18 Comments
User's avatar
Dice Gringo's avatar

Some really good things, and some things I super disagree with. I think you guys are spot on with most of these, but of the more “controversial” or “underrated” takes, you nailed Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph. I might actually argue Maya lower, but her last 1.5 seasons (once the show got better) are really good. Tina, if you’re not counting BTS or Palin or hosting contributions, doesn’t deserve any higher either. Moffat, Kroeger, and Gross are some underrated cast members you had at appropriate spots. I’m with Scot on this one - Mary Gross was the MVP female from Ebersol, and Robin Duke, while good when she got stuff on, is way too underutilized to make it that high in the list.

Expand full comment
Brian Berkey's avatar

So we don't know SB's 26, 27, 30, and 31, and we don't know CS's 26, 31, 33, and 40.

That CS40 really has me curious as the corresponding SB ranking has to be really high in order for the average put it into the top 25. My guess is CS40 is either Chevy Chase (since we know that SB tends to give update anchors higher rankings than CS) or Vanessa Bayer (since we know SB finds her very, very INTERESTING)

Expand full comment
Christian Schneider's avatar

I love this analysis. It’s like WTS Moneyball.

I will tell you that there are 22 spots between my 40 and where Scot has them ranked. So they slide in at number 25, just barely making the cut for the next podcast.

Expand full comment
Steve J. Rogers's avatar

Piecing together

John, Dan, Gilda, Chevy and Bill

Eddie & Joe

Dana, Phil, Lovitz, Mike Myers, Farley

Will Ferrel, Shannon, Dratch, Amy, Forte

Keenan, Sudeikis, Hader, Wiig

Bayer, McKinnon…missing two and I got to run 🤷🏻‍♂️ I’ll figure it out when I get a chance later

Expand full comment
Charlie Board's avatar

Of those 23 for me the two who should be nowhere near Top 25 would be Farley and Hader. And Chevy gets there only on historical impact, not on actual merit

But overall that's a pretty funny group of people, amirite?

Expand full comment
Rudy Says's avatar

Last rerun I viewed had host Martin Short plant a huge kiss on Jimmy Fallon. If it was done to a female ….

#39 Jimmy had some real good characters despite ruining that cowbell sketch after ruining Christopher Walken's song & dance monologue.

Sorry this list is insane.

Expand full comment
Charlie Board's avatar

The mention of NCAA tournament commercials was cool in that Beck was mentioned shortly before that and when I think Beck Bennett I think two things: BabyMan (a criminally underused recurring charachter) and that series of really great cellphone commercials he did with a roundtable of kids before joining the show. Which I *think* ran during the NCAAs. Or maybe it was NBA playoffs.

Expand full comment
Scot's avatar

BabyMan was really good the first time or two and then it lost its footing a bit. I thought I read somewhere that Bennett had to choose between continuing the AT&T ads or joining SNL. And those definitely ran during the Tournament, yes.

Expand full comment
Charlie Board's avatar

Can't help thinking with those five surprisingly low (I'd put all of them top 35) ladies from 54 to 48 plus Jane and Laraine and Maya off the table that the top 25 is going to be way excessively male.

Trying to think who's left on the distaff side - Kate, Gilda, Amy, Kristen, Molly, Vanessa. Who am I missing?

Expand full comment
Christian Schneider's avatar

It is worth pointing out that during its best years, the show itself was "way excessively male."

Expand full comment
Charlie Board's avatar

Yeah. Though I like the much more female last dozen(ish) years a lot more than the two of you did.

Expand full comment
Charlie Board's avatar

Also...Jimmy Fallon over Tina Fey - or in the top 100 - is insane. But watching tat many episodes gives you a readymade insanity defense

Expand full comment
Steve J. Rogers's avatar

Quick aside, wish you stopped on Samberg a bit. Over at the now closed SNL HOF pod, they tried to get The Lonely Island in as a writing group (they also did the same with Fraken & Davis) the first couple of voting cycles. But once they put the trio’s names on the ballot, they sailed in!

As innovative and game changer for the digital format of pre-tapes as the group was, does Samberg’s talent as a comic actor overwhelm not just Akiva and Jorma as talented writers and content producers, but the actual “The Lonely Island” as a brand. 🤔🤷🏻‍♂️

Though that’s more of a topic for a lazy Sunday type of pod…

Couldn’t resist ;)

Expand full comment
Scot's avatar

Christian valued innovation in the same way I valued WU :). He had Samberg much higher than I did. I admit there's a case to be made.

Expand full comment
Steve J. Rogers's avatar

Saturday Night Network’s Top 50 from a couple of years back isn’t helping with the two names I’m missing in the Top 25 here…It was a mix of a fan and staff member vote

BTW, Martin Short came in at 44. Sure his hosting and cameos over the years were factored along with his performance in S10, but he’s on the “one and done” bottom of barrel list here.

Expand full comment
Steve J. Rogers's avatar

Let’s see…ranking 128 so the medium is…64! Which means Ana Gasteyer, not Kevin Nealon (who made the top 50) is the LAR benchmark for this podcast! ;)

Expand full comment
Wasn't That Special's avatar

Correct! That's highlighted on the show, too. The Gasteyer line.

Expand full comment
Steve J. Rogers's avatar

Just realized Nealon’s WU sign off is appropriate here, “that’s news to me!”

Expand full comment