The 20 Greatest Saturday Night Live Sketches of All Time

We know, picking the greatest Saturday Night Live sketches of all time is generally a fool’s errand. After watching nearly 10,000 sketches over the span of 50 years, how can you narrow the list to just 20?

Well, we tried. We each picked our 20 favorite live-action sketches (pre-tapes and commercials excluded) in show history. Listen to our rationale in this week’s podcast - otherwise, our complete lists are below. Enjoy!

Christian’s Picks:

20. Clancy T. Bachleratt and Jackie Snad Sing Songs About Spaceships, Toddlers, Model T. Cars and Jars of Beer (Season 33, Episode 8)

19. Washington’s Dream (S49, E3)

18: Debbie Downer Debut (S29, E18)

17. Amazing Time Savers (S19, E20)

There is a reason this one isn’t on YouTube.

16. Puppet Class (S38, E1)

15. James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub Party (S9, E4)

14. Game Beaters: Mr. Short-Term Memory (S16, E8)

Watch Here

13. Ronald Reagan: Mastermind (S12, E6)

12. The Continental (Multiple Seasons)

11. Chippendales (S16, E4)

10. Potato Chip Astronaut (S35, E8)

9. Stand Up and Win (S17, E18)

8. Hot Tub Love-Ahs (S27, E3)

7. Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood (Multiple Seasons)

6. Spelling Bee (S31, E9)

5. Bill Clinton at McDonald’s (S18, E8)

4. The Festrunk Brothers (S3, E1)

(This is a later sketch, not the debut, which was picked for the podcast. The original is only available on Peacock.)

3. Word Association (S1, E7)

2. More Cowbell (S25, E16)

1. Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker (S18, E19)

Scot’s Picks:

20. Massive Headwound Harry (S17, E6)

19. Land Shark III (S1, E6)

18. Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker (S18, E19)

17. Amazing Time Savers (S19, E20)

16. Theodoric of York: Medieval Barber (S3, E18)

15. Morning Drive (Alec Baldwin and Kristen Wiig) (S32, E5)

14. Chippendale’s (S16, E4)

13. More Cowbell (S25, E16)

12. WWE Promo (S40, E16)

11. Wake Up and Smile (S21, E8)

10. Puppet Class (S38, E1)

9. Talk Back (Buck Henry) (S1, E21)

8. Robot Repair (S14, E15)

7. Delicious Dish (S24, E9)

6. Debbie Downer: Disney World (S29, E18)

5. Bill Clinton at McDonald’s (S18, E8)

4. The Sinatra Group (S16, E11)

3. Black Jeopardy! (S42, E4)

2. Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute (S4, E15)

1. Ronald Reagan: Mastermind (S12, E6)