'Wasn't That Special' Season Seventeen Bonus Materials

Editor’s note: Sorry for the late delivery of this one - we were busy interviewing Victoria Jackson.

…

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 Seventeen 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 1: Michael Jordan

Christian: Jordan, Public Enemy, Spike Lee and Jesse Jackson? Blackest SNL ever? Poor Pee Wee Herman.

Scot: No Kevin Nealon. Do we see even less of him now that's he's on WU?

Schmitt's Gay commercial

Scot: One of the most pitch-perfect commercial parodies they've done - the double-take shot always gets me laughing.

First Black Harlem Globetrotter

Scot: Ellen (Cleghorne), take it down six notches.

Christian: I thought Ellen was good in this - playing a stereotype.

Superfans - MJ joins for a Bulls good luck ritual - George Wendt cameo

Christian: Had Jordan not retired for two seasons, the Bulls actually would have eight-peated. Sadly prescient given what would one day happen to Farley's heart.

Public Enemy - “Can’t Truss It”

Christian: Flavor Flav the second musical guest to wear a clock, after Bjork in 1988.

Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley and MJ

Scot: Finally found a top-notch way to use this show.

Dark Side with Nat X - LaToya Jackson (Victoria) & Spike Lee visit

Christian: Underrated aspect to these - Phil's super-white intros. Some awkward energy with Victoria playing a black woman (LaToya Jackson) and Nat X berating Spike Lee for not casting a black woman in the white woman role in Jungle Fever.

Scot: "What would have happened if they were black?" segment - "Scoot your 'I-wish-I-were-Janet' ass over" - Boy, all my Nat X priors are getting destroyed."

Episode 2: Jeff Daniels

Christian: Good episode, not great. At least "Color Me Badd" warns you about the quality of their music right there in their name.

Scot: Daniels showed a real knack for comedy - Spade, Meadows absent.

Tonight Show 29th anniversary show - Victoria guests, mentions divorce (a real story!) - recorded throwbacks - Johnny Carson (DAC) decides to cancel his retirement

Christian: The Reynolds/Deluise/Carson bit is great - is Daniels' Leno one of the best host impressions we've seen?

Scot: Well, that seemed kind of mean to Victoria. - Leno: "Lantern-jawed freak. Yes!" - Dana as Carson doing Leno - Boy, does Daniels/Leno look like Charles Rocket.

Richmeister - Rich fights with other employee who sings names

Christian: Sad Richard was funny, tailed off at the end. Does the show get credit for having a gay character where it isn't a joke?

Scot: I credit the tiny spark of creativity needed to have the two characters mimic each other's bit.

Community College Bowl - students are unable to answer easy questions

Christian: I'm beginning to suspect SNL doesn't think game show contestants are very smart!

Scot: You'll never guess, but the contestants are morons who don't know anything. - some of the community college stuff is OK, I guess.

Apex Novelty - boss (Phil) asks Daniels about his unconventional gags.

Christian: It's not a Minkman.

Scot: One that Phil sells through completely, his approach is key: “Yeah, but the log wouldn’t go THROUGH your head.” - Daniels giving us a Dumb & Dumber laugh at the end.

Color Me Badd - “I Adore Mi Amor”

Christian: The song that kept Color Me Badd from one-hit wonder status. (Is it better to be a one-hit wonder, because you're always on those lists?)

Don't Get Me Wrong - Dana, Nealon, Daniels hypocritically bad-mouth their supposed buddies

Christian: Wait, you mean a Nealon sketch identifies a verbal quirk and drives it into the ground over and over?

Scot: One is the series of occasional 10-to-1s in which a phrase or theme is repeated - this was a grower - my future idea is this for "All due respect."

Episode 3: Kirstie Alley

Christian: Really interesting mix of politics on the show at this point with Alley, Victoria, Schneider, Fallon, Sandler, Farley, and Kelsey Grammer (and Rock and VJ's WU bits.)

Senators question Anita Hill (Ellen) & Clarence Thomas (Tim) & give him some harassing tips

Christian: An important lesson from Strom Thurmond - don't send women dick pics. The most shocking part of this for today's young people is that Alabama had a Democratic senator.

Scot: Really think this is well done, had to be a Franken/Downey joint effort.

Lonely Choice Dinners Commercial

Christian: Would have been a Gilda Radner bit 15 years earlier.

Il Contore - Italians serve Alley & Nealon at a restaurant

Christian: I know this sketch well and still actually cried from laughter.

Scot: Remembered this being a bit longer? Fine just the way it is.

It's Pat - Pat receives birthday greetings from parent Francys (Alley)

Christian: Has anyone seen Pat and Al Franken in the same room?

Episode 4: Christian Slater

Halloween edition of McLaughlin Group -  real John McLaughlin takes over

Christian: Enjoyed the stuntcasting, which is why they use it too much now.

Scot: Still too many "WRONGS" for this to work as well as it could.

Ron's Wings and Things - despite repeated warnings, Slater orders Super Fire Hot chicken wings.

Scot: I like the somewhat slow-played narrative of this one and, as usual, Phil know what to do with his lines - prescient: many places do have release forms now.

Christian: Also prescient in that it predicted the Hot Ones YouTube show.

Dysfunctional Family Feud

Christian: A Spade sighting. He's all but disappeared. This is an upper-tier Phil performance.

Scot: "Get out there and do your best" answer accepted as "Get out" - No one will remember this but Dana is doing a great Ray Combs -  “How about clothes you’ve gotten too fat for?” - “Something you find in your bedroom closet” (“My father?”)"

Young Actors Forum - Victoria as Rob Lowe, Mike as Sheen, Spade as Broderick, Dana as Keanu

Christian: Spade's Broderick is plausible, and Victoria as Lowe is amusing. But yeah, nothing much here.

Scot: Most of the impressions are sub-par and the joke doesn't get better as it goes along.

Hans and Franz - Terminator 2, taped piece with Schwarzenegger.

Christian: Feels like a sketch that only exists because a big star's schedule happened to coincide with a show week.

Scot: Really late for these guys. But appropriate because there just ain't much happening here.