'Wasn't That Special' Season 25 Bonus Materials

As the Wasn’t That Special co-hosts watch each season of Saturday Night Live, they compare notes on each episode, chatting back and forth about both popular and long-forgotten sketches. Some of the topics they discuss make it to the final podcast; others are left on the cutting-room floor.

But for those of you who join at the Executive Producer level, you will have access to Christian and Scot’s behind-the-scenes notes, as well as bonus materials the co-hosts used to prepare for the episode.

Below is the Season Twenty-Five bonus notes section, with the clips coming next week.

So please help keep the podcast advertisement-free and upgrade to the Executive Producer level, which will keep these emails coming in the future!

Episode One: Jerry Seinfeld (Ep. Grade: 2.58 out of 5)

Christian: Picked up right where last season ended.

Scot: Huge drop in quality from the last Seinfeld-hosted episode.

Pat Buchanan (Parnell) & Donald Trump (Hammond) vie to be Reform Party candidate; Ventura (Ferrell) crashes meeting

Christian: Prescient right off the bat, with Trump as a presidential candidate. (Granted, he DID run, so they were just describing what was happening.) Buchanan calls him "a cheap hustler with barroom morals."

Scot: Some real second-rate impressions here. Oteri's Perot pales in comparison to Carvey. Parnell's Buchanan isn't even as good as Koechner's. Hammond's Trump is a work in progress. Is he a mobster?

Dillon/Edwards Investments - commercial

Christian: Ashamed at how hard I laughed when it took the turn.

Scot: clownpenis.fart is the web address. I'm somewhat scared to go there now. Just a single joke.

Action 8 News Watch - anchors Seinfeld & Gasteyer tease important stories

Christian: Goes on way too long. Could have gotten out of it by having one of them say one of the anchors of this show had contracted a deadly disease and they would report who it was later.

Scot: One decent idea driven into the ground. No escalation at all. - Nearly predicts the Takata airbag recalls.

Complaint Line - Ferrell calls 1-800-EAT-SHIT to report a bad driver

Christian: I have an affinity for sketches that creatively get around swearing.

Interrogation - Ferrell alternately beats (Seinfeld) & then nurses him back to health

Christian: The first real Sanz/Fallon laughing break.

Scot: Another Patch Adams joke - Jerry breaks in the middle of the "Alive! Dead!" stuff.

Episode Two: Heather Graham (2.45)

Christian: Graham was good, but it didn't translate into a better-than-average episode.

Scot: Weekend Update produced by Robert Carlock.

Moderate candidate -  Hammond's Al Gore debuts - Ferrell as W - setting up head-to-head -  moderate (Sanz) is born from DNA of the two of them

Christian: Always weird watching them try to get a handle on the candidates before their personas are fully formed.

Scot: Bush and Gore are the same! - Feels like a McKay (the liberal candidate is not left enough, just GOP-lite).

Monologue - Meadows, Ferrell, Parnell concoct ruses in order to expose themselves to Graham

Christian: Milwaukee's own Heather Graham. The first dick-in-a-box joke!

Scot: No one can think of anything else to do with an attractive host? - OK, lazy, but executed well.

The Ladies Man - Leon & Rollergirl (Graham) review four porno movies

Christian: The upward trajectory on these has ended - kind of treading water, but still very good.

Scot: First two sketches on each of the first two shows are recurring - No one cheers for Leon?? - Gene Siskel had died earlier in 1999.

Dog Show - Hosts leads a seance to summon Mr. Rocky Balboa’s dead mother

Christian: Out of steam, using the same jokes.

Scot: Molly’s only appearance of the night. She's also filming the live-action Grinch movie with Jim Carrey.

Episode Three: Norm Macdonald (3.04)

Christian: Andy Breckman had a sketch this episode. Did Kattan boycott? No Morgan (save for a cameo) and no Sanz. Gasteyer was thin before, but now seems emaciated.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia - Martha Stewart (Gasteyer) enjoys being rich after her company's IPO

Christian: Prescient having Martha Stewart on to talk stock advice, given what she went to prison for.

Scot: Nice change of pace with this one

Celebrity Jeopardy - French Stewart (Fallon), Burt Reynolds, Sean Connery (Hammond)

Christian: The tentpole Jeopardy sketch.

Scot: Please refrain from using ethic slurs - Turd Ferguson - Suck it Trebek - In many ways, THE Jeopardy sketch.

Crosstalk - the sexiness of unhealthily-thin women is championed

Christian: Rachel Dratch's first appearance, as Calista Flockhart.

Scot: Parnell doesn't quite nail Gregory, but he is so good at being the center of sketches like this one.

Larry King's News and Views - Part One

Christian: More Norm staring down middling jokes. By this time, he had to know this was a criticism of his style.

McMullins House - dentist (Norm) & wife (Oteri) fight on Halloween

Christian: Oteri is yelling. More contrast - people having adult fight while dressed as tooth and brush.

Scot: Pretty one-note and this insults usually would bother me more, but Norm pulls it off.

Newly-single Michael Jackson (Meadows) & Howard Stern (Fallon) at bar

Christian: Uncharacteristic of Meadows to blow a couple of lines.

Scot: Believe Stern's divorce was public just that morning.

Episode Four: Dylan McDermott (2.31)

Christian: Felt light on Will. A dud right after the best episode of the season so far.

Scot: McDermott was a pretty good host but the material was not there to support him.

The Practice - Bobby (McDermott) kisses his law partners & Ally McBeal (Dratch)

Christian: Dratch is now 2-for-2 in appearances playing Calista Flockhart. Got big laughs both times, which is weird given no one knows who she is.

Scot: I have no idea who 80% of those people are supposed to be - the show essentially is a Who Wants to be a Millionaire creation. When it wasn't following that show, no one watched.

McDermott humors former co-star Sanz's desire to play Santa Claus

Christian: Sanz has a constant expression like he can't believe he's on the show, which is kind of fun.

Scot: It's fine.

Gumbel's Office - Bryant Gumbel (Meadows) & Katie Couric (Oteri) fight, Matt Lauer (McDermott) is pained

Scot: "Bring it on, Oreo"? Whoa. - People cared a lot more about the morning TV wars back then.

Mango - after Mango gets shot in the butt, cop (McDermott) goes undercover as him

Christian: A shot at Norm! Also, the go-to move after a few recurring character appearances is to have a second one - like when they made more Mr. Peeperses.

Lotto Pick 4 Hospital -- lottery numbers are revealed during medical drama

Christian: Much better premise than execution.

Scot: Interesting idea. Echoes of that sketch that combined soap operas and the news.

Episode Five: Garth Brooks (2.73)

Scot: Molly still isn't doing much but Ana is everywhere.

Special NBC report on shooting at NRA convention

Christian: The only person who wrote this thinking it is funny believes the NRA is pro-mass shooting. Wouldn't all those guns in the HQ help prevent something like that from happening? Is it even worth taking this seriously?

Scot: It's bad. I watched this three times to try to get a handle on it. In the end, I think they had "Let's get the NRA!" as a theme and just went for it, without thinking about how or why or if it would be funny.

Mango interrupts monologue -  Mango likes Chris Gaines

Christian: We really needed social media in 1999 to just crush Garth Brooks for his stupid ass Chris Gaines idea.

The Smurfs - live-action miniseries commercial

Christian: Prescient - there was a Smurfs CGI movie at some point after this.

Scot: Seems like the make-up and production on this had to be extensive.

Boston Teens - Hickory Farms job quest

Christian: Dratch and Amy Poehler used to work at the same Massachusetts ice cream place, Chadwick's (although at different times.)

Scot: I didn't mind this!

Express Flowers - Guy (Garth) can't figure out what message to write on flower card

Christian: See, more of this from Oteri!

Scot: Really good concept, actually. Everyone does a good job.

Garth will sell his soul for a hit song, but Lucifer (Ferrell) can’t deliver

Christian: Very best example of the "bad guy is a cool guy" formula.

Scot: Fully written and developed. Will makes the words funnier than they are. And a fantastic finish.

WXLU - ruinous newscast intro sequence devised by (Ferrell) has a kids show motif

Scot: Admit I guffawed at Tim telling everyone to simmer down as the first line - Feels like a McKay? Another Anchorman preview of sorts.

Christian: You stole literally everything I was thinking while watching this.

Episode Six: Jennifer Aniston (2.95)

Christian: Aniston was really fantastic. You can kind of tell which celebrities would be fun to hang out with just based on their SNL personas.

Scot: Two relatively strong weeks in a row here. Things getting interesting?

A Message From Donald Trump - Donald Trump’s (Hammond) running mate is millionaire John Carpenter

Christian: While not technically prescient, as Trump WAS running for president, man...this all holds up.

Scot: Is Carpenter the most random person ever to have a LFNY?

Aniston gets the women to join her Fight Club

Christian: Completely indistinguishable from Jennifer Aniston in 2024. Still so weird to see Tina Fey play "random cast member."

Scot: Advice: "Stay away from Chris Kattan."

Pretty Living - joyologist Helen & horny self-esteem guru (Sting)

Christian: Hard to believe that she's six years into the show and two of Shannon's best-known recurring characters haven't even debuted yet.

Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy - Nick Burns (Fallon) condescends as he helps

Christian: Fallon stumbles over some lines, but still good.

Scot: I actually liked this quite a bit - Fallon showing some range.

Privolin - Aniston interrupts meeting for genital herpes medication ad

Christian: Aniston is really good!

Sex & the City - Carrie (Aniston) recounts her rendezvous with Mr. Peepers

Christian: The end is an Eyes Wide Shut reference. Would we be doing the fake nose to look like Sarah Jessica Parker today?

Scot: I just watched Kattan closely this time and there is something to be said for the manic physical performance he provides.

Christmas Urchins - rented street urchins (Aniston) & (Dratch) entertain a family but get too close

Christian: Show has gotten a shot of adrenaline since Dratch joined.

Scot: Written by Fey. Dratch is perfect here. Liked the concept. Songs were short, sweet and funny. Well done.

Roberta ruins the family Thanksgiving dinner to which she invited herself

Christian: I suspect Dratch was watching carefully, given that this is effectively a Debbie Downer precursor.

Scot: Three Hammond appearances!! - This works OK! - "Have you ever been to Scranton?"

Episode Seven: Christina Ricci (2.55)

Christian: Sanz is invisible.

Scot: Another one where the host is pretty darn good and the material can't quite rise to meet her.

Monologue: Ricci's twin sister Bettina (Dratch) wishes they were still an acting team

Christian: Ricci says she's never acted in front of a live audience before. She has been on SNL! YOU SIT ON A THRONE OF LIES, CHRISTINA RICCI!

Scot: This was fun. Dratch-mentum is happening.

Taxicab Confessions - stripper (Ricci) distracts cabbie (Meadows) with sex talk

Christian: Meadows is great, but this is pretty slow moving for one joke.

Scot: Big, big laughs at Tim. I don't know what to say, he just nailed this performance. Ricci helped, of course.

Goth Talk - Azrael’s funeral while he's still alive

Christian: An extra point for finding a fun way to cash in on the same joke.

Scot: A funeral for Goth Talk. Last one!

Beck - “Sexx Laws”

Christian: This album ends with one of the funniest songs of the '90s, "Debra"

Scot: That bassist is killing it

Episode Eight: Danny DeVito (2.36)

Scot: Rough show with non-stop recurring characters. A dud of a Xmas show. Was Parnell there?

Mango - Christmas Fairy (Michael Stipe) shows why Mango’s dad (DeVito) rebukes him

Christian: As much as I love Michael Stipe, I cannot say this is the most inspired comic performance. They have taken a single joke and stretched it out to...what...eight sketches now?

Scot: Why isn't Mango spending the holiday with his family that we now know he has?

Happy Holidays from The Ladies Man - Leon Phelps sings “Merry Christmas To The Ladies”

Christian: It's fine, although the joke behind the Ladies Man is that he isn't really very good at anything - so it's weird to see he is a good singer?

TV Funhouse - “Fun With Real Audio” - journalists in 1999

Christian: Yikes. This is dreadful.

Scot: Written by Adam McKay. No kidding. - Pull the plug.

Rockettes Auditions - 50 year-old Sally O’Malley (Shannon) tries out for the Rockettes

Christian: I admit I laughed, given that I am 50 and back in 1999, young people thought that was like...being 75?

Scot: First original, non-recurring sketch of the night - (unless this is just Helen Madden?)

Mrs. Parker & DeVito love their sons

Christian: This? Recurring? Ugh.

Scot: Ferrell's first appearance tonight? That's a problem. Didn't help this dog, though.

R.E.M. - “Man On The Moon”

Christian: One of R.E.M.'s worst songs. Fight me.

Scot: We've made it from Andy Kaufman on that stage to a song/movie about Andy Kaufman.

Episode Nine: Jamie Foxx (2.41)

Scot: I will remember nothing from this show. It washed over me like an ocean wave and now pulls back, leaving nothing permanently disturbed.

Christian: I will remember that Jamie Foxx would have made a pretty good cast member. But yes, nothing stood out.

Hamburger Helper Antibacterial commercial

Christian: Parnell was born to do this.

A Message from John Goodman - plastic surgery won’t affect how John Goodman portrays Linda Tripp

Christian: Just mean.

Scot: "Former cast member John Goodman" - "We might have driven her to have plastic surgery but we're not done yet" is very 2000. Wouldn't dream of it today.

Showtime at the Apollo - Acts compete for applause; Parnell/Kattan dance, Otrei in TLC-esque group, Foxx sings

Christian: Easy to write, tough to watch.

Scot: I don't know what the point of this was.

Stereotypically Jeffrey - Sanz is called out for knowing co-worker as "the black guy"

Christian: Parnell seems to be in a different sketch?

Episode Ten: Freddie Prinze, Jr. (2.38)

Christian: Just chalking this one up to a poor host.

Scot: Prinze was bad. Show feels like it's struggling to find an identity right now. Prinze’s Down to You is the single worst film I've ever seen in my life. On a date at a theater, otherwise would have walked out.

Monologue: Flu-ravaged cast may necessitate cancellation of Prinze’s SNL episode

Christian: He's right, the cast was pretty old. Shannon was 36, Oteri was 38, Ferrell was 33, Tim Meadows was 39, Darrell Hammond was 45!

Scot: Lorne Michaels: "Can't do the show, going to have to show the Best of Rob Schneider."

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire - contestant (Ferrell) quits after winning $100

Christian: Wait, what? This is the whole sketch?

Scot: I guess it couldn't have been longer than it was, but it was a good laugh. Soon: same concept with Deal or No Deal?

Boy Band Blowout 2000 - Prinze is the new lead singer of 7 Degrees Celsius

Christian: Boy bands are the easiest thing in the world to lampoon, and they can't even do it well.

Scot: Do not care for these, which are now recurring.

Jenny Craig - Monica Lewinsky (Shannon) likes the phallic dishes possible with Jenny Craig

Christian: Literally rolled my eyes.

Ugly models (Dratch) & (Oteri) descrive their work; Angie Everhart cameo

Christian: There's a cut to Fallon where he is mouthing along with Oteri's lines.

Scot: "Are you guys the British puppets from the Phil Collins video?"

Dr. Beaman (Ferrell) tells (Parnell) & (Shannon) about their baby

Christian: All about catching a Ferrell wave and riding it the whole sketch. People just saying ridiculous things, forcing Molly to break, which she never does.

Scot: Like Dratch playing the same model character - Parnell, man of steel - Meadows replaced Prinze at the last minute, meaning this was the first time they saw him dance (a similar reason for breaking as the B&B sketch this year) - Really good and unusual for this season.

Episode Eleven: Alan Cumming (2.5)

Christian: Not going on the Tina Fey writing highlight reel. What a bummer - I really like Cumming. Light on Dratch and Molly (other than Dog Show.)

Presidential candidates have breakfast after the New Hampshire primary - Fallon as Bradley, Parnell as McCain, Meadows as Keyes

Christian: Cruises along pleasantly enough, then...what the hell was that ending?

Scot: Gore impression is not close yet. The McCain jokes are rough. Ends up being OK.

Cumming is approached by cast members shooting for Broadway

Scot: I basically have no idea who this person is.

Christian: What? He's a great actor - I like him in pretty much everything.

Uncle Jemima’s (Morgan) Pure Mash Liquor commercial

Christian: I cannot explain why I have loved this for so long.

Fried Chicken Fields Forever - VH-1 depicts John Lennon (Fallon) & Paul McCartney (Cumming) as restaurateurs

Christian: My God this is horrid. How does Fallon do a better Liverpool accent than Cumming?

Scot: No laughs found.

Dog Show - an intervention addresses Mr. Bojangles’ drinking problem

Christian: Cumming was one of the early out gay actors in Hollywood - he can't love Ferrell's making fun of it.

Scot: Done. Done. Done.

The Heat Is On - by Adam McKay- Ben Stiller regrets seducing Glenn Frey (Ferrell)

Scot: Still really, really love this. In my memory, the first SNL thing to go "viral." Lots of little throwaways laugh lines scattered throughout. Stiller and Ferrell are great.

Christian: I can't give it more than a 3 if I don't laugh once. But what are the chances the very week I discover the band Luna, I see this sketch with one of their songs? The rest of the soundtrack is incredible too.

Siegfried (Cumming) & Roy’s (Kattan) Night of 1000 Tigers is a wildlife benefit

Christian: Crying emoji

Episode Twelve: Julianna Margulies (2.81)

Christian: Oteri doing some major heavy lifting this week. This just in: Julianna Margulies is attractive.

Scot: Margulies was a sneaky good host. Some great content here, too. Just a weak middle takes it down.

A Message From Hillary Rodham Clinton - stiff Hillary Clinton speaks to New Yorkers as Bill is in background

Scot: Time to admit Ana's Hillary impression is pretty ghastly.

Bird Family - Margulies learns that her boyfriend’s (Parnell) family feeds him mouth-to-mouth

Christian: Only works if nobody breaks, which had to be a challenge. After the final one they finally let it go.

Scot: "All I've had today is a Smoothie" which makes sense because he doesn't chew - The shock after the first transfer wears off a bit, but still strong.

E! News Daily - Donatella Versace (Shannon) expounds her theories of fashion

Christian: "I love these clothes because they are so naughty. It's like wearing a spanking." Sanz's Elton John is low-key pretty good.

Nadeen - Emergency room nurse tells visitors to “simmer down”

Christian: Laughed a few times. Trying to enjoy it before it eventually makes me want to drill myself in the forehead.

Scot: This was not quite as unbearable as the first but I am pessimistic for any future attempts.

Crocodile Hunter - Steve (Kattan) & Terri (Margulies) Irwin love angry animals

Christian: Sadly prescient, given how it ended for Steve Irwin.

Scot: By the numbers.

Actor (Ferrell) is humiliated by erectile dysfunction commercial

Christian: Getting full movie-style Ferrell now.

Scot: "This guy couldn't even satisfy Mrs. Roper." - Parnell and Ferrell is a nice combo - Oh, a nice twist at the end.

Savin' It - girlfriends (Margulies and Gasteyer) sexually frustrate their boyfriends (Ferrell and Fallon)

Christian: Dratch also great. Willing to make herself look ridiculous for a laugh.

Scot: Will makes anything on the page 8x better; his talent is immense - well-done sketch here with good laughs.

Hotel Bar - Kip (Fallon) & Wayne (Parnell) Bloater are all talk no action at a bar with Margulies

Christian: "Christian and Scot go to a bar"

Scot: Highly impressed with the work all around here. Her switch is a little abrupt, but it all comes together. Good mix of writer/performer piece.

Episode Thirteen: Ben Affleck (2.5)

Christian: Moving forward, any episode that comes in at 2.5 will be called a "GPA" episode in honor of my college grades.

Scot: Poor Fiona Apple only gets one song.

Boston Teens - Donnie's Party with Affleck

Christian: Breaking can be fun if the sketch deserves it - not sure this one does.

Scot: OK, perhaps the first instance of Fallon completely torpedoing a sketch for no reason whatsoever. - It's probably fine, overall.

Fanatic - obsessive (Affleck) wants Anna Nicole Smith (Shannon) to be his mom

Christian: I have no memory of this MTV show at all. And I am pretty much the age of the people in this sketch.

Scot: Would I like this better if I remembered the actual show more vividly? - Anna Nicole Smith is Courtney Love??

Police Training - Sally O’Malley barges in on a police academy exercise training session

Scot: This character is awful. Just ill-defined, no depth, nothing really for her to do.

Who Wants to be Groped By an Eleven-Thousand-aire?

Scot: Throws off a Myers/Farley/Japanese game show vibe.

Episode Fourteen: Joshua Jackson (2.9)

Scot: If they could string a couple of these together, they'd have something. But it's so wildly inconsistent.

News Anchors - Koppel, Brokaw, Shaw hate Bush vs. Gore match-up

Christian: Remember when people were upset that two normal people were running against each other? Molly Shannon playing herself as Bernard Shaw's lover is funny.

Scot: Guys are talking like it's Trump/Biden 2024 or something.

Jackson assures older generations that the show will be a good one

Christian: I have no idea who this person is.

Regis Auditions - Regis Philbin (Hammond) interviews potential Kathie Lee Gifford replacements

Christian: Fallon's blackface became a BIG deal after the death of George Floyd.

7 Degrees Celsius meets the press & unveils opening act (N Sync)

Christian: Extra point just for Justin Timberlake's SNL debut.

Scot: Paula Pell talks about the sketch.

 Lez It Up - to frat boys’ dismay, magic wish yields real-life lesbians (Dratch) & (Gasteyer)

Christian: Someone at SNL had been reading The Onion (from a few months before).

Scot: Lots of stereotypes, a couple laughs - odd to see Meadows there with the young guys.

N Sync - “Bye Bye Bye”

Christian: Would you have put money on Justin Timberlake being a musical guest 24 years later?

Let's Talk Books - experts consider works with naughty title-author combos

Christian: Contrast. Gotta love when the writers open up and go for it. This Jackson guy does really well!

Scot: Man, remember when the show was 40% stuff like this? - Not that far away from "Schwetty Balls," I suppose - Hey, Honoré de Balzac is a real author! - Look, I laughed a lot. I did.

Three-Way - Couple tries to draw lawnboy (Jackson) into a menage-a-trois

Christian: A few seasons back, I said Schneider was the new Kazurinsky. Does that mean Parnell is the new Schneider? Because he reminds me of Kazurinsky.

Scot: Parnell and Gasteyer again play off each other really well.

Episode Fifteen: The Rock (2.7)

Scot: Darrell Hammond has been very, very quiet recently. Tracy Morgan barely exists.

Vince McMahon warns wrestlers not to mess with The  Rock during show

Christian: The Rock was basically the Caitlin Clark of professional wrestling - all the other jealous wrestlers wanted to take him out.

Scot: Not bad for a bunch of wrestlers.

The Ladies' Man - Leon is in love with crossdressed undercover cop (Rock)

Christian: "The Alabama Crag Dangle." I thought The Rock was great, given it's his first sketch.

Scot: Rock is a little rough with his lines, but Meadows keeps this fun.

Morning Latte - Tom & Cass interview The Rock

Scot: Slightly better than recent vintage - no producer this time?

Nicotrel - (Rock) uses physical violence to help (Parnell) stop smoking

Scot: This is "Pyramid of Pain" from S19E13. Except with smoking instead of eating.

Today's Lady - Dratch, Oteri, Shannon throw themselves at stud (Rock)

Christian: 99% sure this had to be a Tina Fey sketch. She LOVES the word "lady." Haven't there been a few sketches now about professional women who lose themselves when men show up?

Episode Sixteen: Christopher Walken (3.2)

Christian: Important lesson: Some SNL sketches are super famous because they are also really, really great. My grade puts this as the 15th best episode of all time.

Scot: Fallon interview with Sanz about “Cowbell.”

More Cowbell

Christian: I will be 90 years old on my deathbed and this will still make me cry with laughter.

Scot: They knew. First sketch of the show. - There's no reason for Fallon to break here. And then he can't recover. And then he breaks again.

The Continental - The Continental gets amorous when a lady arrives to retrieve her mail

Christian: 10 years after the first one. And might be the best.

Scot: I greatly enjoyed this - the one-way mirror and the immunity to mace brings it home strong.

Jenny Jones - audience member (Walken) imparts wisdom to panelists

Christian: There is no part of this I don't love. (Also, I sat in the audience for Jenny Jones once, so I'd like to think Walken is playing the role of me.)

Scot: The main line of the sketch is a 2. Walken's contribution bumps it up slightly.

Census taker (Meadows) records apartment dweller’s (Walken) crazy responses

Christian: Flawlessly written.

Scot: Fey wrote this - Oh, that's a good one. Walken is the anti-Quinn with his line readings. Pristine.

Beauty Pageant - Sally O’Malley crashes the Miss Greenwood Hills Beauty Pageant

Scot: She likes to kick, stretch, and kick. She's 50.

Episode Seventeen: Tobey Maguire (2.16)

Christian: A real bomb after a legendary episode, which is to be expected.

Scot: Clinton has utterly disappeared post-Lewinsky scandal

The Studio 8H Rules - Maguire reads the Studio 8H Rules to orphan castmembers

Christian: Yeah, I don't get it.

Scot: Joe Piscopo joke (again)! - This must be parodying something I'm not aware (I'm afraid this is going to happen more and more).

Celebrity Jeopardy - Sean Connery, Keanu Reeves (Maguire), Hilary Swank (Fallon)

Christian: Antonio Banderas, Ricky Martin, Elian Gonzalez...is there any Latino of the time Kattan hasn't played?

Scot: Just kinda average? I could see this hitting a dead end soon in terms of development.

Tennis Lessons - Mrs. Attebury brings up tennis pro's (Maguire) mental issues

Christian: I would rather see Covid return than this Gasteyer character.

Scot: First time since S22! - This is not a Will role. This should be Parnell.

Sisqo - "The Thong Song”

Scot: But why? - This is terrrrrible.

Yoga Class - after three years of effort, yoga student (Ferrell) achieves self-fellation

Christian: Wasn't there just a joke about this a couple episodes ago? Seems like that was sufficient.

Scot: This is supremely gross and I just don't like it at all. Like, at all. Very uncomfortable.

Stavenhagens Pawn Shop - by Adam McKay- (Steve Buscemi) pays cash for food

Christian: Pointless. Plays like a student video.

Convenience Store - store clerk (Maguire) clues (Gasteyer) to fiancé’s (Ferrell) porn proclivity

Christian: Gasteyer's best roles are "disapproving lady."

Scot: "I'm happy with my new relationship. Yeah, probably saves you $100 a month." - Sanz is good!

Episode Eighteen: John Goodman (2.27)

Christian: Yes, my argument against Goodman (that he shouldn’t automatically get to host an episode per season) stands. Light on Will this week. While Molly hasn't necessarily been invisible, the quality of the stuff written for her has really dipped.

Scot: Another data point against Goodman being a legendary host. Maya Rudolph has been added to the cast tonight.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Time Warner interrupts with carriage dispute

Christian: Using the hosts in cold opens went on later than I thought. Kind of a bad call on Lance Bass disappearing in the future - he's still kinda famous, right?

Gillette’s Platinum Mach 14 commercial

Christian: Didn't THE VERY FIRST SNL have an almost identical ad for razors with three blades? (This is a rhetorical question. It did.)

Scot: Hooo boy, we are off to some kind of start tonight.

Wanna Be a VJ 3 - Raymond (Kattan) & Shannon (Gasteyer) compete for a job at MTV

Christian: Good God, this is bad, but also, good God...Maya Rudolph.

Scot: Right out of the box with this?

TV Funhouse - “The Life of a Catchphrase” - “Yeah, That’s The Ticket” is tracked

Christian: Brutal to Lovitz. But true.

Scot: Very meta, very accurate, very funny.

The Christopher Lowell Show - panelists talk decorating ideas in exaggerated manner

Christian: This was a real show, with a very effeminate host.

Rock & Roll Restaurant - Jim Morrison impersonator (Sanz) waits on diners at rock & roll restaurant

Christian: Sanz tries to do Belushi.

Scot: Here's how you know this isn't working: Sanz and Fallon aren't breaking - Man, nothing happening here at all.

Bloater Brothers - troopers administer sobriety test to the Bloater brothers

Christian: Welcome to team recurring character, Bloater brothers.

Scot: I kinda like these guys. Sue me.

Episode Nineteen: Britney Spears (2.72)

Scot: Spears was not very good - Meadows not doing much at the end of his last season. Zak Galifianakis on trial writing for this episode.

Christian: Disagree - maybe my expectations were lower, but I though Spears was decent. Pretty flat episode overall, though.

Press conference - Giuliani (Hammond) & Hillary (Gasteyer) on adulterous politicians

Scot: These aren't really jokes, just a string of topical references.

Woodrow - Spears follows Woodrow (Morgan) into the sewer

Christian: The only real laugh is hearing Morgan sing "take a doo-doo pie."

Scot: A fine bit of weirdness somewhat unique to the season.

Audition - dance moves of Kyle DeMarco (Kattan) & brother Sean (Parnell) reflect host’s lyrics

Christian: Better than the cheerleaders, but only slightly.

Scot: Seems OK, I guess. A little better since Kattan isn't solo this time? But it reeks of a Cheerleaders spin-off, where the characters don't know they stink.

America’s Worst Moments commemorative plates immortalize cultural shames

Christian: How dare they come for my girl Marisa Tomei.

Scot: LOL, wonder who wrote this in which America's Most Embarrassing Moments are Iran/Contra, Clarence Thomas, and McCarthy, but not Clinton/Lewinsky, to cite but one recent scandal involving a Democrat.

Episode Twenty: Jackie Chan (2.22)

The Ladies Man - Who wants to be my skank? Sarah Michelle Gellar, Gina Gershon, Florence Henderson all show up.

Christian: A good send-off for Meadows. The Ladies Man movie would come out in October of that year.

Scot: Is Sarah Michelle Gellar the new Goodman? Just hanging out at 8H?

Legends In Concert - Asian Elvis impersonator (Chan) wins over a skeptical Las Vegas crowd - Hammond as Bobby Knight

Christian: Weird Kid Rock cameo - Joe C died in November of 2000.

Scot: Wasn't this a joke in Honeymoon in Vegas like a decade earlier?

Kid Rock - “American Bad Ass”

Christian: Kid Rock takes a shot at SNL and Britney Spears for authenticity, then proceeds to play a song completely stolen from Metallica.

Pretty Living - joyologist Helen’s new boyfriend (Chan) teaches GymNasty

Christian: First one that's a real bomb. Kill this.

Scot: So Helen is not a co-host but is the only guest ever on this show? Is that right?

Calgon - Chan beats up Parnell to prevent secret from leaking

Scot: Rudolph plays a Chinese woman.