Iran So Far Away

Pop-ups (32 · 5 fan picks from YouTube comments)

1. Excited about this episode's pick

   0:14

   The hosts open by saying they are especially excited about revisiting this one. Seth notes he has never watched it without getting choked up.

   I ran so far. I have not been able to watch this in the last 10 years without getting choked up.

2. LeBron's 2007 host era

   0:32

   LeBron James hosted the September 2007 season premiere at age 22, with his entourage including Maverick Carter and Rich Paul. The hosts note both later became big figures in media and sports.

   The host is LeBron James, who is, anybody want to guess his age?

3. Seth's BlackBerry loyalty

   2:19

   Seth claims he may have been the last person to keep a BlackBerry, and both he and Andy kept their QWERTY devices long after the iPhone arrived.

   I think I might have been the last person to keep a BlackBerry.

4. Read to Achieve basketball sketch

   6:40

   In Read to Achieve, Sudeikis plays a prop guy who keeps mistiming his cues to throw a ball to LeBron. Seth recalls Sudeikis executing a reverse layup that was not scripted.

   And it wasn't part of the sketch. It was just as it was pulling out.

5. The 10-pointer corner shot rule

   7:34

   Andy describes inventing a 10-point corner shot rule during writer-cast basketball games to close the skill gap with Sudeikis, a bit of problem-solving the hosts celebrate.

   Made up a rule where there is a spot in the corner of the halfway line of the court. And if you made that shot, it was a 10-pointer.

6. Kanye's pitched award show bit

   12:29

   Akiva and Seth describe how Kanye called in to pitch award show parody ideas, which became the state fair pumpkin sketch. Lorne asked Akiva to phone him.

   And then me and you wrote out a big award show thing.

7. Why Kanye said fuck SNL

   14:17

   The hosts explain Kanye's later anti-SNL line came after Taylor Lautner karate-kicked a cardboard cutout of him when hosting. The writers had never joked about Kanye, so it stung.

   The reason that Kanye did the fuck SNL and the whole cast was because Taylor kicked a... I assume so.

8. Fans point here

   15:21

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 3 likes.

   Well, if we want to just round out the Kanye thing, I have a few others. So the second thing I would say that was interesting is while we're filming it, jumping ahead into the middle of the video, you see Andy in a… — Akiva

9. Lorne's dry Ahmadinejad pitch call

   17:21

   Seth describes pitching the Ahmadinejad song to Kanye by phone. Lorne's dry joke about a possible fatwa made Kanye pass, though he later praised the sketch.

   And, you know, worst case, they just issue a fatwa against you.

10. The Iran has the bomb line

    18:18

    The closing line about Iran not having the bomb but doing so was Seth's idea, the hosts reveal, and he sees it as the last line of the song.

    just promise me if you do it, you'll do a line. about Iran says they don't have the bomb, but they do.

11. Kanye's Blame Game sample echo

    19:08

    Years later Kanye sampled the same beat type from I Ran So Far on Blame Game, which Akiva says he took as influence.

    Blame Game is the exact same basic beat of I Ran So Far.

12. The uncleared Aphex Twin sample

    19:27

    The song used an Aphex Twin track without clearance, which later cost NBC around $160,000 and made the short hard to find online. Jorma says he consulted Danger Mouse, who assured him it did not matter.

    we didn't clear the sample

13. Fans point here

    22:10

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 29 likes.

    You could be traveling with family or looking to discover authentic and local experiences. It does it all. So it does break my heart that we are going to talk about a digital short that finished second overall when the…

14. Adam Levine's marathon day

    23:53

    Adam Levine recorded his vocals in New York between two Maroon 5 shows in different cities, then shot all morning before flying out to play again that night.

    He had one day off between massive Maroon 5 shows in two different cities.

15. Fans point here

    24:38

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 3 likes.

    Oh, things are getting sweet now. This is good. I like this. It starts, you're at a piano. First of all, let me say, all jokes aside, Andy, you look fucking great in this video. Kanye was right. It shouldn't have been…

16. Andy's look in the short

    25:14

    Seth praises Andy's appearance in the video and notes the earnest tone, which never winks except for one playful piano-hand insert.

    It is earnest the whole way through. It is beautiful. There's one wink.

17. Fans point here

    25:56

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 8 likes.

    A couple of times you show the real Ahmadinejad, which is a nice sort of teachable moment for people who maybe, younger people maybe who don't know him, right? Fred is so good in this sketch. He's so good. The way he… — Seth

18. Fred Armisen as Ahmadinejad

    26:05

    The hosts praise Fred Armisen's understated performance and his resemblance to Ahmadinejad, which makes the earnest romance believable.

    The least hammy performance you could possibly see in a comedy sketch.

19. The 'hating gays, eating food' lyric

    27:02

    The short's opening lyric pairs a love song with a hateful leader, a juxtaposition that is the core joke of the piece. The hosts note the audience has no idea what is happening yet.

    I remember when it started, saw you on the news, you were hating gays, I was eating food.

20. Like a very hairy Jake Gyllenhaal

    27:28

    A lyric comparing the leader to Jake Gyllenhaal, with the hosts noting the side-by-side photos as a comedic relief beat.

    like a very hairy Jake Gyllenhaal to me. It's such a bad rhyme.

21. The Steadicam rooftop shot

    29:24

    The camera spins around the singers while keeping New York in frame, one of the rare shots where the production ambition fully landed.

    the camera spins around and it never loses New York the whole time.

22. Adam Levine flies in for the short

    30:25

    Levine came to the office to shoot the short, with the hosts recalling he had been complimentary about the show; he later appeared in Popstar on 'I'm So Humble.'

    I wouldn't be surprised. Then he continued to do that for us forever, for Popstar.

23. The 'you can play the Jews' line

    31:35

    Another lyric in the song is laden with the hosts' typical awareness of sketch comedy tone, with the joke carried by the singer's delivery rather than winking at the audience.

    They call you weasel. They say your methods are medieval. You can play the Jews.

24. Freedom from Hot Rod schedule

    34:36

    The hosts say the team was finally free of the Hot Rod movie schedule, letting them focus on the short for the season premiere.

    we were finally free of Hot Rod.

25. SNL as a home base

    35:13

    Even after the movie underperformed, returning to SNL gave the team a new lease on life, a point attributed to advice from Lauren.

    having SNL as our home, even though the movie didn't perform well, we came back

26. Yorma line with a period

    36:45

    A lyric ending with a period, which Seth calls a runner-up favorite and the hosts identify as a Yorma Taccone pitch.

    That's a Yorma Tacone line.

27. Animal zoo lyric

    38:10

    The lyric 'we can take a trip to the animal zoo' is a sticky line Seth says he recites on school field trips with his kids.

    We can take a trip to the animal zoo and laugh at all the funny things that animals do.

28. Eugene, recorded in the West Village

    39:09

    The Eugene line was a callback to Eugene Levy in Bringing Down the House, and the zoo scene was improvised in a West Village park.

    Like Eugene. Yeah, like Eugene. Like we all know.

29. The Tootsie long-lens shot

    40:48

    The team references the Tootsie shot, a classic long-lens crowd shot, and notes the short may have had a better lens than before.

    There's a classic shot from Tootsie that's really long lens.

30. Seth's favorite SNL moment

    42:16

    Seth calls the Times Square moment, with the 'no gays in Iran' line and audience applause, his favorite moment in SNL history.

    My favorite shot in the history of SNL is you in Times Square
    an golden era

31. Anne Golden era

    42:48

    Seth labels this moment as being part of his longtime era term, the Golden era of SNL cast, and the hosts joke about his slow delivery.

    It was Anne Golden era.

    Goes back to an golden era, Ep. 7, 31:52, Seth: And this is a very exciting time where it's early in our, you guys know, I call it a golden era.

    an golden era

32. Iranian viewers feel empowered

    44:01

    Jorma recalls a podcast in which Iranian kids said the video empowered them to mock leaders, a moment he found meaningful.

    i remember just being like oh my god it got to people it really made me proud

33. Shoemaker's vote for best short

    45:41

    Shoemaker, who worked at Fallon, is upset the short did not win the best-short vote and considers it the best of all time; all three hosts voted for it.

    all three of us voted for I Ran So Far.

34. Apex Twin music cost

    46:52

    The hosts discuss paying for the song, with Jorma having direct contact with Apex Twin and the cost leading to staff cuts.

    you had direct contact with Apex Twin.

35. Hi Dar

    49:02

    A recurring line from the Lyle Cain talk show sketch, with LeBron James giving a wave in costume and being greeted by the cast.

    I was like, hi, Dar. Hi.

36. Fans point here

    49:04

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 3 likes.

    There was also, I don't know if it went to air, but Polar had a character named Lois Ernenpuch. Do you remember Lois Ernenpuch? I don't. She was a motivational speaker. And the two things I remember about Lois… — Seth

37. LeBrains

    49:48

    In the talk show sketch, the character tells LeBron James to use his LeBrains, a sticky line the hosts remember.

    You got to use your LeBrains.