"Wasn't That Special' Season Fourteen Clips Package

As always, for those who have signed up for the podcast at the Executive Producer level, we send out notable video and newspaper clips that aided us in preparing for the episode. Below are some of the Saturday Night Live sketches and media clips we reference throughout the episode, to enhance the listening process.

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Here are some of the materials we discuss throughout the Season Fourteen episode:

Robot Repair

A Jack Handey sketch we both had among the best of the season. An ingenious mix of escalation and wordplay.

Johnny Canal

The perfect 10-to-1:00 sketch. Only John Malkovich could pull this off. Another Jack Handey.

First Citywide Change Bank, Part I

Originally written for Kevin Nealon, head writer Jim Downey took over the lead role when Nealon had trouble nailing the cadence. Downey has said his favorite type of comedy is people condescendingly explaining things that need no explanation.

Bush/Dukakis ‘88 Debate

Everything you could want in a debate sketch and the blueprint for every debate bit for the next 35 years.

Nude Beach

“Penis” is said 48 times - we counted. What Kevin Nealon says in the sketch is correct; NBC had dissolved its standards department, which is how this got on the air in the first place. There were A LOT of complaints.

Get to Know Me!

Lovitz was on fire this season.

You Mock Me

Mike Myers’ first on-screen performance.

Front Porch

A nice little character bit with Jan Hooks and Glenn Close. On the podcast, Scot said this is one of the best-acted episodes in show history.

A Trump Christmas

The writers didn’t quite get Trump right yet - they couldn’t quite grasp how to mock him. So this isn’t funny, but stands as an interesting archaeological artifact.

A Beastly Blind Date

Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks had to make out in the back of the car in this sketch. When the scene was over and the cameras were off, Hartman told Hooks he couldn’t run to the next sketch because she had given him a boner.

Mike Myers’ Scottish Reporter

Oftentimes, the show breaks in new cast members by having them do bits on Weekend Update, to introduce themselves to viewers. (See: Eddie Murphy.) Here is Myers’ WU intro, which is a pretty daring and skilled way to present yourself - by making jokes that purposely don’t work.

Sadly, 1989 was the year Gilda Radner died of ovarian cancer - she was memorialized here by Tom Shales, who himself recently passed away:

The early reviews for the show were good (justifiably):

Even though Season 14 received plenty of critical acclaim, it wasn’t universal. For instance, a writer at the Associated Press bristled at Dennis Miller’s style on the Weekend Update desk:

Season 14 is when Jon Lovitz started to get more attention, even with Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman in the cast:

When Scrooged was released that year, Bill Murray admitted part of his character was inspired by SNL producer Lorne Michaels:

The answer to last week’s “who is this?”

KEVIN NEALON.

This week’s high school yearbook photo (and we won’t make you wait two weeks to guess): DENNIS MILLER.