Laser Cats 5

Pop-ups (29 · 6 fan picks from YouTube comments)

1. Weaver asks for laser cat in the pitch room

   4:07

   According to the hosts, Sigourney Weaver rejected a pitch and asked 'no laser cats?', which turned a weak idea into the Laser Cats sketch. The story is told from memory and the speakers disagree on details.

   I pitched something else. And then she went, what, no laser cats?

2. Bill Hader's recall of Cameron visit

   6:40

   Bill Hader recalls Cameron and producer John Landau visiting the set and Cameron saying he set out to change movies and did.

   And he said, well, we set out to change movies and we did.

3. Elton John stops Benny and the Jets table read

   10:51

   Elton John was asked to perform parody songs written for him, including a rewritten Benny and the Jets about the Mets, and he stopped the table read partway through.

   And he stopped it. It was it was barely at the table because he stopped it.

4. Fans point here

   13:42

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 15 likes.

   Jorm fell off a ladder. Grandma, listen to this. I guarantee you, Grandma, listen to this podcast. We're not going to be talking about you. Jorm literally took a handful of pills right as this began as well. I'm fine,…

5. Avatar chamber sketch with Andy and Bill

   15:59

   A sketch the hosts co-wrote in which Andy played a Na'vi and Bill played a guy in an avatar pod, with the pod scenes cutting back to the other character.

   Yeah, you were the Na'vi, Andy.

6. Fans point here

   19:34

   1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 19 likes.

   Ripley. We didn't know. Try to be more original. Oh, now you want me to just be the Ghostbusters? Get the fuck out of here. Yeah, that's her vibe for sure. I don't want to be Terminator. She's great across the breadth…

7. Ripley 'believe it or not' joke

   31:58

   A Ripley-themed 'Believe it or not' gag in the sketch that the hosts find particularly brutal, and they debate whether it needed a wink to work.

   A Ripley's believe it or not joke is brutal.

8. Avatar's neural-tube visual mimicked by toilet flush

   36:36

   The toilet flush in the sketch is a parody of the visual used when a character becomes an Avatar in the film, with the hosts noting the swirling effect.

   Is there, in the original Avatar, is there some sort of visual, a swirling visual when he becomes an Avatar

9. Fans point here

   38:49

   2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 7 likes.

   Make the connection. You better believe I was the one who wanted to make the connection. he's using the power of nature teeth all for one shot

10. Laser Cats 5 voice note arrives

    42:19

    The hosts open the Chrysler voice note segment, a listener-style voice message from the Laser Cats 5 production. The note sets up the cheerfully unhinged James Cameron impression that follows.

    We have a voice note from Chrysler. Shall we all listen? Yeah, let's listen to the Chrysler voice note.

11. Fans point here

    42:25

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 19 likes.

    Oh, I hope it's as cocky as James Cameron is. James Cameron being confident, that's not what you'd think, huh? Yeah, I thought he was going to be like, are you sure? Can I stand you? Oh, I don't know. Should I say it… — Jorma

12. Fans point here

    43:30

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 13 likes.

    So we had to shoot each shot, pause it, shoot the next shot. So the dialogue had to go over it. And there's this shot in here where Sigourney is saying to Bill Hader, like, got to get over it he didn't make it and it…

13. Andy's late-night voice note request

    45:14

    Andy explains he texted for the voice note the night before because Akiva wanted Laser Cats represented, even though he wasn't present. It's a small glimpse into how the duo scrambled the episode together.

    i texted him at like 11 p.m last night i think he recorded and did that and i only did it because akiva was like laser cats tomorrow

14. Laser Cats VFX was brutal

    47:36

    Jorma recalls that the Spielberg one was the hardest week of his life, and the VFX on Laser Cats still needed an effect for every shot even though it was meant to look bad. The bit is a reminder of how much work the cheap look required.

    Even though you're making it look bad, you still have to do an effect for every single one of those shots.

15. Keenan's one-sided phone sketch

    49:10

    Seth introduces Keenan's Disco Booty Junction bit, where the audience only hears Keenan's lines while he talks to someone offstage. It's a trick the hosts still admire.

    it's this move Keenan does where he just has a conversation with somebody off camera, but you only hear Keenan's lines.

16. Kenan's brutal Sarah Palin closer

    50:36

    The hosts recall a dying Sarah Palin sketch in which Kenan has to deliver a painful final line, and the cast all silently knew it was failing. Kenan's resigned smile became a lasting SNL memory.

    and keenan has to say he allowed me to be raped and then we looked over at keenan and keenan was also thinking it

17. Seth's SNL return night

    56:40

    Seth describes returning to the 30 Rock SNL hallway as a host, comparing it to an office above a nightclub during the week. It's a nostalgic beat about how the space changes on Saturdays.

    It's like I have an office above a nightclub, like, during the week.

18. Going back to SNL like a ghost

    57:36

    Seth quotes Polar comparing a return to SNL to being a ghost in a house you used to live in. It captures the mixed feeling of watching the show run without you.

    Polar said once, going back to SNL after your office is like being a ghost in a house you used to live in.

19. Higgins' office after-party tradition

    58:40

    After the show, the hosts gather in Higgins' office, the old SNL writers' hangout. It's a long-running tradition connected to the Office 9 crowd.

    it was so fun to go back in Higgins' office, which is where I would have gone after Update back in the day.

20. Higgins writes Fang rebuttals

    59:17

    Seth says Higgins once wrote rebuttal jokes for Fang, Phyllis Diller's husband, because he felt Fang was treated unfairly on stage. It's the sort of Office 9 anecdote the hosts love to repeat.

    He would write rebuttal jokes for Fang because he felt like he was treated unfairly in Phyllis Diller's stand-up.

21. Quado costume in the wild

    1:06:45

    A listener reports seeing a Quado costume on a run, only to realize it was a dad carrying an infant. The moment is the podcast's favorite joke about how the show has changed how Quaids see the world.

    On my run this morning, I saw a dude rocking a Quado costume.
    quado

22. ESPN Classic darts sketch

    1:07:56

    Seth shares a clip from the ESPN Classic: Ladies' Darts sketch, with the Summer's Eve sponsor bit landing as a crude punchline. The hosts praise the escalating awkwardness of the commentary.

    Quick shout-out to our sponsor this evening, Summer's Eve Feminine Hygiene Products.

23. Larry the Goose returns

    1:08:53

    Andy returns as Larry the Goose a year after the Miracle on the Hudson, reading the names of fallen geese. The bit is a callback to the goose from Weekend Update.

    You came back on as Larry the Goose a year after the miracle on the Hudson.

24. Weird Al parody album credit

    1:10:22

    The hosts riff on a Weird Al parody album credited to Jost and Kenward, noting that Bernie Taupin gets a credit even though the lyrics were the only thing that didn't survive. It's an odd bit of musical credit trivia.

    The names on it were Jost Kenward and Bernie Taupin.

25. Avatar: Way of Water at 48fps

    1:11:29

    Akiva describes getting into a special theater that screened the film at 48 frames per second, the frame rate James Cameron used to make the image look different. It's a rare behind-the-scenes detour for the cinephiles.

    We went to a special theater that is the one that James would go to check the DCPs to make sure it played right.

26. Why 48 frames per second

    1:12:01

    Akiva explains that 48fps removes motion blur, which strips away the movie magic that 24fps keeps. It's a technical aside that helps explain why the image looks so strange to many viewers.

    in general, 48 frames takes away all movie magic.

27. Quaid Army gets a salute

    1:13:40

    A listener shouts Quaid Army at a passerby and gets a military-style nod, which becomes a running debate about the perfect Quaid Army response. The hosts treat it as a sign the bit has reached the public.

    One detail here is not in the transcript.

    I wanted to walk out and then peek my head into this.
    Quaid Armyrighteous kill

28. VistaVision explained

    1:17:31

    Akiva breaks down VistaVision, a horizontal-run film format from the 1950s and 60s, and notes that One Battle After Another was shot in it. It's the hosts' favorite technical digression of the episode.

    it's a dead format from the 50s and 60s, and maybe even earlier, I don't know, of film.

29. Seth bails on the spelling bee

    1:17:59

    Seth announces he has bailed on the NYT Spelling Bee, and the hosts react with mock disbelief. The moment ties the puzzle to the group's running word-game habits.

    Seth, I bailed. Really? Yep. All right.

30. The suit or no suit debate

    1:19:56

    Akiva wonders whether Seth should return to suits on Late Night after seeing him casual, and Seth says every other late-night host wears one. The bit turns into a debate about dressing for the genre.

    maybe now with all the noise and all the podcasts that look almost like talk shows at this point, there's almost no difference

31. Leave it shaggy

    1:21:26

    The hosts reference the Quaids' call to keep the episode shaggy, a standing request for unedited rambling. It's the podcast's own shorthand for embracing tangents.

    The Quades always say, leave it shaggy. Leave it shaggy.

32. Quaid Army in the wild

    1:22:08

    Akiva and Andy recount a Quaid Army shout from a stranger at breakfast and the subtle salute that followed. The moment shows how the greeting has spread beyond the studio.

    and then i was like oh fuck i gotta say so he was already like 10 steps away by the time i went right just go
    Quaid Army

33. Fans point here

    1:28:00

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 104 likes.

    I think everybody was genuinely so happy. Like, by the way, he was, like, the only guest who was ever like, I'll play. Yeah. You know? Guys, we're at an hour 41. So that's your way of saying what's wrong with you,… — Seth

34. Wrinkles, the anti-press

    1:28:16

    Seth coins wrinkles as the opposite of press, meaning a promotional appearance that happens because you genuinely hang out on the podcast. It is the episode's closing joke and a new term for Quaids to remember.

    We have to come up with a word the opposite of press.
    wrinkles

35. Wrinkles, the anti-press

    1:28:19

    Wrinkles is the proposed opposite of press, a promotional appearance that happens on the podcast instead of on TV. The hosts jokingly apply it to PTA.

    Is it like wrinkles? Yeah. Wrinkles. Done. You did it. Does PTA want to do wrinkles?
    wrinkles