'Wasn't That Special' Season Thirteen 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 strike-shortened Season Thirteen 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: Steve Martin
Scot: Not a great season premiere! Not a great use of Steve Martin!
Christian: Dissent. My grade put this as a top-five episode in the past five years.
Slide whistle sound effects reflect internal thoughts of Steve & Victoria
Christian: Every slide whistle was funny.
Scot: A twist on the Joe Montana sketch from last year.
The NFL Today - strike means replacement players shine - Dana as George Plimpton
Christian: "Auntie Maim" would be a great roller derby name. Carvey's Plimpton is actually good - he really sounded like that! Clock is ticking on Jimmy the Greek - he'd be canceled soon.
English officials upset at Bond spending money, but he's cheap with his personal finances - BULLETS AREN'T CHEAP
Scot: They tried to write this too big. It's a simple concept.
Christian: Yes, it's too long, but the highs are worth it.
Hanz & Franz are here to pump you up
Christian: Amazing how much better this is when you know the setup - the crowd is completely confused. Total throwaway at the end of the episode. But any debut of a classic sketch gets an extra point from me just for existing.
Scot: Debut in the 10-to-1 slot. Nealon said the crowd had no idea what was going on with this - it's not an auspicious debut.
Episode Two: Sean Penn
Scot: Two duds in a row to start the year. Lack of jokes is striking.
Christian: This one is below average, but hardly a "dud." I guess if you're grading based on the talent in the room?
Sean Penn in dressing room - Fatal Attraction II- former prison lover(?) Alex (L.L. Cool J) visits host
Christian: I think a lot of rappers weren't doing gay sketches at the time?
Scot: When's the last cold open with zero cast members involved?
Teeny Cafe - Penn as Robert DeNiro - Babette & Lovitz perform “The Way We Were”
Christian: Babette is comedy fentanyl.
Scot: This Penn/DeNiro thing goes on way too long.
Wall Street Week - PBS-type show on markets - guests panicky, but Future Man (Nealon) is in good shape
Christian: Total dud.
Scot: This was just after Black Monday - Phil's character has more than a little Nathan Thurm in him - the composition of this thing doesn't work.
Eddie Spimozo’s WWII vet brother (host) wants to work at The Jungle Room
Scot: No one's really writing jokes tonight, just situations.
Discover - Peter Graves (PHH) is clueless when it comes to snakes
Christian: I enjoy Hartman as Graves, and...Penn in a tank of snakes is kind of amazing? On live television?
Scot: The Graves/Penn interaction saved this one.
Episode Three: Dabney Coleman
Scot: Three episodes in and not a single memorable moment thus far. I'm sounding the alarm.
Lifestyles Of The Rich, Famous, & Scary- Robin Leach (Dana) in a skeleton costume at Elvira's house
Christian: Presume this was written by Carvey, for obvious reasons. (Editor’s note: in the sketch, Elvira clutches Carvey’s head to her chest.) Elvira was a Groundlings product, right?
Scot: There's a promise made in the intro that never gets paid off.
Nature's Broom - Peggy Lee (Nora) song for fiber
Christian: "Diverticulitis" makes its return - now eligible for catchphrase category if you feel bad about passing on it before.
Boy Scouts tell scary stories around the campfire - Scoutmaster (Coleman) tells bitter one about his ex-wife
Scot: OK, look. Maybe this is some evidence the writers really didn't know how to write for women because they were too buy being mad at them.
The Winning Spirit - Coleman is blind and bitter
Scot: Placing these two back-to-back was a huge mistake.
Christian: This sketch is certainly worth your ire.
Count Dracula, self-taught auto mechanic
Scot: Lovitz is coughing for a second straight week. Must be a lingering cold. - The second half, where we find out Dracula is just a lonely dude with a dead wife, saves the sketch a little.
Don't Go Down to the Basement - Dana and Victoria in underwear, guy with axe in basement
Christian: Nope.
Scot: You can see how this might be good, but it's just ... not.
Dr. Rick Mauser marriage counselor (Coleman) gets friendly with Nealon, hostile to Nora
Scot: Again, a data point in favor of the argument that the writers' room being a rough place for women this year.
Student council of a new high school tries to come up with a mascot - The Tigers, The Screaming Tigers, The Communists, The Capybaras, The Frozen Caveman, The Superwinners
Scot: Another decent concept that just didn't deliver for me.
After losing $78,000 on Black Monday, Lovitz confronts his broker (Coleman), who tries to be buddy-buddy
Christian: What show am I watching?
Scot: What the hell is happening here?