Doppleganger

Pop-ups (22 · 4 fan picks from YouTube comments)

1. Doppelganger's ending invented for SNL

   2:21

   The guys guess the ending was written specifically for the SNL submission, and the sketch may have started life as material for a failed Fox sketch pilot called Awesome Town.

   I think we invented the ending for SNL.

2. Doppelganger born from a Fox pilot

   2:31

   The trio say Doppelganger was written for Awesome Town, a planned pre-SNL Fox sketch show, and kept in their back pocket until SNL submissions.

   I think we wrote it for Awesome Town, to be honest, when we thought we might have a sketch show at Fox pre-SNL.

3. Fans point here

   2:32

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 4 likes.

   I think we wrote it for Awesome Town, to be honest, when we thought we might have a sketch show at Fox pre-SNL. Oh, that's right. And that's why we had it in our back pocket. When they asked us to submit for SNL, we… — Akiva

4. Names swapped for the submission packet

   2:51

   The original characters were named after Keevan and Yoram; the names were changed to Seth and Will Forte when the sketch was adapted for the submission package.

   changing the names from Keevan Yoram to Seth and Will Forte.

5. Let's go, Bozo closer

   3:31

   Seth's final line, 'Let's go, Bozo,' was added on set and became the guys' favorite part of the sketch.

   you have the last line of the whole thing, which you added on set and is my favorite part.

6. The wall tap is legendary

   3:59

   Akiva calls Seth's wall tap possibly the best performance in the piece, and it has become a fan favorite moment that the cast still discuss.

   your performance in that moment might be the best performance in the whole piece.

7. Joey and sandwiches

   6:41

   Andy's sandwich love is compared to Joey from Friends, who is known as a food-loving character; the group admits they know little about Friends beyond that.

   Joey from Prince. Is that a Joey thing?

8. Jeremy Irons' Dead Ringers

   8:49

   Seth likens the doppelganger premise to Jeremy Irons' dual role in the film Dead Ringers.

   It was classic Jeremy Irons, Dead Ringers.

9. Fans point here

   8:57

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 66 likes.

   Or if I was going to quote Magnus MacLeod, I'd say, simple sketch, limited budget, perfect execution. Damn. Well, who's Magnus MacLeod? The second comment on YouTube. Ha ha! God damn it. If you were to quote. — Akiva

10. Magnus MacLeod YouTube quote

    8:59

    Akiva quotes a three-year-old YouTube comment from Magnus MacLeod, a running gag about reading fan comments aloud on the show.

    simple sketch, limited budget, perfect execution.

11. Kraftwerk comparison

    9:49

    A recent YouTube commenter says Will Forte's lookalike resembles a member of the band Kraftwerk, and the group agrees.

    Will Forte's doppelganger is one of the guys in Kraftwerk

12. Quaddo tease

    11:37

    Andy jokes that a third doppelganger reveal would not have surprised anyone, and Seth promises future episodes will go hard at Quaddo comedy.

    If there was a late reveal that it was actually a quaddo, no one would have been surprised.
    quado

13. Wish It Would Rain

    14:25

    Andy says the only regret is not airing the super long version of Wish It Would Rain, which the group plans to revisit later.

    we should have stuck to our guns and aired the super long version.

14. Lorne's cutting standards

    14:50

    Seth explains that early on the rule was simple: good sketches aired and bad ones were cut, but later Lorne became reluctant to cut digital shorts because they were so valuable.

    Lorne was very loath to cut them.

15. Handlebar and Lobster Claw

    16:24

    Seth's cut sketch parodies 70s cop shows with Seth as a handlebar-mustached cop and Andy as a cop with lobster claws, with Antonio Banderas as host.

    I play Handelbar. I got a Handelbar mustache. Andy plays Lobster Claw.

16. MacGruber reuses the explosions

    17:59

    Seth notes the stock explosion footage from the cut sketch later showed up in MacGruber sketches.

    I think every single one of them made it into MacGruber sketches.

17. Mustache droop

    18:24

    During the shoot, Seth's handlebar mustache begins drooping on one side, a visible flaw that the group jokes was the mustache trying to escape the sketch.

    my handlebar mustache just starts to droop.

18. Seven dress rehearsals

    19:21

    Handlebar and Lobster Claw went to dress rehearsal seven times before being cut, which Seth says is why he assumed it aired.

    But it went to dress seven times.

19. DVD commentary pitch

    20:15

    Seth proposed reworking the failed short as a fake DVD menu with commentary, an idea the group liked but never wrote.

    You pitched at one point that what we should do is graphically make a DVD menu

20. Fans point here

    25:05

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 183 likes.

    Only in the edit bay and on the rough streets of Manhattan. Oh, boy. Just kidding. Giuliani cleaned all that shit up. Am I right, guys? We all agree. Oh, geez. And he remained the best. America's mayor. It's funny to… — Andy

21. A-holes at a travel agency: a early recurring sketch

    30:32

    The A-holes travel agency sketch is one of the earliest recurring bits from this era. The hosts note it was partly based on Keeve and Liz, whom Sudeikis observed, and the two of them began calling each other 'assholes' as a joke.

    A-holes at a travel agency. I think that might have been one of the first A-holes.

22. Fans point here

    32:29

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 183 likes.

    It would be tight, though, I think, if we started just saying that. Just beefing with other SNL podcasts? There's clearly no argument to be made for any era except the first one, right? Yeah, that's correct. To say… — Andy

23. Mindy Kaling guest writes SNL

    33:53

    Mindy Kaling guest-wrote on SNL while on The Office. She wrote a Chad Michael Murray weekend update feature with Will Forte.

    She was on The Office, and she came and guest wrote on SNL.

24. Michael Che's full-time promotion story

    34:02

    Michael Che was the only guest writer who became a full-time SNL writer. Seth recounts a mix-up where Che learned of his promotion late, after Seth had assumed the news was delivered.

    But Michael Che was the only guest writer who then became, I think, a full-time writer.

25. Unaired Meet the Press Beetlejuice cold open

    40:11

    Andy Samberg and Rob Klein wrote a Meet the Press cold open with Beetlejuice as guest host, Alec Baldwin in the role of Barney Frank. It played well at the table but never aired.

    So one day we're at the table read and there is Meet the Press at the time hosted by Tim Russert.

26. Mondo Butts: a near-miss sketch

    42:15

    Mondo Butts went to dress twice and the team spent a lot of time trying to fix it, but it never aired. The hosts joke that the phrase would otherwise be part of world lexicon.

    Mondo Butts we thought was going to go.