Season 5 Draft
jD and the gang are back it! This week Thomas, Matt and our special guest Kirstin Rajala pick our nominees we'll be discussing this upcoming season.
Transcript:
[0:42] All right. Thank you so much, Doug Donat. It is great to be here with you all as we kick off season five inside the SNL Hall of Fame.
How are you doing? My name is JD and I am joined every week by my friends Thomas and Matt.
Matt handles the trivia corner.
Thomas handles the conversations conversations, and me, well, I just blather.
I just blather at the top and bottom of every episode. So you're stuck with me.
The SNL Hall of Fame is a weekly affair where each episode we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest, or writer, and we add them to the ballot foryour 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 for perpetuity inside the hall.
That's right, it's an easy game. That's what we play here each and every week.
[1:38] We kick things off every season with a draft, and we're going to do that again this season.
The draft will be handled this year by Thomas, Matt, and our special guest, Kirsten Rajala.
So buckle up and get ready, because this is going to be great.
They are going to go through and choose who will be nominated in season five.
And then you will listen to those episodes and then you will vote on who gets in the hall of fame, just like we did in season four, three, two, one, et cetera.
Well, there's no et cetera because one is where we started. So there's that.
Let's go right now to Thomas and have him kick this thing off.
I'll talk to you at the back end.
Track 3:
[2:54] Alright, welcome to the SNL Hall of Fame podcast.
We are in Season 5, officially the first episode of Season 5.
We're so excited because we're going to let everybody in on essentially how the sausage is made here at the SNL Hall of Fame in terms of choosing the nominees and choosing the lineup.
So this is a wonderful episode. We did a Season 4 draft that worked really well.
Well, it was myself, Matt Ardill, John Schneider.
This time around, we invited another guest, a five-timer, possibly a six-timer.
I really lost track of how many times Kirsten's joined us. Kirsten, do you know? Have you kept track?
I know this is super important to you. This has got to be the six because our last conversation, I was making a big stink and getting really excited about being a five-timer. So this is six.
Awesome. So we have, as the draftees today, to draft our Season 5 lineup, we have myself, we have Kirsten Rayula, and we have Matt Ardill.
So, Matthew, how are you? Good, good. In Chicago, I'm going to try to get you a Second City performance while I'm here.
[4:07] Oh, wonderful, wonderful. You'll have to let me know how that goes.
I'm going to be in Chicago soon, too. So you'll have to share notes with me.
So so how it works today again we are drafting the nominees for season five we do have some draft rules to go over so there will be three of us drafting first pick we're giving it to ourguest kirsten we'll have the first pick in the draft matt ardill will have the second pick in the draft and i will have the third pick in the draft it's not snake so we're just going to to go one twothree then one two three no snake drafting here on this episode we each get five picks and there are parameters to this so each person must draft one musical guest or a writer, one nomineefrom season one of the SNL hall of fame so we can re-litigate somebody's candidacy and also you know the other three then can be like the cast member host musical guest or writer or Idon't know if it's just at your win at that point. So those are the draft rules.
Matt, did you have like a strategy coming into this draft? Like what's your thought process heading into this? I just went with my heart.
That's what I came down to. That's really sweet. Who do I really want to be in there?
[5:27] Yes, yeah, definitely. Kirsten, how do you feel being like a first-time draftee?
A lot of pressure on you to decide the fate of the SNL Hall of Fame podcast for an entire season. It is, but there's still such good people that no matter what, I think folks will be happy.
And I love being able to make a case for why people should be included. So it's exciting.
But I did a snake with...
[5:53] Another crew and it got it got tense so i'm glad this is not a snake draft because i won't be as anxious about it yeah but it still might get heated i don't know mad ardeal kind of getsriled up with this stuff so you have to watch out for it passionate yes definitely so i guess we We will commence with the draft.
So, Kirsten, you are first, and it's your turn to select the first nominee for season five. Where are we going?
Would you like me to start with my either musical guest or writer or re-litigate or start new?
I don't know. Matt, you tell her. What would you like Kirsten to start with?
Why don't you start with your new nominee?
[6:41] My nominee is Will Forte. I love it.
I love it. Kirsten, what's your thought process? Why should we hear about Will Forte?
I am a huge fan of his.
I think he was made for Saturday Night Live.
I think he got there at the perfect time alongside his often amazing, also amazing scene partner, Jason Sudeikis.
He created some characters that people generally love, like MacGruber, we all love, but then did some very specific, very wacky scenes like Tim Calhoun, where it was all about these oddmannerisms and the quirky delivery.
And if you got it, you got it.
And I was drinking the Kool-Aid between that and then the idea that he could turn entire sketches into something based on very small, single things like the coach dancing to that onesong.
[7:48] Or spelling bee, which is a master class in being able to do that.
Imagine a microphone, you, silence, and being able to hold not just the in-room audience, but the millions of people who've watched this show and for over a minute recite letters of thealphabet and keep us on the edge of our seat.
[8:12] Master performer. Takes so much talent to do that.
Child in an adult's body but from you know greg stink to the falconer to jeff montgomery registered sex offender on halloween uh yeah i don't know how we haven't talked about him yetbut i'm thrilled to be talking about him now well i'm thrilled to will forte quite honestly i'm gonna gush about him in this episode uh because he's one of my all-time favorite cast membersHe carved out a specific lane for himself of the absurd that I just loved.
Like, Matt, I'm guessing you were probably a Will Forte fan.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, exact same feelings. It feels like there's very few people who embrace that sort of absurd layer of sketch on SNL.
And he definitely went in all the way on it. So I think he's a great choice.
[9:04] I'm excited. See, part of this exercise, Kirsten, is like Matt and I, we get to open little gifts.
Like you know it's almost like christmas morning because matt does the minutiae minute so he has to find out who he gets to research and compile and i get to find out who i get to doresearch on and do a show about so this is like a christmas morning for us oh amazing we'll go back and watch potato chip again oh that's an all-timer that's that's definitely going to comeup in the episode i guarantee you potato chips yeah come up so wonderful so we have will forte off the board He's going to be one of our nominees for season five.
Matt Ardill, it is your choice.
[9:46] Okay, I am going to go with my new pick, Lorraine Newman.
[9:51] She's one of the original cast, one of the trio of original women to really define the early days of Saturday Night Live.
She came up through the groundlings and within a year and a half found her way onto the show.
And she really, through thick and thin, went through some rough times, but she was dedicated to that show during those early days.
Dedicated her life great characters um like sherry the the california valley girl uh character you got connie conehead you know and she went on the 40th anniversary she brought carrie orsherry excuse me back for the californian sketch and i was like oh this is a sketch that was may as well have been written for for her um so yeah i feel like she'd be a great member andalso So like she's just became a pop culture icon.
Like she, she recounts a story in her memoir about how John and Yoko saw her on the street and ran up to her to introduce themselves to her within the first year of Saturday Night Live.
It's like not often that, you know, John Lennon and Yoko Ono are excited to see you. No kidding.
[11:09] So yeah. It's amazing. Yeah. I don't blame them. So yeah, Lorraine Newman, Newman one of the original cast members we've covered a few original cast members actually almostmost of them so Lorraine's actually maybe one of the final couple that we haven't covered on the SNL Hall of Fame that we needed to get to quite honestly so this is a wonderful pick I'mexcited to do an episode on Lorraine Newman Kirsten Lorraine Newman no gripes from you not at all and I feel like it was only a few months ago that I realized or made the connectionthat hannah einbinder is her daughter yeah yeah phenomenal actress writer herself from the show hacks and among others and that just got me even more excited that this is it's in theblood.
[11:54] Yeah yeah hannah einbinder yeah she's she's great it's it's there so yes very excited um she's stellar she should absolutely be on that list yeah wonderful pick matt thank you so muchSo we have Will Forte, Lorraine Newman, both off the board, my selection now.
And I'm going to go with a musical guest.
[12:16] And it's one I like when SNL.
Gets bands and acts at their peak or close to their peak i like seeing bands go when they're red hot when they're maybe when they're starting out and they're starting to catch fire and i liketo see them maybe span generation span a few years i'm gonna go with the musical guest that's been on four times their first appearance was season 17 most recent one was season 35 sothey have wide range so i'm gonna go with pearl jam as my musical guest i think snl caught them.
[12:49] At the right time i think they've stood the test of time and selfishly it's one of my all-time favorite bands so uh so i'm gonna pick pearl jam as my musical guest and the third pickhere i don't know if either of you are pearl jam fans kirsten high school that's high school music for me for sure i appreciate that there's a legacy there uh that they were on as you say at thebeginning and they're still going strong um i have a lot of respect for that so i yeah i think that's a great choice and it's you can't really argue them there are some flash in the pans youknow sometimes they make a big bet on someone and we never hear from them again um but in this case yeah they they they chose well and this is a band that has surely stood the test ofthe time and i'm sure we'll continue to see them again on the show a few more times hopefully yeah absolutely matt well we won't be friends anymore if you if you say you don't like pearljam i mean i was a nirvana guy but i did appreciate pearl jam.
[13:54] Because they you know that that's my high school music as well and uh you know it's just a special place in my heart and they're a great band and jeremy you know that was like ananthem in my like great 12 year kind of thing so you know I can't wait can't wait great choice all right yeah so Will Forte Lorraine Newman Pearl Jam welcome Eddie Vedder andcompany welcome to season five of the SNL Hall of Fame we're back to Kirsten Kirsten what do you got for us next my second choice is someone I'm really excited about she becamequite famous on the show you know a lot lot of people leave and they make movies and stuff, but not everyone does.
She is someone who came out really quickly as one to watch, and that is the lovely and talented Kate McKinnon. Yes.
Love it. Very memorable characters. One of my favorite qualities about her is if you go and watch a highlight reel of her SNL work, you'll see her dressed as.
[14:56] A ton of men often all the politicians and i think she took a lot of joy in portraying them in a very unflattering manner because they didn't align with her political views and itprobably bothered them then she also did a lot of female politicians she did angela merkel she did uh liz warren hillary uh then she would play strange creatures like a blobfish and vanityaside right She was just in it in these ugly costumes.
[15:26] Very memorable characters like Miss Rafferty of Close Encounters, the one that a lot of people know her for.
She deserves a medal just for not breaking when she broke everyone else in the scene.
Hats off to her. And then I also love her friendship with Aidy Bryant.
What a special thing to see them in all of their scenes together.
She's just, she's a force. and I can't wait for her to come back and host many more times in her career because I would like to think she's welcomed back.
She has such an imprint on that show.
Yeah, absolutely. This is wonderful. And this is going to be our most recent nominee. She's been at the game now.
We've had time to sit back over a year plus to assess Kate McKinnon.
She's near and dear to everybody.
Matt, do you think her being a real recent person will impact vote or impact perception one way or the other?
I mean, I think it might be like Mulaney, who a lot of people are like, yeah, he deserves to be in here, but is it a matter of now or later?
But with Kate, you know, She deserves to be in there. She is an amazing impressionist.
She has amazing characters.
She goes all in.
[16:45] Like Kristen said, she breaks everybody in the sketch, but she stays in character.
And it's endearing. And I love it. And I love her and all of her work.
So yeah, I mean, it might take a couple of passes before she makes it in just because she's so new.
But it's a matter of time. it's not if but when yeah i don't know i think if she doesn't make it then that would be recency bias negatively because in my book i don't know i have her reallyhigh in my all-time cast member.
[17:16] Ranking uh that i recently made like so uh i i'm curious to see what how the voters will will take this but that's such a wonderful i mean we all love kate she's so amazing that's awonderful choice kirsten all right matt we're back to you who's your second pick in our season Season five nominee draft.
Okay. I am going to pick for host Martin Short, another cast member who left.
[17:42] Came back to host four times, twice as a co-host.
First time with Chevy and Martin Short, and the second time with Chevy and Steve Martin.
Second time with Steve Martin, most recently for Only Murderers in the Building.
You know he's just he's one of those like humans that is just a wonderful human and it just shows on the screen uh he's humble he's willing to be the butt of the joke um there's been morethan a few occasions when he's been a part of a five-timer sketch as a waiter or just a like just just the butt of all of the humor um but he just brings this amazing energy to to everythinghe's got some great characters some great great just silliness like the christmas carol sketch in his most recent appearance where it's just like it just kept escalating and i'm like how how dothey go from from but they found a way and it just kept getting more and more bonkers and And a big part of that is the energy he brings to the sketches as a host.
[18:53] So, yeah, I think he's a good choice for the Hall of Fame.
I agree. I agree. Kirsten, don't you love when Martin Short just pops up on your screen?
[19:03] Yeah. And I had him on my list. So I second that 100%. He is a lovely human. He's a fellow Canadian.
So of course I have to love him. Um, but it's very easy to, he is probably the, in the top five at kind of improv.
[19:23] Whenever you see him interviewed on any show outside of SNL, he is so immediately funny and quick and that's what people like most about him like he can't i want to be roastedby him yes i want to be roasted by jiminy glick yes i want i want to be roasted by both of them yeah martin short as jiminy glick interviewing and roasting me i want that that's a goodpoint kirsten right sign me up um no i love that he should be in there that is a no-brainer and yes he we we didn't see him for a bunch of years there and he's back and it's so exciting to seehim on on the screen again yeah this is awesome matt this is a wonderful choice so excited about going into martin short's hosting career former cast member so it'd be interesting we havea former cast member turned host down the line uh to talk about so this will will be this will be a wonderful episode we're back to me this is gonna be the sixth pick we're doing 15 as areminder so we're at pick number six and I'm gonna also go with the host.
[20:33] I'm going to go with a more, well, not a more recent because Martin Shorts, gosh, he's been a host really recently.
But it's a three-time host, actually. One that I'm not quite sure is going to be back.
He hosted back-to-back-to-back seasons and then kind of vanished.
But his episodes were top-notch. Great host.
Jon Hamm is going to be a nominee for the SNL Hall of Fame in Season 5.
I mean, classic. I mean, he was willing to play with the cast.
He's been in a bunch of classic sketches.
I think, gosh, looking at all of his hosting gigs, all three of those episodes were bangers.
And a lot of it had to do with Jon. Just such a good sense of humor.
And I'm pumped to be talking Jon Hamm this season on the SNL Hall of Fame.
Matt, Jon Hamm, thumbs up? Totally agree. Two thumbs up. I mean, he's a Second City guy.
You know, he's a comedy guy. And people got to know him through this serious role.
But I think this is when, like, he's so great on SNL because he's been given a chance to play.
And he's, you know, he's just letting loose and having fun like he likes to do.
And I think that's a great choice. It's going to be a terrific episode.
I'm pumped. Kirsten, you have fond memories of Jon Hamm hosting?
[21:55] 100%. I mean, he was in that Will Forte sketch with Jeff Montgomery, and so I watched it very recently. I agree.
He, you know, people had a real impression of him. He's an attractive man, and he, you know, gained his fame through a show that had this iconic character, but.
[22:16] This show you're right gave him such a platform to show us what he's really like and then he started popping up and bridesmaids and all sorts of movies because we realized he hadsuch a good funny bone um and it it really i think accelerated his career in that way so yes he's he's great for the show because he can also play he can play so many different ways maybehe'll play up that look that he has and that that reputation from television uh mad men um but then skewered a bit So, yes, love it. Love it.
Yeah, he gained notoriety, of course, as Don Draper in Mad Men, but I'm excited to talk about Jon Hamm's comedy chops, which there's plenty of. He's so funny.
So I think more people, I think a lot of comedy nerds know how funny Jon Hamm is, but I want the masses to know how funny Don Draper actually is in real life. So this will be fun.
Jon Hamm, I'm so excited. excited uh we so right now we have three former cast members as nominees two hosts one musical guest none of us have used our season one re-litigationchoice yet and there's been no writers yet well we still have nine picks to go um so that's but that's been the breakdown so far uh kirsten you're up with your third choice what do you gotfor us well i think i will will re-litigate a season one choice right now.
[23:41] So funny to me that this person needs to be re-litigated, but I could probably say that about a few.
[23:46] This is a very formidable woman who is multi-talented.
She can act, she can sing, and she has a long list of memorable characters, and that's Maya Rudolph.
[24:02] Such a fan. And of course, as we move into this colder weather, we all know it's sweater weather.
So she comes back to remind us of that amazing character.
She is iconic. I mean, go back and watch Beyonce Hot Ones episode again.
[24:20] How many people have tried to do Beyonce, but she really did?
Or go watch Pamela Bell, Anthem Singer. Again.
[24:27] Much like Will Forte, someone who can just them and a microphone and a captive audience keep us enthralled by just that singular performance uh and a third one that youabsolutely need to go watch is maya angelou pranks three of my favorite sketches ever um although she's got so many um i would probably say that i have top 20 sketches for my rudolphyeah so my rudolph so so talented again yeah i love when she's she's one too where she just pops up into anything and i love her we my wife and i watched the good place and i pointed atthe screen like oh my god maya rudolph's the judge like this yeah that that was so great uh maya rudolph did get 58 of the vote last cycle so so these season one choices we should tell theaudience come with the caveat that if the person actually because we're recording this before the season four voting voting is finished so if the person actually gets voted in in season fourwe're gonna she's they're not gonna be a season five nominee obviously so we have the right subject to change as far as like you picked maya but if she's already in the snl hall of famewe'll probably reach out to kirsten uh offline and off the air and say here pick another one because maya is now in the snl hall of fame so we'll see so it comes with that caveat but i thinkyou're right kirsten uh kind of a the no brainer sort of fan favorite one, Matt is like, as far as fan favorites.
[25:56] Matt, like, where does she rank?
[25:59] She's got to be up there. I mean, she's just one of those incredible talents that, you know, just kills in everything and bring has so much range.
It is so dedicated. And like, just again, it's not the one of those people who embraces the funny, like just, you know, It really brings it to a sketch. Like I loved her, her Beyonce and Prince.
Yeah. Prince show. Like that is still one of my favorite sketches.
And even outside of that, like my wife and I would watch her variety show that she ran for a while with Martin short, or it was the two of them.
Like, so she, she just, she just loves to sing, loves to dance and loves to make people laugh.
And it's a well-deserved option.
Indeed. This is going to be a fun one. So we have our season one re-litigation chosen in the form of Maya Rudolph.
Matt, you have your next pick up. Yeah, I am going to go with my season one re-litigation as well. And that is Emma Stone.
[26:59] She's another one of those great hosts, four-time host, three-time special guest.
You know, she's a serious actor, but does silly roles.
And like john ham she leans into the silly when she's on snl um like the uh that dorm room poster sketch where she's uh the sisters on pete davidson's dorm room wall uh les jeunes deparis high school theater high school theater show serious flashbacks to my own high school theater life there i was like oh god no wonder my parents hated coming to my performancesperformances.
Um, so yeah, I think she is, uh, she's somebody, you know, who's a host is, is, is not always given her due. And I think she, uh.
[27:44] She really should be a part of the Hall of Fame. Yeah, in Season 1, before Jamie asked me to come along and be a co-host on SNL Hall of Fame, I was a guest on three episodes inSeason 1.
And I was a guest on the Emma Stone episode.
So I actually made the case for Emma Stone in our Season 1 episode as Jamie's guest.
So you don't have to talk me into Emma Stone, Matt.
I am huge. I think she's an underrated host, honestly. Honestly, she did that sketch, the porn actress sketch was hilarious.
The Wells for Boys. You just go down the laundry list. She had put in really great episodes, and a lot of it was because of her.
There weren't just great episodes, and Emma Stone happened to be the host.
She contributed to a lot of really good material.
Are we three for three giving the thumbs up to Emma Stone, Kirsten?
In another life, she was on the show, for sure. Yeah.
[28:39] I can see that. Yeah, she did a Roseanne Rosanna Dana at the 40th.
They brought her on to do like an homage on Weekend Update for that, which I thought was pretty cool. She's a fan of the show.
That's a big deal. Yeah, this is a great one.
So we have Emma Stone. Welcome again, once again, to the SNL Hall of Fame nominees list.
We're going to relitigate your candidacy here on Season 5.
And you know what? I'm going to stick with this trend. I'm going to go with my season one re-litigation as well.
And I'm going to knock off a writer as well.
So we don't have any writers. So we'll be talking about a writer which I think is criminally overlooked as far as SNL Hall of Fame voting.
We have Robert Smigel, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, and Tina Fey already in the SNL Hall of Fame.
And you could argue, to me, Robert Smigel is the only one that's in.
[29:33] Almost purely for his SNL writing credentials.
And Seth Meyers, because he was on Weekend Update. Tina Fey, we all love her. She deserves it, but she did. She was in sketches, Sarah Palin and all that.
But I still think writers have been criminally overlooked.
I am going with Jim Downey to re-litigate his SNL Hall of Fame candidacy.
Jim Downey, when I think of Saturday Night Live, I mean, the political satire, the political sketches immediately always come to mind.
And there's no person in the history of SNL that's, I think, done more for political sketches than Jim Downey.
So he received 49% of the vote in season three.
And I should say to Emma Stone received 15.5% of the vote.
So I'm pretty sure we're going to have an Emma Stone episode and we're not going to have to go redo that one.
One uh but um but yeah jim downey just a writer that's had such an impact on snl matt you're like a snl historian jim downey huge huge and as far as snl's history oh yeah i mean he helpedreally define the political voice that snl has around its sketches and its treatment of political humor So I really feel like it is a well-deserved spot.
I think he's instrumental in SNL's sort of more intelligent humor and drier side at times. So I think he's a great choice.
[31:03] How are you with SNL and politics, Kirsten? I recognize what a role it plays and the legacy of the show.
And him being, is he not the longest tenured writer? Like 30 years or something?
Yeah, he might be. Matt might know better than me.
But he spans eras of SNL.
Yeah, there's a great episode on Conan's podcast that he just did that is fantastic.
And he talks about some of his favorite sketches and such. It's a great episode.
Jim Downey was so, so funny on that episode.
I want everybody to go listen to Jim Downey's appearance on Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.
He was just, he was cracking me up. Maybe more than any guest Conan's ever had on that podcast, Jim Downey was cracking me up.
I agree. And so I absolutely two thumbs up because I just am hot off that podcast.
So yes, big fan. All right. Right. So I got the thumbs up, Jim Downey.
We're going to re-litigate your candidacy on season five of the SNL Hall of Fame.
[32:08] We are nine down, six picks to go.
Kirsten, who do you have? I am going to nominate a writer if anyone listens to this show regularly and I hope you do you know that I have been advocating for a certain person since thebeginning.
[32:34] And they haven't quite made it into the hall of fame yet but guess what they're also a writer later.
So, hold on to your socks, because surprise, surprise, I'm nominating John Mulaney.
John Mulaney is a writer this time. He's been a nominee as a host, but Kirsten's saying, screw all that, let's talk about him as a writer.
He just needs to get in there.
[32:57] He needs to get in there. So let's talk about, first of all, his writing style is very unique, and you know it.
You know the way he delivers it, but you also know the way that he writes for other people.
It's very identifiable which that's difficult so hats off to having a unique sensibility and voice, when you unearth some of the amazing sketches he has written you realize he wrote herbwelch which became a very memorable character uh for bill hader he wrote the vogel checks which is just strange but very playful and fun he wrote what's that name he wrote what'swrong with tanya yeah and most famously he wrote Stefan yes an iconic character the whole idea of that character outside of the great performance was really what he was going to sayand I think everyone loves knowing that kind of behind the scenes Mulaney was changing the script and so what Bill Hader was saying he was reading for the first time and it would breakhim and that became part of the shtick and so I am hereby nominating John Mulaney for writer.
[34:14] Uh because he needs to be in the hall of fame yeah book closed yeah book closed matt you're nodding your head in agreement yeah i completely agree in fact i think nominatinghim as writer is a better fit for now than nominating him as host he said he's done as a writer he's gonna come back as a host again and again i mean that's a guarantee but like as a writerwe can look at his body of work and and judge that and yeah like the games he would he he wrote some really wild sketches but he he pushed the boundaries like with stefan but he neverwas malicious like stefan was a game and there was agreement and there was buy-in by both both parties and whereas you know like some other writers who i have maybe advocated forin the past was were not not so interested in working collaboratively but John was a team player and he he brought some of the funniest sketches to the show and so I think that's a greatgreat choice yeah that's wonderful Kirsten and he had a distinct he has a distinct voice but his voice a distinct voice you can see on those sketches you can I think you could tell that's aJohn Mulaney sketch or at least when you find it like oh yeah that's not a surprise that that was a John Melaney sketches, such a distinct voice.
I think since we have the categories on the SNL hall of fame, fair game to say, you know what? We talked about this person as a host.
[35:43] But he was a writer of 2008 to 2013.
He was a writer. Let's talk about his writing credentials. So I think that's totally fair game.
I'm excited to delve into John Mulaney as a writer. Awesome, Kirsten. Matt, we're back to you. This is your second to last choice.
Yeah, I am going with a writer as well.
[36:03] So he's come up previously. Julio Torres.
Yes. Wells for Boys. is uh papyrus my favorite which is cut for time my little stepchildren um you know it's just it's dark he's funny he's subversive um and actually lorraine newman whenthat my little stepchildren was put out on the cut for time youtube wrote him on twitter and just said wrote oh julio clap emoji three times then roll on the floor laughing emoji so like ithe's recognized by by legacy cast he's recognized by current like his his peers fred armisen went on to co-create los spookies uh with him uh so he's i think he's one of that more moderngroup of writers who's really established himself as a voice coming out of snl yeah he was almost like He wasn't on SNL that long, but he was almost like a tornado that came throughthere with just such great material, such clever writing.
[37:13] Julio was awesome. I love this choice. It's like a really inspired choice to me.
I really dig it. I'm excited to dig into everything that Julio did. You're right.
I had brought up Wells for Boys with Emma Stone.
That was total on-brand Julio Torres kind of perspective with that sketch.
Sketch that was that was wonderful kirsten any thoughts on julio i hadn't realized that he wrote papyrus and that's all i need to know there you go yeah case closed yeah that that was aclassic sketch just such classic sketches like like as far as efficiency and just batting average to me like julio torres is so high so this is awesome man so we have another rider in there it'sour Our second writer.
We're talking our third, actually.
Or no, our second. So we're talking John Mulaney and Julio Torres as new writers to be discussed.
Jim Downey, of course, a relitigation from season one.
So we are back to me.
And this is my second to last. And I'm going to go with a cast member.
And I think it's a cast member who might be our headliner.
[38:26] Of season five of yes no hall of fame somebody that people have asked me like why haven't you ever why haven't you done an episode about this person and uh so we're gonna doan episode on adam sandler here in season five of the yes no hall of fame it's time to talk about the sandman and all he contributed to saturday night live kirsten adam sandler what do youthink yeah it's I had him on my longer list as well.
He almost seems like an obvious one. You know, some of those that you think, what, we haven't talked about him yet?
No, I mean, it launched him. And it launched an entire genre of comedy outside of Satellite with all the movies that he produced on the heels of it.
So that's pretty impactful.
So, yeah, makes sense. Makes sense. People imitate him to this day, his characters on the show. Yeah, absolutely.
Matt, can you imitate him for us real quick on the spot? Oh, jeez.
Oh, no, I can't.
I don't know. You just got to make the cooing sound. Yeah. Opera man there for a second. Yeah.
This is possibly a headliner for us at the SNL Hall of Fame. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. I think it's an amazing choice. Yeah.
[39:49] It's interesting. like his career you know going into snl you know just it it catapulted him i think he's possibly one of the most successful former cast members in history of the showuh like i i there's lots of people who are respected and stuff but from just an entertainment industry perspective he he is i i think he has the biggest hits he makes the most money not thatthat's synonymous with talent or whatever but he is a he's a an incredibly talented hard-working guy and uh i think it's a great conversation to have yeah i'm excited about it he really madehis bones on the update desk which really stands out to me um i'm probably gonna get into with whoever my guest is his comedy albums that that when i was a teenager i shouldn't havebeen listening to in the 90s but i was and i was cracking up so a lot to get into with adam sandler i'm totally looking forward to that In my old podcast, we actually did one of his comedyalbums.
And it's interesting, too. He's dedicated to the craft of album making.
He had a bunch of his fellow cast members on it.
And it was traditional Foley. He had Foley effects artists doing sound effects.
[41:05] The guy loves what he's doing. He loves what he's doing because he brings a level of craft that people probably don't credit with him.
Absolutely. From everything that I've read, he's truly maybe one of the nicest guys in Hollywood.
Honestly, everybody just raves about what a nice person Adam Sandler is.
So it's hard to go wrong there.
Having a nice person here, season five of the SNL Hall of Fame.
All right, Kirsten, this is your last choice.
You don't want to make it count. Here we go. This is our 13th pick, The Pressure. Okay, then this one is, tell me if you don't like this one, but it's someone I'm a real big fan of.
And this person is, that I'd like to nominate is Taryn Killam.
Yes, Taryn Killam, yes. Taron Killam is one of the funniest people, who week after week after week cracked me up is in so many sketches you almost can't look at a highlight reel you justneed to watch entire episodes because even the moments that he shows up in the background he's hilarious.
[42:13] Jebediah one of my favorite characters ever and he started throwing the cards up in the air um i don't know how his career in snl ended i sense that something went down and that'smaybe why we don't talk about him so much anymore but i think it's a real shame because he did fantastic work on the show was in so many sketches i'd have to get the stats guys to tolook that up, but I feel like he'd be right at the top and should be included in the legacy for the versatility of work that he brought and the commitment to the characters.
[42:55] Yeah. I think there was a season where Taron really stood out as far as number of sketches and how often he was in the show.
Definitely talented. He's the type. So when I've been doing this, this is going to be the fourth season that I've led the conversations on SNL Hall of Fame.
And I've talked about other amazing sketches from other hosts and cast members and Taron pops up in a lot of those for his own great work.
So he's one of those and he was on my list of I want to do an episode on these people someday and Taron Killam is on that list.
So this is like he fits in right away. I believe he was in the top 40.
Our friends at the Saturday Night Network are doing they're in the middle.
By the time you hear this, they have finished. finished.
They're in the middle of their cast member countdown. I think Taron finished top 40 or 45.
[43:43] So he's up there as far as people love him. Did great work on the show.
I think underrated, Matt.
Yeah, totally agree. Totally agree. I was really depressed when he left the show. I felt, yeah, I was like, what went down? Because there's like.
[43:58] Unceremoniously he was like i think sixth season when he left left the show and he had like one more season on his contract um so yeah i mean like super fun time kawaii now likethe japanese.
[44:14] Tv college tv show like it's just like i will admit i know people like that and uh uh i was like you yeah somebody writing this sketch knows some real weeby anime fans and the thatthey're just bringing it all and it's like just a pitch perfect parody of that kind of silliness um so yeah i i think he's a great choice i'm really looking forward to that yeah this is a good onewe did a jim carrey episode in season four and we were talking about the the Maryville trolley ride sketch and Taryn.
I think Taryn and Bill did that so they could show off because Taryn and Bill Hader were both so good at contorting their faces and doing that animatronic kind of thing.
That's one of Taryn's highlights to me too. There's so much more.
I can't wait to get into it. Yeah.
I've, I've rewatched the Maryville sketch just to see them do that.
Yeah. I need closure. I don't know what happened and it feels like we're ripped off.
Yeah. Let's go SNL. Get it together. Yeah.
Bring him back. Yeah, tear and kill him. Welcome to Season 5 of the SNL Hall of Fame.
Matt, this is your last choice. We're at the 14th pick in this draft. Here we go.
Okay, it's hard. I've got a few people on my list that I'm going back and forth on, but I think...
[45:36] You have to go with Rachel Dresch. Again, kind of like Taryn.
She's one of those performers who's in all of these sketches.
And yeah, she elevates every sketch she's in.
She may not be the biggest character or the biggest name or the biggest lead, but she just gives that little bit of something to every sketch.
Um you know i love her when she when she leans into her her her her boston accent with with jimmy um the lover's sketch with will you know it's just oh god i re-watched the lover'ssketch recently where it was uh jimmy fallon uh it was in and it was just you could see him creeping Just creeping out the entire time.
Her and Will were just so gross.
There's no other way to describe it. They were so in it. I would not have been able to hold it together.
Yeah, completely dedicated to the bit in a way that, you know.
I even went back and watched, there's some sketches of her and Tina Fey on Second City back when they were students.
[46:50] I'll honestly say i think you know she was not given enough credit you know during that time she's just viewed as utility player but she's like the special sauce in a lot of sketchesthat just brought it to the next level yeah she she was a wonderful character actor but that might have even been selling her short too just an amazing all-around sketch performer rachelAnd I know very beloved, like fans love Rachel.
She was part of that era that really, quite frankly, was a lot better toward women than SNL had been before that.
We saw Anna Gasteyer, Molly Shannon, and Sherry Oteri, and Rachel Dratch come in maybe a season or two after that trio.
And she fit in and delivered the goods, Kirsten.
Yeah, I'm a huge fan. A huge fan. The Lovers is one of the all-time best sketches.
[47:51] And I mean, like Debbie Downer is what she's known for, and it's a great character.
I mean, it's meme-worthy to this day.
The fact that most younger people would know that, that tells you something.
That tells you something. thing. Um, yeah, I'm, I'm a, I'm a fan of hers and I, I agree.
She's like, you know, the, it's funny, I was going to say she's one of the quieter ones.
That's the weirdest thing to say, but overshadowed at times among, you know, Jimmy Fallon, who's so loud and extroverted and gregarious and she can be, but she just sometimes just isunderneath that shadow. But.
[48:32] You're right. There are a few people over the years that have contributed just as much to that group dynamic and that work, but just didn't get that same spotlight shone on them.
And she's definitely one of them, but it doesn't make her any less worthy of being on this list.
No not at all she's very worthy so we have she's our sixth cast member that we're.
[48:54] Talking about uh rachel so we have will forte kate mckinnon we have adam sandler taryn killam rachel dratch.
[49:04] And yeah will forte lorraine.
[49:07] Newman kate mckinnon adam sandler taryn killam rachel dratch we.
[49:10] Have have six cast members new cast members on the snl hall of fame nominee list so this is the last pick we're down to it a lot of pressure here i'm looking i have a a longish listand i'm just trying to decide where we go i think i think we need to look at hosts so i do want to pick a host to round out uh the the list and there's there's a lot of good ones left on theboard so i picked initially john ham and that was like my first host off the board so i think this time around you know what i want to talk about anne hathaway she's she's been a three-timehost host again severely underrated she hosted in season 34 36 season 38 part of a lot of great sketches but she was one of those hosts and people sometimes they they use the term maybeoveruse it but i don't know she was game like that oh she's almost the definition she surprised me because she i i don't know what i expected when she first hosted but the fact that shewanted to come in and play she was in like the the dunise sketch and and did all that she was in like a fun like mary poppins sketch in her first episode uh she was in a very weird pre-tapeand we'll talk about this in taryn killam's uh episode the mokeki and the sloppy swish like anne hathaway was part of that weirdness.
[50:39] For sure so i think anne is just a very underrated snl host she hosted um with a great cast like in another golden era of SNL she was an important host on the show so I'm lookingforward to discussing the merits of Anne Hathaway as a host so she's our final nominee for, season 5 of the SNL Hall of Fame either of you Kirsten thoughts on Anne Hathaway yes she'sa great performer and I like when they take advantage in the right way of someone who also has singing talent, and they you know Obviously, Blennerin is one of the, uh finger like sisterperformers like yeah find find a way to show off all those skills it's great um and sometimes they do it in a really obvious way but with her they like knew she could act as well so they findactual roles with singing um uh no she's a great performer i think she's she's a great one to look at her body of work for sure she's been on multiple times and um hollywood has a funnything with her where i don't think they in general people give her enough credit for For her skill set and her talent. But she does have it.
Yeah. Is this a surprise Matt? Anne Hathaway being chosen?
Oh no. I think she deserves to be on there. I think she's kind of like Jon Hamm.
In that when she came to the show. People had a preconception.
[52:04] But she's a lot funnier than people give her credit. And I think she wants to be funny. And wants to play.
And Saturday Night Live let her cut loose. And show off those talents.
But she didn't really get a lot of opportunities to do. until then.
[52:19] Yeah. So I feel good about it then. I feel really good about Anne Hathaway and I feel great about our, uh, season five nominees.
So I'm going to go over them. I'm going to list the 15 that we chose and Matt and Kirsten, um, we can give our, our thoughts, kind of our overall impressions, uh, on the season fivenominee nominee list.
So we have Will Forte, Lorraine Neumann, Pearl Jam, Kate McKinnon, Martin Short as a host, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph, that's one of our season one re-litigation picks, Emma Stone,another season one re-litigation as a host.
[53:03] Jim Downey, continuing the trend of season one re-litigations, John Mulaney as a writer this This time, Julio Torres, Adam Sandler, Taryn Killam, Rachel Dratch, and AnneHathaway.
Those are your season five SNL Hall of Fame nominees and episodes.
Matt, what's your overall just kind of viewing the list? What do you think?
I think it's a good balance. You've got like new and old.
You've got like not obscure, but maybe not as talked about as they should be.
But then you've also got you know adam sandler is a huge name i think there's something for everyone there um and i think it's a it's a good sort of cross cross section of of snl talent, atkirsten you're looking forward to season five knowing what we know now with the nominees.
[53:56] I do. And I think one of my favorite things about doing these shows is rewatching.
And certainly in the first few seasons of the podcast, we're looking at people that are so beloved that you generally know your favorites.
[54:14] But I think some real gems are going to be unearthed here.
Because as you dig into the Anne Hathaways and Taryn's and you you remember and recall all of the magic they made on that show, it'll prompt some really fun and interesting discussion.
You've got a good mix of male and female. Again, you've got some different generations span there, different eras of the show.
So I think it's going to be a good one.
Yeah, I think we could pat ourselves on the back here, everyone.
We did a good job. Kirsten, I'm going to put you on the spot.
Do you want to call dibs being my guest on any of these episodes?
I would say taryn she says taryn all right so kirsten's gonna be my guest for for uh taryn kill him everybody you got the scoop here for sure yeah thank you so much everybody matt we'relooking forward to another season of matt's minutiae minute you do uh such a great job man oh thanks i'm looking forward to this is going to be a great bunch of people to talk about.
[55:13] Yeah yeah we're looking forward to digging in again i mentioned at the top this is like a opening 15 different Christmas gifts for myself and Matt.
This is wonderful stuff.
So I want to thank everybody so much for listening.
We've enjoyed and appreciated all of your support as we head into now season five of the SNL Hall of Fame.
I want to thank Jamie Du so much. Always does a wonderful job.
Thank you so much, Jamie.
Definitely looking forward to talking about all these great nominees on the SNL Hall of Fame. So for Kirsten, Matt, I'm Thomas Senna. So long, everybody.
Track 2:
[55:50] Buddy thank you so much thomas matt and kirsten it was great to hear from you all and man i am am excited about what we have in store for season five.
There are some killer selections that we are going to discuss this season, and some of them may even end up enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Now, there have been some changes since we recorded this draft, and I want to outline those changes for you so you're not confused when the season begins.
The first thing is something to consider. Consider Emma Stone is now a five-timer.
When we recorded this draft, she had not been announced as a host for this season, season 49 of Saturday Night Live.
[56:55] But now she is a five-timer. Does that change your mind? Does that change your opinion?
Does a host need to be a five-timer to be inside the Hall of Fame?
Is that like the equivalent of 300 wins for a pitcher or 500 home runs for a batter in baseball? I don't know.
So far, all the hosts that have got in have been five-timers.
But it doesn't mean there's not a pathway for somebody who's hosted four times.
Times nevertheless emma stone who has been nominated for season five is now a five-timer do with that information what you will the other thing to take note of is jim downey uh wasselected to the snl hall of fame at the class of season four and as such he no longer qualifies to be, covered in season five.
So we have put our heads together and we have replaced James Downey with Tracy Morgan.
So Tracy Morgan will be the 15th nominee this season.
[58:06] So there's that. I can't wait to talk to you all next week when we kick this sucker off.
We're going to have a great time this season and maybe we'll even get get some new Hall of Famers.
That's what I've got for you this week, so if you would do me a favor and on your way out, please, as you pass the Weekend Update Exhibit, turn out the lights, because the SNL Hall ofFame is now closed.
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