United Way Ad

Pop-ups (20 · 4 fan picks from YouTube comments)

1. Fans point here

   21:43

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 8 likes.

   We're not 80 years old. It was a nostalgia trip. I had a Smash Brothers joke on the show. We made a Smash Brothers joke in Closer Look or something. Just a reference really. The joke was that I played Smash Brothers in… — Akiva

2. Fans point here

   22:20

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 26 likes.

   Support comes from Airbnb. As we've talked about, I just got back from St. Lucie watching the Mets. I stayed at a home on Airbnb in Stewart Island, Florida, and it was great.

3. Fans point here

   23:45

   3 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 55 likes.

   All right, guys, Peyton Manning, you know, gold standard athlete host of all time. Yeah, he was really good. If not the best ever top three, right? I mean, there's been some good ones in recent years, but he was really… — Seth

4. Peyton's host prep like a quarterback

   24:36

   Seth describes Peyton approaching his SNL host week like a quarterback, with color-coordinated notes and an organized binder of sketches. It shows how much preparation went into his loose on-stage charisma.

   Peyton definitely approached the whole week like a quarterback.

5. Peyton's host week planted United Way

   24:56

   Andy and the guys credit Peyton Manning with planting the seed for United Way, a sketch where he plays mean to kids against his wholesome image. The subversion of a host's image became a model others tried to copy.

   The United Way idea basically came from him, Keeve.

6. Dennis Leary walks over to Peyton

   27:00

   During the United Way shoot, Dennis Leary pulled up and walked onto the set to shake Peyton Manning's hand. It shows how much stature Leary had to approach a host on an SNL set.

   Dennis Leary had the stature to just full on walk on to an SNL set

7. The port-a-let joke wasn't scripted

   27:24

   Akiva recalls the port-a-let gag was not in the script. Peyton's pronunciation of 'port-a-lets' came from his home area, and the improvised bit became a favorite moment in the short.

   And I don't know whose idea it was, but I know it wasn't in the script.

8. Athlete hosts and Lorne's kids

   28:22

   The group speculates that a wave of athlete hosts followed when Lorne Michaels' sons grew up and thought athletes were cool. The guys were unsure whether a Lorne child appears in the short.

   I think there was a new boom of athlete hosts because Lawrence boys were growing up and thought it was cool.

9. An effortless shoot

   28:37

   The guys describe the United Way shoot as effortless and unusually easy, with ideas flowing on the fly and only a couple hours shot in the sun. Akiva credits the absence of Andy and Jorm for the smooth process.

   It was effortless. And that's really rare.

10. Editing and sound design praised

    31:04

    The guys praise the sound design and editing of United Way, noting that well-used beeps for the final curse words worked better than hearing them. Andy describes the sketch as a hot knife through butter.

    I thought the sound design was exceptional and made a big difference.

11. Seth's Corner: Peyton and Tom Brady joke

    32:53

    Seth recalls Peyton asking him backstage whether to add a last-minute soft joke about Tom Brady to his monologue. Seth says it would have been a mild, friendly burn, and Peyton did not end up using it.

    He had a joke he wanted to add at the last minute. about Tom Brady.
    Seth's Corner

12. Third Bronx Beat

    33:38

    This is the third Bronx Beat sketch, featuring Maya's question about how many times her husband flirted with her. The guys trace the phrase '1990 never' back to Bronx Beat.

    This was the third Bronx Beat.

13. Olympics pitch for Wig

    34:33

    Andy pitches a late-breaking idea to have Kristen Wiig heard off-camera during Olympic gold medal ceremonies, then jokes that the guys' algorithm picked Paris.

    it'd be cool to get Wig to go to the Olympics

14. NCAA Pool and the Peyton burn

    35:13

    In NCAA Pool, Peyton and Amy Poehler bracket against each other, and the sketch turns into a joke about being 'the tournament's Peyton Manning' when a team fizzles out despite hype.

    Peyton Manning and Amy Poehler were going through their NCAA pool picks

15. Peyton and Amy Poehler's NCAA Pool

    35:27

    NCAA Pool is a sketch where Peyton and Amy Poehler compare picks, with Sudeikis as sports anchor. Its punchline about teams fizzling is said to mirror real life.

    That's just a real thing that happens. Yes. In real life.

16. Lutz wrote three sketches that night

    37:29

    Writer John Lutz recalls it was one of his busiest nights at SNL, with three sketches including Penelope, On the Porch and Halftime.

    I had three sketches in that night.

17. Penelope's first try with Peyton

    37:32

    John Lutz's voice note says the Penelope character, who one-ups everyone, was first tried with Peyton Manning and used many more times after.

    it was the first time we'd ever tried Kristen Wiig's character Penelope.

18. Sanjaya crying sketch

    41:20

    Andy's Sanjaya bit from Update is discussed, with the cut to Wig, Fred and Dan Aykroyd crying, and Seth praising Andy's smile-without-the-eyes look that left the reaction ambiguous.

    is he really sad or really happy?

19. Halftime sketch with Will Forte

    42:03

    Halftime is a sketch written by Will Forte, John Lutz and others, with Forte dancing as a coach to a Tijuana Brass track. Peyton and the cast struggle to keep straight faces, which the guys rank among the all-time great sketches.

    it's one of the all-time great sketches.

20. Halftime's dance and Peyton's moves

    45:51

    Seth praises Peyton's physical comedy in Halftime, noting he gets up and dances as well as Forte. The guys agree the sketch needs watching rather than description.

    And then fucking Peyton Manning gets up and does it great.

21. On the Porch escalating lines

    48:39

    On the Porch has two characters on a porch sipping drinks and saying crazier things after each sip. John Lutz says the sketch was written in Wig's office late at night while they laughed at their own lines.

    we wrote it in Kristen's office. And late at night, we were just laughing

22. Fans point here

    48:49

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 10 likes.

    literally what we just said. That was the driest voice note. Like, not a single interesting thing in that. Well, the first one was good. Really good, John. And the second one, yeah, was a little dry. I just could have…

23. We're the Lonely Island, but nobody calls us that

    51:01

    The guys joke that nobody at SNL ever called them 'the Lonely Island,' though people did ask where the Good Neighbor guys were. Jorma finds it funny that the name has been applied to them.

    People do not call us that at the show.

24. Euros and the lads at the pub

    51:43

    Andy describes watching the England soccer team at a pub in foggy London town when the lads did not bring it home at the Euros, a callback to the episode's London opening.

    When the lads didn't bring it home, it hurt.