Well folks, the 39th season of Saturday Night Live is over. And now that the dust has settled from the mediocre season finale, it’s time to look back at the top ten sketches from the 2013-2014 season. I’ll be back next Saturday with my worst sketch list too.
Before we get to the rankings, remember that lists like this are totally subjective – my favorite could be a complete dud for you and vice versa – and that I tried to spread it around so that one show or host wasn’t over represented.
Let’s get to number 10!
[ new page = Number 10]
10. Drake’s Bar Mitzvah Rap – Ep 11, Drake
The best monologue of the year belonged to Drake, who took an unorthodox approach to the standard SNL format. Here, Drake flashes back to his own Bar Mitzvah, which was complicated by his black dad and Jewish mother. The interactions between Drake and his relatives are really funny but what puts it over the top is a hilariously tongue twisting rap Drake delivers about the ceremony. “I’m black and Jewish / I play ball like LeBron and know what a W-2 is” he proclaims. L’Chaim!
[ new page = Number 9]
9. Baby It’s Cold Outside – Ep 10, Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake
Let’s be honest here, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” is a Christmas classic; it’s a witty, pretty duet. It’s also very….well…rapey. It’s not quite “Blurred Lines” but the song definitely has a predatory vibe. In this Christmas skit, starring Jimmy Fallon and Cecily Strong, SNL puts their spin on this creepy classic by showing what happens the next morning after The Man successfully woos The Woman. It’s a great premise (and since “Baby” has been around since 1944 It is a wonder I’ve never seen this scenario played out) but what really sells the sketch are Fallon and Strong who not just show strong comedic chops but also a surprising amount of heart.
[ new page = Number 8]
8. Blue River Dog Food – Ep 18, Seth Rogen & Ed Sheeran
I often like sketches that veer towards a dark place and one of the weirdest, darkest sketches this year was Blue River Dog Food where a married couple fight over the brand of dog food they feed their pooch. Host Seth Rogen and Cecily Strong play the couple here and take this material, and the character’s anger, wonderfully seriously. It’s only in the irony of their argument that we can find laughter. Throw in a cute dog and you got one memorable and truly funny sketch.
[ new page = Number 7]
7. Mornin’ Miami – Ep 2, Miley Cyrus / Ep 11, Drake
When Mornin’ Miami first debuted during the pretty abysmal Miley Cyrus episode, I called it the best sketch of the night and the best sketch of the year so far. Not just was that true, but Mornin’ Miami is also the best new reoccurring sketch of the 2013-2014 season. Perhaps my proclivity towards this set-up is due to twice interning at local news stations (and watching them tape the promos), but even so, the two incarnations of this sketch (well, three if you count the one with Charlize Theron cut at dress rehearsal) have a great comedic build-up and feature some of SNL’s best surreal word-play.
[ new page = Number 6]
6. Girl’s Promo – Ep 1, Tina Fey & Arcade Fire
Confession: I’m a big fan of HBO’s Girls. Yes, I’m a guy but I’m also a recent college graduate and a member of that elusive millennial generation, so the show is more relatable than you’d think. SNL’s treatment of Girls would be pitch perfect even without Tina Fey’s Eastern European wet blanket Blurta joining in. Wells, Bayer, Strong, McKinnon and Killam do excellent impressions of the Girls cast but it’s Fey’s character that gives the sketch actual meaning behind just pure parody. People have long complained that Girls suffers from a bad case of White People Problems and SNL found the perfect foil to lovingly lampoon that part of the show.
[ new page = Number 5]
5. New Horror Trailer – Ep 4, Edward Norton & Janelle Monae
What to say about this faux movie trailer that envisions what it would be like if pop auteur Wes Anderson directed a run-of-the-mill horror film? From the stellar art direction to the impressions to Alec Baldwin’s pitch-perfect narration, everything just worked flawlessly. In a year filled with stellar taped pieces, this is one of the funniest, smartest and most original.
[ new page = Number 4]
4. The Lady Gaga Episode – Ep 6, Lady Gaga
The Lady Gaga hosted episode was, arguably, the best episode of the year. Gaga proved a game (and quite funny) host, disappearing into a wide array of characters. Even though not every sketch worked, there was a record number of hits jammed into one 90-minute episode. First and foremost we had Blockbuster, a nostalgic and wildly creative short film via the Mike O’Brien era of wistful SNL shorts. Right on its heels we got the debut of Jebidiah Atkinson and the hilarious physicality of 4th Grade Talent Show (featuring the most normal looking Gaga you’ll ever see). Perhaps the most underrated sketch of the year came at the end of this episode, when Gaga starred as a decrepit, addled, lonely version of her future self. While I’m not sure the audience knew what to make of this surprisingly dark sketch, I just adored Gaga’s performance, her ability to unflinchingly mock herself and the fact that this sketch actually had something smart (and bittersweet) to say about the nature of fame. If only SNL took these kinds of risks every week. (Unfortunately, the Old Gaga sketch isn’t online due to copyright).
[ new page = Number 3]
3. Black Jeopardy – Ep 16, Louis CK & Sam Smith
The best live sketch of the year was Black Jeopardy from the Louis CK episode. While I choose to highlight this sketch rather than the whole episode, CK’s second outing as host contained a fantastic monologue and the wonderful Dyke & Fats, which just missed this list. But that episode’s standout was Black Jeopardy, a racial riff on an SNL standard: the game show sketch. After the Kerry Washington episode hoopla and the casting of Sasheer Zamata along with three new African American writers, SNL needed to show off their diversity firsthand and do so in a sketch that was both hilarious and edgy. Boy did they pull it off. With hilarious questions (Question: She do hair. Question: Alizay?) and CK serving as the perfect foil – a white African American studies professor from BYU in way over his head –you’ve got a killer sketch that finally dares to be a little bit dangerous.
[ new page = Number 2]
2. (Do It On My) Twin Bed – Ep 10, Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake
When Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island crew left SNL some thought that era of strong digital shorts and music videos was over. But, this year, both have been a year-long highlight at SNL. There have been plenty of strong candidates for the best music video of the year from Drake’s hilarious Resoltuion Revolution to the biting 28 Reasons and, of course, Jay Pharaoh’s What Does My Girl Say? but the best music video, hands down, was Twin Bed from the Jimmy Fallon episode. An instant SNL Christmas classic, Twin Bed is a catchy and hilarious ode to awkward, Christmas vacation lovemaking at your parents house. Capped off with a great, specific eye for detail (Jean! The Hanson poster! Yearbook shots of the SNL ladies!), Twin Bed is an SNL music video at its very best.
[ new page = Number 1]
1. Monster Pals / Beer Pong – Ep 18, Seth Rogen & Ed Sheeran & Ep 3, Bruce Willis & Katy Perry
There’s a good reason why I’m cheating and listing two sketches in the number one spot. This year, the best material on the show has been short films from two very different and very talented voices. First we have the work of Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney, a comedy team before they made SNL, whose low-key, lo-fi, bro-tastic style has differentiated themselves totally from the wacky, bombastic Lonely Island shorts. Their best effort this year was Beer Pong, a look inside a fraternity’s weird rituals. The other group of memorable and unique shorts came from Mike O’Brien, a longtime SNLwriter who was promoted to featured player this year. Like Bennett/Mooney’s, O’Brien’s shorts tend to be surreal and awkward but unlike Bennett/Mooney’s, there’s a beauty and underlying melancholy to them that is so refreshing and well-done. Nowadays, I tend to judge most SNL shorts against Sad Mouse (which O’Brien coincidentally wrote before being on the cast) and the only thing this year to top it was Monster Pals. The set-up is bizarre – two monsters meet at a bar and contemplate plastic surgery – but it is executed so well, is so uniquely funny and has a totally an emotionally rewarding payoff. Seriously, just go watch it. It is magic. And the best thing I saw all year on Saturday Night Live.
[new page = Honorable Mentions]
Sketches That Just Missed The Cut (And Weren’t Mentioned Previously):
- Halloween Candy – Ep 4, Edward Norton & Janelle Monae
- How’s He Doing? – Ep 5, Kerry Washington & Eminem
- Women’s Group – Ep 13, Melissa McCarthy & Imagine Dragons
- Ooh Child – Ep 15, Lena Dunham & The National
- Pet Rescue Commercial – Ep 20, Charlize Theron & The Black Keys
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