Saturday Night Live has been around as long as many of us have been alive. They just wrapped up their 49th season.

Saturday Night Live Begins Season 50 This Year

Since the beginning of time, entertainers have been doing what Saturday Night Live does. Parodying, and poking fun at current and topical subjects, people, and politics. You can say SNL has changed, or you don’t like the political stuff, or it’s not as funny as it used to be, but the one thing you can’t say is that it was short-lived.

There may not be the consistent memorable, or catchphrase type sketches there once was – The Coneheads, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Two wild and crazy guys, and cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger! But there were definitely a few that will go in the books from this past 49th season.

Saturday Night Live Gave Us Sketches That Have Made History

Saturday Night Live has given us some of the funniest, and most memorable sketches, that will literally go down in the history books. This past season featured one that will definitely go down in the books. The Ryan Gosling featured Beavis and Butthead Sketch.

The randomness, and ridiculousness of the sketch was funny to begin with. But when Heidi Gardner completely loses it, like the viewer has been doing all along – absolutely hilarious!!

As we know from the great Carol Burnett Show, when people break character, and into laugher, it really is that funny! Tim Conway and Harvey Korman breaking character, and breaking into laughter was absolutely priceless. And even comedians are human, and they laugh at what is funny – even when they are in it.

Another Saturday Night Live sketch that was great this season was the ABBA sketch. So damn funny – and so damn real. The great thing about good satire is that it’s just slightly over exaggerated reality. And they nailed that in this sketch, and they nailed the essence of ABBA.

Say what you will about how Saturday Night Live has changed, or evolved over time, but one thing is certain: Saturday Nights will NOT be the same if there is no Saturday Night Live. How lucky we have been to have it around for so long, because it is truly iconic.

Here are some of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches of all time. In no particular order, because that’s just too hard. Believe me, I have more favorites, and Ill save them for another list. But to me, these are classics. And they left us with catch phrases, images, and laughter, that will last us a lifetime!

• 1. Close Encounter

  There have been so many funny female players on SNL, and Kate McKinnon is definitely one of them. It’s hard to watch a lot of what she does without just losing it yourself. I swear, when McKinnon sees other cast members ready to break, she just makes it happen! Here’s the alien abduction. 

• 2. Matt Foley And The Van Down By the River

  Matt Foley was a motivational speaker that Chris Farley brought to life. A very young David Spade could barely hold it together at one point. Christina Applegate played it well, but she was right there with Spade. 

• 3. Mom Jeans

  Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Poehler are hilariously serious showing off their mom jeans in a fake commercial for  them. It’s absolutely perfect, and perfectly funny! 

• 4. Two Wild And Crazy Guys

  Yes, probably a little dated, and not PC. But the firs time Dan Ackroyd, and Steve Martin did this, the whole country was doing it! “We are two wild and crazy guys” became a huge catch phrase in the 70’s and early 80’s. The characters were just plain funny! 

• 5. More Cowbell

  Will Ferrell steals it when “Blue Oyster Cult” is in the studio recording ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper.’ What does the song need? More cowbell, obviously!

• 6. Stefon

  Stefon was a – I don’t even know – a New York hipster influencer? He was played by Bill Hader flawlessly! Cast members say his weekend update hosts (Seth Meyers in this one) didn’t read the cue cards before doing the bit, so it was always a surprise to them! 

• 7. The Coneheads

  The Coneheads are probably some of the most iconic characters to ever emerge from SNL. And it happened early on. The Coneheads went on to do movies as well. Anyone who watched SNL early on, will never forget the Conehead family. With good reason! 

• 8. Sally O'Malley

  Good God, was Molly Shannon hilarious in this! She’s a 50 – FIFTY – year old woman, trying out for the Radio City Rockettes. Just TRY not to laugh out loud while watching this! 

• 9. Today Show

  Kristen Wiig is precisely one of those funny women I keep talking about. She’s pretty damn flawless when it comes to comedy.

• 10. Dana Carvey as George H. W. Bush

  Dana Carvey did a great parody of George H.W. Bush. So great, that the President himself loved it! It became very popular, and the masses love it. “Wouldn’t be prudent.” That’s where the catchphrase came from. Classic!

• 11. Gilda Radner and Roseanne Roseannadanna

  Gilda Radner was a true original, and an absolute treasure to TV, comedy, and the world.  Roseanne Roseannadanna was actually based on Rose Ann Scamardella, who was an anchor on WABC. While answering questions that were supposedly written in, Roseannadanna would always digress, and go into a long story that had nothing to do with the original story. It was funny, and infectious. 

• 12. Weekend Update: Point Counterpoint

  Weekend Update started way back in the early days of SNL. And it featured a segment called “point/counterpoint.” It was a heated exchange between Jane Curtain and Dan Ackroyd. With Ackroyd always starting his segment the same way: “Jane, you ignorant sl**.” Again, probably wouldn’t fly these days. But decades ago, it was fresh, new comedy.

• 13. Chippendales Audition

  Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze are comedy GOLD in this sketch! Farley plays it SO incredibly straight, and so does Patrick Swayze. How they actually got through this is beyond me, or anyone else.  In the documentary I Am Chris Farley, comedian Tom Arnold said that, in the days leading up to the Swayze show, and the segment, Chris Farley had reservations about doing the sketch, because of embarrassment of playing the “fat guy.” Understandable now, with good reason. nonetheless, it remains one of the most iconic SNL sketches of all time.

• 14. Olympia Cafe - Cheeseburger, Pepsi

  the Olympia Cafe. The skit was inspired by a place John Belushi actually used to frequent. It was funny from the get go, but the punchline is the best.  When someone orders something they don’t have – eggs, for example – NO! “Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, no Coke, Pepsi!” Forever memorable!

• 15. The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With At A Party

  Cecily Strong did such a great job as that girl you did NOT want to run into at a party. This was actually one of her first legit sketches, and it was just a perfect blend of everything funny. Not to mention Seth Meyers as the straight man. He was great. But Cecily Strong – another one of the brilliantly funny SNL females!

• 16. Steve Martin and Gilda Radner Dance

  Truth be told, this is one of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches EVER. A truly classic piece of work from SNL, Gilda Radner, and Steve Martin. Slapstick, silliness – and grace. You actually have to be pretty graceful to pull off not graceful. Gilda and Steve were flawless in this sketch, and it is an all time classic. I saw this in 1978, when it was done live on the show. I was very young, but I remember laughing so damn hard, and also being very moved by it. the improvised most of it. Gilda Radner was pure genius, and Steve Martin as well. They definitely knew what they were doing putting these two together.

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