'Wasn't That Special' Season Eleven Bonus Material

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 Eleven 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: Madonna

Christian: Only 19:37 of this episode is available on Peacock. It's basically been memory-holed.

Scot: Lotta Randy Quaid tonight - Franken & Davis get producer billing - Lots of new writers (Smigel, Swartzwelder) - Downey is head writer - Steve Frerrone, Lenny Pickett, GE Smith, T-Bone Wolk in live band.

Christian: Randy Quaid is so much taller than everyone else at 6'5". I looked it up.

Pinklisting - a gay actor (Terry) pretends to be macho in order to get work

Christian: Brunette Madonna looks like Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Weekend Update - Dennis Miller's Sports Fantasy

Christian: Wait - what is this? I have to pay attention to Weekend Update now?

Scot: Oral/anal sex joke early on is better than just about everything the past 4 seasons. Actual timing and skill. - Jokes about the news. What a concept.

Princess Di at the White House, Sweeney as Nancy, Randy Quaid as Reagan.

Christian: The joke is that Nancy is a mean drunk? Also, Madonna reads a couple of Lovitz’ lines.

Scot: Quaid's Reagan is barely in the same room with the actual person - A jumbled mess of a sketch.

Danitra Vanca as "Cabrini Green Jackson"

Christian: I am allergic to one-man (or woman)  shows.

Episode Two: Chevy Chase

Christian: You can draw a tight circle around these cast members: Chase worked with Quaid and Anthony Michael Hall on Vacation, AMH worked with Robert Downey, Jr. in Weird Science and Joan Cusack in Sixteen Candles.

Scot: I don't think Miller has been in a sketch yet, which is not surprising. Random: A return to the silent host bumpers, which just feels right.

Monologue - Chase talks about 10 years since working at SNL, Lovitz asks if he has any words of advice for the new cast

Scot: Lovitz is 28 here - Man, Chevy is rough.

The Pat Stevens Show - guest is feminist stripper Harriet De Lafayette (Danitra Vance) - won't take clothes off until/unless she want to

Christian: There's something in "feminist stripper," but this mostly flops.

Scot: Some potential here with the job description, but .... no.

Weekend Update - Ferraro joke re: Phllipine candidate, nuclear weapons dumped in New Jersey - Damon Wayans, financial analyst "Mo' money"

Scot: I just want to emphasize this - there are actual jokes about the news, not just picture jokes. And not dumbed down for the audience. - Miller ad libs, "It's kind of like having Antonio Fargas and Milton Friedman in the same chair." CRYSTAL clear from the start that Miller will not treat his audience as braying morons who enjoy picture jokes. - "GM justified the price hike by explaining the '86 models will actually work. Take that Toyota."

Those Unlucky Andersons - Chevy keeps advising butter for his ill-fated family - lost lottery ticket, frozen cat, arrow in arm, arrested under old law

Christian: Just feels so weird to have a 17 year old kid (AMH) on this show’s cast.

Craig Sundberg, Idiot Savant (Hall) judges a violin recital in Moscow

Christian: Actually didn't mind this.

Scot: Seems like just another swing at the pathological liars sketch.

Drums, Drums, Drums

Christian: Chevy thought he was going to make a career as a jazz drummer - he was in a college band with Christopher Guest.

The Blue, The Grey, and the Yellow - cowardly brothers are Civil War enemies

Scot: Going from a Season with a bunch of 35-year-old to a bunch of kids leads to problems like this one - there's a real college-style one-act feel to this.

The Life of Vlad the Impaler

Christian: This had to be an Al Franken. Like “Theodoric of York” Part Three.

Scot: I cannot fathom anything like this during Dick Ebersol's era as producer - Another where the audience can feel smart by putting some pieces together.

Episode Three: Pee Wee Herman

Christian: Phil Hartman and Paul Reubens wrote Pee Wee's Big Adventure together, so I assume Reubens brought him along to SNL for this episode.

Scot: Pretty solid show that runs out of gas at the end - Phil Hartman wrote something (my money is on the dinosaur sketch.)

Say No to the Army PSA

Scot: Bruce McCulloch!! And directed by Jonathan Demme!

Locker Room - (Quaid) is interested in a hooker, but his best friend can't figure it out

Scot: I laughed. So that's something. Just simple and goofy enough to work.

Pee Wee's Thanksgiving Special - Joan Cusack as Brooke Shields, Terry Sweeney in blackface as Diana Ross even with Danitra right there in the cast, Danitra as Cicely Tyson

Scot: Prototype for Pee Wee's Playhouse, in a way - Look for Robin Duke in the crowd - The occasional impression-palooza.

Christian: Robin Duke getting as much airtime when she's not in the cast as when she was. 

The Pat Stevens Show - dealing with runway drool; depression expert (Randy Quaid)

Scot: Quaid was really good in this, pulled some laughs out of me.

Cellmates Tommy Flanagan & Pee-Wee tell stories

Christian: Jon Lovitz and Reubens both came from the Groundlings. Would be shocked if they hadn't worked together. This sketch would seem too on the nose these days with George Santos in the news.

Scot: Flanagan and Stevens back immediately - I guess Pee Wee is not technically playing Pee Wee in this one? - There's a little Willie & Frankie in this back and forth.

Weekend Update - Miller breaks down "Dancing In the Street" - "What's Mick? 73, 74?" - Fr. Guido Sarducci starts his own church with female papal outfits & 10 Suggestions

Christian: One major change to WU - Miller is reading off cue cards and not off papers in front of him. Makes a huge difference - feels like he's talking to you.

Scot: Trump joke: "Trump's Big Thing" world's tallest building plans.

Glen Sturdevant's Dinosaur Town - looking for a mouse in a bottle of Coke to save Randy’s Dinosaur Town

Scot: I guess this is how you write around Pee Wee in character - turn the silliness to 10.

Christian: I enjoyed the stereotypical "guys from Chicago" (who were in the sketch for absolutely no reason.)

Love Letter - Pee Wee writes love letter for his teacher Miss Patterson (Joan). And she loves him.

Christian: I liked this one! Well written and acted. It's basically "Rushmore: The Sketch."

Cabrini Green gives expectant mothers tips on smoking, alcohol, drugs

Christian: Not much here, but not apocalyptically bad.

Money Magnetism Seminar - Quaid

Christian: Apocalyptically bad.

Scot: What is the joke here? Yikes.