The SNL 50th Recap

Pop-ups (34 · 2 fan picks from YouTube comments)

1. Bobby and Marty at Radio City

   4:29

   Seth calls Bobby and Marty's Radio City performance the highlight of the many highlights, praising the way it took over the room.

   Bobby and Marty crushing at Radio City was something to see.

2. Emily Spivey's signature groan

   5:12

   Jorma says he may have picked up a reaction sound from Emily Spivey, who makes an 'ugh' noise when a joke is funny enough.

   Spivey, I feel like does this occasionally where if something's funny enough, she makes this kind of like, ugh, sound.

3. Paula Pell wrote Bobby and Marty's medley

   7:26

   Seth notes that the medley, which felt perfectly modern, was written by Paula Pell, making it harder to pull off than it looked.

   And then we know it's Paula Pell.

4. Lady Gaga duet nearly didn't happen

   9:31

   Andy explains the duet was originally meant for other musicians, but Lady Gaga agreed to join him, and he realized late he'd be singing a duet with her.

   she said she wanted to do it with me right and i was like, well i'll do whatever she wants

5. Eddie Vedder as Jack Sparrow

   10:09

   Andy calls the appearance of Bad Bunny, T-Pain, and Eddie Vedder as Jack Sparrow killer, a standout moment of the medley.

   Fucking Bad Bunny, T-Pain, and Eddie Vedder as Jack Sparrow was like... That was fucking killer.

6. P-Rig from the Golden Globes

   11:46

   Seth jokes that the P-Rig from the Globes was like Dumbo's feather, something you didn't need to fly.

   the P-Rig was sort of Dumbo's feather.

7. Chris Parnell's Lazy Sunday rehearsal

   12:28

   Andy says Parnell rehearsed Lazy Sunday more conversationally, so Andy and Jorma asked him to go back to the angrier Britney rap approach.

   But he was doing Lazy Sunday a little more like conversationally.

8. Explaining Screaming Mustard to Parnell

   12:52

   Andy recalls explaining the Screaming Mustard meme to Chris Parnell, who had not seen the Super Bowl halftime show.

   one of my favorite moments of the entire 50th was explaining to Chris Parnell what Screaming Mustard was.

9. Bonnie Raitt was the coolest

   14:23

   Seth and Andy both met Bonnie Raitt and call her the coolest celebrity they met at the 50th.

   Andy and I both met Bonnie Raitt, and it was exceptional.

10. Chris Martin's throat elixir

    15:50

    Seth recounts Chris Martin giving him throat drops when he lost his voice, nicknamed a Coldplay elixir.

    He literally pulled out like drops he puts in his throat.

11. Jupiter Ascending joke

    16:06

    Andy jokes that the elixir might be what Eddie Redmayne's character harvests in Jupiter Ascending, leading to a bit about watching the whole film.

    What do you think the over under is that the thing he gave you is the stuff that Eddie Redmayne's character in Jupiter Ascending is harvesting?

12. Fans point here

    16:15

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 84 likes.

    I mean, obviously, I want it to be that. Yeah. And would you spritz it and go, Jupe! I'm definitely wondering at this point how many people paused the pod to go Google Jupiter Ascending. No, to watch Jupiter Ascending.…

13. Hot Plate story from Jorma's grandmother

    18:19

    Jorma recounts that his grandmother tried to stay up for the shorts and fell asleep during one, calling Cold Plate 'Hot Plate.' Not a formal bit, but a fan-favorite family anecdote.

    I tried to stay up for the short, but then I fell asleep during hot plate.

14. Backstreet Boys bathroom mishap

    19:40

    Andy tells how a Backstreet Boys member politely held the bathroom while Andy rushed out, and he worried the singer thought he was rude.

    And one of the Backstreet Boys was about to go into the bathroom.

15. Robin and David Byrne dance

    20:46

    Jorma says Robin and David Byrne taught him how to dad dance, and Andy adds they played two of his favorite songs ever.

    Robin and David Byrne, that taught me how to dad dance.

16. Billy Crystal on the anxiety short

    25:20

    Andy says Billy Crystal was gracious about the Domingo sketch and admitted to feeling some anxiety when he was on SNL.

    And he was like, yeah, a little.

17. Season with the most first-time sketches

    25:46

    Andy suggests the season with Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal may be one of the most quotable ever, listing sketches like Marvelous and Jackie Rogers.

    I think that season might be one of, if not the most quotable seasons of SNL ever.

18. Lauren's inconvenient toast exit

    27:08

    Seth recalls Lorne Michaels leaving his own toast early because there was a show tomorrow, which he calls the dream Lauren toast.

    Lauren always wants to be toasted as an inconvenience to the work.

19. Table read was the last time

    28:33

    Seth realized the table read the week before was the last time for the crew before the 50th, mostly writers.

    When it was over, I realized, oh, this was the last time.

20. Scared Straight: sketch praised as a pinnacle

    31:59

    Will Forte and Eddie Murphy in Scared Straight were singled out as loose and killing, with a single-file lens buzz that stuck with the hosts.

    Seth: And then Scared Straight, you know, that in a night where it takes a second to parse everything that is going on, the fact that Will and Eddie were in a sketch together.

21. Goulet ringtone from the friend group

    33:11

    Andy says the Goulet material was beloved in his friend group, and he downloaded the ringtone to put on his flip phone.

    Andy: And I went on the internet somehow and downloaded the ringtone and made it my ringtone on my flip phone.

22. Fans point here

    34:00

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 5 likes.

    Kyle able to sing in his character, like, just kidding, Kyle. Your marriage is healthy. You're just like, oh, God, so weird. And Beck was so aggressive. Yeah, truly. The two of them together also, it was that sweet… — Andy

23. Black Jeopardy as a great sketch

    35:14

    Black Jeopardy, written by Brian Tucker and Michael Che, is called one of the great sketches in the show's history, with Eddie Murphy's Tracy Morgan impression praised.

    Seth: Black Jeopardy, which remains one of the great sketches in the history of the show.

24. Four cheese lasagna came from Eddie

    35:50

    Michael Che said the four-cheese lasagna line was improvised by Eddie Murphy as Tracy while Che transcribed.

    Seth: Che said that four cheese lasagna was something that Eddie just said.

25. Sandler's song hits the heart

    36:09

    Sandler's guitar song was described as sentimental and deeply funny without tipping into schmaltz, and it moved Andy to tears.

    Seth: But the idea that he comes out with a guitar and you sort of know it will be sentimental and deeply funny.

26. Rob Schneider and the long Sandler pause

    37:04

    During the commercial break Sandler walked out to a half-cheer, and Rob Schneider's line made the audience laugh hard as Sandler sat silent.

    Andy: You wouldn't have seen this at home because we were in commercial break. Sandler walks out.

27. John Lovitz heckles Seth from the audience

    37:49

    John Lovitz sat one seat from Seth and kept calling out to him as Seth walked past, drawing big laughs.

    Seth: The person who made me laugh the hardest in between the commercial breaks was John Lovitz was one seat away from me.

28. A possible last great showbiz party

    40:56

    Seth suggests the 50th after-party may be the last great showbiz party, a massive sprawling event with rooms Andy never saw.

    Seth: I'm going to say it might be the last great showbiz party.

29. Seth's Corner: Update desk memories

    43:48

    Seth calls the update desk pure joy and recalls the team that ran it in his era, as Fred and Vanessa come back to the desk.

    Seth: Oh, I do want to, because it was pure joy to be at the update desk.
    Seth's Corner

30. Jorma's boner question

    46:06

    Andy asks if the hosts got boners during features; Seth jokes that he always did when a feature worked, a classic on-air bit.

    One detail here is not in the transcript.

    Seth: Look, I already had one because I always got one when a feature was working.

31. Jorma's Jeremy Allen White bet

    47:38

    Jorma says he bet his wife he could look like Jeremy Allen White from a Calvin Klein shoot by year's end.

    Jorma: Well, I bet, Seth, I told this to Andy, but I bet my wife that I could look like Jeremy Allen White from his Calvin Klein photo shoot by the end of this year.
    jawb

32. In Memoriam montage was Higgins' brainchild

    49:27

    The In Memoriam montage was Steve Higgins' idea and the hosts found it fun to watch.

    Seth: And then the In Memoriam montage, which was Steve Higgins' brainchild, was so fun as well.

33. The medley was for the other studio

    49:41

    Andy says the medley played best in the other studio, where the biggest cheer went to Donna, since the room they were in was all hosts.

    Andy: I think, in retrospect, the one we made was more for the other studio room than the room we were even in.

34. Mike Diva's beat and the love letter

    52:58

    Andy says the beat from Dave Diva was built to be a love letter to everyone who ever worked at SNL, with the clapping crowd.

    One detail here is not in the transcript.

    Seth: I mean, it was a love letter to everyone who ever worked there. Love letters.

35. IBS joke connected with viewers

    53:12

    Andy says many people said they connected with the IBS joke in the medley, which he polled audiences about.

    Andy: A number of people that went out of their way to mention that they connected with the IBS joke.

36. Coal mine break was Akiva's

    53:30

    The coal mine break in the medley was written entirely by Akiva Schaffer, starting from a voice note Andy sent him.

    Andy: Coal mine break was all Akiva Schaffer.