Will Forte

Join us this week in the SNL Hall of Fame as we welcome Jon Schneider onto the podcast to discuss the one of kind, Will Forte. Will he be enshrined in the hall? Only you can decide.

Transcript:

Track 2:

[0:42] Hey, it's J.D. here, and I want to thank Doug DeNance for another lovely introduction.

Welcome to the SNL Hall of Fame podcast. As I mentioned off the top, I am your host, J.D.

I am joined by Matthew Ardill in the trivia corner, and of course, our chief librarian, Thomas Senna, will handle the conversation with John Schneider today. So that's really exciting.

But who are we going to cover? Well, before that, the SNL Hall of Fame podcast is a weekly affair where each episode we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest, or writer and add them to the ballot for your consideration.

Once the nominees have been announced, we turn to you, the listener, to vote for the most deserving and help determine who will be enshrined for perpetuity in the hall.

And that's how we play the game. It's just that simple.

May the 6th is the date you're going to want to circle on your calendar.

That is when voting opens in the SNL Hall of Fame, and we have one hell of a ballot.

There are some stakes here, as there are people that are on their fifth ballot that if they don't make it in, they will be removed from the ballot.

And that is as high stakes as it really gets here on the SNL Hall of Fame, except for that time that we had lava on the floor.

You bet your ass people wiped their feet then.

Track 2:

[2:10] Let's go to our friend, Matt Ardill. Matthew, my friend.

Track 3:

[2:13] How are you doing, JD? I'm great. I'm great. Thanks for asking. How about you?

I'm good. I'm great as well. Yeah. Yeah. I've got, I'm really excited.

I love Will Forte on so many levels.

I can't wait to share. Well, learn me up.

Okay. Well, Will Forte, 5'9", born June 17th, 1970. He has 132 acting credits, 26 writing credits, 20 soundtrack credits, and five producer credits.

He was born in Alameda County, California, and attended the University of California.

He was a member, and this shocked me.

He was a member of the varsity football team, varsity swim team. So he was a jock.

Track 3:

[2:57] That's not what I would have expected. Me neither. I want a picture of Theater Nerd. Yeah.

Exactly i would have imagined that as well but i mean it's that's just you know that's i guess us not seeing past the stereotype but uh yeah he went on to earn a history degree valuable lesson you just taught us matthew yeah let's do just because somebody plays sports doesn't mean they don't have the the love of theater in them that's right but yeah so thank you for that yeah not from but yeah got a degree in history from ucla and um then he realized his true love was comedy so he joined the groundlings he also tutored faye dunaway's 12 year old son in mathematics while he was in high school which is like that's just a weird i mean this is the weird connections you get living in california yeah i suppose so yeah yeah you know so it's just it i i don't know No, I feel like living in Canada, we don't get those wacky connections, but, um.

Track 3:

[3:59] At a young age, he went to see Tony Orlando, and Tony brought him and his friend up on the stage, and he encouraged them to follow their passions.

So much so, he wrote him and Tony a nice letter many years later.

What a class act. Yeah, yeah. And he, in fact, is a class act in multiple ways.

He is also a class act video game player. He is the 36th highest scorer in the world in Donkey Kong.

Long whoa yeah he watched the that fistful of quarters documentary and he's like i can do that and is now registered on twin galaxies as number 36 in the world that's brilliant that movie also very very good yes and it's not to go on a tangent you watch that fistful of quarters that the villain in that show is a total nut bar you can go down a rabbit hole all on its own as As well as an amazing video gamer, he is also a super sweet dude.

Rachel Dratch describes him and Seth Meyers as her comedy non-boyfriends, basically her comedy brothers.

She's remained incredibly close to them.

Track 3:

[5:12] But he's also remained close to other cast members.

He attended Andy Samberg and Seth Meyers' weddings, both in character as Hamilton.

Hamilton oh my gosh i would have paid good money just to see that i mean just a full character problem is a lot of their families don't know the character so all they know is there's a super racist weirdo walking around at the way which is the most will thing like that just is like yeah i that that that makes sense that makes sense um he collects life preservers and construction helmets he actually got his start uh as a published author he wrote 101 things definitely Definitely not to do if you want to get a check.

Track 3:

[6:12] It was a comic that he wrote at 24, which he parlayed into his first gig writing for the Jenny McCarthy show and then moving on to Letterman.

One of the weirder things that I read is at one point, Val Kilmer was trying to find a house in Malibu.

So he was just couch serving and will let him stay on his couch for a couple of months. And one night they were watching the amazing race and they thought that'd be awesome and wanted to go on the amazing race there.

Their agents ultimately stopped them.

Track 3:

[6:46] Uh, boo, those agents did not really do the right thing.

Uh, and then unfortunately time got away from them and it didn't happen.

Um, but yeah, just, and just to illustrate how amazing a dude he is.

Uh, he gave his entire per diem to the crew, uh, for MacGruber, which when he was filming the film MacGruber, he, uh, his mom visited the set on this, the naked celery scene, uh, shooting day.

So that must've been a little weird.

Um, you think, yeah, it's like, uh, but yeah.

So as a part of a fundraising event for boys and girls club of Venice, he auctioned off an opportunity to see, um, a early cut of MacGruber with him and Ryan Philippe, uh, before its premiere.

Um but he said if somebody paid a hundred thousand dollars he'd take them out for yogurt twice a year for the rest of his life thought it was a joke and someone called us bluff so now wow ever since the release of mcgruber he's been taking this person out twice a year for yogurt.

Track 3:

[8:00] Um oh that's they're gonna develop a friendship yeah yeah that i mean you don't you don't do that not actually start to like one another you would think you would explore it at least yeah yeah and and i mean in the ultimate expression of how good a duty is like a true gentleman when filming the last scene for the last man on earth he and kristen shaw had a sex scene after her character ate a can of beans and she let one rip like crazy and he took the bullet for it he claimed it was his so, Just a true gentleman all around. Wow. A gentleman of thoughts.

Track 3:

[8:47] Yes. Yes, indeed. Well, I think that I'm pretty excited that our guest today is the Grand Poobah over at the Saturday Night Network.

It's John Schneider, and he is joined right now downstairs with Thomas, so let's join them in conversation.

Track 4:

[9:40] All right, J.D. and Matt, thank you so much. Yes, welcome to another episode, another wonderful conversation with a great guest.

Welcome to the SNL Hall of Fame podcast.

And today we are talking about, this is a personal favorite of mine. This is a chance for me.

And my guests to just be total geeks. It's almost for me like when Sammy K and I did the Vanessa Bear episode last season.

That's like 14 for you and one for me kind of thing.

So this is what this is like with Will Forte, our nominee today.

So to join me, another fellow Will Forte nerd, possibly he's, Will Forte is one of my favorite, probably in the top two or three favorite cast members of mine personally.

And I think for my guest, Will Forte falls under that category, too.

So I am joined by a friend, somebody who I greatly admire in the podcast.

He's kind of like a podcasting influence for me personally.

Track 4:

[10:42] It is from the Saturday Night Network, John Schneider. Hey, man, what's up? Thanks for joining me. Hey, Thomas.

Track 4:

[10:49] Well, I'm very first of all, I'm very humbled that you would say that mutual respect here and love what you've done with the show and and JD and Matt and everybody here so thank you so much for having me back and I have to say Thomas I maybe have podcasted about I'm gonna just I'm gonna throw out a guess here I'm gonna say like 300 podcasts about SNL I maybe have done like over the last few years I don't think I've ever been as excited to do a podcast as I am right now like this is this is one of the best things I could have ever done as an SNL podcaster is get to talk about will forte he is definitely my favorite cast member of all time i wouldn't be talking about snl or podcasting about snl or doing all the things that we're doing at the snn if i didn't fall in love with will forte on the show and everything that he did and i i know i'm not alone with that i know that there's so many people out there that will forte is such a big influence on so thank you for having me today i can't wait to have this conversation yeah absolutely i'm so giddy too and then redoing some refresh because with will forte i don't necessarily need to do research quote unquote but i like to refresh myself watch sketches go in with uh you know having watched these sketches as close to recording time as possible so they could be fresh and this is like the most fun quote unquote research i think that i've done for this entire show because.

Track 4:

[12:07] I love will forte so much so so yeah this is gonna be great thanks for so much for joining i meant what i said as far as you being like a podcasting influence what you've built at saturday night Network is just amazing.

Track 4:

[12:19] So tell us, tell the listeners what's been going on over at the S&N a lot. I know.

Thank you so much. Yeah. I mean, it's been pretty crazy. It's been great to get the show back after that writer's strike and glad that everything turned out well over there. And.

Track 4:

[12:37] You know, nonstop coverage of the season. As we go through all the live weeks, we have coverage right after the show is done airing.

So we have this great group of people who stay up late with us and talk about the show.

If you're watching on YouTube, you can always find our hot take shows and join us in the conversation.

So let's say, you know, you're tired, you're lying in bed, you just enjoy the show, but you just have to talk to somebody about it.

It's a great place to go and hang out. And we also have our Monday night round tables where we're just, you know, breaking down the show even further, talking about the legacy of a specific host in a specific episode.

And then our By the Number shows that we do on Wednesday that Mike Murray hosts for all the stats on, you know, turning SNL into a live sport.

So that's our regular coverage. We also get to do some really cool interviews that we do on our show called SNL Stories.

We just had Christine Ebersole, season seven cast member. We just spoke to Bobby Moynihan. There's a lot of great ones out there as well.

Track 4:

[13:25] Yeah, now we're sort of turning our heads towards the end of season 49, finishing up all the coverage on that, doing some summer stuff.

And then it's season 50. It's the big one. So we have lots of stuff planned for season 50, and I can't wait to get to all of that.

And yeah, you got to come hang out with us at the Saturday Night Network.

Yeah, so this guy's built like a true network, like you and everybody else.

Bill Kenney, Sammy K, the Andrews, everybody who's really closely involved.

You've got quite the community going at S&N. It's a true network, like you have a Saturday Night thing, a Monday thing, a Patreon thing, by the numbers.

So it's really definitely a true network there. Maybe you can get Will Forte on, like, SNL Stories one day.

That is the dream. I'm hoping for, like, yeah, that's the big one or one of the big ones for sure.

I'm hoping maybe for a special numbered show, maybe a 500th, maybe a 1,000th, something like that.

I can convince him to do it. I have met Will Forte before.

Track 4:

[14:21] I actually went to go meet him on my birthday when he was at Just for Laughs.

This was before I was doing SNL media coverage. But I went to go talk to him, and he could not have been nicer. and I know that some of our podcasters have bumped into him over the last few years and he said that he would do it.

So I'm hoping one day we'll get him to, you know, come on board.

And I think we're gonna have a blast whenever that does happen.

Yeah, that that would be a biggie. So Will Forte, our nominee today on the SNL Hall of Fame on the cast from 2002 to 2010.

And from what I understand, John, that was basically the era that made you love the show like that whole that all those was cast between 2002 and 2010, that whole era.

So what were your impressions of Will Forte when you first saw him on SNL, this oddball?

Track 4:

[15:08] Yeah so very fun fact that he almost got hired the year prior but i think he wanted to keep writing on that 70s show which was also a show i enjoyed very much at the time but uh yeah so when so i'll go back to like my original my origin story for watching the show the first time, and um i really fell in love with the show you know from like 2005 to 2010 i was in high school then and that for me was just like will was such a big part of that cast but prior to that i tuned into SNL.

I knew what it was. We had like friends who had older siblings who were watching it all the time.

And at times I would just like turn on the show and just catch glimpses.

And I remember seeing like Tina and Jimmy on the show and being like really intrigued. Some of, you know, Smigel's TV Funhouse stuff.

But one time I remember my parents going out on a Saturday night and I turned on SNL and I was very curious what I was gonna see.

And I saw Will Forte as Tim Calhoun, this politician who's just like is so anxious and can't get anything out and just like nervous flop sweating I think I would make a real good president because I'm a hockey dad soccer uncle football cousin ping-pong brother and And Donkey Kong best friend.

Track 4:

[16:35] My opponents have been using my full name to scare people.

Is it my fault that my middle name is Boo?

Track 4:

[16:47] I just fell in love. For me, there's just something about it that clicked.

And getting to watch him throughout his time at the show, So I've like psychoanalyzed this over the years, Thomas, where I'm like trying to figure out what it is for him that just, you know, makes me laugh harder than anybody else.

And I think it's because like...

I think I'm like a pretty like I have quirks, but I think I'm like a pretty normal person Yeah, but like will brings out the weird in me Like he brings out something in my personality that isn't brought out by most people And it's something that I watch on the screen and I just get purely happy So in some of like the you know saddest times of my life i've turned on will forte sketches and he's just Brightened my day.

That's such the mark of a good performer, too He does that for me As well, like i'm a pretty normal i'm probably a little more weird than you i would say like if we're doing a scale or we have to ask listeners i'm guessing we'll ask we'll take a we'll take a poll or something but uh i'll ask them on i'm doing the hot take show so maybe that'll i'll chat to see to see about that uh but so but you're right so he brings out like the the weird aspect of me to like all those little those little things that i'm like why do i relate to this like because i've kind of i kind of had that like weird side of me but that that's That's like the mark of a good performer is like he's relatable in that weirdness that maybe you didn't know you had until you watched him perform in some ways. Does that make sense?

Track 4:

[18:09] Yeah, I mean, I think he's he's reminds me a lot of like the friends that I chose like for my life.

Like I'm I have a very unique situation in my personal life where some of my friends have been my friends for over 20 years. Like these are friends from when I was really little.

And I won. I always like wonder like why I gravitated to a specific type of person.

And it's like the people who will go the furthest with a joke like that and like they have a lot of will forte qualities in them and i just think i like to surround myself with people who are um sort of like you know don't give a shit and you know and it will like take something really far not not offensively but like um i remember seth meyer is telling this amazing joke uh this amazing story about will forte once on late night where he said that um i believe it was one of the writers, I'm blanking on the name of the specific writer, but one of the writers had been so hungry on a Tuesday night writing night and was writing all night and ordered Chinese food.

And it took so long to get upstairs to the 17th floor.

Hours and hours. Finally, the delivery guy drops out the food, gets there. The writer is like so excited.

Will Forte goes to pick up the bag and drops it out the window.

Track 4:

[19:17] It's one of the greatest things I've ever heard. And I'm just like, you got to look that up on YouTube and like watch Seth tell that story.

It is so funny to me and it is perfectly like encapsulates Will Forte and why everybody loves hanging out with him.

That's so oddball. That's so Will Forte. You honed in on something that relates to something that I wrote down, like a key word.

I was thinking about Will Forte, and the word that keeps coming up for me is commitment.

I think Will Forte, more than most cast members that have come through the show, is he's 100% committed to this sketch.

No matter what, this character, this sketch, Will Forte is in it.

And to me, John, when I see cast members, won't name names obviously, but when I see cast members who maybe are less so, who I gravitate less toward, or maybe cast members who I feel slightly uncomfortable watching on screen, I think it's a lot of times because they lack commitment on screen.

Because I see there's something that's not letting them just break out of their shell completely.

With Will Forte, that was never the problem. Can you think of a performer on SNL that can rival? I mean, there's probably people who can rival, but is there any performer who could exceed Will Forte's commitment?

Track 4:

[20:34] I think Will Ferrell probably is a good example. I mean, the like the two Wills, I think like, you know, Phil Hartman and Dana Carvey.

You got to put that in that category a little bit. Those are all time greats, though. Yeah, like I really I really do feel.

But Will, like it has his own kind of commitment where he goes to like he goes to one side that is so unique to the show. And, you know, a lot of times on on our podcast, when we're evaluating an episode, we'll talk about the 10 to 1 sketch.

And he basically, you know, that did exist prior to it. But, you know, it's really the Will Forte slot in the show.

Like, I think everyone that's come after him has always been like looking for a Will Forte to be the weird sketch.

Sketch um and i think like the committed weird is really what people are looking for in that 10 to 1 it's not just like oh here's like a random weird one-off character that's quirky it's like somebody who is so weird that it just makes everybody in the sketch and out of the sketch just like amazed at that person i think sarah sherman does that sometimes as well and i wish we got that more on the show but yeah i mean i think you nailed it i think that's that is a quality that we look for and will but i will also say one other quality thomas, that i always stuck out to me about will was that he's like a very normal good-looking guy.

Track 4:

[21:49] And like you know maybe like barring the time like for last man on earth that he like shaved like half his beard and half his head like he is like so normal looking and he's a secret sicko, that's what i love is that like you would never know that this guy in his head is an evil genius and i love that about him yeah and i think that's one of the things when i first saw will forte on screen i'm like okay he's just kind of a your standard issue male cast member that they hired and he's just gonna be like cookie cutter but you put this real quick he he totally dispelled all the notions that i had just by looking at him you're right there's like this sicko i love that word that's that's a perfect word to describe a lot of what's underneath the surface of will Will Forte is just, yeah, like that sicko, right?

They're like a nondescript, normal-looking guy, but then something comes bursting out of him that's just very weird.

And when I think about all-time greats, Hall of Famers, whatever, I think it scores bonus points, especially, you know, with Will Forte, that he had his own unique lane in the show.

Like, you can see a sketch and say, that's a Will Forte sketch.

Track 4:

[23:07] And that's rare. And that's something that I, you know, when it comes to SNL, when I see a cast member like that, I really gravitate toward it because that's a rare quality to have where it's just like, that's Will Forte's lane.

You mentioned 10 to 1, any sort of oddball thing.

Andrew Dismukes kind of has that right now. That's why I kind of gravitate toward him because Dismukes has a stamp.

But to me, that scores Will Forte bonus points for having his own unique lane, John.

Track 4:

[23:37] I agree. I mean, look, I think we had this very interesting discussion when we did the SNN's cast member countdown.

So Will Forte was voted 18th overall by the viewers.

I was doing my rankings at the same time. I had him at 21.

So really around the same range, but slightly lower than that.

And you may be saying like, John, how can this person be your favorite cast member? And you have them at 21st.

And the truth is, is that I think that, you know, when you're looking at the 50 year legacy of the show, um, there are a lot of performers that are extremely well-rounded that have contributed and just, you know, built in every aspect of the show.

And I just, I don't, I think that will have the ability to make the show all about him like an Eddie Murphy at times, like a Kristen and wig at times.

You know, like a Will Ferrell. But the show was never built around Will.

Will was always one or two parts or three parts of an episode.

And you would watch his sketches and you may walk away feeling like they were your favorites.

But it was very rare when you you watch an episode of Saturday Night Live during Will Forte's tenure, that you're like, that is a Will Forte episode, or this season was Will Forte season.

Track 4:

[24:42] So I also needed to be objective and fair about that. Now, I don't think that disqualifies him from the Hall of Fame whatsoever, because I think that like The Hall of Fame is a whole other thing where you're talking about people who built the legacy of the show, and I think he's very, very much a part of that. Yeah, absolutely.

And still, I mean, you said 21st. He ended up on the, or 18th on the countdown.

18th on the cast, 21 on my list. Where do you have him?

I think I had him probably about 16th, ultimately, even though he's one of my two or three.

Yeah, he's one of my two or three favorite cast members, but favorite, and then, and I'm trying to put together the greatest.

So it's different, but to me.

Track 4:

[25:18] Shoot like top 20 top 25 that's right smack in the middle of hall of fame territory right there if we're talking 160 or something now cast members so to me will forte is a slam dunk hall of famer so this is gonna be like the listener will know where i'm coming from and where you're coming from obviously with this episode but i was surprised i think that i had him higher than you but really you're right like it's the same ballpark so we both view him about equally i think yeah i mean the other thing you have to you know like the other thing that i factored into my cast rankings was also you know his contribution after his time in the cast he does leave in 2010 um and i think that he you know we'll get to this full conversation of his career but i i do think he could have stayed an extra couple years and that really would have helped him in terms of legacy like had he left at the same time as andy sandberg and kristen wigg he He has only come back to host once.

That episode that he hosted was one of the weirdest episodes in SNL history.

I think we could say that now.

Track 4:

[26:18] So, you know, that to me is a factor that I think about in terms of overall contribution to the series.

So, you know, these are things to think about. But overall, I mean, what a career that he put up at the show. I can't wait to get into it. Just amazing.

And we can get into it. What is maybe the first sketch or character that you think about when you think of Will Forte?

All right. So I got two that are my quintessential Will Forte sketches.

These are two of my favorite sketches of all time.

I've always I've had the trouble of deciding which one is my truly my favorite all time.

But if I had somebody who came to me said I've never watched a Saturday Night Live sketch before, which one should I start with?

Track 4:

[27:01] I'm going to start with Jeff Montgomery, the sex offender.

Just out of curiosity, what exactly is your Halloween costume? I'm a sex offender.

Track 4:

[27:17] Excuse me? I'm a sex offender. For Halloween.

A sex offender. Yes, pretty convincing, huh? Here, watch this.

I'm Jeff Montgomery. summary by law i'm required to inform you that i'm a repeat sex offender and i'll be living in your neighborhood it's a great costume right yes yes to me this to me like encapsulates everything i look for in the show it is so fantastic this is a this is a sketch by the way that was cut once previously from the brian williams episode in 2007 it was then brought back for the john Jon Hamm episode in October 2008.

Track 4:

[27:57] And this is a guy who rings the doorbell, trick or treat, and says that he's dressed as a sex offender and needs some papers to be signed.

And the confusion between Jon Hamm and Will Forte, as they discuss, are you dressed as a sex offender or are you actually a sex offender, is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

And Will Forte plays this beautifully.

It's beautiful wordsmithing by Will Forte to dance around the fact that he's a sex offender needing to go around the neighborhood.

And this is a great example of understated Will Forte, in my opinion.

I think the other one that you're going to mention that I have a feeling you're going to mention is more so on the bigger side a little bit.

But this, yeah, this Jeff Montgomery one is more understated Will in a lot of ways.

Yes. And I want to credit Colin Jost, who wrote that sketch with him.

So that, you know, the two of them, I mean, what a team that is.

Collins wrote some fantastic sketches over the years.

But yes, I would say this is the sketch that I would show people the most of, of Will Forte.

I have, I struggle whether it's truly my favorite sketch because there's one that like sentimentally means more to people, but I don't know if you get it if you're not an SNL fan. So do you want me to jump to that one?

Yeah, I think you're going to, well, go ahead.

Track 4:

[29:19] So so i also want to say jeff montgomery did come back a second time with tim mcgrath which is uh but but yes um the the one i'm the one that means the most to me in my heart is the dancing coach sketch with peyton manning yeah and that to me is like i i think i can say it's my favorite sketch of all time this is where peyton manning uh is on a is not a football player he's a basketball player in the sketch and it's halftime in a basketball game uh like sort of like a college basketball situation and him and keenan and fred and andy and bill and jason they all come in uh to the locker room, and Will Forte is the coach and starts talking to them about, you know, being more motivated.

All right, listen up.

Track 4:

[30:00] I see a lot of mopey faces around here. Granted, we're down by 34 points.

McMillan broke his ankle, and our cheerleaders have started cheering for the other team. That doesn't mean we can't come back and win this thing.

And Wally, you got something you want to say? Yeah, coach.

Guys. And gives them the speech that leads to Will Forte playing the theme or one of the songs from Casino Royale and he starts dancing.

You definitely got to look this up if you can find it online because Will Forte dancing and making everybody laugh, including, you know, watching Bill Hader's face in the back of the sketch is.

Honestly like when this came out and i saw this live we watched this sketch maybe a hundred times thomas that's how much you watched it was so funny to me and i cannot watch it without laughing, great one of my greatest sketches of all time this is amazing physical comedy by will forte i'm glad you paired this one with the jeff montgomery one at the top because it's almost like the comedic yin and the yang for will forte like i said jeff montgomery's more like it's about how Will Forte's delivering the lines and it's more understated.

And this one, it's just like physical comedy, these dance moves, how he times it out with the song.

Track 4:

[31:17] You're right, like Keenan. Keenan's almost the first one to break.

He and Peyton have to cover themselves, their faces with towels just to not break.

And Fred, Fred's usually like pretty, you know, keeps it together.

Famously in the Debbie Downer sketch, Fred was the one kind of like watching everybody going, going okay guys we still have a scene to do in this one fred was this is one of the few times that i saw fred almost break and bill of course bill hater uh always does but how could you not this was such great will forte physical comedy like i i absolutely love this one john honestly i think a lot of cast members feel like this is one of their favorite sketches of all time bobby moynihan when he joined us uh he he mentioned this sketch at one point about how this is one of his favorite sketches and then he got to be in the second one in his first episode and it was just like so exciting for him to see the dancing uh you know the dancing coach and i just you know like i said it's one of those visual things that you got to go watch this it is so amazing the commitment from will forte absolutely fantastic so to me those are the two quintessential will forte sketches there's a lot more though i can't wait to get into yeah i have a quintessential central one as well it comes toward the end of his SNL tenure and it's the one that he and Jason Sudeikis did with Blake Lively the potato chip, Janelda, how many potato chips did you put in here today? Thirty-five.

I thought so. I thought so!

Track 4:

[32:43] You didn't happen to take any out for yourself? Oh, God, no.

Why, that would be stealing. It certainly would.

Track 4:

[32:53] Janelda, what would you say if I'd have told you that that man right there is nothing but a common potato chip thief? Ah!

Potato chip thief! to me if i wanted to show somebody like this is will forte's humor this is will forte's playground i might show them potato chip thief too that'd be one of the first ones that i show them, like just just displaying will forte's like humor what he brought to snl he and this one he plays it big like it's maybe a little more understated at the beginning but he ends up like yelling screaming but underneath that screaming he says some really funny things so potato chip thief john would be to me like another quintessential will forte yeah so i love this sketch a lot it has a lot of elements of other sketches which is maybe why i don't put this at the top of my will forte list like i would say that this is and i get what you're saying i think for a lot of people this is the top will forte stuff um for me i'd say this is maybe like my B tier Will Forte, just because it has elements of other things that I think ultimately led to this occasion.

Track 4:

[34:01] It's a brilliant sketch. Love Jason Sudeikis in this as well.

Love Blake Lively. Like this is a really, really great sketch.

I believe this is John Solomon and Will Forte in this one.

John Solomon wrote a lot with Will when he was on the show. But the, you know, chewing the potato chip and spitting it into, you know, the mouth, which is just like, again, something you got to see I know that that happened a little bit in the 2000s the baby bird stuff with Will Ferrell and all that stuff so the grossness of the sketch I think really does work here but it does lose its luster a little bit if you've seen it before whereas I think the dancing coach like is just like non-stop money but yeah ultimately I do I do really really love this sketch and I think that the commitment here from Will is fantastic and the reason that I felt like it has you know stuff from Will's earlier career is because him yelling is a another staple of Will Forte with the Zell Miller impression which you ever go see that you know one of his like talk show guys that he did and like he would just yell that's like an early Will Forte career thing where he would just yell so much that his face would turn red.

Senator Miller knowing what we know now how could we possibly avoid such destruction from future tsunamis? Tsunamis!

I'm sick of hearing about tsunamis!

Thank you.

Track 4:

[35:30] And that is also incorporated into the sketch a little bit. But I love this one too, Thomas.

Yeah, definite Zell Miller vibes, one of his recurring characters.

Zell Miller, Georgia politician.

I think Zell Miller said some crazy things, especially about Barack Obama.

And then Will Forte just sort of turned him into a caricature completely.

Track 4:

[35:53] I do want to talk about Will Forte as a breath of fresh air for the show.

Show to uh because i think and i know it's subjective but he started at a time where i think snl was trying to find an identity will ferrell had just left and they didn't quite have an identity they were playing around with like do we push seth meyers as the star of the show who's the star of the show what's our humor what's our viewpoint and i think will forte was a breath of fresh air amidst them trying to figure themselves out i mean the show and things like the falconer that premiered in season 28 and that was so to me that was so unlike a lot of what was on snl at the time that it was um it was a relief sometimes to see the falconer something like that pop up on screen and this the falconer is one of the things that will forte is best known for but it was just like a relief for me as a viewer when it popped up in this era of SNL.

Donald, we're starving to death.

This land that once filled us with life is now barren.

One of us must search elsewhere, and only one of us can fly.

Track 4:

[37:06] No, Donald, you! Oh, Donald, even in these desperate times, you still retain that dry sense of humor.

Now you must fly away from these woods and bring back something, a possum, a squirrel, anything to keep us alive. So be gone, my friend.

Bring us life. Bring us life.

Yeah, I do like the Falconer a lot. I think those sketches are pretty forgotten because of all the great things that Will Forte did after.

But I truly believe those are great sketches.

That's Will with Eric Slovin and Leo Allen. And I think Eric Slovin was the guy who, by the way, who will dump.

Track 4:

[37:47] Before but yeah those falconer sketches are really great and just so weird and bizarre for a time where snl's writing was a little choppy and they were trying to figure it out like you said in that you know post will ferrell world and pre kristin wigg bill hater jason sudeikis and andy samberg world and i think that those sketches are really great i think they did nine of them um and they are very enjoyable i love will getting to talk to objects like that and i think you know or Or animals like that.

And I do think you get to see more of this in Last Man on Earth.

If you ever go watch that show.

Track 4:

[38:23] Yeah. That he brings out some of his Falconer character.

Yeah. Especially like at the beginning of the series. The Last Man on Earth.

When he's talking to the balls.

The various balls that become his friends.

That are like placed inside the bar.

I can definitely see that. I'm going to go ahead and call Donald an object too. Because you could see.

One of the funny things is you could see the strings on that puppet.

I'm sure that was a choice.

Like let's make the strings show and make it look as ridiculous as possible and john when i sometimes when i as a viewer when i complain about like little writing things and stuff one of my chief things is escalation like how do you do escalation what's proper escalation the sketch needs more escalation that's if i always say that like it could have been bumped up just another notch with the falconer to me a lot of these sketches were just perfect examples of how you escalate, especially a recurring sketch.

How do you find escalation in something recurring?

I think Will Forte and the people behind this Falconer sketch just did that escalation beautifully.

Track 4:

[39:32] I totally agree. I think that's a great point for these.

You know, there are some other sketches from early in his career that I think are really important to bring up that are often lost upon people.

So I think now is a good time to maybe pivot to some of those um one of those is from the season 28 episode 14 episode with queen latifah i don't know if you know what i'm gonna say but this one is give up the ham give up the ham, such a good sketch that is like because of the i don't know if it's like the song like it doesn't get put up a lot and like you gotta look you gotta google it and look up this but um basically people fighting over ham at a grocery store and then the sketch breaks down with bull forte singing singing, give up the ham.

Track 4:

[40:44] And it is so so good and like i think maybe the first moment of really seeing like how great this guy is i know that him and fred sort of did some stuff on update but like this was to me the first like major major moment for well for a day on the show it's commitment to something ridiculous or like a commitment to an everyday thing like uh shopping at a grocery store say so how can we take that scene that scenario and and play it up into something ridiculous and and uh it was that amy poehler and queen latifah i think rachel dratch comes in as amy poehler's friend so all these people start walking in but then will just totally owns it with this song like yeah that's just total commitment again like you'll never have trouble with will forte and commitment give up the Ham's one of the ones that I go back to semi-regularly, honestly, if I need a good laugh, I do that.

That's a really good shout out. That's from season 28, episode 14.

One that I thought of, season 28, the next episode, episode 15, it was a sketch that he did with Jimmy Fallon, Salma Hayek.

It was called Cardboard Box. You remember this one, John? I do.

Yeah, go ahead. So Will Forte, so he played a husband who was suspecting his wife of cheating.

Track 4:

[42:06] So Will Forte's character mailed himself to their house in this big cardboard box so he could catch them in the act.

And this is just, to me, like we're talking early examples, like such a wonderful early example of a truly absurd premise that Will Forte completely sells.

And he has to do this inside a box that he's not even on on camera most of the sketch and what he has to do and what he has to convey from inside a cardboard box is like chef's kiss like beautiful work yeah he does this thing sometimes where he can like we talked about zell miller with yelling till he's red but sometimes he does this like angry yell in a calm way that it's very hard to describe unless you hear it but um he did this recently on like i think you should leave in one of the episodes uh tim robinson's show where he's like almost like he like fell on the sidewalk and he was like under a car but he wasn't like really stuck um but yeah he does this thing sometimes where he's like stuck in a place and he's just like someone will say something to him and he'll like respond with this sarcasticness in his voice that's like oh of course you would think that you know like that type of thing and it's just so brilliant to me and this is this is This is a real deep cut Thomas, but this is a great sketch.

You don't think he has any idea what's going on with us, do you? Oh, please.

That ignoramus doesn't suspect a thing. He does now.

Track 4:

[43:32] Ray, where are you? Right here.

All right here i'm in the box what the hell are you doing in the box i thought you went to cleveland i was but i mailed myself home to lay this little trap for you and now after laying in wait for 28 hours the trap is sprung ha 28 hours it's awesome i think what jimmy fallon was hosting this or was it salma no salma hike was hosting it jimmy fallon was still on the cast obviously season uh 28 uh but yeah this is like kind of a deep cut i think will forte has a lot of these it's like these one-offs yeah where you you get reminded of it and it was like oh yeah will forte.

Track 4:

[44:14] Did this well let me take you to one of the greatest episodes in snl history i think which is the jack black episode from 2005 that december episode that had you know lazy sunday and all that stuff in it um that really like changed uh you know changed the era of the show and brought on this new golden age and one of the sketches there that uh really cemented you know will's place in the show throughout this golden age is that spelling bee sketch that's very famous well forte moment where they ask him to smell business and he keeps asking questions back and he goes on and on and on and on and it is the ultimate commitment to the bit as he continues to go on Q, M, T, S, D, T, Q, M, P, R, F, T, D, P, D, P, N, H, R, K, T, E, T, F, business.

Track 4:

[45:20] And I think that so many people growing up writing sketch comedy have tried to find a take on this specific sketch.

And I don't know that anyone's ever matched the level at which Will Forte can pull something like the spelling bee sketch off.

It's a very specific type of humor where you're testing how far you can push the joke.

And sometimes so like you're testing the cycle of a joke almost.

So you make the joke. It's funny, funny, funny.

And it hits the peak and then almost becomes less funny.

But then he's still doing it. And it's less funny, less funny.

But then he does it enough to where it circles back around and it's really funny again.

That's a very specific type of thing. A very, I think, maybe possibly brave thing to do on a show like SNL.

I can see people doing that on like, you know, let's make a YouTube video and try this out.

But to do something like that on a show like SNL where you're almost messing with the viewer in some ways and testing their patience.

But there's a really great reward ultimately. I think the spelling bee sketch is a perfect example, especially like the run he goes on of saying Q, I don't know how many times in a row.

Track 4:

[46:32] But you know what's great about something like this is that I don't think there is a person that came before Will Forte that can pull off this sketch as well.

Like you think about uh great like orators in snl history like people like dan akroyd or phil hartman who can just say things really quickly but still make the listener understand them and it's so brilliant at the speed at which they communicate whether it's as a pitchman or even just as a game show host or something like that but will forte can say things slower than the average person and it doesn't sound like too slow where it's not entertaining and that is like a whole other level of brilliance that i don't know that i've seen before prior to well forte yeah his voice it's almost like asmr in a lot of ways like yeah like with this spelling bee one you mentioned tim calhoun and that's one of the things that stood out was almost like a low-key asmr kind delivery with Tim Calhoun.

He was a little bit nervous, but it gets that he's just like whispering, but not.

And just, yeah, it's just that like a very unique delivery.

Track 4:

[47:42] And I had written a note. So Spelling Bee, as far as like testing, see how far you can push the joke.

It also reminded me of something else that he did on Weekend Update when he was, he appeared He appeared with Amy, I think Amy and Seth, in season 34, and he appeared as himself, and he was recapping a Senate vote.

When Friday's tally was finally counted, and that was all she wrote, people asked, how did that pass?

Track 4:

[48:37] So this was an example of him kind of taking a joke so far that maybe it becomes unfunny but then it circles back around so he was he made up this song and recapping how certain how certain senators voted and then amy interrupted him and he's scolding amy about how rude it is to interrupt your friends when they're singing and this reminded me of spelling bee in like how far can Can we push something?

It is really great. I mean, he basically started on SNL when he kept coming on and doing songs with Fred Armisen a couple times and, you know, in different variations of that.

But yeah, he will come on update and do songs on a regular basis throughout his SNL tenure and he will push things to the absolute limit.

And, you know, I think a great sketch to jump to off of this conversation is Fly High Duluth, which to me is like an underrated classic john yes this is uh this good snl podcaster, that's from the scarlett johansson episode and it's basically like a tv talk show where they're like oh we have a band that's finally gonna come out and do the theme song for the show and they just like keep going and going and going with the song where they keep thinking it's over but it's not and will forte is like drinking and going like full rock star with it and it is so brilliant.

I cannot wait to hear what you think of the sketch because I don't get to talk about it enough. Mama.

Track 4:

[50:04] Don't you point that gun at me.

I said, please, Mama.

Track 4:

[50:15] Don't you point that gun at me.

Because my love is consecrated in the blood of the.

Track 4:

[50:36] It's an example to me. Well, by the way, first of all, as an example of the, just the breadth of will for taste sketches, we had mentioned spelling bee.

That was season 31 episode 9 fly high Duluth was season 31 episode 10 so this came like one episode after that like you can look through all his great sketches and like dang that happened those happen like back to back and that happens a lot uh like I'm on my list I'm seeing like back to back to back episodes but yeah fly high Duluth is again one of those where I frequently go back and watch it and it's just again that commitment to the sketch the commitment to the bit it's so So ridiculous.

He's like this Jim Morrison type of guy singing this theme song for a show in Duluth, Minnesota. And he's like...

Track 4:

[51:25] With his with scarlett johansson so his his his lover his his uh what's she line or she tiger i think he called her something like that i think her name is yeah it's like they're wally and char char yeah yeah yeah so it's just like this is a wonderful example to me of like will will forte's commitment to the sketch just doing these ridiculous things chugging which i assume was iced was tea or something like that in a jack daniels bottle uh but no this is one of my favorites and i never get the sense that will forte is is self-conscious even for one split second up there and so to me as a viewer it makes me feel like i'm in good hands with will forte in this sketch yeah absolutely and this is uh this is one that he put together with eric kenward who's is now a producer on the show um but yeah i mean this is a this is another brilliant sketch that you just got to break down it's a very long sketch and sometimes you know my personal preference is not to go too long with sketches unless we're talking about like one of the great debate sketches in snl history that really has like something to say i think then you can push things a little bit which is my opinion but you know i think you know i prefer shorter sketches but the the joke here is that you know will is going to push this and push this as far as it And they've done this a couple times in the talk show format in SNL history where things just like break down to an extreme and you need somebody who can.

Track 4:

[52:53] You know, you can drive the ship when that's happening and not let the sketch go off course to the point where people are like, oh, they're doing the same joke over and over again. And why was it so long? Why did it drag?

Track 4:

[53:05] Will forte never lets that happen he always lets it escalate he always has to get to another point that's interesting like i find that there's never a will for to sketch i'm watching and i'm like ah i wish i saw less of that no you're completely right like by the end of this duluth live sketch like they're doing a full-on breakdown like he's starting and he's kind of seeing the lyrics are kind of weird but you're like okay this is kind of like a weird kind of hippie or 70s rock band doing this but okay like it's kind of weird but then you're right like it escalates and escalates to the point where like Fred's doing this full drum solo and he's shredding on the guitar he's breaking the guitar Will's screaming on the mic like yeah so yeah the escalation this was beautiful beautiful escalation and something that I always look for as an SNL fan uh yeah go check that out that was season 31 episode 10 and we haven't with Will Forte we haven't talked about.

Track 4:

[54:00] Impressions so much or anything i have kind of a maybe a hot somewhat of a hot take for you i actually think i actually think he was a decent george w bush oh okay i i really do and i think it suffered because he had to follow will ferrell's george w bush that was its own thing but i think just in a vacuum i think he could have really made that work because i think he has the type of personality to where he can play understated but he could also say weird things and be squirrely and have that bizarre nature underneath the surface which was george w bush and kind of how will ferrell depicted it but i think it suffered because he had to follow will ferrell but i think in a vacuum and going back to re-watch some of these i was thinking to myself like, a pretty good George W. Bush, honestly. You know, we're roughly $7 billion in debt. But don't worry, I got a plan.

I've decided to consolidate all of our debt with one of those debt consolidation companies.

Track 4:

[55:09] That's right. We're going to go with Dytek.

Like me, you've probably seen their commercials late at night on ESPN2.

You know, the ones with the guy who says, lost another loan did I take?

It's a funny commercial.

I think he's a decent impressionist, and that's a very interesting take.

Now, I think that the decline in the show post-Will Ferrell, I think, gets unfairly associated with the Bush impression a little bit.

And that sort of falls on to people like Will Forte and Sudeikis and Daryl Hammond, who tried to do it for a bit.

Like you know you know i think people were were upset that will ferrell wasn't around anymore, and that was like nobody really gave it a chance um and the show has like a history of not being able to transition over these iconic impressions in a way maybe besides daryl is bill clinton who took that from phil harman i think that maybe is the only exception but yeah i see what you're saying i just don't know that i ever really gave it a chance as much as i loved will forte i wasn't Like, you know, we're talking about like a post 9-11 world where people are pretty down on Bush in general.

Track 4:

[56:24] And, you know, the, you know, you know, Will Ferrell made Bush lovable because he was like a frat guy.

And that's what he turned him into, like a bro and a frat guy.

And I think that Forte never got the characterization or the writing to be able to turn the sketch and make it something of its own in the way that Will Ferrell had that leash to do. Yeah, you couldn't make the George W.

Bush around when Will Forte was playing him lovable like Will Farrell did.

I'm going to confuse that the whole darn show. Will Farrell, Will Forte.

But so so will forte's uh george w bush i think it it was at a disadvantage because of just where george w bush was as a political figure around that time you know the kind of the whatever paul shine was on him if you could say that was was worn off quite a bit around that time so so you couldn't do the same type of depiction as will ferrell did and i i was like you i didn't really give it a chance but this is just sort of in hindsight kind of re-watching it sort of dawned on me I'm like this could you know it's not like.

Track 4:

[57:33] He was the best impressionist or like mimic but you don't have to be if snl history has taught us anything about impressions is you don't have to sound exactly like the person or even look exactly like the person i think he could have found an angle that i think he had the right personality to do and i saw i saw something in these george w bush impressions impressions that i hadn't really given a chance prior i mean he did it for a while i think he did it for over were he did 20 of them yeah like maybe two years he was doing it so sort of like finished up a little bit of um you know uh george w which is tenure of the show i guess they handed to sudeikis for like that the baton for like a little bit but yeah i don't know i i just i always felt like will forte um like i said he brings such a like a bright light to the show and and stuff like that and i don't think that the country was like very happy in general with bush and you know was looking for a change and like i don't know that um will it wasn't the right place in the right time for him to play him i think ultimately but i love the hot take i think it's a great hot take it's like there's a lot of what-if scenarios like do i think um if well forte was around a couple years earlier could he have played the original like incarnation of bush that's a possibility i think so um but.

Track 4:

[58:49] Well, I think you're right that you mentioned that maybe his George W.

Bush impression unfairly gets lumped in with why the show was struggling around that time.

I agree with that. I think there are a lot of factors. I just think where the country was, where humor was at the time.

And I brought this up a few times on the show around 2000, let's say 2002 to 2005.

Track 4:

[59:11] That was a very weird time for humor in general. It was a lot of edgelord stuff.

It was just a lot of really broad humor, I would say.

And so i think maybe the the show suffered from just where humor was over in our society just in in general look i think i think um our community of like snl diehards looks back at that time, very like unfondly because you know you watch these things off time you go back and you watch these things on a binge and you'll see like all these episodes and you'll see the decline of the the show um and i'm not disqualifying you know people's feelings about those seasons because i would definitely rank them pretty low but i think tina fey often mentions how it was a very hard time to write comedy just like post 9-11 everybody you know nobody wanted to talk about politics you know they i mean the u.s was like invading countries around the world and then potentially invading the wrong countries and like you know there was like all this crazy politics stuff going on that nobody really wants to talk about.

And people want it to, as far as, you know, Tina was concerned is that people wanted to turn on SNL on a Saturday night and not think about these things.

So they focused more of their writing around pop culture.

And the problem when you do that is that the references and the sketches become very dated.

So to go back and watch like season 29 and season 30, um.

Track 4:

[1:00:34] I don't know almost 20 years later you're like this doesn't hold up as well as the things that came before it or the things that came after it so i think there's a lot of things working against it though i will say will forte was a bright spot in a little bit of a dark time of the show yeah breath of fresh air for me definitely and since i'm confusing will ferrell and will forte as probably a lot of people did around that time i want to talk about a sketch that i love that has both of them and when Will Ferrell came back to host in season 30 toward the end of that season it was a sketch called Pepper Grinder oh wow and yeah this is one that I think slips through the cracks for a lot of people too so basically Will Forte's character he and his wife are celebrating their anniversary at dinner and Will Ferrell oddly plays a college student you have to suspend your disbelief there for that real quick and basically will forte's character makes will ferrell's waiter character grind the pepper for a long time to teach him about grit and perseverance and and everything and this is just like to me will is so good at taking an everyday situation to like a dramatic absurdity sir my arm is starting to burn louis that's enough stay out of this jamie this is between me and the boy i can't lose this job sir then keep grinding.

Track 4:

[1:02:02] Oh god the pain grind son grind oh god oh god it burns please sir please.

Track 4:

[1:02:19] He's working with another master at that, Will Ferrell.

So as a comedy nerd, as an SNL nerd, John, this type of sketch is like a dream for me.

I love this sketch. It's a great one. And it's great seeing like two legends, you know, play off of each other.

This is the type of sketch that you watch as a you know, what we're making when we're putting together a reel of Will Forte sketches, which is essentially what we're doing here.

And then giving this off to the Academy of voters to go vote for Will Forte.

I want the listeners to consider something here, which is watch this sketch and then think about if Will Forte could have fit in any era of the show.

And this is a sketch that shows you why he could have like he could have done this sketch in the original cast by far like that could have fit in really well with a couple people here and showed them you know like i could just picture like a gilda radner sitting across from the table and like a dan akroyd with a pepper grinder like you could picture these things when you see these sketches because he just fits in so well with any cast um because he is such a unique archetype that i think really molds to the people around him so i do feel like that is why hosts it was It was probably their dream to be in a Will Forte sketch because he is such a great scene partner.

Yeah, it was amazing to watch them work. And Rachel Dratch does a really good job with her role and her comments throughout this sketch.

And now that I'm thinking about it and thinking about one of the traits of Will Forte that we've been talking about all episode, I think the pepper grinder sketch really has a bunch of them all wrapped in one. So you have that commitment.

Track 4:

[1:03:44] Completely 100% commitment. You have the escalation. It's what this sketch is built on, is that escalation that you're not quite expecting.

You have the more kind of subtle Will Forte and good line deliveries at the beginning, especially.

You have Will Forte just going nuts and yelling in this sketch.

So I think this Pepper Grinder sketch encompasses encompasses all the like the a lot of the positive traits that we've talked about with will forte john am i wrong to say this is the perfect will forte sketch oh there's so many though that's the problem yeah it's not like you know there's every sketch is the perfect will for i'm just getting excited i'm just using hyperbole at this point too i like it i like it but um yeah i know i agree i think this is a like i said it represents a lot about you know what i like about will forte which which is, this is one of the sketch.

I think there's another sketch that he does that is a comparable sketch to this one.

And this is like later in his career, but I'm just trying to remember.

It's one where he's like, maybe you can place this for me in my mind, but it's one where like, they're trying to decide like, who's going to pick up the check.

And then like, he insists that he's going to pick it up.

Track 4:

[1:04:55] And that one is so, so great.

I need to find where that was. It was called, I got this. I think if you look it up on on YouTube that's from season 35 and it's uh, it was like a game show basically Yeah, that was yes. Okay. You mentioned it's a game show.

Yes It's a game show bill hater was trying to figure out who's gonna settle the bill And I think I honestly think that like that could be the same character from the pepper grinder sketch Like him just playing this like older gentleman about like who's gonna pay the bill and stuff like this and this is um One of it's in one of will's last episodes of a cast member as a cast member, but it's it's a really good sketch, Check still out there gentlemen. I got your money's no good here.

I got this dad Come on, you're getting on in years, and I want to show you my love before you pass.

I got this I'm only 58 I got this you introduced me to jazz.

I got this you helped me to learn eBay. I got this I got my MasterCard right here.

I could just not I got this I got this this is the woman I will be buried next to she comforts me when my hernia acts up the least I can do for this blessed angel is Is buyer spaghetti on her birthday? I got this!

Track 4:

[1:06:04] Impressive! Good rat! When people complain, like, they see, oh, another game show sketch.

I think the game show format is perfect for a sketch comedy show.

Especially, you could talk about technical reasons, blocking, the way the studio's set up, all of that.

But I don't scoff at game show sketches just because they're game show sketches.

We've had a lot of really clever ones recently this is an example and you just have to have the right premise and the right performers and we certainly had that especially with the premise of this and with will forte my problem the game show sketches is just that people don't really they're like aren't that many new game shows that's the problem right but i guess that's the you know evolution yeah that's why you invent a game show called like i got this yeah yes but But yeah, this is a great sketch.

I think, you know, Thomas, we talked about how great of a great of a performer is Will is with performing with basically anybody.

But I do think that he's also built chemistry with cast members that he has seen as like his ultimate scene partners.

Track 4:

[1:07:10] And that may have developed like later in his career, so much so that I wish he could have stayed on the show more.

But I think that him and Jason Sudeikis on the show together is an all time duo that people talk about and still reference to this day of like oh that could be a forte in sudeikis.

Track 4:

[1:07:27] And we haven't even talked about any of their sketches together where they are so brilliant um i'll start with the espn guys the pete twinkle and greg stink you know this is a sketch that sort of premiered like very late in will forte's uh career at the show where i think it was in his last season this is season 35 and then we get it a bunch of times in that season but it's all like, espn classic so if that like does that channel still exist by the way it's been classic or did they retire that yeah i think it does okay yeah so basically in classic it's where i watched the like 85 bears on espn classic nice yeah i didn't know if it still exists with like youtube being around but basically so espn classic um you go on and you see like all of these like random sports like you know pool and bowling darts curling um shadow curling i i did that once um a couple times um but the uh and basically like pete twinkle and greg stink jason and will are the commentators and you know sudeikis is like your brilliant classic like espn play-by-play guy and will forte as greg stink is the color commentator and he always like heads over to him to say something and he has like nothing to say and their back and forths are incredible Wow, look at this, look at that. Oh, and quite a shot!

Track 4:

[1:08:48] Unbelievable, look at that! Oh, a big kick. Oh, she loves God.

She loves God. Greg, how many points do you think she gets for a shot like that? Oh, I don't know, five?

Nope. Okay. You just kind of pulled that number out of thin air, didn't you, buddy?

Well, you put me on the spot I did not know what to say, so I looked down at my hand, I saw five fingers, and I went for it. I love it, I gotcha.

Why is it so cold in here? Well, we're in an ice ring, buddy.

Track 4:

[1:09:14] And I know this is a Will thing, like a Will podcast, but also like Jason's ad reads to me are like some of the funniest things I've ever seen on the show.

But just their brilliance together.

All time great sketch. What do you think of that one?

Yeah, Will Forte is so brilliant at playing dim-witted but likable.

He says dumb things, but you root for him as much as you could root for that character in a four-minute sketch.

Track 4:

[1:09:40] But you really root for Greg Stink. And he just plays off just being oblivious, being dim-witted.

This is another one of those where the delivery and the line read needs to be perfect.

You can't stumble or else it loses that pop in the sketch.

And there I brought this up I forgot maybe it was in the Jason Sudeikis episode but these Greg Stink and Pete Twinkle sketches I think set a template for for some at least one other duo that we saw on SNL it reminded me of the Don Jr.

And Eric Trump dynamic okay so to where one of them was very dim-witted being Eric Trump and Greg Stink and then Pete Twinkle was almost like the Don Jr.

To where he wasn't judging the other person he was almost just sort of like playing off of him and just correcting him but like in a nice way in like a friendly way like in an I love you sort of way so I think that this dynamic between like Jason and Will Forte is just like ripe for for comedy it's such a cool dynamic that I think we saw in Eric and Don Jr.

Track 4:

[1:10:47] I agree with that because I don't think that again, I don't know that this has been done really well before it.

Like I think of like, you know, Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin, I think they're more even even seen partners.

I think Eddie and Joe, they're more even seen partners.

And I'd even say like Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, like Wayne's World sketches, even though Dana plays plays it more dumb a little bit.

Track 4:

[1:11:09] I still think that like they're closer to even than what we get here between Jason and Will in this particular sketch.

Sketch and i i do think it's set a template that is a good really good point of what came after it and i know it's something that like james austin johnson and dismukes would like love to find and maybe that's like the missing element is just being able to like be like one person in the duo has to like put the ego aside and play the dumb one right in the duo to be able to pull this off yeah it doesn't it's fine if there's like a power imbalance because that can be ripe for comedy, So I think we saw that perfectly.

It was that dynamic between Sue Dacus and Will Forte with Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink.

These are one, they did these, I think, six times and all of them just hit.

They're like home runs each time.

Your girl, Kristen Wiig, we all love her. She's great.

This is where she's like a great silent actor.

I know I brought up that point in our Kristen Wiig episode, but this sketch right here is where Kristen Wiig's like a perfect silent actor.

Just wonderful sketches all around. Everybody compliments each other so well.

Track 4:

[1:12:15] Yeah. And that leads me to the other great Jason and Will sketch, which I don't know if you want to bring it up or you want me to do it.

But we got to talk about John Bovey, of course. Oh, yes. Yes.

Are you a John Bovey guy? Yeah, I am. Speaking of setting a template.

But yeah, no, these were these were great.

So stupid that I was on board immediately.

All right, here we go. Two, three, four. Because I'm an Indian.

Track 4:

[1:12:40] Indian. On a cotton horse I do not ride And I'm unwanted.

Track 4:

[1:12:47] Alive and dead Alive and dead Alive and dead.

Track 4:

[1:13:01] Boom!

Honestly, just like looking at a still picture picture of will forte's face as like the member of john bovie is so hilarious with the mustache and the long hair this is like pure joy as this is as good as it gets with like you know just you know the party of snl and feeling like you're invited to like the greatest party in the world is like watching these two of your friends just like hang out and be so stupid and silly and just like sing these bon jovi songs as john bovie that they're all like the opposite band and um Um, I, to me, every time it was popped up, I just like ate it right up.

Track 4:

[1:13:43] Yeah, it's got to the point where I associate the band and the artist Bon Jovi with this, where I have to remind myself that the actual real person's name isn't John Bovey.

Yes, that's how closely I associate. I see John Bovey and I'm like, well, that's how it is. Right.

Oh, no, no, no. It's Bon Jovi. But you're right. Also, it's because like John Bon Jovi.

Yeah. And then there's a whole like, yeah, yeah.

Layers to that. You're right. There's like like two of our friends just being dumb. Like I could see just at a party and they're just like entertaining people and like, oh, these guys are so stupid.

But and, you know, the beat like you see them up there and you know what they're going to do. But it's still like a fun surprise as to how they do it.

That that that takes a real performer to to make you laugh, even though you you know the beats, you see it coming from a mile away and you still laugh.

Track 4:

[1:14:32] Yeah. And I see like people on like SNL Twitter, like being like, you know, bringing up Remember Lizards.

This is like the jason and uh the uh james austin johnson and andrew dismukes version of this sketch and i'm like you guys you don't know how like good it is to have something like this like i i love that they did that by the way like i'm one of the ones who didn't mind that they did that but uh but like uh to me like this is the the pinnacle of you know just stupid and it's it's so great to have that on saturday live and i wish we got more of that honestly yeah yeah that was so good and i realized so we're about an hour in and i don't know if jd's yelling at us right now but i don't care jd this is a special episode for us we're about an hour in and we haven't talked about mcgruber at all and this is maybe the thing he's most known for this spawned what i think is a hilarious movie and we have not talked about yeah yeah and and he did it nine times and of And of course, he did it 27 times, probably, essentially, because they were all three-part runners, basically. And yeah, that's...

Track 4:

[1:15:38] What do you think of mcgruber john yeah first of all jd this is our playground like let us let us do our thing here we're cooking uh but uh i love mcgruber mcgruber was the thing that like when mcgruber would come on and we were watching the show live in high school there would be audible cheers in the room like sometimes like i gotta talk sometimes about like my snl history and like um we would be like like my friends and i loved saturday night live so much that we would be this is like before we were old enough to like go out to clubs and like drink we would like have house parties with our friends and we'd have like a lot of people in our high school grade over and snl would be on the tv in the living room and like i'd always be like somewhere nearby so i could like see what was happening and not feel like the fomo of not having watched it and as it's happening so like two things would happen during this era that would just like make the bit like make the house shake one snl digital short pops up number two was mcgruber theme song comes on and people would be like everyone would sing like mcgruber like as that would come on and it was just like nobody like we were young like we didn't like get the whole like macgyver like the whole thing like we didn't we didn't get it but like knowing what i know now it's it's just like a brilliant portrayal of like this characterization and obviously we're gonna get like at one point the real macgyver i mean there's so many good variations of this including like betty white and everybody but But yeah, this is like his most well-known character.

Track 4:

[1:17:05] And it like, it only took us an hour to get here because there's so many other brilliant things on his resume.

But it doesn't take away from the fact that these sketches or like blackout jokes really, because this is like the pinnacle of a blackout, you know, joke on SNL, are amazing.

They're amazing. And it's like really the last real runner we've ever had at the show.

Track 4:

[1:17:26] Damn, this door is locked from the outside. As soon as that liquid hydrogens release this baby's going to blow sky high! What's the plan, MacGruber?

I want to kiss you on the mouth. What? Ten seconds!

Okay, okay, quickly. April, hand me the guitar. Give me the guitar, give me the guitar. Come on. Okay, check this out.

Groober, I got ten inches of lovin' And I wanna give it to ya Are you drunk?

Groober, okay, maybe it's not ten But it's certainly seven Come on, man, do something!

Groober, okay, it's more like five.

Track 4:

[1:18:10] You alluded to something when you mentioned, oh, he did one with Betty White or Richard Dean Anderson, the real MacGyver, Charles Barkley, something really important about recurring characters and this, that this one didn't fall into that trap is diminishing returns.

And that, that's a really huge topic amongst SNL fans. And Lisa from Temecula recently has been, you know, we've talked about the concept of diminishing returns possibly as far as that goes.

Track 4:

[1:18:38] MacGruber didn't suffer from that. I don't think there was diminishing returns in these that I could remember. It seemed like all of them basically hit.

I mean, yeah, you're talking to the wrong person if you want to argue with me that they didn't. Because I think that like these to me were so hilarious.

And I think that it was a great level of escalation.

And I really feel like the formatting of these is like one of the last great things about traditional television, which was like we talk a lot now on the SNN about, you know, what what are the producers at SNL like really thinking about when they produce a new season of Saturday Night Live, like all the way now in the 2020s?

And like, is the show being produced for somebody to watch it every Saturday night at 1130 to 1am?

Or is it being produced in smaller doses for people to watch on TikTok and YouTube?

Track 4:

[1:19:31] And I think that you can't produce these sketches in the new format of the show, potentially, because then you have to put them back to back in like a YouTube video, which is often what they did.

And I think that takes away a little bit from the MacGruber sketches, which was the the having to wait to see what's going to happen later on in the episode made these sketches even better.

Like you would have to go like 25 minutes before you saw the next MacGruber or if it like is there going to be another one? Like what's the next escalation here?

And I just love like the playing with the format in modern times that they were able to do with these sketches.

That's a great point that I never thought of. But you're absolutely right.

Like kids these days. Am I right? instant gratification and whatnot like yeah yeah they don't they don't get it yeah they just don't get it no you know that's such a good point though and i will i want to see yeah as snl fans we have like these these lists that we want to see this and that and i'm with you on runners like i love.

Track 4:

[1:20:31] Runners like there's an there's another example like the closet organizer oh man yeah with with john ham like in john ham's episode like that that was a really that's an unexpected runner and that was a different kind of runner that with the closet organizer but i yeah yeah i mean that that is something that like i feel like they would never do now but and they wouldn't even like really do that in 2010 like that was so unique that they allowed will forte to do something like that where like he appears as the closet organizer in the john ham episode and then like in a different sketch later in the night like he meets the guy from the closet organizer at a bar and like that's something that they would do in like the late 80s maybe not in 2010 but i.

Track 4:

[1:21:19] Think that lauren at the time probably was like we're gonna give this to will because like it's so brilliant yeah from john john ham that was a great episode uh we covered john ham in in the snl hall of fame but yeah that was like a brilliant another little brilliant piece of physical acting writing especially that will forte did before we kind of start heading to the home stretch and closing this out we can do like a little lightning round unless you have something else before the lightning round no we'll do the lightning round but i was gonna say uh jd i'm keeping thomas here forever because we're just gonna keep going and going i'm pumped yes yeah uh so i want to do like a little lightning round if you have like one or two sketches that people should just go check out i have a couple if you have a couple uh we'll start with you and just kind of briefly like Like just maybe one or two more sketches that people should check out if they want to know Will Forte.

Track 4:

[1:22:13] Sure. Yeah. I mean, one of my favorite sketches from his era at the show was a sketch that involved like most of the cast.

And it was a series of sketches where there would be a toast at like a wedding or a funeral or something like that.

And you get all these characters from different cast members who would show up there and they would recur.

Occur um we did see this a little bit in a recent era but it wasn't as to the brilliance of like what these cast members would do and involved will forte playing a character named hamilton who's this like super far right guy who like comes up the microphone and whispers about how like.

Track 4:

[1:22:47] Like obama shouldn't be president and like he's like the devil and like all these things and it's like it's so weird in retrospect because like we've seen in real life over the last like 10 years like a lot of hamiltons like pop up but like at the time i think like things weren't so serious and like will forte could play this guy on the show and he plays it like with this blonde wig looking so crazy with the glasses and everything that and it to me i laugh so much at this especially one of the sketches where he admits that he's like in a relationship with gabourey sedebe yeah it's so great and i think seth myers that'd be like a jan krang like ad bryant's character like that type of that archetype of just somebody yeah i mean in a like a public setting i know jan krang was played bigger than yeah than hamilton but but that's kind of where my mind went yeah see those are more like catchphrase jokes to me like the whole like jan and krang like that's like that whereas like this is all like in the world building that is brilliant about this character which is like you only need like 30 seconds with the character to know everything about them and like that is something that will force it does really well and one of the it's one of the characterizations of like i think some of the greats in snl history i know this is the lightning round but i just i have to say like i love this sketch, so so much so much so that i think uh i think seth meyers had will forte do hamilton at his wedding.

Track 4:

[1:24:15] Really yes and you could look up that clip online i think he talked about that and they showed a clip on late night of him doing it there and talking about why his wife should not be marrying him and it is as good as it gets like you got to check that out i'm gonna check that out and you had another one um well yeah i was gonna say uh clancy t baccarat like i know we didn't bring it up i don't know if i know these sketches aren't for everybody but like him and kristen wigg just, Yeah, screaming and yelling, singing Easter songs or whatever it is about spaceships, tall doors, model T cars and jars of beer.

Those always crack me up. And again, he's in his like full like crazy hairdo, all that stuff.

To me, you know, the two of them, we talked about him and Jason Sudeikis, but.

Track 4:

[1:25:00] Him and kristen wig i think are another brilliant team that i just wish we got a couple more years from so another great sketch yeah well we had a whole episode of snl where that was will forte and kristen wig uh recently so that's true i was the one i was one of the ones who didn't mind that as much yeah it was a weird episode i won't dwell on his hosting gig too much but it was very bizarre but i did enjoy the when they brought back the clancy t baccarat character yes uh yeah so so can i just say about that episode because i i do think like it's it's interesting for some of the listeners who maybe weren't like following our coverage at the time of that um why that episode was so weird and unique was that like i was doing the stats on that episode like the day after and i was like that episode felt so weird and i just like couldn't figure out why and i love will forte and then i realized that that was the first episode since the second episode of the series where paul simon hosted the show where no cast member was in more than two segments I went through every episode, all 900 and something.

Track 4:

[1:26:00] And no regular cast member was in more than a couple of things.

And that was such a unique situation that it almost felt like a clip show, in a way.

It wasn't like a new episode of season 47 of SNL, and nobody will catch me complaining about more Will Forte, but it was just a very unique episode that people were excited to see how Will Forte was gonna fit with this cast and what he was gonna do.

Track 4:

[1:26:24] But it ended up being like a lot of MacGruber and like, you know, small sketches with a couple of cast members. And I think like a lot of people had a night off.

Yeah. Yeah. So whether you thought it was a good episode or a bad episode, it was definitely a memorable episode. Very unique episode.

So I'll give it that for sure. Two that I wanted to shout out were he did these he did that these three times.

It was called First Night Out. So I think he was him and Kristen. in he played this guy named neil and they would basically try to rope somebody in to do a three way with them and it just his delivery about calmly explaining how a sexual encounter will unfold between the three of them like and then you show like the they're they're meeting at the beginning of the night and then they have more drinks and they even show like the hand on the clock like move like it's later in the night and then they're going from talking about regular things to will forte's exploit calmly explaining to them just in a matter of fact way about you're you're going to do this and then I'll come in and do that.

And just, I found that just, just so like subtly bizarre.

Track 4:

[1:27:23] So, so I wanted to shout those out. Do you remember though? I'm sure you remember those, John. Oh man, those are, those are really great.

There's so many good Will Forte things. I mean, it's hard to bring up everything, but yeah, those are really great sketches.

And I, in particular, I think they did a very good one. I'm going to say it was with either Lindsay Lohan.

I think they did one with Rainn Wilson. Lindsay Lohan was in one.

Yeah. Rainn Wilson also. I think they did a good one there.

Steve Martin. And I remember that one was a little bit weird.

But yeah, those are some good ones.

Yeah. And then there's a one-off. So I talked about how I love his one-offs.

And there was one he did with Drew Barrymore and Kristen Wiig called Poison Therapy. Okay. Season 32.

Track 4:

[1:27:59] And Will's character, he and his wife are in marriage counseling.

And Kristen Wiig plays the marriage counselor. And he's married to Drew Barrymore.

And they're talking just in this matter-of-fact way about how Drew Barrymore likes to poison him. and he's and Will Forte almost plays he plays it so small and subtle and so funny he's almost like.

Track 4:

[1:28:22] Like excusing his wife for poisoning him and and kristen's really playing it well too and she's saying as a matter of fact like so why do you think that is and then drew barrymore is like well i do poison him so i understand why he feels that way and then will forte is like oh you do you understand so he's all happy so it's just this very great scene in a marriage counselor's office called poison therapy kristen wigg will forte drew barrymore i want to encourage people to go watch that one as well yes oh i got one more by the way sorry jd but i gotta you know we can't end this episode without bringing up gully i mean just you know will forte making those sketches as great as they are with his you know mr dylan uh you know i think those sketches like lost their luster a little bit after he left the show so uh for me that is uh one of the better you know characters within the world of another sketch yeah will forte's delivery lives on like when When everybody thinks about those sketches, I think they're thinking they're imagining Kristen dancing, but they're also thinking about Will's delivery with the ghillie.

So that's a good that's a good pull, John.

Track 4:

[1:29:27] So post SNL, because I know and especially when you look at cast members, you kind of like to look at post SNL and we already covered his hosting stint.

But after SNL, he started MacGruber, which came out around the same time as he finished the final season of SNL, like literally the same month.

I think he starred in The Last Man on Earth from 2015 to 2018, which is a show that I stand by.

He's got some good laughs out of that show.

He tends to pop up everywhere in TV and movies as well. He's one of those.

He's almost like a Maya Rudolph in a way where he's just like pops up in a lot of things.

So have you enjoyed Will Forte's post SNL career? Like, what do you make of it?

Yeah, I also enjoyed him on 30 Rock. He had to run there as well.

I think it's like Jenna's boyfriend that.

Track 4:

[1:30:10] Yeah, I mean, look, anytime he pops up in anything, I love to watch it.

Last Man on Earth to me was a great show that didn't get enough press.

Track 4:

[1:30:17] And when it got canceled, I was really upset about it because it had like a really good story about the end of the world.

And then I ended up going to see Will Forte at Just for Laughs.

And then he told us like how the show was intended to be finished. finished um and i was like if you if you know me like i i hate that stuff like i hate not knowing so for like close the book so if anybody wants to know like reach out i'll let you know like how that how that was going to finish i'll definitely ask you when we when we hit stop here yeah i don't want to like read it for anybody in case i don't want to but i did i do know that how the show was going to end if they had a last season um yeah so i mean like i've really enjoyed everything i've seen him in anytime before today does like a an interview or something like that i check it out i i sort of like knew that like coming off this career on the show like i think that this was his playground and there would not necessarily be outlets for his type of comedy out there unless he was going to produce his own show or have his own special or something like that i think like the tim robinson format is maybe something we could have gotten from will forte at some point um if he had wanted to go that route like if there wasn't netflix that was paying for those types of things i think that maybe that's something that he could have envisioned post his career but i don't know i mean look he's at an okay post career uh from snl but i like i said i think that snl was his you know was his playground and he was a master when he was on the field yeah i agree with that i think uh he was destined to be like a character actor kind of he plays that really well he's always memorable and whatever.

Track 4:

[1:31:44] He appears in snl you're right that was his playground and he did it really well so i agree with you i think i think i've enjoyed his his post SNL career and I think he's doing what he was kind of destined to do uh so now's the time I don't know why you wouldn't vote Will Forte into the SNL Hall of Fame I'm gonna I want to talk to somebody who yeah maybe maybe on our upcoming roundtable there might be uh one or two stragglers there but uh so John you want to give us a little uh pitch to end the show why you think SNL Hall of Fame voters should consider casting a vote for Will Forte.

Track 4:

[1:32:21] Yeah, I think he left his mark on the show that, you know, everyone who's come since has always been compared to, you know, people are always like looking for the next Will Forte.

Track 4:

[1:32:32] I don't think there's an easy comparison for anyone before him.

So he lives in his own world in terms of the history of the show.

I think he built things on the show in terms of, you know, time within the show.

That is the Will Forte, you know, area for people to go and play and be weird.

And I think he changed the show. Like one of these things I like to think about or talk about when I'm voting for the Hall of Fame is if you pull this person out of the timeline, out of SNL history, is SNL the same? Is it better? Is it worse?

And I think SNL is a much worse series without Will Forte in it for those eight seasons, you know, just being absolutely crazy to the nth degree.

Agree so you know if you listen to this whole show for an hour plus of thomas and i just going on and on about how great he is you'll know that there were just character after character moment after moment in every one of the seasons that he just crushed and i i think that you know going back and re-watching his career at the show you are going to find yourself looking for a will forte moment in an episode that's going to brighten your day and he's going to give it to you so he is is absolutely made for the SNL Hall of Fame and deserves to be in there.

Track 2:

[1:33:59] Made for the SNL Hall of Fame, Will Forte, an impassioned argument from our friend John Schneider, facilitated expertly by Thomas Senna.

I got to tell you that I think he's a Hall of Famer.

I don't think he's a first ballot Hall of Famer.

He just doesn't have that gravitas. While I agree with John that the show would be very different and it would be different in a negative way without him, I do think that he wasn't ever the fulcrum on which the show pivoted.

And that may hurt his case just a little bit.

But you just heard 90 minutes from Thomas and John. John, and if that doesn't convince you, then I don't know what will. Maybe a sketch.

Maybe we should go to a sketch right now. How do you like them apples?

So let's go to a sketch called Trick or Treat. This appeared on an episode hosted by John Hamm. Let's go to it now.

Track 5:

[1:35:11] Here is a Snickers for each of you. And for old time's sake, how about a Charleston Chew?

Thank you, Mr. Peterson. Happy Halloween.

Track 5:

[1:35:34] Trick or treat. Can I help you?

Well, that depends. Do you have any Kit Kat bars? Heck, I'll take anything without toffee. It's a real bitch on the fillings.

Hey, don't call me a bitch. You're the bitch, bitch. What?

Seriously though, trick or treat. Aren't you a little old to be trick or treating?

Wait, is 43 too old to be in the Halloween spirit? And by spirit, I don't mean ghost. Heck, I'm not that old. What?

I realize this is a little unusual, but, you know, I just moved into the neighborhood, and, you know, I figured I'd use trick-or-treating as an excuse to get out and make some new friends.

I apologize for being so awkward.

No, you know, that's quite all right. That wasn't very neighborly of me, and I apologize.

Bob Peterson. Jeff Montgomery. Pleasure to meet you.

You know, this doesn't excuse my behavior, but I hope you'll accept a Reese's peanut butter cup.

Bob, I couldn't think of a better welcoming gift. Thank you.

And just out of curiosity, what exactly is your Halloween costume? I'm a sex offender.

Track 5:

[1:36:53] Excuse me? I'm a sex offender. For Halloween.

A sex offender. Yes, pretty convincing, huh? Here, watch this. I'm Jeff Montgomery.

By law, I'm required to inform you that I'm a repeat sex offender.

And I'll be living in your neighborhood.

It's a great costume, right?

Could you sign and date these, please?

Track 5:

[1:37:19] What am I signing? You will get a big kick out of this.

You see, as part of my costume, I'm having everyone sign this form acknowledging that there's a sex offender living in the neighborhood, et cetera, et cetera.

Let's just be clear on something here. Is sex offender your Halloween costume, or are you fulfilling a legal obligation to declare yourself a sex offender?

Bob, lighten up! It's Halloween!

Huh? Besides, this is a tradition. You know, I do this every time I move to a new town.

Are you, Jeff Montgomery, a sex offender?

Am I, Jeff Montgomery, a registered sex offender on Halloween?

Yes. What about not on Halloween?

Yes, even when it's not Halloween, I'm still Jeff Montgomery.

A sex offender. Look, you're missing the point here, Bob.

The point is Halloween spirit. The point is trick-or-treat. The point is, could you sign those papers?

All right, okay. You know, last chance, and I will check with the police on this.

Do you have a criminal record?

Absolutely not. Look, if I am guilty of any crime, it's the crime of sexually assaulting five teenagers.

Track 5:

[1:38:41] Okay, now this is going to sound like a terrible segue, but are you looking for a babysitter? Happy Halloween!

What? What?

Track 2:

[1:38:55] Oh, Jeff Montgomery in a sketch called Trick or Treat, street registered sex offender um you know it's uh it's sort of a third rail and the way forte and company executed they did it in a way that had a lot of comedic value and i think that uh that just shows it really showcases Forte's knack for taking the absurd and the awkward and milking the comedy out of them where a lot of people might not see that comedy so there's that.

Track 2:

[1:39:39] Hope you enjoyed yourself this week I can't believe it but we've only got two episodes left Next week we're going to be talking about Kate McKinnon fresh on the ballot and we will be talking to Ashley Bauer about Kate McKinnon and building the case for her inclusion in the SNL Hall of Fame.

We'll follow that on May the 6th with the Don Pardo Award winner and we're really excited to present that to you this year.

That will be the same day that the ballots are distributed and voting is open voting will run until may 17th and we will wrap up the whole season five on may 20th with an extravaganza the likes of which you've never seen before now if you would do me a favor and on your way out as you pass the Weekend Update exhibit, turn out the lights.

Track 2:

[1:40:38] Because the SNL Hall of Fame is now closed.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/snlhof/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy