Breaking Down Mike O'Brien's SNL Digital Shorts

Pop-ups (20 · 2 fan picks from YouTube comments)

1. Seth's Corner opens on Bruno Mars sketch

   9:08

   Seth's Corner is the show's segment where Seth talks about the SNL sketches he wrote. Here Seth recounts how Bruno Mars' musical range inspired the Pandora janitor sketch that was cut from air.

   So Bruno Mars is host to musical guest. And I think this tells you the difference between Mike and I
   Seth's Corner

2. Fans point here

   23:21

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 23 likes.

   The Jay-Z one, I had a really funny thing, which is the first time I went looking for this today on YouTube, I wrote Mike O'Brien, and I think the third option was Jay-Z. Then later, I accidentally went and looked for… — Seth

3. Jay-Z Story born from O'Brien's impression insecurity

   24:04

   O'Brien says he felt bad at impressions during his first cast year, so he made that inadequacy the joke. The result is a deadpan, earnest biopic that only pretends to be an impression.

   I think the general feeling that I felt on the show, like I was bad at the show in my first year on the cast

4. Lorne's last-minute JK Simmons Jay-Z shoot

   26:04

   The Jay-Z Story had been pitched to the table many times without being picked, until Lorne scheduled it to shoot on a Tuesday with JK Simmons as the host.

   It had been to the table many times and did well, but wasn't picked for whatever reasons.

5. Awesome Rappers cover gag

   28:30

   In the Jay-Z Story, Jay-Z clutches a magazine titled Awesome Rappers to his chest, a bashful beat O'Brien frames as a glimpse of his inner teenage-girl persona.

   You're on the cover of like a made up rap magazine and you just like clutch it to your chest

6. Ariana Grande cameo meeting with Jay-Z

   34:15

   Leslie Jones pushed O'Brien to approach Jay-Z at the 40th anniversary show, but Jay-Z had never seen the sketch and had no idea who O'Brien was.

   One detail here is not in the transcript.

   He had never seen the video yeah i assumed it not because i thought it was so amazing

7. Kate's headgear and the Prom King setup

   38:27

   Mike O'Brien's Prom King uses a teen-movie trope where a cool guy bets he can make an unexpected girl prom queen. The bet here is delivered by a misunderstanding about who Pete is pointing at.

   Kate is set up very clearly to be a taming of the shrew or whatever. Yeah. She's got headgear and everything.

8. Prom King began as a 10-minute play

   39:09

   Mike explains that the short was adapted from a 10-minute play he staged in Chicago at Stage Left, and that the SNL version had to be cut down heavily.

   this was, I did this as a 10 minute play at a place called Stage Left in Chicago.

9. Michael Keaton's five kisses cut from the edit

   41:19

   Keaton questioned a rain kiss, and Mike agreed to remove it in the edit, so the kisses exist only in the memories of those on set.

   So I got to kiss Michael Keaton five times and then agreed with him and took it out.

10. Fans point here

    48:15

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 23 likes.

    I will say Prom King, you have a super stupid cool guy haircut that works very well. Yeah, this is now we're hitting the Timmy stuff, but one of his favorite things is SNL 34 year olds playing high schoolers, which… — Seth

11. SNL's 34-year-olds playing high schoolers

    48:25

    Mike and the hosts joke about the show's habit of casting grown performers as teenagers in striped shirts and backwards caps, including Mikey Day as a 14-year-old.

    one of his favorite things is SNL 34 year olds playing high schoolers, which happens every week.

12. Grow a Guy began with sea monkeys

    49:51

    Mike says the premise came from his college housemate's sea monkeys, asking what happens if a person never buys the package.

    this one was because my college housemate Fred had sea monkeys.

13. Hashtag question sinks Grow a Guy

    51:40

    The grown guy's genuine question about hashtags is what exposes him as a fake, and Beck's character immediately calls him a Groho guy.

    Well, no, like I get that there to flag a searchable term in your tweet, but wouldn't it work just the same

14. Dragon Babies began as a Dennis Franz bit

    54:34

    The short started as a writers' bit where Dennis Franz plays one NFL play to promote his show; he was later dropped for a dragon voice.

    it started out as a bit we always talked about writing where for some reason to promote his new show, Dennis Franz is going to play one play

15. Dragon Babies echoes Seven Minutes in Heaven

    57:31

    Jorma notes that Dragon Babies recalls the Seven Minutes in Heaven series, which also placed attractive women in the position of saying they liked a guy.

    It did give me a little bit of the hearkening back to Seven Minutes in Heaven series that you did

16. Dragon Babies animation backdoored onto the show

    59:44

    The animated sketch was done outside the usual process, and Lorne was told only after the animation was finished.

    And then they came back to me and Tim and they were like, okay, we have that animation done.

17. Seven Minutes in Heaven: 40 closet interviews

    1:00:56

    Mike hosted roughly 40 episodes of a closet-set interview series, with celebrity guests such as Seth and Andy Samberg filmed in small quarters.

    Around 40. Oh my God. I did an episode. Did you do an episode, Jorm?

18. Technology Hump is Mike's watchable favorite

    1:02:15

    Mike says this is the only one of his own shorts he can watch without cringing, praising its chipper host and the deadpan tech-humping premise.

    the only thing I truly am able to enjoy watching of my own stuff when I look back is called We're Going to Make Technology Hump.

19. Mike's Juggalo visit

    1:04:07

    Mike and friend Brad Morris went to a Juggalo gathering dressed in khakis and golf shirts, where a representative led them to a warehouse of Insane Clown Posse merchandise.

    I went with my friend Brad Morris and it was horrifying.

20. AP Bio and the MacGruber premiere

    1:06:07

    The MacGruber premiere came the week after AP Bio was canceled by Peacock, and the event included helicopters, a tank, and waiters dressed as MacGruber.

    AP Bio had just been canceled from Peacock after four seasons.

21. Hero Song as Criterion pick

    1:08:51

    Mike names Hero Song as a favorite he revisited, noting its one long move and how Andy's wig reveals he has money.

    Hero Song was my favorite for like a year.
    Criterion

22. I Wish It Would Rain previewed

    1:10:47

    Seth says he will get to I Wish It Would Rain and keeps foreshadowing it, calling it the best thing he has ever heard.

    the first time I heard... I Wish It Would Rain, which we're going to get to, and I keep foreshadowing.