Brian Diaries

Pop-ups (28 · 3 fan picks from YouTube comments)

1. Indigo Girls argument

   0:22

   The hosts talk about how the Indigo Girls are huge in Berkeley and at summer camp but not known elsewhere, a running gag about regional fandom.

   But we'd be like, yeah, you know, that Indigo Girls song, that I Don't Need a Franco song.

2. Limp Bizkit versus Oasis debate

   0:41

   Jorma recalls arguing with the group about whether Limp Bizkit was bigger than Oasis. He insisted Oasis was the biggest band, and the others said he had been seeing it through an English lens.

   If Limp Bizkit was bigger than Oasis, and I was like, Oasis is the biggest band on the planet.

3. Dizzee Rascal Bonkers

   1:21

   Andy describes how Dizzee Rascal's Bonkers was a massive UK hit during the Olympics ceremonies, a song he had barely heard in America.

   And everyone in UK was like, and then he did fucking Bonkers. It's the biggest song in the world.

4. Will and Harper documentary

   3:30

   The hosts discuss the upcoming documentary about Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, a longtime friend who transitioned, and the road trip they took together.

   This is a documentary that's coming out in September.
   Ga’Hoole in one

5. Fans point here

   5:14

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 9 likes.

   But at the same time, you know, it was the time of a strike and it was a hundred day. We took a hundred day break. I will say, I believe Bill Hader and I cranked out an issue of Spider-Man. Oh, yeah. Which was allowed.… — Seth

6. The writers' strike break

   5:33

   The strike gave the writers an unexpected 100-day break. Seth calls it depressing because his life was the job, while others say they enjoyed the time off.

   It was the most depressing hundred days because my entire life was the job and I loved it so much.

7. The UCB strike show

   6:31

   During the strike, Amy Poehler organized a show at UCB that was approved by both the WGA and NBC. Seth later discussed it with Michael Cera on his own show.

   So during the strike, there was the one thing we all did, which was the thing Amy put together.

8. Fans point here

   6:38

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 7 likes.

   Amy, who's on the Zoom downstairs, not to name drop. But anyways, it was the strike show, which was okay with the WGA and okay with NBC. And it was at UCB. Oh, the UCB strike show. Yeah. Was there a doc recently or… — Akiva

9. Halloween episode debate reopened

   8:12

   Seth insists the November 6, 2007 show counts as a Halloween episode because the cold open came so close to the holiday. The hosts had previously dismissed this claim on a prior episode.

   I'm reopening it because I feel like you guys are pretty hard on me for saying it wasn't the Halloween show.

10. Seth and Andy admit they were too harsh

    8:28

    Andy concedes that the hosts had been hard on Seth over the Halloween debate. This is a small callback to the group's running habit of teasing Seth about his SNL claims.

    Now I'm like, hmm, maybe we were a little harsh.

11. Rob Klein's flip-flops on day one

    8:41

    Writer Rob Klein, the group's dear bud, earned the nickname Flip-flop after wearing flip-flops to his first day at SNL. Seth describes the choice as a strong one.

    Do you remember our first nickname for Klein? Harvard, maybe? Flip-flop.

12. Dennis Kucinich cameo

    9:50

    Simon Rich plays Dennis Kucinich in the Halloween cold open, part of an all-Democratic-candidate cast alongside Amy Poehler and Darrell Hammond.

    Simon Rich played Dennis Kucinich.

13. Seth's first meeting with Obama

    10:21

    Seth recounts meeting Barack Obama during the Halloween cold open. Obama reportedly stood when Seth mentioned he was from New Hampshire, the first primary state.

    It was the first time I met Barack Obama. And I've told this story a lot, but it bears repeating.

14. Obama takes off the mask easily

    11:18

    When Seth worried the mask would be hard to remove, Obama said he could take off a Halloween mask. The sketch shows the mask coming off with no trouble.

    I think you'll find I can take off a Halloween mask.

15. Audience reaction hints at Obama's win

    12:15

    Seth says the room's energy when Obama walked in made him think Obama could win, though conventional wisdom then favored Hillary Clinton.

    It was the first time I thought, oh, he's going to win.

16. Brian Williams as a host

    12:53

    Seth praises Brian Williams as a host outside the actor category, and says he knew how to play straight man and was a comedy fan.

    He was everything you want a host outside of the realm of actor to be.

17. Brian Williams's birthday monologue

    13:20

    Williams was supposed to deliver a monologue but his family surprised him with a birthday party that night. Seth later transcribed a monologue for him, which he delivered with his own jokes.

    It was actually a birthday party for him. And I could tell he was a little bummed.

18. Cut Forte and Williams sketch

    14:17

    Seth recalls a Will Forte two-hander with Brian Williams that was cut, a Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias van bit, and says reading it aloud is the best way to revive it.

    An interesting sketch that got cut was him and Will Forte, a two-hander.

19. Seth's pleasure in cut sketches

    15:12

    Seth says the cut sketch, though it didn't go well at dress, made him happy to look back on, and that he likes to dryly read Forte sketches aloud.

    I do think there's a value sometimes in me dryly reading a Forte sketch.

20. Brian Williams wouldn't sit behind anchor desk

    17:51

    Brian Williams declined to do a goof-off gag from behind the anchor desk, feeling the desk represents truth and shouldn't be besmirched. The hosts found it an inverted version of Seth's willingness to do anything at the desk.

    I think there's something kind of, I forget what word he used, but meaning that there's a value to the desk

21. Fans point here

    19:43

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 11 likes.

    Brian Diaries. It is Brian Williams talking us through his day. Some very nice jokes. I've got a favorite. Do you want to lay it out for us, Keith? Yeah. I remember us just always somewhere, it was one of those ideas…

22. Pennies thrown from Rockefeller Center

    22:15

    Brian tosses pennies out a window, and the Today Show cameo with Roker and Lauer being hit was filmed in front of a real audience, which the hosts loved for its authenticity.

    he would show himself chucking pennies out of Rockefeller Center.

23. Bono as a fantasy in Brian Diaries

    23:14

    Bono appears only as a dream vision during Brian's meditation, so his cameo felt muted to the live audience watching on TV. Akiva had hoped for a bigger applause moment.

    So we made it that Bono's the vision he's having.

24. Cancelled Rock and Winehouse episode

    26:37

    The episode with The Rock and Amy Winehouse was scheduled for the week lost to the 2007 writers' strike, as was a Jonah Hill and Kid Rock episode. The hosts lament the lost sketches.

    that week did not happen because of the writer's strike

25. Writers' strike led to first album

    27:35

    The strike freed up time for The Lonely Island to make their first album. Labels had courted them after Lazy Sunday, including a Playboy Mansion party trip.

    The writer's strike allowed us to go make our first album.

26. Jack Sparrow's 'boom, boom, boom' line

    29:19

    Andy's throwaway verse line was recorded in full and intentionally cut off so Bolton could interrupt, a deliberate piece of filler club garbage.

    It was intentionally like garbage fillery because we knew it was going to get interrupted.

27. Chester's 'I Just Wanna Fuck You' dance

    30:01

    A roommate, Chester, would emerge from his room to dance whenever the song played, turning it into a running house bit in LA.

    every time that beat would start, he would come out of his room when we were all roommates

28. The Boo's abandoned ending

    30:59

    An early ending idea had Jorma's character saving Sarah Chalke's character before turning on her. Jorma recalled the bit as a fun joke about his character's cowardice.

    Fucking kill her instead, man.

29. 2005 cast's combined Emmy haul

    31:40

    Seth noted that 2005 featured players Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg collectively hold roughly 60 Emmy nominations, though the claim is unverified.

    A combined 60 Emmy nominations.

30. Andy's Golden Globe handed off by Julie Bowen

    32:57

    Julie Bowen let Seth read Andy's name at the Golden Globes. Seth calls it one of his best moments and keeps a photo of it in his office.

    Andy won a Golden Globe for acting and I fucking got to hand it to him.

31. Four consecutive favorite shorts teaser

    33:57

    Seth teases a run of four straight shows after the strike, each with a different style, that rank among his favorite shorts of all time.

    For the first time any of us did it, four shows in a row, that have some of my favorite shorts ever.