloe trost joined an established cast and chloe trost we found out it's a really good singer first of all so they're using her a lot as far assinging goes maybe a lot of the stuff that cecily strong maybe we used to do chloe trost is starting to do so she's kind of finding her niche she's gonna get more other things to do that's anexample of like this person's finding their niche you bring up a good point about weekend update too that's really that's a lot the weekend update desk i always harp on this is the castmembers struggling.
[19:26] They want to do well on the show. They want people to know who they are.
Write a good weekend update, Vs. Get that on.
If you're going to get on the show, be on a weekend update. It's going to be on every week. They don't put a weekend update. Yeah, exactly.
And those tend to be memorable.
And right away, like last season, Michael Longfellow endured himself because of weekend update in a lot of ways. So did Marcelo Hernandez.
Those are two examples of people who just like shined on weekend update.
And now we're hoping like when's Longfellow going to be on weekend update? Right.
His last one. What weird character. what costume is he going to wear what is he going to be on his himself and do stand-up or what so I think that's a good point about the update desk soshe Rachel Dratch joined in season 25 episode three she made her mark right away like she played Calista Flockhart in her in her very first she did a really oddball version of CalistaFlockhart in her very first episode that was season 25 episode three so she was officially joined the cast like like three episodes into that first season so So right away, I think we saw thatshe was a bit of an oddball, Rachel Dratch, which is a good thing.
That's like when I when I call somebody an oddball, that's like that's like a really high compliment coming from me. Yeah, I'm with you. Yeah.
Yeah. So she she shined right away. She had other good characters and sketches right away in season 25.
[20:42] But, you know, you're my guest. Let's I want to give the floor to you.
Like what characters or or sketch would you like to lead off with in this discussion? and Will?
Yeah. So, I mean, there's so many to choose from and I feel like there's going to be a couple of deep cuts I think we'll get to eventually.
And I want to start with this one just because I think that it's probably one of the ones we're talking about a potential Hall of Fame resume.
It's probably one of the ones that let's say the general population is most familiar with and that's Debbie Downer, right?
So Debbie Downer, obviously for those not familiar, is a character where Rachel would play essentially a Debbie Downer in real life, someone who is always bringing up bad news ingroup settings and always bringing and finding the negative and the way they did the sketch, obviously a lot of fun sound effects and womp womps and sad trombone and, you know,animal noises, whatever there was, they were talking about and a lot of closeups on Rachel. And.
[21:35] They did a sketch quite a few times over the course of the show.
I think obviously many are familiar with the most famous one of them breaking a Disney world with Lindsay Lohan.
I personally enjoyed that. That is a favorite of mine.
I, you know, I just don't like when people don't break as much, but it's, it's obviously a classic for a reason.
That's an example to me that breaking works, breaking like elevated a sketch in that case.
Yes. Yes. And same thing with, um, you know, there's a lot similar thing with birthday party with Ben Affleck.
There's a Thanksgiving dinner with Luke Wilson. There's a lot of iterations of the sketch.
And whether you look in the Disney World example or not, we're talking about from a cast and performance standpoint, understanding kind of what Rachel brought to the table.
[22:13] It is a fun premise, right? Someone that's, you know, we all know a Debbie Downer of sorts in our lives, but the use of her having to try to be the straight person in the sketch and,you know, or not necessarily a straight person, but trying to like say, deliver these lines and these very sad news about feline AIDS being the number one killer of domestic cats or talkingabout how bird flu is worse than SARS and these close-ups of her with a ridiculous sound effect and making a face to camera and then going back into the normal life of the world of thesketch.
Those kinds of things are the ones obviously very fun to watch, but just as a cast member, having someone who's able to do those kinds of things and be really silly and play into theridiculousness of the sketch, sketch, trying to keep it together.
I think it's just a really good example of what Rachel Drash brings to the table.
So if you're looking at the highlight reel of like, all right, give me some Rachel Drash sketches.
That's why I say Debbie Downer is obviously one I think most people go to or have shared with their friends to say, hey, this is kind of who Rachel Drash is, what she brings to the table.
Yeah, her face was so expressive. I think that's a lot of what made the sketch and probably what contributed to them breaking in that first debbie downer sketch in the first place was justrachel's expressive face and especially when you do like a tight zoom.
[23:36] Onto her expressive face and she she knows what face she's making everybody the whole rest of the cast see it so that's that was part of the charm and i think if somebody elsewould have played debbie downer let's say amy poehler was in that role i think it would have been solid but i don't think they would have had necessarily the same exact reaction as likerachel dratch because she was she she could contort her face and she's very expressive and that was one of her big qualities as a cast member 100 and i think to your point too with thatwith that um character i think it would be really easy for someone to maybe ham it up more and the negativity and be you know but i think the fact that rachel tried to play it so so straightand And so like really trying to just like, you know, bring that energy down in the room when she's doing it with other people who notoriously don't break a lot.
[24:29] And they're like, they can't hold it together. And they're trying to keep it going.
And she's still committed because, as you know, they know she has another close-up coming. She has another line coming.
She has, you know, increasingly more dark and dark news to deliver.
And she's still kind of just in the mix trying to keep the sketch going.
And so, yeah, her expressions, the line delivery, the way she played it, it's just absolutely perfect and, like, a great use of her talents.
And, you know, it is a formulaic recurring character. and you know that's a lot of ways a lot of our you know hall of fame candidates have a recurring character recurring impression and isay uh for her with this one definitely one that's gotten the most circulation i think for for non-snl fans that have seen this one and seen uh the iterations of debbie downer yeah to yourpoint about like them waiting because they because the cat her castmates know what she's about to say that the most famous part to me my favorite part part of the original Debbie Downerwas when she kind of pauses because they all know that she's going to say that line. By the way, by the way, it's official.
Kidnapped children.
[25:56] And that that line i could i could watch the debbie downer sketch 100 times and that line cracks me up like i laugh out loud big time every time she says that it gets me every timei'm with you just because it like you said it's it's it's just this increasingly darker news it's such a dark thing to say right like it's not funny that somebody can't have children you wouldn'tthink but just in that context that was the funniest thing imaginable yes yes and like i said she she delivers it i mean she they're breaking obviously but having so much fun with it beingable to do it in a fun way and like you know like i said that's one that the whole cast was enjoying the sketch and with rachel too like a lot of times we'll talk about she's such a good scenepartner with people and so seeing her centered in a sketch and still being able to do a really good job with it and making it fun and making it funny i'm just saying it speaks to her hertalents and things she was able to bring to the show yeah i'm wondering about debbie downer specifically but just in a general sense so on one hand for me i wish they would have keptthis to maybe one installment or maybe tried it again they did it seven times and then on the other hand i don't blame them for trying it more and more because the first one caught on sowell like where do you stand on that like the the balance between not running something into the ground trying to recapture that magic i I think we saw that fairly recently with Lisa fromTemecula.
I go, I love that first sketch, but then I don't think they quite could capture the same magic. So where do you stand on just like that general idea?
[27:25] Yeah, so I'm with you in that. I was going to say that the Lisa from Temecula sketch was, I think, a perfect recent example of them using that.
And I think with a lot of sketches, I'm kind of of the opinion that if the reason it's going viral is mainly because of the breaking, even if the premise is really funny and the delivery isreally funny, I'm usually a fan of one and done.
Because i do think that sometimes the pressure is on the cast to break again in subsequent you know uh iterations of it because that's kind of what made it the first time and i think ithonestly makes it more special like if we saw lisa and temecula one time and didn't see it again i think that it you know it makes that sketch even more special because it was like that wasdelivered so well in that live format that one time that like people couldn't bring it together and then you you don't see it again with Debbie Downer.
I think that it did work as a format to repeat because that is kind of a universal trope of the Debbie Downer. Right.
[28:25] But I do agree that like two to three times maybe, but I think seven is probably probably got to be too much.
And that's really no fault of, of Rachel's because of, you know, she obviously was a capable performer. You're really great.
[28:36] But I think that I'm personally on the side of if the breaking is the main reason why it's getting traction, I'm more a fan of us to do it one time.
That was fun for what it was and then we just let it go yeah exactly that those jeffries sketches with jimmy fallon and will ferrell in the early 2000s another example for me is like that theythose kind of work because they couldn't keep it together can imagine that jimmy fallon couldn't keep it together during the sketch breaking news i don't blame him for the debbie downerwhen actually fred armisen did a really good job of not breaking he's the only one because he had had Horatio Sanz wiping his tears with the waffle Lindsay Lohan couldn't evenremember when she had to say her like Fred had to kind of look at her and be like okay it's your line to like Lindsay so it's just kind of funny watching all the different performers andAmy Poehler was in that just how they all reacted to that and Debbie Downer in general like I don't mind it as a premise at all as you as you said it's universal Rachel's a capable performerI think it could have worked as a premise if the breaking in the first installment didn't overshadow the premise necessarily so that's what debbie downer became it became a sketch wherethey broke instead of like a sketch where the premise is the star so maybe that was like it was just like the fans the fans decided here's what your sketch is about now yeah exactly bring itback yeah yeah exactly So that was in she debuted Debbie Downer season 29.
[30:05] A little toward the end. She she was a cast member until season 31.
So her last three seasons we saw Debbie Downer. I wanted to go back to her first season, actually her third episode.
[30:18] Where she and Jimmy Fallon debuted their Boston teens.
Oh my God, Sally, I scoped it out. Apparently your $35 gets you chips, pretzels, and English muffin pizzas.
Four-star cuisine? I beg to differ.
Luckily, Denise and I bring a party with us wherever we go. Oh yeah, these are my own creation.
Zazu's famous shots in a blanket.
[30:44] Simply soak an everyday hot dog bun in vodka and enjoy.
To pass us by, you appear to be simply eating a bag of hot dog buns. Yes.
This near-perfect food coats your stomach as it inebriates. My girl is a genius.
She played Denise or Zazu.
Zazu. Zazu. So, yeah, those Boston teens. Another Rachel one that people remember fondly, right, Will?
Yes. No, 100%. And that's funny. That was next to my list. I thought so.
Yeah. I want to talk about that to talk that we know who we know that we know about it. But yeah, Boston is one of my favorites.
[31:22] Same thing, like a very obviously very formulating sketch.
Sketch but like the energy that her and jimmy bring to it in terms of having you know tommy recording um them being able to um kind of talk as as boston teens and really lean into a lotof the you know the boston accent and you know just make it very boston specific um always ending with some kind of sexual innuendo and you know fialan saying hey tommy tell meyou got that um they were super you know they're obviously like they've done they did a lot of iterations of the sketch but all like probably one probably one of them my favorite uh we'llget to my favorite but this one my favorite uh dratch character especially with jimmy like they play so well off of each other as the boston teens um there's a lot of different iterations onethat my favorites is one obviously not with uh ben affleck um there's one that they did with a birthday dinner with justin timberlake but the um the the them leaning into like i said a lot ofthe uh i said i guess just boston stereotypes and being kind of troublemaking kids and that are just always trying to get in trouble and and you know making out constantly and you are idon't know how i probably yelled at someone you are over the course of my life and making out so uh but just that there's There's so many good, it's so quotable.
Poor Nomar Garcia-Pera, by the way. Like Nomar, like that's what, that's kind of almost what he's known for in a way.
Right, people just yelling Nomar at him, I'm sure, everywhere he goes.
[32:52] And so, yeah, there's so many good quotes in that and so many good, like even that's the one we talked about.
[32:59] Having a great idea great characters that don't necessarily rely on the breaking like that one brought back and you knew what was going to happen you knew what was coming butthe amount of joy and fun that rachel and jimmy had with that sketch was just made it and i was always i mean they've come back and done it when jimmy's come back to host and stuffand and whenever rachel pops up as that like always fun to see that is one of my favorites for sure but i wanted to get your thoughts too on i mean the first appearance and then also withother with their other boston teen sketches yeah for some reason the one i always remembered uh probably because of my age when i watched it was the britney spears one but yeah butyeah so that that's that's one that always uh that always thought was funny that kind of stood out to me i liked when they were because a lot of times they were at like a party likesomebody's house or something but when they were actually doing something in public in front of other people so with that one they were at this amish.
[33:49] Uh cosplay kind of place and like britney spears was asked jimmy fallon to come up and like show had a churn butter and it got flirty and then and then uh rachel as zazu gotjealous a little bit and then it holds you as you mentioned the beats like it had all those classic beats of them calling each other names and then of course making out and and and theinnuendo at the end and all of that so i always i always liked that britney spears one uh they did they did it 12 times times they did this uh the boston teens so there was a lot of meat onthat bone and i don't think like for for them to have having done it 12 times it didn't get all that stale to me honestly it was always very fun to watch and like you said jimmy and rachel hadgood chemistry together what i like about that that too when you talk about sketches of characters and how timely they are and how well they they go over watched obviously i watchedsome when rachel's in the cast did one one with uh it was like they're at a um they're going out to a birthday dinner with uh just to relax playing uh jimmy cotton's little brother and hekeeps setting things on fire at uh at the dinner and they do another one where i think it was jimmy came back to host and um they are like now kind of adults essentially and kate mckinnonis their daughter and they're touring harvard and you know they're and they're and they're having these you know they kind of updated like instead of a reporter they're you know tommy isrecording on a on a camera phone on a countess camera phone and.
[35:18] Uh, you know, their daughter's really smart going to Harvard and they're still kind of in that, that same kind of mindset they were as teens, but they're like parents now.
And why is Tommy there with them on the tour?
Who is Tommy? Why is he? Why is Uncle Tommy here? Yeah.
And so it's like, it, to me, that speaks to like, it speaks to the fact that she had these characters and had these, um, moments on the show that still, um, hit and resonate with latergenerations and later fans of the show like you can start a show with a cold open with the boston teens and the fans of the show we're like oh my gosh yes we're gonna get a chance to seerachel and jimmy be the boston teens and to your point thomas it never felt like it got beaten to the ground like they could show up they could show up in you know they could show up onthe next episode of snl whenever that airs right like and people would say be excited to see those characters so um it's it's a really it's a tough balance i'm sure to have recurring charactersthat people really enjoy that doesn't that doesn't get run into the ground and people are excited to see return so you know that kind of speaks again to rachel's ability to be a really likablecast member have likable characters regardless of the iteration whether they're super super sad at a dinner table or i don't you know a crazy boston teen so yeah another uh another featherin rachel's cap there with uh the boston teens and debbie downer too two really memorable.
[36:37] Characters and sketches from that era.
Will, where do you want to go from here with Rachel Dratch?
Yeah. So I think next I'd like to go to the professors, Clive and the lovers, better known as the lovers.
I think first appearance was during, and for those not familiar with the sketch, two professors that are very big on PDA and talking about their lovemaking in front of people to make themuncomfortable their first appearance was um at the katie holmes hosted episode with uh and it's rachel as virginia clarvin and uh will ferrell her husband professor clarvin um and they areconstantly talking to um they're at the time they're talking jimmy fallon and katie holmes about their relationship and the importance their their love making traditions and as the charactersgo they're essentially you know just talking about that and uh whatever whatever smoked meats that they like smoked meats yes and so they uh they bring these characters back uh i'mgonna say maybe five times you can correct it i think i have seven times oh seven they're on my on my list yeah gotcha so seven times and um each time same kind of same kind of thingwhere there's a lot of pda a lot of groping a lot of kissing i think one of my favorite um versions of that one i'm sure many people have seen is the one with uh drew Drew Barrymore,where they are at the Wellesley Arms Hotel that they talk about.
[38:03] It's with Rachel Dratchwell Farrell, Jimmy Fallon is there, and then Drew Barrymore shows up.
[38:09] Does anyone care for spiced lamb shakes? What is that? Well, at this point during the soak, my lover and I usually crave spiced meat.
[38:24] We all do.
We always order them up special from the Welsh.
And keep them here in this igloo cooler. The wealthy arms. They are talking about Jimmy Fallon, who's there alone.
Who's breaking a lot. Yeah, who's breaking a lot. I know what you're saying.
You got the tallies going for Jimmy. But there's a lot of, you know, the way that they say everything, their pronunciations, it's called the lavas, and there's Barbara Hernandez.
[38:58] And, you know, they feed each other smoked meats and lamb shanks in this hot tub.
And they're calling it the hot tub and like all these different little iterations they have and the way they talk about things the chemistry between obviously drash and feral is great they havea really fun time like interacting with each other but then also making jimmy uncomfortable i think you can tell that like feral's definitely like rubbing found on the leg oh yeah he's a lot ofdeep eye contact that's what i heard he's kind of playing footsie with fallon in that hot tub trying.
[39:28] To get him to break it's yes and and it's the way that they like they do in that and in that that sketch like obviously the the the professors clarvin are centered and they are the maindrivers of the comedy and the ridiculousness and everyone there is a is reacting around them but similar to the boston teens like rachel brings that same kind of fun scene partner energy ina totally different way she's not uh you know a troublemaking teen from boston he is a college professor who just likes to talk a little bit too much about her you know public displays ofaffection and lovemaking and it's still a really fun sketch and a fun character and while there's some crossover there like with the you know with the characters it's totally different it's atotally different energy in a totally different way that she that she brings it to life and so um that's as i said another one that's really fun for me and there's a lot of breaking and stuff but ithink it just goes to how much fun everyone's having listening to them uh you know going back and forth and and making everyone uncomfortable yeah that drew barrymore one's theprobably my favorite one to the one that I remember most.
[40:31] Rachel and Will Ferrell in these lover sketches, they inhabit a very specific type of person who I've encountered quite a bit.
I don't know if you have, Will. I grew up about an hour from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
[40:46] And there's so many people like this around Santa Fe, like the hippie, yuppie, I guess yippie kind of types of people.
You could tell they have money, but they're still kind of earthy in a way.
They're probably like very liberal minded people, maybe misguided at times in some ways.
They probably donate to a lot of causes.
Oftentimes college professors and artists and stuff so i think rachel and will ferrell inhabited the specific type of person really really well in my mind these characters live in santa fe newmexico because that's the exact yes i've i have countered or taos or somewhere in the mountains There's some trendy mountain village spot. Yes. Yes.
[41:40] No, no. I definitely know the archetype type of person that you're referring to.
And I think in my time in school in California, I think I ran into some professors like that as well.
Well, where, you know, generally speaking, like whether it's professors or, you know, the very like, you know, seemingly high minded people, just that feeling people have had whereyou're with a couple that wants to let you know how much they enjoy each other's company when you're not there.
I think that general feeling of just being uncomfortable and kind of being kind of stuck in a spot where you're like, I don't really want to, I can't only want to engage this conversationnecessarily.
We're all just kind of watching the two of you be very affectionate with each other and then trying to make it okay for everyone to be that same way it was it's a very um i think relatable toyour point relatable uh level of uncomfortable uh that everyone has been at some point in time so the way they do that and make it so hilarious that everyone you know whether it's youknow katie helman or drew barrymore jimmy fallon like on you know unable to keep it together I think makes the sketch and is another fun feather in the cap for Rachel as well.
Yeah, a good teammate with Will. She could partake in Will Ferrell's off-the-wall goofiness easily.
She's a good companion with Will Ferrell in that type of humor.
[43:00] I think she does such a good job. Another recurring character I want to talk about, Will, is another season 29 one.
I want to talk about this because we had alluded to it earlier in the podcast.
[43:13] She played an old Hollywood producer named Abe Scheinwald.
[43:18] That's an example, probably the example for me about how good she was at playing a wacky older person.
Pops, I thought Shine World Studio was, you know, moving towards more award-winning fare and a gay, you know, way from, you know, bumping ta-tas.
Since when do you decide what interests us? This one wanted me to make a movie about a kid at school who had magical powers.
I said I liked it better the first time when it was called Teen Wolf.
It was Harry Potter. We passed on Harry Potter.
[43:48] Now who do you see in the role of potty hoe number two well there's only two choices abe scheinwald one of my favorite rachel characters it is i don't know if it's one of theviewers have seen obviously just tell us like the first time to see i think that started as a weekend update feature uh i want to say yes um and uh with seth and then was later turned into asketch and essentially the idea is that it's this old uh old man who's a movie producer and he he makes he makes motion motion pictures and he's like and he set this his grandson who istrying to move their movie studio into like a much more intellectual you know way and direction whereas he is very much into uh you know very sexual themed or sexual in a windowthemed movies with like russ meyer films i don't know if you're familiar with old like 60s russ meyer films but no no but yeah so i think that's what they were going for russ meyer madelike these b movies we'll call them that had a lot of sexual stuff a lot of you know they weren't it was almost like if they at the time it would have been like straight to video so yeah so it'skind of like that yeah and he you know a lot of the titles i mean nit nipple institute of technology you know a lot those are kind of the the vein of titles that we're talking about and like umit's one of my favorite characters once again there's a lot of like recurring themes.
[45:16] And sketches but the way that one let's focus on rachel the way that she plays.
[45:20] This old man who is always eating potato salad out of a container it's a great.
[45:26] Choice for a character you're right and like like really loud and really just kind of, and is the energy she plays off of Seth as well.
[45:34] Where Seth is very like the straight person and is like clearly annoyed with his grandfather who is like very, you know, has an outdated way of thinking.
And Rachel has just kind of been this, like, I'm the expert.
Like we make pictures and, you know, we need to do all these things to like drive money and do all these things.
And she's just so over the top and so silly, but it's so hilarious seeing her inhabit this and have this character. and.
[45:59] One of the ongoing things, and this is just a little peek into my life, there's a lot of things that she says where they're constantly talking about a movie and they'll say, you know, Ihad a movie, you know, there was a movie that we wanted to do and it was about, let's make one up, like, oh, a guy who ran across the country, but we passed on it. And Seth is like, it wasForrest Gump.
We passed on Forrest Gump, you know? And so it's like, it's that constant, like, you know, same thing.
And I, and I, you know, it's like, I, you know, these movies, oh, I have a movie about this.
I liked it better the first time when it was this, you know, and I will say when I go to movie theaters, I am sure my fiance is tired of hearing it.
Every movie preview, I find myself saying, I liked it better the first time when it was and saying a movie title. For me, it's such a quotable sketch, and I love repeating a lot of the thingsthat Rachel says in it.
She plays that old man, Abe Sheinwald, so well.
I think your point, the first one, I think, maybe was with Alec Baldwin, where it's the three of them, the father, grandfather, and Seth.
[47:03] You can tell that they're trying to keep it together with just the energy that Rachel is bringing to it as Abe Sheinwald.
Yeah this is an example too of Rachel I try not to do this like I guess I don't know I can sometimes I compare cast members to other cast members but Rachel inhabits a lot of the thingsthat I love about certain cast members past and present so with this one it's like a lot of what I love about Martin short I think Rachel Dratch inhabits in a character like this yes there aresome Jimmy Glick.
[47:38] Energy kind of jiminy glick you know i had like another like a hollywood producer kind of character uh too but just in how like she i don't know just how she presented herself andher mannerisms and her commitment her and that's a big thing like rachel we haven't said it this episode but i think just her commitment is admirable in a sketch honestly and that'ssomething that's like even cast members come through here and there over the years and i could tell like this person's like not fully in the sketch i wish they would commit more never hadthat problem with rachel oh 100 and i think one of the things we were talking about before too as she's committing when she's committing in sketches no matter what she's playing we wetalked about this a little bit earlier in her ability to play men you know there's a lot of things that she does and has fun with um as she's committing to playing an old man as a woman andthis basically like a sexist old man right and the line delivery she has and things she says and i mean even when she's uh.
[48:39] Talking about i think one point they said i think in every sketch where you know she's talking about having you know women in in bikinis and like to make the movie make moremoney and you know pull out a dollar out of her pocket and is like double d's double d's and like pulling you know a dollar and it's like it's such a ridiculous thing to say and trying tomake seth say it as well but like Like she has this commitment.
Like I'm going to be fully like inhabit this type of person who would one say this, who would believe this, um, be over the top with it and bring that kind of energy.
Like it's one of my, that character is just one of my favorites of Rachel. And I don't know if it's.
[49:14] Something that the average fan obviously has heard of or would see or like people would recognize it but you just popped up obviously like in another sketch but um to your point areally great a really uh great example of her ability to commit to a character play other people um and then also be able to just have great line delivery and be centered in the sketch in away that um you know she was always willing to be a partner but to be a to be front and center the energy i think was was great yeah exactly so she uh she played abe shinewald fourtimes We urge everybody to go seek those out and watch Rachel Dratch shine as a kooky old man.
She did that so well.
Any other gems, characters, sketches, Will, that pop to mind with Rachel Dratch?
[49:59] You know, those are like from a character standpoint, those were some of the main characters that I kind of want to talk about for Rachel.
But if you had any others, I was going to talk about a couple of sketches.
But like if you have any other, I mean, there's a few more.
Yeah give us a sketch that stands out if you got one okay so they're uh one of them i think that it's kind of on the same the same lines as we're talking about her playing a guy but there's asketch called um it's basically it's a harry potter themed sketch and it's about uh it's with lindsey lowen on the sketch in the sketch and she is um playing hermione and coming back from asummer vacation and lindsey low hands playing lindsey low hands yeah sorry lindsey Lindsay Lohan's playing Hermione, and Rachel is playing Harry Potter, and they're coming backfrom summer break, and Hermione, as Lindsay Lohan says, developed, we'll say, over the summer.
And all of the guys that are in the sketch are very much distracted by Hermione.
I got here hours ago. I've been in the library researching cloaking spells.
[51:03] Hermione, um... Hello?
Boring nothing.
[51:19] Seems like a lot happened i don't know what you're talking about there's a lot of to your point before in that sketch um as they do a lot of visual gags and they have a lot of peoplecoming in out of the sketch there's rachel's very expressive and like a lot of it's like her facial expressions as she's playing harry potter and being very much like trying to not bring bringattention to um you know uh hermione and her kind of like low-cut shirt yeah um and trying to kind of be the mix and it's just like one of those funny ones once again we talk about rachelplaying all these different you know different types of characters she played harry potter another time during a weekend update sketch or feature as well which is also great um but like herability to kind of fully be in those characters and um it's a very silly sketch obviously just with the idea of that happening in the harry potter the harry potter universe right but um She justdoes a really good job of facial expressions, trying to be kind of a straight person in the sketch, but also not bring too much attention to it, which I feel like is another good example of justhow silly she was as a cast member.
That's just one. Yeah, she knows how to deliver.
[52:25] She knows the beats to play any given character. And with this Harry Potter, it was almost like that.
Oh, I'm noticing this, but I can't say it.
And I need to contain my obvious enjoyment enjoyment of these new developments with, with Hermione and all this.
So like, yeah, yeah. So Rachel knew how to like, she knew the beats of, of, of how to play that scene perfectly. That's a really nice pull.
Yeah, I got one. I'll throw one out there. And then I want to hear from you too.
Like, this is the one is the Rachel it's it's it's the fun friends club.
Yeah. And this is one. Yeah.
[53:06] So like, kind of around the opposite of that. Rachel is basically playing a 12-year-old girl who is a part of a kid's show, but is much more developed than the other kids that are onthe show to the point that it's distracting for the main actor, the guy playing the dinosaur. I think it's Ray Liotta. Ray Liotta.
Yeah, Ray Liotta is playing the kid's dinosaur character who's very upset with this process. And they're having her do a lot of things that are totally fine for a 12-year-old to do, but becauseshe is more developed, this is distracting, and they really aren't comfortable with her doing some of these things.
And Rachel does such a good job in the sketch of playing this very innocent kid who doesn't understand what – she doesn't get the joke.
And so many times, she's centered on the joke. She is the main delivery vehicle for the joke.
But in this one, she does such a great job of being like, I don't understand what's going on.
And the audience is losing it uh ray leota is getting visibly more angry like i'm uncomfortable with this i don't want this kid on the show anymore and jimmy fallon's being the producerkind of like trying to talk to him like i got i'll try to talk it through i'll try to figure it out trying to find workarounds and whatnot yeah um and to his credit by the way i don't think jimmyfallon breaks in this sketch so i want to call that out where it's due there we go.
[54:21] Broken clock right uh but i'm saying he does a great job as the director coming in front of the the camera and kind of trying to direct the energy and, and also calming down RayLiotta, who's doing a good job at playing.
He plays it perfectly in terms of like.
[54:36] I'm angry with this. I don't want this kid on the show. Like I, it's not good.
Like we can't have this, you know, 12 year old jumping around and doing all these things.
Um, and get me does a great job of, like I said, keeping the energy on, on Rachel and kind of making it believable that she doesn't know what's going on.
And, um, it's just a really fun way for, uh, another example of her talents in terms of, uh, being able to play, you know, like a kid, like just brings a kid energy to it, which I think in a reallyfunny way and a really innocent way, that's still really funny in the way that they do it from a visual standpoint yeah this one the fun friend club from season 28 uh that that's a nice pull aswell i think rachel that particular role that type of role is almost thankless in comedic circles but it's vital like the character who doesn't know that they're part of a humorous situation butthey still have to play it like to where that the the the humor is still conveyed something that chris parnell would do really well that we talked about in last season and i think rachel does itreally well here she's oblivious she's just innocent and she and she has to play it play it that way because it serves the comedy and rachel's has a good enough comedic mind to know toplay it that way because that's what's going to serve the comedy at any point she doesn't always have to be the wacky center of attention.
[55:54] Type like i can just play innocent and oblivious and that's what's best for this uh this joke in this sketch yes she plays it perfectly and um i think it's a it's a fun way to show herrange yeah absolutely i i have a couple of uh um one-off sketches please with rachel that that really stand out to me i don't know if you remember if you've watched uh it's uh with jenniferaniston it's called christmas urchins it seems we've been discovered perhaps they'll I'll throw us a crust of bread.
A crust of bread might cure me rickets! Right!
[56:29] Hello, um, if you please. My brother and I were terribly hungry.
Yeah, we escaped from me and Mr Grimmswargle in the foundling town, and we've come to the Jersey to seek our fortune!
Could you find it in your heart to let us in so it's from season 25 so it was rachel dratch's fourth episode it was the christmas episode jennifer aniston hosted by the way jennifer anistonwas a really good that was a really good episode she's a really good host back in the day but basically the premise.
[57:01] Is that rachel and jennifer aniston play these christmas urchins like these 19th century british 19th century british urchins who this family rents out just to have it on their lawn aslike a deck christmas decoration or whatever and so they're acting like urchins like like oh look at look at them they're like peeking through the window jennifer aniston and rachel dratchand watching the family have a good time and they're cold and hungry and then the family decides to let them in and so rachel and jennifer as these urchins sing songs that are.
[57:36] So that are graphic they talk about the diseases that they have and all this stuff like it it turns into something it like evolves like there's such good escalation in this one jenniferannison's great in this and rachel her fourth episode and she like pops in this sketch it's almost like an underrated classic in that era um back in what was this 99 2000 like in that so thatlike christmas urchins from season 25 that's to me that's like a one that kind of slipped through the cracks a little bit but i went and re-watched and i'm like this is fantastic it soundsamazing i'm gonna have to check that one out because i mean especially like you said to your point four four episodes in like that is you know those are kind of like you're looking forsomeone that's new like what do you bring in and to pop like that that's that's incredible yeah yeah that was a great one and then there's another one from season 28 it's called game night isaid it's a guy five more seconds five seconds uh elia whitney time what what the hell.
[58:45] Oh i'm sorry i just i'll clean it up i just um i just get really into games, i'll clean that up really into games, Uh, you know what, you guys, um, why don't we just watch a movie? I gotSpider-Man on DVD.
Oh, I'd love to do that. I'd love that movie. Let's watch a movie.
No, we agreed to play games tonight.
That's what we're going to do. We're playing games.
[59:10] Come on, let's go. Let's go. It's with, uh, with Eric McCormick.
And you're like, yes, that's, yeah. So I think this is fondly remembered amongst fans.
So basically it's a chance for Rachel to, to, to get wild and absolutely unhinged.
Do you remember this one will yes i do um this is one that i had on my list for sure and i think for those that are that happen that may not may not have seen it you know the premiseessentially playing like a kind of like a if you ever play like so people call different things like a celebrity guessing game like family fishbowl where you kind of write names and put it in ahat and trying to guess with your partner and it's two it's three couples playing this this round and you can see as it goes around the first time like one couple is very supportive and havinga good time one couple was kind of like you know also really supportive each other having fun and then rachel is very competitive and eric mccormick is not good at this game and is thatperson who doesn't know celebrities doesn't want to do it and the escalation in this one is just so funny because as it goes on you can see rachel getting more and more competitive andbringing a different type of energy than she typically would yeah where she's playing things way more angry and like over over the top than she would.
And the way that the sketch kind of ends with her basically losing it because Eric McCormick doesn't know what the celebrity is.
And someone wrote, I guess, Felix Mendelsohn. What?
[1:00:35] Who the balls put Felix Mendelsohn? The celebrity?
[1:00:42] Mendelsohn?
[1:00:53] And he smashes things and like runs through the wall and is just like so mad and it's such it is such a hilarious sketch and it's so funny seeing rachel take it to that level where shereally is centered in the sketch she's not just one of the guests that's kind of like wow like this is getting out of hand like she's the one driving that level of energy and i think how relatableit is for those who like to play games or have done game nights like you kind of have have all those types of people there someone who there's always someone who might be way morecompetitive than everyone else and wants to win and the way that she takes that to 11 you know out of 10 is is incredible and i i'm so glad you brought that one up because i want to talkabout how much fun it looks like he has in that sketch it's fun to see her center in it yeah that was so fun and she all she she's very good about playing oddball characters and weird but youYou rarely see, you rarely saw her play like unhinged to that extent. So you put it perfectly.
She dialed it up to 11 and that's so much fun.
That was season 28, episode four. That was the Eric McCormick episode, Eric McCormick from Will and Grace.
So go check that out. So I think we have done a good job of like pointing out the highlights of her time at SNL. well i mean that was that she's done she did so much on the show it's fun torevisit.
[1:02:16] Yeah, I would agree. I think that she, this is one of those where, you know, we talked about it, her being in the Saturday Night Network's top 50 cast members, obviously comingin like 30, right?
And the great job that she did there. And it's fun to see her recognized by fans, like the contributions that she had to the show.
Because I think that she is obviously one of the best cast members I've ever had. And rewatching a lot of these sketches, it was so much fun and such a good, you know, I encourageanyone who's obviously listening to this, you should be, you know, I'm hoping you're a fan.
[1:02:48] And, you know, Rachel Dratch is a fun rewatch to go back.
There's so much of her work that she's a part and just even if she's just in sketches where she's bringing something to it, whether it's like the Colonel Angus sketch or she's, you know,James Madison, the 2000 election, like she's doing all these random things that she's a part of great moments in the show's history and seeing the ones where she's centered was a reallyfun thing.
Fun treat yeah definitely so 2006 was her last year as a cast member on snl after snl she actually was almost a co-star of 30 rock so she was gonna play originally she was gonna play thejenna character that ultimately went to jane krakowski but that was gonna be rachel playing that but i believe rachel and tina had a had a history together and you know um and and thatwas like the impetus for rachel possibly doing the jenna character but she didn't end up doing that but but that's okay.
And Rachel is not mad about it. She said that like that, that was the best thing for the show.
And she's totally happy with how it played out, but she did pop up quite a bit on 30 rock, which I always thought was fun.
[1:03:49] Yes. Agreed. And it's, it's a really to your point with that, with that fact, that's such a fun. What if, yeah.
Wondering what she would have brought to that character. Jane Krakowski, obviously killed it as a pilot with Rachel as, as, as Jenna different last name, but her name is Jenna.
But I think there's some video out there that.
[1:04:07] Yeah, we got to find it, but okay. Well, to your point, the way that she ended up being still involved in the show and obviously Tina wanting to utilize her skills.
I love what I love that, you know, well, Tina Fey is another episode.
That's another thing in her talents or as a writer.
But I loved how well she used Rachel's skills as a character actor to have her be on 30 Rock.
And she is essentially a different character all the time.
Exactly. she's popping up as a cleaning lady she's a random blue hallucination she is tracy sees when he's not on his meds yeah yeah yeah it's like yeah elizabeth taylor i think randomly ithink she's like she she pops up like i think she has like six or seven different iterations of like character shows and it's so fun because every time you see here you're like that's racheldrash but she is playing someone totally different yeah Yeah.
[1:05:01] And that's kind of, you know, you're not, you asked me earlier, like, you know, getting familiar with Rachel and like, obviously knew her on the show.
And then I was a big 30 Rock fan and seeing her being able to still be a part of my life as a TV viewer in 30 Rock was really fun because, you know, she, she got to still do what she'sgreat at, which is just come in, do a great character, be really weird.
[1:05:29] Have fun with it Make it your own And then You know, like it's a one-off like we're done and then you come back and you do something else and you're always i'm around thirdback i'm always always excited because it's like i know it's rachel dratch but oh what is she this time like you said oh she's the cat wrangler who's dealing with the live animals for thisepisode or you know whatever so i really um like her her post snl career has been fun too the time she's chosen to pop up um i've always enjoyed it's always fun to see rachel dratch yeahabsolutely if you go look at her wikipedia and imdb she's one of those character actors who just popped up in a lot of things made a quick impression my wife and i just finishedunbreakable kimmy schmidt and rachel had such a memorable appearance she was in one episode but she played kimmy schmidt's college professor and she also played her her owngirlfriend so her kimmy schmidt's college professor was a lesbian and so rachel dratch played her but rachel dratch also played her girlfriend or her wife in in the show so it was it was theway they the way they filmed that and the dynamics there was it was really really funny rachel is always so memorable she also has a really good book i like devour snl books by if you'rea former cast member.
[1:06:42] If if i haven't read your your biography autobiography it's on my list i'm looking at my leslie jones book as i say that waiting to be read but so rachel has a book that she that publicwas published in 2012 called girl walks into a bar comedy calamities dating disasters and a midlife miracle that's a really good read found out a lot about rachel she opens up quite a bit it'sa really uh neat read about rachel dratch i urge everybody to check that out have to check that out yeah yeah it's really it's really fun so uh yeah will thanks thanks so much for joining me iwanted to know like just to put a little bow on this like how would you sum up Rachel Dratch's legacy on SNL for everybody at home.
[1:07:28] Yeah, I mean, you know, Tom, once again, thanks for letting me join you today.
This was absolutely so much fun to talk about Rachel Drash and go to memory lane with her time on the show and kind of anywhere we started, you know, when you look at Rachel Drashand the cast that she came into, you kind of don't know what you're going to get out of new cast members and what they're going to bring to the table.
And I think when you look at Rachel's career overall, as a cast member, she was someone who was incredibly likable, who brought a very unique and likable energy to all the charactersshe played.
She was an awesome scene partner with the people that some all-time greats on the show as well. We're talking about Will Ferrell. We're talking about Jimmy Fallon.
[1:08:04] She obviously did some great stuff in character work with the great writing of Tina Fey.
She was someone that the cast obviously wanted to utilize and has left us with characters.
So we talked about Debbie Downer, Boston Teens, Amy Scheinwald, some awesome moments and sketches that are going to be part of Best Of compilations for years and years to come,long after, whenever the last episode of SNL is.
I think she'll be remembered for her time on there. And so when you're looking at someone who got the most out of their talent, who gave their all to the show, who was committed tobeing as funny as possible, if they were in a scene for five seconds or for five minutes, Rachel Dratch is definitely one of the best.
And like I said, I'm happy I had a chance to talk with you about her today.
And I hope that the fans get a chance to rewatch and make sure that they give her her flowers when the ballots are due.
Track 2:
[1:09:05] So there's that thank you so much thomas and will and rachel you know for bringing the laughs all these years i think that she should be celebrated and that's what we do here inthe snl hall of fame is we celebrate some of our favorites and rachel as thomas mentioned off the top you know is a top 30 cast member according to the snn countdown of top 50 castmembers i believe she's in the top 30 so she's in good company and she should be she is a hyper talented And, well, you just heard Thomas and Will wax philosophical about her for thebetter part of an hour, and I concur.
This is going to be an interesting one for me. i i don't know that she makes it on the first ballot but i think.
[1:10:10] By the time she gets to the second or third ballot i think there's a path i think there's a path for her and uh it's a it's it's a path that uh is reasonable mind you you look at maya, andwho else? Molly Shannon.
And they're both still in the quagmire.
Let's go to the sketch right now. This is Abe Scheinwald on Weekend Update.
Track 5:
[1:10:37] With the year winding down, it's time to look back at the best movies of 2004.
Here with the report is Hollywood producer Brad Scheinwald.
Thank you, Amy. Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. It's great to be here.
Well, I think it's safe to say that 2004 was an incredible year for American filmmaking. Ha! Told you right there!
[1:11:03] Why are you letting this kid tell you about pictures? Grandpa, I thought I told you to wait in the car. What? Freeze my balls off? I don't think so.
Okay, who's this? This is my grandfather and founder of Shinewold Studios, Abe Shinewold.
I made all the 51 pictures, including cheerleader zombies of Sorority Row, Japanese bikini squad Kill Kill, The Chimp and the Pimp, one, two, three, and five!
And NIT! NIT? Nipple Institute of Technology!
The thing is, Pops, I'm trying to move Shine Wall Pictures in a more intelligent direction, a direction a lot of films took this year. Bah! One!
Okay, an incredible film, Sideways, a story of two friends driving through wine country, and...
You want to sit through a road movie about two guys drinking booze, rent the ape-shine-walled classic buddy pic, scooch and mondo take Daytona Beach.
[1:12:12] Okay, what about the film Kinsey? Oh, I went to see that picture because I heard it was about a sex doctor who did experiments on people.
What a letdown! if you want an erotic thriller try the Sheinwald hit The Curious Doctor.
[1:12:36] Napoleon Dynamite? Dynamite with the explosion! Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind! Eternal One of the Honey, where?
All right, okay, so you're saying that there's nothing worth seeing this year.
Please, Amy, don't let my grandfather change the way you feel about movies.
Don't listen to this one. This one wanted me to make a movie about the misadventures of a blind guy.
I said I liked it better the first time when it was called Mr. Magoo.
It was Ray, the Ray Charles story. We passed on Ray.
Brad and Eve Sheinwald, everybody.
Track 2:
[1:13:16] They passed on Ray, and they made Nipple Institute of Technology. Oh, my.
That is some good stuff. stuff and on that note i want to remind you uh speaking of good stuff to check out will norman check out thomas senna check out matt ardell they are allwonderful podcasters and uh there's a lot going on here at duvra so check us out there's something for everybody that's pretty much what I've got for you this week.
You can start carving out your ballots now.
There's two names on it already.
Adam Sandler, Rachel Dratch. Next week in the hall, we invite Ryan McNeil to join us where we'll talk about Pearl Jam and their legacy at Studio 8H. So there's that.
[1:14:11] That's what I've got for you this week. So if you'd please, as you're walking out, when you get to the weekend update exhibit, there's a light switch on the wall.
Turn it off, because the SNL Hall of Fame is now closed.
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