Since its debut in 1975, Saturday Night Live has been serving us iconic jokes and moments that leave us looking back on them for years to come. With over 50 seasons worth of content, there are certainly sketches that have been major flops, ones that don’t quite stick with the audience and are never brought up again. But there have also been ones that become so popular and significant that they have even generated their own spin-offs. Here’s five of the most significant sketches and characters in SNL history.
Hon. Mention: Mary Katherine Gallagher
After making her first appearance in October of 1995, Mary Katherine Gallagher quickly became a fan-favorite on SNL. The character was created and played by comedian Molly Shannon, who had only become a cast member shortly before debuting her creation. Gallagher is a Catholic school girl in her early high school years, Shannon drew inspiration from own style of humor and much physical comedy when developing the character. She is most widely known for her tendency to exclaim the word “superstar” and strike an awkward pose, usually after a big scene. Her first sketch was in Season 21, titled “St. Monica’s High School Talent Auditions,” depicting the school’s search for participants in their upcoming talent show. At the start of the audition, we see her displaying nervous behavior when introducing herself, but after calming herself down, she jumps right into her material. She delivers a full monologue, hits her signature pose, and attempts to sing a song before being stopped by the pastor that is holding the audition. She then attempts to display her skill in gymnastics but slips and falls into a pile of folding chairs. She gets up, seemingly un-phased and attempts to go on, before the pastor tells her to leave, which she does. The reason so many people adore Mary Katherine Gallagher is because she is a girl who, despite her social anxiety and nervous habits, is determined to become a superstar. She believes in herself and is willing to display her talent and over-dramatic personality, which is what still makes her a fan favorite after all these years. Her popularity led to her receiving her own spin-off film, Superstar, which premiered in 1999. The movie features Shannon, reprising her role as Gallagher, while she attends Catholic school and attempts to fulfill her dreams of becoming a superstar. While the movie didn’t do too well in the box office, it fully cemented Molly Shannon as an SNL legend.
Wayne’s World
Debuting in 1988, the “Wayne’s World” sketches followed two best friends, Wayne Campbell, portrayed by Mike Myers, and Garth Algar portrayed by Dana Carvey. The two had a talk show that they ran out of their basement where they would invite guests on or answer phone calls. The first sketch, aired in season 14, featured the owner of a convenience store as a guest, and they questioned him on why he had moved the drink cooler to the front of the store. When he implied it was because they had been stealing drinks out of it, they brushed him off and instead started insulting his appearance, and Wayne even listed his “top ten quotes” which were mostly fake things made up to make themselves look good. Their humor was fun and relatable, and many saw them as the perfect comedic duo, which soon made them SNL regulars. They would go on to have nineteen full length sketches, multiple cameo spots, and become immensely popular. They are known for their iconic catchphrases like “party on,” and “excellent,” and they eventually went on to have their own feature film, which was such a major box office success that it earned them a sequel. Most people saw them as down to earth guys instead of the usually over-dramatic SNL characters, which is why so many gravitated towards Wayne and Garth and why fans always wanted more from them.
Celebrity Jeopardy!
Debuting in 1992, the real Celebrity Jeopardy was beloved by many viewers of the regular show. They enjoyed seeing their favorite actors or musical artists answer random questions and seeing if they really had what it takes to win the famous trivia show. So when SNL first parodied it just a few years later for their 22nd season, it’s no shock that it was a hit. They featured various cast members and hosts parodying popular celebrities like Jeff Goldblum, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Winona Ryder, Martha Stewart, and even newer celebrities like Justin Bieber in the later era. Most sketches featured Will Ferrell as host Alex Trebek, and showed him asking his “celebrity” guests simple questions and receiving outrageous answers. Fans enjoyed this because of its simple concept, which made it feel effortlessly funny. There were more than ten sketches over the late 90s, but the run essentially ended when Ferrell left the show in 2002. Due to its popularity, the sketch has made a few returns over the years, and we will definitely be seeing more of it in the years to come.
“More Cowbell”
While this may be the only sketch on the list that only appeared once, it does not change the fact that it had a huge impact on SNL fans. Debuting in 2000 as a part of season 25, the sketch was inspired by behind the scenes documentaries of bands, and showed the band Blue Oyster Cult as they recorded their hit song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” Their producer, portrayed by Christoper Walken, has not been happy with their recordings and keeps demanding they need more cowbell, even saying “I got a fever…and the only prescription is more cowbell!” The cowbell player, portrayed by Will Ferrell, gets increasingly more enthusiastic and eventually overpowers the rest of the band. While the band members have an issue with this, the producer keeps insisting on more cowbell, leading Ferrell to thrash around like a madman, which earned roars of laughter from the audience. For an idea that was so out there and only had one full length appearance on the show, it became beloved by fans and iconic in SNL history. Although Will Ferrell made cameos as this character throughout the rest of his time there (sometimes during musical performances), we never saw another full skit of him. And even though we never got another full sketch, the character is beloved by most longtime fans of the show.
Debbie Downer
The character Debbie Downer first appeared in 2004, as a part of season 29, with Rachel Dratch starring as the pessimistic main character. Her quirky trait was ruining normal conversations by bringing up sad facts about her own life. The first sketch featured a group of friends enjoying a sunny day in Disney World, when Debbie feels the need to share her own personal information, unintentionally bringing the mood down. Most of the jokes would start by Debbie interrupting a conversation, sharing a sad fact about terrorism, feline AIDS, economic collapse, and more, then stare directly into the camera as a sad trombone sound played. Most of the other actors involved in her scenes could not contain their composure, due to the sheer fact that Dratch perfectly embodied her character, making it that much funnier. Debbie Downer would return for five more full length sketches, including a special anniversary addition, leading her to become one of the most iconic characters to come out of the show.
Domingo
While this sketch may be fairly new compared to the rest of the list, it was certainly necessary when talking about significant events in SNL history. Arguably the most popular character of the new SNL era, Domingo made his first appearance in season 50 and was portrayed by relatively new cast member, Marcello Hernández. His debut sketch is often referred to as “Bridesmaid Speech,” and shows the wedding of long-term couple Matt and Kelsey. Instead of your typical wedding speech, their maid of honor, portrayed by Ariana Grande sings a song with Heidi Gardner, Sarah Sherman, and Ego Nwodim portraying bridesmaids. The lyrics are set to the tune of “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, and depicts their bachelorette trip where Kesley apparently has an affair with a mystery man named Domingo. Matt gets increasingly angrier as the song goes on and even asks them to stop singing about this betrayal, just when Domingo arrives, exclaiming “came all this way, had to explain, direct from Domingo!” The catchy lyrics and perfect comedic timing of the sketch made it an instant hit, leaving the internet talking about it for days. The cast attempted to recreate the magic with a Matt and Kelsey’s baby shower sketch, this time featuring singer Charli XCX and set to the tune of “HOTTOGO” by Chappell Roan, but fans didn’t appreciate it. They then introduced another sketch, featuring Sabrina Carpenter, with songs “Fate of Ophelia,” “Abracadabra,” and “Ordinary,” which received a similar reaction. Fans claimed the joke was being dragged and they should have just let the skit stand on its own. Producers made the decision to bring Domingo back one more time for the SNL 50th anniversary special, and it was a hit with audiences and critics alike. This one was titled “Vow Renewal” and starred former SNL cast members like Molly Shannon, Martin Short, Andy Samberg, and Kyle Mooney, who sang hits like “Defying Gravity” and “You Belong With Me,” and introduced new characters like Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny as Domingo’s brothers. It’s safe to say that fans will remember Domingo for years to come, and this definitely won’t be the last we see of him.
What’s Next
SNL has been going strong for over fifty years, showing no signs of stopping, no real end in sight. I for one can’t wait to see new characters, sketches, cast members, and memories that come out of the next season.