'Wasn't That Special' Season 33 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 Thirty-Three bonus notes section, with the clips coming soon.
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: LeBron James
Christian: LeBron among the better athlete hosts, but still not great.
The All-But-Certain-To-Be Next President - Clinton (Poehler) lays out vision of assumed win in 2008
Christian: Pretty wild to hear her talk about her plans for 2016.
Scot: Clinton predicts future job as UN Secretary General. Secretary of State is not quite that, but kinda close!
Monologue -James solves the health care problem off-camera
Christian: Huh. LeBron writes left handed.
Scot: Characters are from LeBron's Nike commercials at the time.
Penelope (Kristen Wiig) at Children's Hope Auction
Christian: I do actually laugh when she ducks into frame in a creative way.
Scot: Don't understand the attraction here.
The Lyle Kane Show - dweebs Hader and James are out-of-place on BET
Scot: Brought back from a sketch at the end of S32. I'm ... intrigued?
Best of Solid Gold - DVD highlights Solid Gold Dancers (Rudolph, Wiig, Forte, Poehler, LeBron)
Christian: Nothing here but nostalgia.
TV Funhouse - Ambiguously Gay Duo
Scot: A Harper Steele co-write.
Christian: In retrospect, Steele's involvement is very interesting.
106 & Park - Top Ten Live - Rudolph and Kenan host with Kanye guesting
Scot: Prescient: Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs.
Christian: Wait - this happened BEFORE Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift? WOW.
Episode Two: Seth Rogen
Christian: I get real Aykroyd vibes from Bill Hader, with the bonus that Hader does much better impressions.
A Message from Kevin Federline - Kevin Federline (Samberg) tells what he knows about being a good parent
Christian: Sure, he's mostly forgotten, but this is good!
Scot: You got your wish. A non-political cold open. - This might have played better at the time?
Big Kids - Children Jeremy (Rogen) & Stacia (Wiig) are cute only to parents (Hader) & (Poehler)
Scot: Wiig is pulling a Melanie Hutsell character performance - Annoying for annoying sake without real laughs or a point.
Christian: How DARE you invoke Hutsell! I laughed the whole way through - the difference is that Hutsell's performance wasn't intentional - this is. The reaction shots are great.
A Message From Fred Thompson - Fred Thompson (DAH) sort of wants to be America’s next president
Christian: Is Hammond begging for applause ad-libbed? Because he seems to do it a lot.
Scot: Decent impression.
Spoon - “The Underdog”
Scot: From the best album of the 00s.
America's First Colonists - Rogen’s settlement revolved around marijuana
Christian: Wiig has taken over Ana Gasteyer's "disapproving woman" bit.
Rowlf (Rogen) & The Swedish Chef (Samberg) sing “Beyond The Sea”
Christian: I feel like this sketch is related to the last one in one important way.
Scot: Good, clean fun.
Episode Three: Jon Bon Jovi
Scot: Why were Foo Fighters even there? (Maybe the looming strike meant they wanted to squeeze them in?)
Vinny Vedecci - guest is Jon Bon Jovi
Christian: Just because I like Hader I can't overlook the fact that he's wringing laughs out of a lot of the same jokes over and over. I'd criticize Kattan for it, so I have to here. But yes, the cigarette thing and robot horse are good.
Scot: Really picks up momentum as it goes - the robot horse thing was great.
Where's My Purse - Ship captain (Wiig) obsessed with finding lost purse
Scot: Really close but something did not click for me.
Episode Four: Brian Williams
Scot: Started promising but fell apart late. That debate sketch was a series of bad decisions
Barack Obama [real] at Bill (Hammond) & Hillary (Amy Poehler) Clinton’s Halloween party
Christian: The Pickup Artist was a ridiculous yet awesome show. Funny that they make fun of Hillary's laugh, same as Republicans do with Kamala Harris. Obama isn't asked to do much and he doesn't. Horatio Sanz gets barely any recognition applause.
Scot: Sanz has lost a ton of weight - Obama seems so stiff - totally decent open.
Brian Williams Monologue
Christian: It's a decent monologue, but Williams repeats the lie that he was shot at in Iraq, the lie that eventually cost him his career.
Bronx Beat - fireman (Williams) gives home safety preparedness suggestions
Christian: Is Williams doing a Ray Romano impersonation?
Scot: Was hoping the disease they mention was diverticulitis, for old times' sake. (Editor’s note: For longtime listeners, diverticulitis was mentioned often in Doug and Wendy Whiner sketches in the early 1980s.)
Riley's Way - TV actor (Williams) learns he won’t be in spin-off series
Christian: Williams is actually OUTSTANDING in this. Perfect pacing and escalation.
Publisher's Clearing House - sweepstakes winner’s (Williams) subdued reaction baffles cheery Cheryl (Wiig)
Christian: Breaking: Wiig is really, really good.
Scot: I love Wiig's attempts to get Williams excited.
Larry King Live - Harry Potter outtakes depict gay Dumbledore (Hader)
Christian: I enjoyed the term "booty owl."
Scot: These Larry King Live sketches are an endless stream of content that wouldn't fly today.
Before the Debate - Democrats conspire to stop Hillary Clinton
Christian: Man, this drags. The seed of something interesting with them ranking grievances, but is a snoozer otherwise.
Scot: Williams says the media has decided on Clinton as the nominee; boy, that tune would change! - really slow-developing - bad ending - Woof.
After this episode, the show halted production for three months during a writer’s strike.
Episode Five: Tina Fey
Scot: Gotta say, a pretty strong writers' night. Good concepts, some out-there ideas. Not all nailed the landing but I loved the effort.
CNN Democratic Debate - Media love Barack Obama (Armisen), tough on Hillary (Poehler); Obama Girl cameo
Christian: So in one episode we go from "the media have decided Hillary is going to win" to "we are all in the tank for Obama? In three months.
Scot: Media "totally in the tank" for Sen. Obama - Obama's speech about media throwing off neutrality and openly rooting for a side is prescient.
Steve Martin [real] gets Fey to say “I can do it!”
Christian: This monologue goes HARD.
Scot: Yeah, this all worked.
Annuale birth control commercial
Scot: Did they film this themselves during the strike? Video quality is weirdly off.
Rock of Love 2 - Bret Michaels (Sudeikis) doesn’t choose one-legged Amber
Christian: Again, struggling to ridicule the ridiculous, but Rock of Love was a great trashy show so I like this.
Scot: Amber's not the focus, which actually helps. Barely good enough to squeak by.
Celebrity Apprentice - Donald Trump’s (Hammond) and D-list celebs
Christian: Second pop culture satire of the night, brings nothing special.
Scot: Impression workout.
I Drink Your Milkshake - Daniel Plainview (Hader) and son search for good milkshakes
Christian: How many people would have seen both these movies by this time? But it's fine.
Episode Six: Eliot Page
Christian: Keeping Wiig and Hader in the bullpen for this one (other than the Peter Pan sketch) and it shows.
Dem Debate - Forte as Brian Williams - Hillary Clinton [cameo]; Vincent D’Onofrio cameo
Christian: They burned the whole "media are in the tank for Obama" bit last week, but the Hillary coda made it worth it.
Scot: Seems like they're trying to minimize the need for Armisen/Obama to talk.
The Dakota Fanning Show - Miley Cyrus (Page) acts her age
Scot: Page is struggling already.
The College for Excellence - (Armisen) will teach you generic business phrases
Christian: Haven't we done "awkward commercials for sketchy businesses" before? And what's with the coda?
Shopping With Virginiaca (Kenan Thompson)
Christian: I actually laughed through the whole thing because I was picturing you angrily watching it.
Marty Goes Gay - Page is feeling gay following a revelatory Melissa Etheridge concert
Christian: Page was trying to tell us something all along.
Scot: Paula Pell wrote it - Prescient, in a way, I guess - haven't had many of these slice-of-life sketches lately. Even the crowd seemed surprised by the end.
Episode Seven: Amy Adams
Christian: Samberg usually gets one big pop per show, and it's usually a digital short. Would be good for him to be in more.
Scot: Was pacing to be a pretty solid show until it wheezed out late.
Future President Barack Obama (Armisen) calls Hillary Clinton (Poehler) at 3am
Scot: Hillary talking through putting the heat back on at the WH is an echo of Bush's "You have to jiggle it." - Again, good. And another sign they can still do this.
Mirror Image - Identical twin teens’ (Adams) & (Wiig) try to fool teacher
Scot: Oh, good, now two characters with the trademark of farting.
Couples Therapy - Forte and Poehler married for citizenship
Scot: Love this character from Poehler - Very good, tight little sketch.
The Tookie Styles Show - 25 years after its cable access run, Tookie Styles’ (Kenan) show is on DVD
Scot: In a way, it's pretty incredible Kenan survived seasons like this to remain.
Christian: This is a Kenan miss. But I disagree - why wouldn't he survive? He is all over these shows. A primary cast member.
Celebrations - Poehler, Wilson, Adams, Wiig perform old dance routine in a bar
Scot: Not quite where I thought it was going. I would have followed the R.E.M. path and had them do the silly dance to increasingly depressing and sad songs. Contrast!
Episode Eight: Jonah Hill
Spitzer and Associates - Eliot Spitzer (Hader) takes on sex-related cases
Christian: Probably seemed better at the time because of its topicality, but it was flat. Wiig once again as disapproving woman.
Monologue: Hill sings about how he is fancy
Christian: So disappointing this is what they went with.
Scot: Hey, another song.
What's Your Situation - Hill uses game show to pick up girls
Christian: Could have made this less creepy. It's not happening today post-#MeToo.
Scot: Not terrible, but just didn't work.
6 year-old Adam (Hill) treats Benihana like a Borscht Belt gig
Christian: One of the better performances by a host. Hill just owns this.
Scot: This has potential, I think.
Digital Short - Samberg is distressed to learn that his dad (Downey) is going out with Jonah Hill
Scot: I imagined this killed in '08, but today the audience just wouldn't really find most of it funny. It's well-done, nice Hader stinger.
Christian: Agree with everything you said, but it's just so well performed. Flawless timing.
Clancy T. Bachleratt (Forte) & Jackie Snad (Wiig) Sing Songs
Scot: Admire the effort, but c'mon. Is this really funny?
Christian: Are you kidding? I LOVE this one. When they cut the tether to reality, some really fun stuff can happen.
Face to Face - Wilson and Hill meet in real life, Hill is a big liar
Christian: Another perfectly good sketch. Mentions "Akiva," so I assume it was written by the Lonely Island guys.
Episode Nine: Christopher Walken
Scot: A middling Walken episode? We're really in trouble. I thought by the end of this one it was kinda clear Walken's humor "brand" didn't mesh well with this particular cast.
Grease Rehearsal - Teacher (Walken) helps to change lyrics to Grease
Christian: Did not enjoy any aspect of this.
Scot: Yeah, Walken helps it but also a solid idea.
Sue (Wiig) can’t contain her excitement over prospect of a surprise party
Christian: When Wiig turns it on she has few equals ever on the show.
Scot: Do you also enjoy the intense minutia of a surprise party?
Walken Family Reunion - Walken greets family members with similar vocal patterns
Christian: Sort of just passable. Sudeikis' inability to do impressions is a hole in his resume.
Scot: Oooh, Armisen's attempt is really rough.
Top Chef - Walken struggles with time constraints & limited ingredients
Scot: Walken is written into too many of the same characters tonight.
Episode Ten: Ashton Kutcher
Scot: Whole season has seemed light on Forte.
Presidential candidates ask General Petraeus (Forte) questions; Hader as Byrd
Christian: Man, this is glacial. Half boring, half extremely light criticism.
Scot: Insanely long for what it is. Likely a Downey. I thought it was just good enough to pass.
The Cougar Den - Poehler, Wiig, Wilson, Cameron Diaz (cameo) look for younger men
Christian: Middling.
Scot: "I just walk up and say, ‘Look, it's not going to be as gross as you think.’"
Activia Commecial Shoot - Jamie Lee Curtis (Wiig) overeats Activia yogurt during commercial shoot
Scot: This should not have worked, but Wiig just slayed it.
Song Memories - “Amie” evokes odious recollections in (host) & other icky reminiscers
Scot: The pedophile line is pretty well-known at this point, right? I mean, that's not really writing a joke. Weak, weak end.
The Mellow Show - Jack Johnson (Samberg), Dave Matthews (Hader), John Mayer (Kutcher)
Christian: Maybe should have stayed an outtake.
The Rusty Pony - Paralyzed stripper Dusty Velvet (Wilson) does her act with Kutcher’s help
Christian: Really good physical performance by Wilson.
Scot: The concept is nearly enough on its own. Wilson gets a moment. Very nice.
Episode Eleven: Shia LaBeouf
Scot: The "WOMEN RULE" era of SNL is generally thought to be earlier, but this season is almost all Poehler and Wiig, Wiig and Poehler. Dynamic Duo.
Hillary Clinton (Poehler) makes case to be nominee to superdelegates
Christian: Probably worth pointing out at this point that Poehler's Hillary actually sounds nothing like Hillary.
It's a Match - murder investigation follows 1970s game show format
Scot: Lots of solid parts, felt like it needed some kind of an ending
Scared Straight - inmate Lorenzo McIntosh (Kenan) can’t scare teens straight with movie plots
Scot: Matt Foley: Motivational Prisoner
Digital Short - the best look in the world equals dress shirt, black socks, no pants
Scot: Hey, it's the first real Digital Short failure.
Vinny Vedecci’ Show - LaBeouf guests
Christian: Hard to beat the first one but these might be getting better.
New York Funky -Georgian (Poehler) seeks funky New York styles for daughters (Wiig) & (LaBeouf)
Christian: What did I just watch?
Episode Twelve: Steve Carell
Christian: Carell deserved better than this. The writers let him down. The 10 to 1s were exceptionally weak this year. Where they had usually been used to try some of the weirder stuff, this season they just seemed to bury their weakest pieces.
Scot: A decent year of WU, I suppose, but never a killer edition or really any terribly memorable moments. Looking over the cast ... it seems a weak/down year for a lot of people. Sudeikis, Forte, Armisen, Samberg. Like, no one did their best work this season.
Pounder School Commencement - Carrell reads graduates’ naughty-sounding names
Christian: Seen this before with DeNiro but it's fine.
Scot: A list of names is not a sketch.
After Carrell suffers panic attack, his wife (Nancy Walls) calms him down
Scot: It was, in fact, a cute and effective monologue for a change - Amy's pregnant?
Christian: Huh. I thought this was genuinely bad.
There Can Only Be One - Barack Obama (Armisen) & Hillary Clinton (Poehler) ape NBA playoff commercial
Christian: Creepy and weird.
Scot: Tough to hear the humor when they're talking over each other.
Two A-holes Do Karaoke
Christian: Worst one yet -every joke died with the audience.
Scot: This was fine.
McCain 2008 - John McCain [cameo] touts his age & aversion to pork barrel spending
Scot: Kinda slow and predictable. McCain doing it himself didn't add anything.
Bless This Child - (Carrell) & (Wiig) sing along while holding a baby
Christian: In the words of Nicholas Fehn, “What? No!”
Scot: An updated Stunt Baby sketch.