Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL

Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL

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Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL
Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL
'Wasn't That Special' Season 44 Bonus Materials
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'Wasn't That Special' Season 44 Bonus Materials

Apr 19, 2025
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Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL
Wasn't That Special: 50 Years of SNL
'Wasn't That Special' Season 44 Bonus Materials
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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 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 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.

Please enjoy this edition of the Season Forty-Four bonus notes section, with the clips coming soon.

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

Adam Driver/Kanye West

Christian: A bad episode rescued by one classic bit written by a freshman writer.

Scot: Driver is a fantastic host. Never would have predicted but it's twice in a row with a knockout performance.

Brett Kavanaugh (Matt Damon) confirmation hearing - cameo by Rachel Dratch as Amy Klobuchar

Christian: Some decent stuff in here, but jamming Kate McKinnon in as Lindsey Graham overstuffs it.

Scot: Damon does a good job, but way, way, way too much of this is just recreating the events/questions/phrases of the hearing. Like there's a Bingo card to see how many can be crammed in. And it's *13 freaking minutes long*

Mooney tries to be like Davidson to get more attention on the show

Christian: Maybe he should get attention by writing good sketches.

Scot: His *sixth* season?

Domenico's coffee swapped out for Burger King coffee

Christian: Third crack at the Farley Folgers bit? Someone towel off Mikey Day - he's sweating like a labrador.

Scot: Inappropriately-angry Cecily Strong is my least favorite Cecily Strong

College kids regret their actions from a party on homecoming weekend

Christian: The crowd despised this.

Scot: Man, there's not even a good idea here.

Kanye West, "I Love It"

Christian: The Kanye warning signs were there all along.

Scot: Wasn't he already persona non grata by this point?

Career day - Abraham Parnassus (Driver) gives presentation

Christian: Driver is incredible. Go straight to all-time sketch status, do not pass go. Written by Eli Coyote Mandel.

Scot: It's really good, but I'm not quite where you are.

Neo-confederate meeting - Driver convinces Bennett and Mooney they'd be comfortable in Vermont

Christian: A joke would have helped this.

West gives an incredibly awkward speech during goodnights, but it's cut off in reruns.

Christian: This is discussed at length in the Peacock documentary about SNL music.

Awkwafina/Travis Scott

Christian: A wretched stinkbomb of an episode. My grade puts it as the worst episode since Hillary Swank in S30.

Scot: Awkwafina was stiff as a board all night long.

CNN - Senate Republicans celebrate Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation - Mitch McConnell (Bennett) and Lindsey Graham (McKinnon) party, Strong as Susan Collins - Villaseñor interviews Chuck Schumer (Moffatt)

Christian: Just a struggle session.

Scot: Does McKinnon do anything here anymore besides these crappy impressions?

Monologue - Awkwafina says she is still poor, her dad talks like Donald Trump, and she loves Lucy Liu for hosting SNL

Scot: Weird to give her basically a brief stand-up act?

Dance battle - Awkwafina's crew dances to old game show themes, Travis Scott cameo

Christian: 15 minutes into the show, zero laughs.

Scot: Why is the one team constantly explaining the joke? "Is that the Price is Right?" "Is that a wrong answer buzzer?"

Trump Presidential Alerts commercial - actually for Cricket Wireless

Christian: Decent turn at the very end.

Scot: Some of the messages are not bad, actually

Pre-tape: Ted Cruz campaign rally

Christian: Nobody despises Ted Cruz more than I do, and yet there's just nothing here.

Scot: "How do we make people we hate look bad?" is a really bad comedy question to ask.

So You're Willing to Date a Magician - Awkwafina is contestant, explains dates with Kenan, Davidson, Moffatt. and Mooney

Christian: Davidson and Jones break and blow this thing up. Mooney actually looks a lot better with a mustache.

Scot: There are possibilities here. They are extinguished quickly.

Strong invites DeeDee, her dog walker (Awkwafina), to a baby shower

Christian: Totally pointless. Jones stumbles once again.

Pat's Pumpkin Patch - Day finds out his employees are having sex with the pumpkins.

Christian: This wouldn't make the cut at a college improv night.

Scot: You think you know how bad it will be. But you don't.

Seth Meyers/Paul Simon

Christian: Meyers is not a skilled sketch actor. Staring down cue cards all show.

Scot: Shows could really use more Day/Moffatt right now

Trump meets Kanye West and Jim Brown in the Oval Office

Scot: Jim Brown was an incredible lacrosse player.

Monologue: Meyers tells the story of the Kanye West sketch interrupting people which happened two years before he interrupted Taylor Swift

Christian: Dear diary...

Scot: Did Meyers go into the future, listen to our podcast, then return to the past to host this show? That's our whole bit on Kanye/awards show -

Meyers is a director who takes crazy questions from the audience

Christian: Meyers' first time back and he plays a...director. The glue from Kenan's Jim Brown beard is still on his face.

Thirsty Cops - Jones and Nwodim pull Meyers over

Christian: It's sort of the Lily Tomlin construction worker bit from S1? Nwodim's first chance to really shine.

Scot: There's much better structure here than in the first couple shows

Campfire horror stories - Meyers had to meet with a recent college graduate looking to be a filmmaker

Scot: Some of Meyers' best sketch work!

Meyers goes to jail, has a celebrity cellmate

Christian: It's all impression.

Scot: This was another swing for what they caught with the OJ sketch last year, but it's noticeably weaker with poor Meyers sketch work.

Bayou Benny's Liberal Lagniappe

Christian: Bennett ripping off Sudeikis' Bayou Justice character.

Scot: A total lift of a character.

Gardner and Meyers try to impress their friends with their trip to Cuba

Christian: It's one joke, but Gardner is really good.

Redd and Davidson perform a pro-tree rap

Scot: Jarringly out-of-place and just plain weird.

Here comes Heidi Gardner, taking on more roles and generally excelling. McKinnon is fading.

Scot: Gardner is bumping Bryant from opportunities now and closing in on Strong.

Jonah Hill/Maggie Rogers

Christian: "Weezer" and "Beavis and Butthead," two sketches that would go on to be big hits later, both cut from this episode. As were a couple of bits written by Jonah Hill himself.

Scot: Aren't there stories about Lorne helping Pete behind the scenes around this time? Because he could use it.

Laura Ingraham (McKinnon) live from the border - Judge Pirro (Strong) joins to discuss caravans, Kenan as Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke

Christian: Another crack at the sponsors joke. Baldwin had punched a guy a couple days before the show, hence the tacked-on joke.

Scot: Fourth attempt at the bad sponsor joke - David Clarke, a blast from the past.

Hill gets his five-timers jacket from Tina Fey. It's all women because of MeToo. (Bergen and Barrymore.)

Christian: Hill's glasses are fogging up.

Scot: Random: I really, really like this year's opening credits. My favorite style in a while. - At least the show is aware bathroom humor is Hill's wheelhouse - Kind of a subdued celebration all-around.

Adam Grossman meets a gay couple

Christian: You'll never guess, but Leslie Jones breaks.

Scot: Hill wills this to a good place. Jones really can't be trusted in anything.

Pre-tape: Nervous Democrats discuss the midterms

Christian: Before this episode, Lorne sat the cast and writers down and told them not to let their personal politics seep into the show.

KCR News Albany - Hill proposes to weather woman (Strong) on air

Christian: Delightfully stupid.

Scot: The swerve to Strong wanting to propose doen't quite work for me. She's just not acting like that's even a possibility.

Divided we Stand - Struggling actors put on a play about immigration and other social problems

Scot: Echo of those community theater things you hate.

Teacher Fell Down

Christian: Laughed nonstop through the whole thing. First ever sketch by writer Alison Gates. The two best sketches of the season so far are by rookie writers. There's a LOT about this sketch in the Lorne book.

Scot: I did not have the same reaction - Nice to see McKinnon contributing, though

America's Got Talent - Wait, They're Good? Performers predictably come out of their shells

Scot: Totally fine.

HuckaPM - how does she sleep at night?

Christian: Some decent physical comedy here.

Scot: Written by Aidy and Kent Sublette - still struggling with the simple premise/early reveal/no development pattern.

Pug Wigs

Scot: Will Stephen and James Anderson - Whiskers R Us but for dogs.

Liev Schreiber/Lil Wayne

Jeff Sessions Farewell - Robert Mueller (De Niro), Pence (Bennett), & others say ggodbye to Jeff Sessions (McKinnon)

Christian: This feels endless.

Scot: 7 minutes of garbage and 35 seconds of Trump Bros

Usually-unfunny Schreiber sets expectations & praises midterm voter turnout

Christian: The voting bit killed it.

Scot: Oh. Well. Thank goodness (check notes) Liev Schreiber is proud of us for voting. Now I can sleep.

Good Day Denver - Hosted by Strong and Mooney; show mislabels investors (Day) & (Moffatt) as incestuous

Christian: Part 2 of the "zoo pornographer" bit.

Unity Song - political divide is bridged by song about things everyone dislikes

Scot: Bowen Yang in the background here.

Paranormal Encounter - Ms. Rafferty’s (McKinnon) has ghostly experience

Christian: "Baby funnel and gravy tunnel."

Booty Kings - Kenan, Redd, Davdison, Lilm Wayne, Future [cameo] honor booty consent

Christian: Sort of liked the vibe of this.

Scot: Decent idea, but even the crowd is pretty much checked out on this.

The Poddys - podcast wards show

Christian: Are we angling for "Most Unnecessary Podcast?"

Scot: Writer Alan Linic is third guy on the Bros pod - Really slow-moving and nothing really sticks.

House Hunters - Schreiber & Jones evaluate homes

Scot: Surprised it took them this long to do House Hunters on the show.

Schreiber hoses down rowdy sons (Mooney & Bennett) indoors

Scot: Everybody's breaking for this loud, pointless exercise in finding something for Mooney to do.

Dave's Outside the Women's Bathroom - Schreiber hosts talk show

Scot: Kinda liked this and Gardner again elevates a nothing character.

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