Originally my plan was to make this a list of the top 10 best SNL skits of all time, but as I started scribbling down my favorite sketches from years gone by I found that narrowing them down to
just 10 was a daunting task. The show has been making people laugh for well over three decades now, and there are too many hilarious skits in their archive to stop at just 10. Ultimately, I decided to expand the list to 25 entries, but even so I was forced to omit literally dozens of classics. I’m sure this list will create great controversy, as everybody has their favorite skits. Feel free to submit your own lists and to point out any glaring omissions you think I’ve made in the comments below. Here are my picks for the top 25 funniest SNL skits of all time:
25 – Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey – Not a traditional skit, as such, this was more of an interlude between sketches or commercials. Deep Thoughts usual featured a still image of nature, while Jack Handey’s soothing voice made an incredibly strange (but deep) observation. Always good for a laugh, and some of the most quotable lines in TV history.
24 – Cork Soakers – SNL writers have come up with several of these clever skits where words are played upon, with a certain catch-phrase sounding very much like an R-rated saying. Example: Christopher Walken’s classic Colonel Angus skit. This time Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz deliver the laughs while guest Janet Jackson tries to keep a straight face.
23 – Will Ferrell as Harry Caray – Many would make the argument that Will Ferrell is the funniest SNL cast member of all time. I would be in that camp as well, as you will see by the number of times he appears on this list. He played several recurring characters during his time on the show, but one of his best was his portrayal of longtime Chicago Cubs’ broadcaster Harry Caray.
22 – Canteen Boy – Saturday Night Live has never been shy about pushing the boundaries of good taste, and this skit featuring Adam Sandler and
Alec Baldwin is no exception. Baldwin stars as a scout leader who tries to seduce the young “canteen boy” (Sandler). Hard to watch, but hilarious at the same time. That is a lot of chest hair!
21 – Pumping Up With Hans and Franz – For as long as Arnold Schwarzenegger has been in the public eye he has been the target of mockery. With a thick accent and questionable acting ability it is little wonder the man who now governs California has had more than his share of fun poked at him. However, no one has managed the feat quite as well as Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon in their recurring roles as Hanz and Franz, two European body-builders who mock those weaker than them as girly men, and promise to pump you up!
20 – Wayne’s World – Mike Myers and Dana Carvey became cult heroes for a time in the early 90’s with this ongoing SNL skit that ultimately went on to spawn a pair of very successful feature films. Featuring the pair broadcasting a cable access show out of Wayne’s parents’ basement, the skit provided dozens of classic quotes and featured some heavyweight talent from the world of rock and roll.
19 – Land Shark – I go way back into the vault for this entry on the list of the funniest Saturday Night Live sketches. Chevy Chase plays a crafty land shark who uses deception to prey on young, single women. His cleverness knows no bounds, and whether he is pretending to deliver a candygram or posing as a dolphin he ultimately gets his prey.
18 – James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub – While I stated above that I think Will Ferrell is the bestSNL cast member to date, Eddie Murphy could certainly challenge for that crown. Murphy was a huge star on SNL before moving on to the big screen as one of the most popular comedic Hollywoodactors of his generation. This hilarious sketch features Murphy doing an awesome impression of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Though this skit is nearly 30 years old now it is still regularly referenced to this day.
17 – Toonces the Driving Cat – Yes, the title basically says it all. Writers got a lot of mileage out of a skit with a very simple premise: a couple, against their better judgment, ultimately let their pet cat Toonces drive the family car. The skit would always end the same way, with the car and its occupants plunging over a massive cliff.
16 – Bill Swerski’s Superfans (Da Bears) – On a show that rivals Seinfeld for being the most quotable on television, this was perhaps the most quotable skit. Bill Swerski (Joe Mantegna) and later his brother Bob
(George Wendt) lead a roundtable devoted to Chicago sports. Though they are huge fans of Da Bulls, their overwhelming allegiance is to Da Bears. Not a lot of intellectual depth here as the premise was basically Swerski and friends hanging out in Mike Ditka’s sports bar, smoking stogies, swilling beer, and eating vast quantities of polish sausage while discussing the Chicago sports scene, but it was the ruminations about hypothetical situations that really made it funny.
15 – Oh No, Mr. Bill – Some of SNL’s best skits over the years didn’t even require live actors. Mr. Bill may have been made out of clay, but he was enormously popular back in the day. Mr. hand co-starred and usually made life miserable for Mr. Bill, whose cries of Oh No!!!!!! evoked gales of laughter, rather than sympathy from live and television audiences alike.
14 – Happy Fun Ball – Saturday Night Live has been famous over the years for creating mock commercials. Bad Idea Jeans, Colon Blow Cereal and Oops, I Crapped My Pants are just a few examples. Strangely, perhaps their most popular commercial is one about a toy called Happy Fun Ball, which comes with a multitude of disclaimers and warnings. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball!
13 – Super Bass-o-Matic ’76 – Yes, it is funnier than Happy Fun Ball, but it is more of an infomercial than a standard commercial. Dan Akroyd is at his best as a spokesman for the Super Bass-o- Matic ’76 blender. Wow, that’s terrific bass!
12 – Lazy Sunday – Though Andy Sandberg and his Lonely Island crew had already made their mark with a couple of digital shorts, it was this hilarious mock rap song that really launched them into the stratosphere. Almost immediately after airing the video went viral on the internet, and Sandberg’s and Chris Parnell’s clever rap was viewed millions of times. Since then they’ve gone back to the well on several occasions, but to date the recipe has yet to grow stale.
11 – Two Wild and Crazy Guys – No list of the best SNL sketches would be complete without the incomparable Steve Martin. He and Dan Akroyd star in this classic from 1978 as Georg and Yortuk Festrunk, a pair of Czech brothers who swing and cruise successfully in tight slacks.
10 – Synchronized Swimming – Though definitely known more for his iconic character, Ed Grimley in my opinion the best Martin Short skit ever was this clever classic in which Short plays one half of a male synchronized swimming team. Hilariously, Short doesn’t know how to swim and needs to wear water-wings in the pool. Christopher Guest is great as Short’s coach, who oversees his “deck work”.
9 – Samurai Delicatessen – Though he was on the show for far too short a time the legacy that John Belushi left behind has been an inspiration for Saturday Night live players for more
than 30 years. He starred in a number of classic skits, but in my opinion his best was the deliciously random, Samurai Delicatessen. Guest host Richard Prior stars alongside Belushi in this sword-swinging, confusing but amusing skit.
8 -Delicious Dish (Schweddy Balls episode)– SNL always does a great job around holiday time with skits appropriate to the time of year. However, no other holiday skit, Christmas or otherwise, can compare to Schweddy Balls. Alec Baldwin stars as Pete Schweddy, who appears on the fictitious program Delicious Dish to promote some of his bakery’s Christmas treats. As usual, the SNL writers pushed the envelope with this one, matching up his last name with a popular holiday treat to make pop culture history.
7 – Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker – In my opinion there has been no more gifted slap-stick actor in the history of the show than Chris Farley. Despite his large size, Foley was amazingly versatile at physical comedy, and he brought a massive amount of energy into each of his roles. He had several hugely popular characters on the show, but none more-so that Matt Foley, a down-and-out guy, living in a van down by the river, who decides to hang out his shingle as a motivational speaker. Classic, funny stuff.
6 – Dick in a Box – Another classic from The Lonely Island. This time Andy Sandberg teams up withJustin Timberlake in this shockingly hilarious take on gift-giving. Much like Lazy Sunday before it and Jizz in My Pants after it, the video of this skit became an internet sensation, creating tons of controversy and putting SNL back in the spotlight one more time.
5 – Chippendales Audition – I could watch this skit 100 times and laugh myself breathless each and every time. Yes, it burns the eyes, but you’ll find you just can’t look away as you howl with laughter. The premise? Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze go mano-a-mano in a dance-off to determine who will get a coveted position with Chippendales.
4 – Celebrity Jeopardy – Will Ferrell is excellent in a parody role as Jeopardy host Alex Trebek. However, it is the contestants that really make the show. Darrell Hammond’s Sean Connery is a fixture and is absolutely brilliant. Norm McDonald’s Burt Reynolds (AKA Turd Ferguson) is also classic.
3 – Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood – Another parody makes my #3 spot on the list of the best SNL skits. This time Mr. Rogers spoofed by none other than Eddie Murphy. However, Murphy’s sweater-wearing host isn’t
quite as gentle and polished as Fred Rogers. In my opinion this was the best recurring skit from the early days of SNL.
2 – The Church Lady – Though pop culture has relegated Dana Carvey’s Church Lady into the bin marked irritating, at one point just about every teenager/young adult in the United States and Canada was quoting this all-time classic character. Church chat featured several such lines, most notably, “Well, isn’t that special?” and no one will ever forget Church Lady’s superior dance. Despite the fact that skit “jumped the shark” a long time ago you’ll still get a laugh if you check out the episode with Sean Penn.
1 – More Cowbell – Though deciding many of the other spots on the list was difficult in my opinion there can only be one choice for the #1 best SNL skit of all time. Will Ferrell is absolutely brilliant as Gene Frenkle, a cowbell player for the band Blue Oyster Cult who really “explores the studio space” while the band records signature track Don’t Fear the Reaper. Christopher Walken is awesome as producer Bruce Dickensen. Yes, the Bruce Dickensen. The skit is made even better by Jimmy Fallon, who manages to keep it together by the narrowest of margins.