Join us for a trip down memory lane as we discuss who deserves a spot in the SNL Hall of Fame with our panel of former guests, Brad, Dave, and Will! Hear their thoughts on this season's candidates, with Brad kicking off the conversation with his number one pick - the legendary John Belushi.

From debating the comedic stylings of Belushi, Bill Murray, and Dana Carvey, to discussing the merits of newer SNL icons like Dave Chappelle, Justin Timberlake, and Maya Rudolph, our panelists offer insightful opinions on the lasting impact these cast members have on the show. They also touch on the early years of SNL and how its pioneers shaped the show into the cultural phenomenon it is today.

But don't worry - we don't just cover the A-listers. Listen in as we discuss underrated gems like Jane Curtin, Jan Hooks, and even controversial figures like Dick Ebersol. Plus, we weigh in on whether musical guests like Beyonce and Miley Cyrus deserve a spot in the SNL Hall of Fame. Grab your headphones and join us for a nostalgia-filled, laughter-inducing, and enlightening roundtable discussion!

Chapters

(0:00:08) - SNL Hall of Fame Roundtable Discussion

(0:08:21) - SNL Hall of Fame Candidates

(0:13:35) - Debating SNL Hall of Fame Candidates

(0:24:56) - SNL Hall of Fame Picks

(0:34:02) - SNL Hall of Fame Ballot Discussion

(0:45:44) - SNL Hall of Fame Nominations

(0:54:11) - SNL Hall of Fame Inductees Discussion

(1:07:04) - Debating SNL Hall of Fame Nominees

(1:15:37) - Suggesting Musical Guests for SNL

Transcript

0:00:08 - Speaker 1

It's the SNL Hall of Fame podcast with your host, jamie Dube, chief librarian Thomas Senna, and featuring Matt Ardill At now. Curator of the Hall, jamie Dube. 

0:00:41 - Speaker 2

Hi everyone, welcome to the Saturday Night Live Hall of Fame. I am your guest host for this roundtable, matt Ardill, and it is my pleasure to be hosting an amazing panel of former guests who are going to share their votes for this season's set of candidates going to the Saturday Night Live Hall of Fame. So what we'll do is we'll go around and we'll have everybody introduce themselves. Brad, if you want to start. 

0:01:12 - Speaker 3

Hi, i'm Brad Robinson from the Not Ready for Primetime podcast. Happy to be here, dave. 

0:01:19 - Speaker 4

I'm Dave Buckman. I own Coldtown Theater in Austin, texas. I'm a second city alum, boom, chicago alum and general podcast panelist for Saturday Night Live related podcasts. 

0:01:33 - Speaker 5

It's Dave and Will. Yes, hi, I'm Will Norman and I'm just also an SNL enthusiast and podcast guest here on the Hall of Fame Network. I've been on the Was Only Beyonce episode. I'm just excited to talk with all of you today about this season's nominees. Thanks for having me. 

0:01:48 - Speaker 2

Great, and what are we all expecting tonight, like? what kind of result, what kind of conversation? I mean, i know I'm spending a fun time, i think it's going to be an interesting combination of opinions here, but what are you all expecting for tonight? 

0:02:05 - Speaker 4

I'm expecting to have my mind changed on a couple of people. I have more than 15 on my ballot, so I need to be talked off the ledge for a couple of weeks. 

0:02:18 - Speaker 3

I'm interested to see where the conversation goes old versus new. My ballot's fairly full and it's fairly full with returning nominees and older nominees, so I'm excited to see if I can convince some people to keep these old timers on the ballot. 

0:02:36 - Speaker 5

I'm expecting an all out blood bath tonight. I guess I might be. Maybe that won't be the case, maybe not be the case, but I'm on the opposite of Dave, where I used about 13 of my votes. I'm still kind of on the. I guess I'm kind of on that border with a few of them and actually just want to have a conversation to see who I might be overlooking and who some of those votes might go to. with returning nominees and first ballot people, i'm excited to see where the conversation goes today. 

0:03:03 - Speaker 2

So we'll use 13. What made you land at that number? Why did you hold back a couple? 

0:03:12 - Speaker 5

So I ended up leaving my ballot at 13 because there's a lot of other candidates that were first ballot or returning nominees that I feel like I needed a little bit more time and was actually hoping to get some conversation with the panelists here today to just kind of see where I may have overlooked someone besides, just kind of speaking to my own biases, to see if I could be educated on some people that I might have overlooked that deserve to be in those final two spots. 

0:03:35 - Speaker 2

Awesome, Dave. how many votes did you use and what was your logic? 

0:03:41 - Speaker 4

I used all 17. Even though we're only allowed to have 15. 

0:03:47 - Speaker 2

So could it be some editing on the fly kind of thing going on, Yeah? 

0:03:50 - Speaker 4

I'm going to have to really I'm going to need Will and Brad to kind of like tell me why somebody doesn't deserve to be on there, because I mean I could have honestly, i could have picked 25 out of these 30. It was very, very hard to get to where I am now and I'm looking at it. I just don't mean how do I, how? the people I have on my bubble are just legendary. So how do you, how do you cut them from that ballot? I don't even know how to like rank them if I was going to. So that's where I'm at. 

0:04:22 - Speaker 2

And. 

0:04:22 - Speaker 3

Brad, i'm a bit more like Will. I've got 14 selections. 11 of them are pretty solid. I've got actually 12 because one of them is the musical guest my one musical guest vote. So I've got a couple that I'm on the fence to hear about, and I left an empty spot to see if, you know, someone can convince me. 

0:04:40 - Speaker 2

I like you, brad, chose 14. I have one where I'm like, oh, like this, last time I did this I filled all 15. Then afterwards I was like, oh, you know, that was a really strong case, but I cast my vote and I'm going to have to stand by it And I'm going to be the one to let somebody convince me at the end of how I'm going to vote. So it makes it for an interesting conversation. Create some stakes when we're doing that Terrific. Okay, well, what we'll do again. Like well, i'll just start working my way around the, around the ring here, and why don't we just start naming off our, our picks? So, brad, do you want to start us off? 

0:05:23 - Speaker 3

My number one pick is John Belushi Easy pick. If you've heard our podcast, i'm a huge John Belushi fan, saturday Night Live and otherwise and he's hands down my number one pick between iconic characters, great impressions, legendary sketches, does it all, plays himself And you know, in addition to Dan, the first cast members to ever be featured on the show in another role while they were cast members, when him and Dan were musical guests as well, they were the first cast members to actually be shown, showcased in another light as well. So John Belushi is my number one. 

0:06:02 - Speaker 2

I watched a lot of those very early episodes at an entirely inappropriate age. So you know, i got to know his work really young and he made me laugh then and he still makes me laugh now. I mean, i think I rewatched just recently the Star Trek sketch And it's just that the impersonation that he does of Shatner is hilarious And it's just like it. Just it shows a range that a lot of people especially now as there's been distance from his work people don't credit it with, like they think Animal House and this loud ruckus character. But he had a lot more to him And, yeah, i can totally understand that. 

0:06:44 - Speaker 3

Yeah, he has a lot more to him, especially in season one. You know he does his Shatner impression. He's got his Marlon Brando impression, the Joe Cocker impression that he does in episode three. I still will put up against anything that's been done in the last 50 years on that show And even stuff you forget, like we've been going back, we've been watching the old Land Shark sketches and he does a Richard Dreyfuss impression which is amazingly great. It's surprisingly good. I don't even remember it, it's so good. So it's even the small stuff. And then, before he gets big, that season one is great watching John because he plays very childish and like impish sort of scenes where, like by season three, that's all gone because he is, he's full blown Belushi by that point. So it's it's. He definitely has a range And if you've watched from the beginning through, you see that whole arc. 

0:07:28 - Speaker 5

Any other 70 thoughts on Belushi, belushi was near the top of my list as well. I mean, i think it's impossible to tell the story of SNL without mentioning Belushi and his contributions, so obviously taken away too soon. 

0:07:42 - Speaker 4

I did not put Belushi on my ballot. Maybe in future ballots, perhaps when he stacked up against fourth or fifth rounders, but Belushi never hit me Well. I love little chocolate donuts, i love the Blues Brothers, i love the Marlon Brando impression, i love the Joe Cocker impression, but I don't think that he was much of a team player. I think he was very much about Belushi and Belushi's goals for the show And a lot of his humor hit me is very angry and aggressive rather than funny, and I just that's not my kind of humor. I feel the same way about Michael Adonahue. It just it's not. It was funny, i think, to me when I was 12 or 13, but I think I've grown. I've grown out of that style of humor And I also love Animal House and I love all of his movies too. But when stacked up against some of these other folks, i think their contributions to the genre of Saturday Night Live there's better contributions out there. 

0:08:47 - Speaker 3

I'll try to argue him in this a little bit. I hear what you're saying with his comedy coming from anger and I do agree it definitely gets there. But if you look at the early seasons, one and two especially, i don't think he's gotten there yet. You know, the Joe Cocker, the Marlon Brando impression is amazing. The Star Trek scene both of the elite cool, are great. His Beethoven impression, the Richard Dreyfus that I mentioned, little chocolate donuts There's so much stuff he does the samurai character that lead up to him getting to that point. 

I think once he becomes what we've come to know as John Belushi, i agree with you a bit that it does get a bit edgy. Edgy's the wrong word. It does get a bit angry. It does come from that place and it's not as genuinely funny. 

But to Will's point, i don't know how you talk about Saturday Night Live without John Belushi, without seeing him in the B outfit, without seeing him in the samurai, without seeing him behind the counter of Olympia restaurant, not being Jake Blues, him and Akaroid together final days sketch. there's just so much of those first four years that if you don't have John Belushi I don't know what happens. Season one's all about Chevy. Chevy leaves and Bill Murray didn't jump right out of the gate as blowing the doors off the place, and John really helped keep that together until Bill found his voice. I mean not just John alone, john and Dan and all of them, but John Belushi is a key, key factor as to how we made it from the Chevy Chase era to the Bill Murray era and that show exploding into the zeitgeist of comedy. 

0:10:15 - Speaker 2

It's a strong argument. It's an interesting case. This is the fun of the round table We get to hear the different points and counter points. So, dave, do you want to share your first pick? 

0:10:30 - Speaker 4

My first pick is Bill Murray. Bill Murray is, for me, the consummate sketch performer. He basically owned Season 4 and 5. He's come back to host so many times and kind of just lift the crowd and the cast and the show with him every time he comes back. His contributions, beyond his four years in the show you know he set a tone for the kind of cast member A he's the first new hire you know, for all its purposes the first feature performer And just the kind of person that's in every sketch. you know, setting that archetype of like that Phil Hartman, that Bill Murray, will Ferrell, somebody who's just going to consistently get in there every single sketch and destroy and even make bad scenes better just by being in them. And his characters are just so many, so many to mention. you know, from the nerd sketch to Nick the Louncing singer, to his time on the Weekend Update desk doing Oscar picks. There's just so many iconic things that you can point back to Bill Murray which would absolutely be in the Hall of Fame. 

0:11:42 - Speaker 2

Anybody else? vote for Bill Murray. 

0:11:46 - Speaker 3

He's my number two. I can't argue with anything. Dave said He's my number two pick Again. I mentioned it before like he had a rough coming in after Chevy. You know Chevy left and he didn't jump right into the spotlight so it took him time. He took the reins and he ran with it and you know he didn't really have that many impressions but didn't need to. Like Dave said, his sketches are great. His characters are great. He held down Weekend Update. There's a lot of anger behind Bill Murray. I'm just going to say He's got that drive in him a little bit as well. Just to relay my John Belushi point. But no Bill. 

0:12:15 - Speaker 4

Murray. But no, dave, i mean again, but he's impish, he's got like. 

0:12:19 - Speaker 3

He plays it off much better He does. 

0:12:21 - Speaker 4

But no, I add him right there. 

0:12:22 - Speaker 3

Number two with Dave. Same thing You can't talk SNL without Bill Murray, Will any thoughts? 

0:12:27 - Speaker 5

Yeah. So I think I'm probably going to hop into Dave's camp here and say that Bill Murray is not on my Hall of Fame ballot, so yeah, so I'll explain. I still have two spots left, so it's not definitive. But the reason why is so? I will start by saying that Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies of all time. 

I love Bill Murray, but I was worried that I was fading a lot of my feelings about Bill Murray, his post-SNL career versus Jesse down the show. 

Obviously, most respect to Nick the lounge singer, his work on the update. Also now that one point time he had the obviously innovative for the time, his plea to the viewers and kind of saying hey, i'm new on the show, i don't know if it's actually really working, like, can you guys like write in and, you know, give me some support. And I think kind of even in that, even though it's obviously very innovative, just the fact that he was kind of in that spot, i think about it as a Hall of Fame or someone who is just to me like, are they Hall of Fame or not? I think he was obviously great on the show at the time, but just wondering if I was shading him a little bit too much with my fandom of him post-show, but I think it has made some very compelling arguments. Like I said that early not the one to John Belushi, but, like I said, there's still some wiggle room. So maybe I've overlooked Bill. But just to make it on my first cut of the first view. 

0:13:38 - Speaker 2

I'll admit, he's not on my list either. Now. 

I mean, i know, i know, but I love Ghostbusters, i love Grand Hog Day, i love his work in the show, I love his work after the show. But again, it was like it was one of those things where I'm like am I letting this, like the these things that I loved as a kid outside of the show, shade my opinion there? But also I'm like I was trying to balance it out where I'm like not choosing all of these big names and choosing like, just choosing different people And it's like, but, but I have one, i have one, so he's definitely. You know, dave and Brad made good points. When I come to the end, i don't know He's, he's, he's in there. He's in there as, like my baby. Now, will, who did you? who's your first pick? 

0:14:29 - Speaker 5

So my first pick at the top of my list was Dana Carvey. So for me Dana Carvey, master impressionist, obviously had some iconic characters. He did obviously a great push, a Bush impression. I think most people who impersonate George W Bush are doing an impersonation of Dana Carvey doing Bush. You got Church Lady. I obviously have Garth from Wayne's World, garth Algarso. He has an iconic character on the show as well. That went on to other things And I just think when you think about the, when you think about some of the all timers, we look at the cast members that we love for the Hall of Fame. 

They are people who can do it all that can carry a sketch, that can do impressions, that can do characters, original characters that get along with the cast, that have things that outlast their time on the show. And I think we don't be looking at the Hall of Fame. You know it's easy to kind of. We just talked about a shading things with, like someone's post career Versus what they did on the show, but we're ice-litting just to someone's timeline. Snl I don't think that there's a time in the future of SNL's existence that someone couldn't mention Wayne's World and Wouldn't be. You know, no Notable as an else. A sketch isn't that special. You know Bush impressions like I'm no data Carby so I'm not gonna do those impressions, but I think it's. It's very hard to say he's not probably one of the best cast members ever come through and During his time in the show and I think he just made it a great impression and so he was no top of my list. 

0:15:57 - Speaker 2

Anybody else vote for Dana. 

0:16:00 - Speaker 4

Dana's at the bottom of my bubble. He's somebody that I'm like, i want to put on that list because how him, how He's like the perfect cast member. It's just somebody who's always gonna have fun and be likeable and Come up and come in with characters every weekend, week out. I think a lot of his material doesn't hold up so much. Some of the writings just feels weaker compared to modern-day sketch comedy writing. But he can't deny his level of Talent and just like he was just built for that, for that show. But I I don't know if I don't know if Wally of going back and watching his stuff holds up against some of the other folks On this list. 

0:16:49 - Speaker 2

Brad, do you? 

0:16:49 - Speaker 3

have any thoughts. I've got him at number three On my ballot. He is probably, pound for pound, i think, one of the best performers the show's ever had. As will said impressions. I don't know if there's one he can't do bush, our Johnny Carson, car, senio, characters, church at Hans and Franz waning garth. So I mean, right right there, his resume is amazing. He's one of the first guys who would take a cold open and sit by himself in front of the camera for seven minutes and open the show by himself. 

And I like to look at it at you, look at each era of Saturday night live and where they stood in that era. So you got to remember Dana Carvey showed up Lawrence second year When he came back after his return and the show was not in a good place and that cast is really the reason that that SNL Exists today is guys like Dana Carvey, mike Myers, dennis Miller, john Lovett's, jan Hooks, nor done that cast pulled it Through and Dana Carvey, right off the gate with like chopping broccoli and church chat in the first four or five episodes of That season is just vital for not only that season But the next four or five, six years that he was on that show keeping Sarah night and I have relevant funny hip and Continuing he's on my list as well, just for that. 

0:18:03 - Speaker 2

I mean, to be fair, that's also like my high school era SNL. So I mean I feel like that. That always kind of burns itself into your, your emotional psyche. So like him and Mike Myers and all of that crew From that era, or just really emotionally important to me, but also like, just like even his little stupid stuff, like the chopping broccoli sketch. It's just such a silly little premise but he Pulls it off in a way that it never becomes stupid, never becomes like okay, we get it. He says I'm chopping broccoli over and over again, let's move on, it just remains fresh. He knows how to keep the, the, the tightness, that's the tension, just right, and And he I found he brought that to like everything. So he is on my list as well. Awesome choice, awesome choice. 

I am just gonna go by alphabetical order because I can't wait These people. It's so too difficult that that's a level of emotional investment I'm not ready to to give. But I'm gonna start with Amy polar. She is, she is on my list. 

She's just such a like Dana Carvey, like a workhorse. She would show up for a sketch. She would give it her all. You know it's, it's, it's that massachusetts upbringing kind of thing, like where she she just Fights and goes, and I mean you can see it in like her entire career with like UCB and and all of these other projects that she's. She's lifted from the ground up. When she attacked a sketch She really put all of her energy into it. And I mean like, yeah, these great characters like Betty Caruso, where it's just like she has a way of grounding, even her silly characters, where, you know, bronx beat is just such a silly concept But it never veers into the realm of like coffee talk with Mike Myers when he did coffee talk, where it's just like, okay, this is just a little bit too silly, especially now that Barbara Streisand this showed up. It's just, it just remains true to the premise and Yeah, so that that was my first vote anybody else I agree. 

0:20:23 - Speaker 4

I mean Amy's on my ballot as well. I think there's Some power. She is just a dynamo, a force to be reckoned with. You know, caitlyn's one of my all-time favorite characters and her stint on we can update is Exemplary. Paired with Seth and with Tina, she had a rough couple first episodes but then just Dominated we can update for many years. I love her characters, i love her energy. I love her Just her general energy and attitude towards comedy and lifting other people up through positivity. And And Bronx beat again also one of my all-time favorites. So Amy Poehler for sure belongs to be the whole thing. 

0:21:07 - Speaker 5

Yeah, i would. I would agree. She was, like I said, probably I guess number two or so on my list. They said also just an all-time cast member in that like lineage of You know, kristen Wiig and just kind of that dynamo, like that's there throughout the time at the time on the show and They said she has some great characters. Or Sir Hillary Clinton is like the original, like I said, she's just very dependable. There's just those cast members that show up in a sketchy note. It's gonna be good, they're gonna get, but they're all and I just feel like she was one of them And just to me like a no questions asked, first ballahalla famer. 

0:21:39 - Speaker 3

I do not have her on my ballot, i do not think she's the first time ballot Hall of Famer, but Uh, you guys talk a lot in the podcast. What's a recency bias? I'm probably. Whatever the opposite of that is. So I don't. I don't think I have anybody on my ballot as a first-time nominee. That is Post 1990 something. I think she'll get in eventually, but I there's a lot of other people I think are more deserving to get in, whose time's running out almost. So I didn't vote for Amy Poehler Cuz. I think she'll get in eventually, but I don't think she's first-timer for me. 

0:22:11 - Speaker 2

Why don't we switch directions will? do you want to share your next choice there? 

0:22:17 - Speaker 5

Yeah, sure. So I would say next is another first ballot Hall of Famer, but I think has a pretty long tenure. Be mr Christopher walkin Was one of my taught, near top of my list. I think that we look at all the All-time hosts on the show, i think walkin's definitely up there. Obviously it's hosted a lot over his time in his tenure. 

He has had some notable characters and some great sketches. Is the continental I think I was obviously great sketch his Colonel Angus sketch still makes me laugh and then Tribial, psychic, you know, i think, just the hilarious premise that he just executes to perfection. So it's just. I feel like walking is one of those guys who came on and obviously he was very Easy along the cast and talk about being a team player. 

When I'm thinking about hosts, people that have been on the show, that are in that, that world, it's You know how able, how are you able to enter like, be within the cast, not just kind of on the outskirts let them do their thing, but really ingratiate yourself to the cat, have your own memorable sketches and and have almost recurring thing, have recurring sketches that Make me think if it weren't for your life outside of ethanol, you could have easily been a cat member, and that's kind of tough to give a host, and not over the cat's members that are there grinding it out every week, over every week but he just feels like someone who once again is is up, up to nominate. I think he's just been a great, great host and I thought that he deserves to get into the whole thing. 

0:23:40 - Speaker 2

Anybody else vote for Christopher walk. 

0:23:43 - Speaker 4

He's on my bubble. I don't haven't cut him yet, i know, certainly participating in cowbell and the centaur sketch and sense of sketch and Continental and yeah, all those, just wonderful, just being game for anything. And just I was listening to a couple of his Scenes before the show tonight and just his two handers, which is him and somebody else, going back and forth, is just beauty he has. His rhythm is perfect, his deadpan is perfect, he is game for anything and it's, you know, out of all the people that just reads cue cards, i mean, does anybody do it better than Christopher walk in? no, i don't think so. I think he's one of the all-time best hosts and I wish they'd, i wish they'd bring him back Just once, just one more time. But yeah, i mean he'll probably be on my ballot. I don't see why he wouldn't be, Because I don't think he's gonna. He would be bumped by anybody else on this list. So, sure, he's on my ballot. I'm gonna call it right now. 

0:24:48 - Speaker 3

Awesome, awesome, brad. Any thoughts? I do not have him on my ballot. He is a great host. He's a fantastic host. I only have one host Cemented on my ballot to on my bubble, but again, he's one of those people where I think I feel like Maybe not first-time ballot, but I can see him definitely in the future. 

0:25:08 - Speaker 2

He was on my list. I think the thing that put him over the top I mean it was the, the Christmas carol where he's reading it to the kids It was just like it was so dark and so weird and nobody else could pull that off, except for Christopher walkin. It was just like perfect, i have to feel it's like he's. He's almost like a train foddle man, like song song and dance man Came up like during my trivia I talked about how he was hired to dance with Liza Manelli by her mom at A birthday party. Like it's just like he's such a weird human being on so many levels And it's just, it's like it forged him into this perfect. You know you don't get many of those hosts, but those ones that are just make the perfect fit And that's sort of I feel he fits in well. Next up, dave. Who's next on your list? 

0:26:09 - Speaker 4

The next person on my list is Jan hooks. Jan hooks, to me, is my just Top, top performer. I think she's my number two favorite cast member of all time. She has Such a grace to her but also a little bit of smarm to her Maybe one of the best actresses to ever be on on the show, actors to ever be on the show. Her commitment to The moment is unparallel. She can play heartbreaking. She can play Goofy. She can play straight. She is Maybe one of the best utility players they've ever had, somebody who can do characters, do normal people and Just take Whatever you've given, whatever you've written for her, to another level of humanity, which is brings a three-dimensional Shape to a sketch that a lot of people can't deliver. So I would watch Jan hooks do anything. Rest in peace. And she's by far my Yes. 

0:27:23 - Speaker 3

Any other votes, Yes. Oh, slam dunk. She's one of my other like slam dunk picks for this, for this class. She everything Dave said and more. Like I mentioned about Dana Carvey. She was in that that cast that kept it going and she's as vital as he was, if not more. Yeah everything Dave said, jan hooks is amazing. 

0:27:43 - Speaker 2

I totally agree too, because, like she, like I said, that was my high school cast and she was, she was on my list as well. I mean, like the fact that she played Tina or Tammy, faye Baker and Jessica Hahn, like she did both impersonations of this. Like that's mind-bending And Speaks to the power of makeup. But But yeah, like such an amazing kid, amazing performer, and he thoughts will oh. 

0:28:12 - Speaker 5

Yeah, so, oh yeah, so for Jan hook, she actually is, she's actually on my bubble, so I think there was another earlier cat somewhere that I went with instead. 

But like I said, I have all respect for the work that she's done on the show. I think, generally speaking, there's a lot of I'm kind of on the opposite side of Brad, where If there's people that have kind of gone through and have been on the ballot, i kind of in my mind I'm always like is my gut instinct, is this person the hall of fame or not? I'm kind of out of less than the baseball film, of like kind of co and get multiple out back to get in. It's kind of like do I think you're in right away? I definitely think she's on my bubble for this first one, like select those spaces open. But it's couple other people that I that I had a lover, but they're still definitely room for her. I know she was a huge contributor to the show and I'm definitely deserves all respect in the world. 

0:28:59 - Speaker 3

Brad, your next pick, i'll do a Jane curtain. I've got Jane on my ballot again. Original cast show wouldn't be What it would be without her and I think she is the most underrated cast member in the history of the show. You know my show. We're currently halfway through season one and we have a Bit that has just kind of come up organically, which is how great is Jane? because every episode at some point we talk about how great Jane curtain is. Whether she's playing Somebody's wife or mother or this star of the sea of the sketch, she just does everything. 

She. You know she didn't have a lot of characters. They came about a little bit later in in her run. But you know she had some impressions. She was the Quinn's essential talk show host. Any time They needed a talk show host for those first five years, jane curtain would do it and she would do it well and she would go toe-to-toe against any host Against blue, she against any kind of knucklehead. They would throw against her in any of those those talk shows. Or you know She held and weekend update. You know she was the first person to Do an editorial on the desk when Chevy was hosting weekend update And then she was the first person to take over form by herself, and then her and Dan, her and Bill, and if you just go back and watch it's, it's, you got another. Use baseball analogies on this. Her batting average is very high. 

It's very it's very rare Jane curtain Strikes out or has an out, she brings it every time. 

0:30:25 - Speaker 2

You got any other Jane curtain votes. 

0:30:28 - Speaker 5

She made on my ballot as well. I think you know we're talking about like Jan and Jane, obviously both great, but that's kind of one of the original. For all the reasons that Brad mentioned, like her being able to hold down that forward and be that Constant through the early stages of the show, i thought that she was great and that she out of my ballot, so she definitely made it on mine as well yours to you, dave. 

0:30:48 - Speaker 4

Yeah, she's my number three, Jane, before John. For sure Yeah she is. But my favorite cast member of all time is Parnell, and Jane curtain invented that role in the cast. She is the backbone of that cast. She makes The sketches have grounded reality. She's the person we identify with in those scenes. 

As an audience member she Was finally allowed to flourish in that season five and some of the characters she came out with were fantastic and Wonderful. Underrated actress. I wish. I wish She did not have this feud with mourn or the show, because I would love to see her Lorraine host Once before the 50th. It would be a great show. But when I was growing up, of course, my favorite was acroid when I was a kid watching those old shows. But when I started doing comedy for a living it was Jane. I always go back to Jane. Jane was was doing most of the work in those sketches and I really appreciate her as a comedian. What we don't, we don't really call straight man anymore in in the ground in the woke world of comedy. I'm trying to push forth Absurdo and reason here and set up straight man and And crazy guy. You know, but she is the reason here to be For the ages for sure. 

0:32:15 - Speaker 2

I think this was our first unanimous vote and she was on my list as well just for all of those reasons and, like You know, like Dave said, bit the backbone. I mean, during those first, those chaotic first few seasons, she was almost like a outside of the context of on the screen she would really help keep that cast together and and grounded just as a cast, but then on the screen She, she kept those scenes just flowing and she's just, you know, criminally underrated by by a lot of people, i feel so. So, yeah, if anybody gets a unanimous vote, that is her make. It makes me very happy. Well, my next pick is my. 

This is my musical guest, dave Grohl. Just like his, his love of the show is so undeniable, like he's game to do stuff every time he's there and and he's willing to become back and be a part of the show, even to not start, just like as like backup for Tom Petty and and like just just put himself out there as a recurring Supporting musical act. And he's been on like an incredible number of times, so like just crazy number of times for a musical act. So I think it technically puts him in the platinum club, which is because he's been on. I think that many times. I gotta wonder what they get when you get into the platinum club. If they get the look that the fancy blazer When you make it into the five timers, what? what happens there? and I feel sorry for whatever Martin Short has made to do for them. 

I hope because, he seems to be there either go to Minion at the five-timers club. So yes, anybody else? have any thoughts on Dave? 

0:34:04 - Speaker 4

Dave's on my bubble. I'm considering just. I think he's on the bubble for a couple reasons. Number one is, yes, he's been there more than any other musical guest, which is something to be applauded and Noted, but I can't think of Performances of his that are iconic outside of Nirvana Performance. I don't. I don't look them crooked vultures, was that one of them? Sure, and they're always great, and I love the food fighters. I love when they come on, i love their songs, but I can't think of one that was just like, oh, when I go back and think about That performance, like some of the great musical performances on that show, none of his really come up for me. So that's why he's On the bubble for me. So, definitely, longevity, definitely. You know, fan of comedy gets the show, always brings it. But as far as actual content, nothing stands out to me as iconic. 

0:35:03 - Speaker 2

So we'll keep going the same direction and I'll switch, switch around next round. So so will what, what, what do you have next? 

0:35:12 - Speaker 5

All right. So I think I'll go with some more. I'll be on the recency bias side of things today. I think that's a role I'll play today. So I'm gonna go with someone that's actually coming up again That means in controversial conversations but I'm gonna say Justin Timberlake. I know he's kind of been on the ballot before and kind of steadily climbing, but I'll kind of reiterate what I said before. I just think to me he's just he's one of the best hosts that they've had. 

I think when you look at it for the time that he was on the show. I know he has been there in a while but similar to early hosts in the early days, like Steve Martin, like appointment television for people to say I'm gonna watch your SNL this evening because Justin Timberlake is gonna be on, or doing double duty I thought that he really brought that level of excitement to the show. Obviously felt like he could have been a cast member on the show. He did recurring sketches. He's talking about Omelaville and all the iterations that came thereafter. 

Obviously a talented musical artist as well, doing double duties I mentioned before, and I mean Dick in the Box will be around for the rest of time. And I think that when you talk about whether you are in utility or in everything and you're just doing a great job consistently, or you're there and you just have some iconic moments. I think he has a little bit of both And definitely the tensions on him because he's the host. Still a lot of stuff is written around him, but I think people that were on the show at that time, people that he worked with and collaborated with, and say that he felt like someone who could have been on the cast And I just feel like he's someone who, to me, is a Hall of Famer And so that's why I would nominate, or I have Justin on my ballot. 

0:36:49 - Speaker 2

Anybody else got Justin on there. 

0:36:52 - Speaker 4

Yes, i do. Justin is definitely. He's the only host I have on my ballot. He is a consummate professional as a host. 

To not only be a musical guest as well, which I think you would have to be in order to be an iconic Hall of Fame host Not have to be, but it certainly helps And his performances I can think of many of his musical performances as well but to have recurring characters as a host, not with one generation but with two generations. He is the singers with Andy Sandberg, the Andy Gibbs show with Jimmy Fallon. He has his own recurring character, as you mentioned, omletville. That is his own, he's him, he's the constant in that. That is insane, just. I mean Christopher Walken, of course, is in there as well with Continental. That makes sense as well. But I mean I would look forward to any Justin Timberlake show. I'd watch any Justin Timberlake repeat If it comes up on the early version at NBC. I'm sticking around and watching the Justin Timberlake show because I know it's gonna be a great show And he represents to me five-star host experience. So all for Justin Timberlake. 

0:38:11 - Speaker 3

I don't disagree with what you guys said, but he's not on my ballot, but it's just there. I confined I think 13, 14 more people that I'd rather make sure got in or stayed on the ballots before him. I'm sure enough people will vote for Justin Timberlake that he'll. If he doesn't get in, we'll make it through the next round and I will happily vote him in, probably next class. But as you see, the second half of my list, there's a lot of prevent defense and I'm voting for a lot of people because I don't want them to go away. 

0:38:39 - Speaker 2

I mean, i love his work And, like Dave said, two generations. he was able to forge relationships and have multiple, not just dick in a box, but we got like mother, lover and three-way. So it's a trilogy of very weird and uncomfortable songs. 

0:38:58 - Speaker 4

And the dating game. 

0:39:00 - Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah And yeah, and also the Barry Gibb talk show. I mean, that's one of my is. My wife is a huge Bee Gees fan, so she gets excited when that comes on because she says this is so hot, he was on my bubble, he was on my bubble, so I still have one left. I don't know, maybe it'll be Justin, we'll see. So, dave, your next choice. 

0:39:24 - Speaker 4

I'm gonna go with Maya Rudolph. Maya Rudolph, to me, is a concert professional. It's her third ballot So, like Brad, i don't want her to go away too soon. So I wanna make sure that I vote for Maya Rudolph because she is a phenomenal cast member and a phenomenal host when she comes back. She has so many talents She plays broad, she plays specific, she does accents, she does celebrity impressions, she has a rhythm that is all her own. She does impressions. She is everything that you would want in a cast member. If I'm a director or producer, i want a Maya Rudolph in my all-time cast because I can throw anything at her and she is going to take it and make it better for sure, and she's gonna bring the house down. The audience is gonna love her And I just think she's phenomenal, phenomenal talent. If I was gonna build my top seven cast members, if I had a dream team, maya would definitely be in that cast. 

0:40:32 - Speaker 2

Anybody else vote for Maya. 

0:40:35 - Speaker 5

I did as well. I agree with everything that Dave said. I think that she's an all-timer. I think she's incredibly talented and also on the stacked cast. I think it was a time of the show when the women were really dominating and just obviously doing it really great And I feel like she almost got overlooked at times. So it was amazing. Kind of reminds me of how like Cecily was, I also want to stack cast, but I think she just because she never really had that goodbye when she started kind of building her family and kind of would pop back on the show every once in a while near the end of her tenure. I don't think she got the roses she deserved on her exit, But I just think, you know, once you can look at all the generations of the show and some of the talent's coming through there, I just think that she is amazing and definitely made it to my ballot this time around. 

0:41:16 - Speaker 3

Did not make it to my ballot, but she's on my bubble for the exact reasons Dave was saying. You know, i think she definitely needs to get in and I'm trying to gauge when I finally do give that vote to get her in, because I don't want her to fall off. But she's on my bubble and she's probably one of the leading candidates to sneak in my last spot or two. 

0:41:34 - Speaker 2

Yeah, Same here, like she's just such an incredible talent. But again it was like without weighing of choices. That makes it tricky. But again, like the Prince show, like her Beyonce on the Prince show is so hilarious, just paired with the Prince impersonation, it's just they're so bonkers together, her and Fred, and it's just it's a thing of beauty. But again it's like there's so many hard choices. This is a real tough one. Okay, brad, what do you have for us? 

0:42:11 - Speaker 3

You know, i can go for a twofer if I may, because they're kind of intertwined and I have a feeling they'll both get shot down. I have James Downey and Jack Handy, two longtime amazing writers. So I think a lot of casual fans probably don't even know their names or, if they do, don't know them well enough. Second time ballot for Jack Handy. Third for James Downey. 

I remember I emailed Jamie after season one when James Downey didn't make it in and I emailed him like how the hell did your voters not put James Downey in the Saturday Night of Hall of Fame? He's such an amazing talent and contributor through multiple generations. So the two of these are writers which you know. I think you guys have talked about this before. Writers are a little bit underrepresented in the hall. These are two votes that would be slam dunked. I would put them in for both of their writing work, for all of the work they've done, all their sketches, all their contributions, all the work they've done with the key cast members you know their names and faces of So many of them have worked with Downey and Handy over the years. 

0:43:07 - Speaker 5

I also had both of them on my ballot for the same reason Thank you Will thank you. 

Yeah, i mean, you know, I think you know Jack Handy with deep thoughts, you know I say I think alone, like those are, those are, those are classics. And then with with Downey I think obviously he's been involved a lot of sketches. But I also leaned into the fact there are so many people that have passed through SNL that mentioned him and his influence and his notepad and constantly being one of the best, the greatest joke writers of all time. And you know, as you mentioned, Brad, like writers are kind of in the background, they don't get the recognition that they, that they deserve for being the backbottled body sketches. And both those two just felt like they should get their due and they definitely made on my ballot this round. 

0:43:48 - Speaker 4

Yeah, i had James Downey for sure, just because of his contributions and the longevity of his tenure there. you know, going from the original cast all the way through Norm MacDonald, you know it was quite an impressive run and being a influence in that writer's room for that many years, i don't know he's. for me he's a slam dunk. Jack Handy was an unfortunate cut. I couldn't. I couldn't get Jack Handy on my ballot. I wanted to and I'd listened. actually I listened to. the Jack Handy episode went back today while I was grocery shopping today and listening to it And as he wrote a lot of things that I hadn't realized he wrote which was good for me to hear. 

But it occurred to me while I was listening to it how singular his voice was and how he doesn't really have a lasting influence on the future generation. So it feels to me like he was. his contribution was very like this very specific style of humor that didn't really like resonate through the generations. Maybe Wolf Ortea, a little bit kind of picks up where Jack Handy left off, maybe a little Kyle Mooney, just that kind of train of thought. But I don't think that Jack Handy had the staying power of his influence as some of the other folks on this on this list, and as much as I love Tunis and who doesn't love Deep Thoughts, deep Thoughts was already a thing before he got to Saturday Night Live, so that wasn't his Saturday Night Live contribution. That's the thing. he got hired, got him hired at Saturday Night Live and he started contributing that to Saturday Night Live, so I wouldn't really count it as his contribution to Saturday Night Live, as much as it is his signature piece. 

0:45:36 - Speaker 2

Both really influential writers. It's a strong case that Brad makes, so it should be interesting to see if they make it. My next lip selection is the one that I feel is gonna get shot down Very controversial one Dick Eversall. I mean he was there from the beginning. He helped make the show reality. When Lauren stepped away, he got a lot of flack and people are like, oh, the Eversall years. But really he saved the show. Like he made hiring choices bringing on Eddie Murphy. He kept the show going. Only a lot of people blame. There's the terrible Robert Downey Jr cast era. A lot of people peg that on him and don't realize no, that was Lauren's first year back That was his fault. 

The fact that he had the brat pack as half the cast is not on him. It's not on Dick. So, yeah, i think, if we've got Lauren in there, i think we should have Dick alongside him as one of the founding producers and creators of that show. 

0:46:46 - Speaker 4

Dick Eversall is definitely on my ballot. He's my number five on my ballot, just above Justin Timberlake, for all the reasons that you said. And I started watching the show regularly during that era. That was when I came online with Saturday Night Live. So Gary Kroger, mary Gross shows were like what I started watching every week, and so when Lauren came back, i didn't understand who that guy was. That's not true, But I like those shows. I love that. 

Christopher guest, harry Shearer, martin Shortyear I thought that was such a fun And you know he Dick Eversall, of course was in there for the beginning, but he reinvented the show in the 80s and kind of found a rhythm that we're still following to this day, introducing a lot more taped pieces promoting Eddie Murphy, bringing that, julie Louis-Dreyfus and that whole crew from Chicago as a group from the second city in the 80s, and so I love what he did to the show. I know he even tried to kill the show a couple of times, which is fine. You know you can have some villains in the Hall of Fame. For sure Billy Martin's in the Hall of Fame, right In the baseball Hall of Fame, so for sure Dick Eversall belongs to be in the Hall of Fame for what he contributed to the show before his tenure and during his tenure for sure, i have him on mine too. 

0:48:13 - Speaker 3

Yeah, definitely. 

0:48:15 - Speaker 5

Same for all the reasons you listed. 

0:48:17 - Speaker 2

Awesome, excellent, all right Will. Who do you have for us next? 

0:48:22 - Speaker 5

I will go with The Lonely Island, why not? I might be on an island with this one, but I'm going to go ahead and nominate them, the reason being the reason why I wanted to have them. Like I know, they've been kind of on and climbing And I think that one of the main reasons he talked about kind of the way, and now obviously sorry as being a live show the fact that they came in and were able to bring the show into the 21st century and be able to have prerecords that were more accepted in the format of the show and be able to, even though it's not live, i mean be able to bring another way to help the variety format of the show be relevant nowadays, especially when you look at how the show is consumed now. A lot of people aren't necessarily watching it live, they're watching it the next day And they were kind of helping it be that they had to have those kind of streaming made for the masses hits. They had a lot of obviously great sketches. They had a lot of great prerecords, like over 100. And I guess we've talked about some of them. 

I'm on a boat, they can a box, laser cats. 

There's been so many different iterations that they had, that they're able to own As a writing team too I know Andy was kind of the face of it, but being able to prominently feature writers and into those sketches and be able to bring the host into it, and that's something that even now there's prerecords that are more part of the show every single week, that yes, there were some throughout time They weren't the first people to do a prerecord, but that being a staple of the show every single week and not being something that was kind of frowned upon and like we'll do it every once in a while, i feel like they deserve to have a spot in the Hall of Fame And, like I said, i guess kind of talking on both sides and I'm not glad they're getting close to that point where need to figure out they're going to get in or out, and there's a lot of stories to be told about the beginning of SNL. 

But I feel like when you look at how the show is now and bringing it to modern, like a more modern era now, and the way things are consumed, i think they deserve to be in for their contributions. 

0:50:14 - Speaker 3

I agree with you, will. They are still not on my ballot, but I'm pretty confident they would make the Hall of Fame without me voting them in. I'm sure they will get into your point about them wanting to get in. This is their third ballot. If they don't get in this time, i would vote for them for their fourth time Because, as much as I don't want them to get in right away, it would be a sin if it took them till their fifth and final ballot. So they're not on mine. I'm sure they'll get in And if not, they'll be a next time, i'm sure. 

0:50:42 - Speaker 4

Yeah, I think there's very few people who have changed the game. Not only did William and Eddie Murphy change the game, John Lovett's changed the game, Kristen Wiig changed the game, But very few writers changed the game on SNL Live. And then Lowellin definitely did that And you got to give them props. I think step two your dick in that box might be one of the funniest things that's ever been written in SNL Live Every Christmas. That makes my wife laugh out loud Every Christmas without fail. And if you can make my wife laugh at a dick joke out loud, you've earned your spot in the Hall of Fame. 

0:51:21 - Speaker 2

They're on my list as well For all of those reasons. I mean, the tree tapes have become either really really weird love is a dream, such a weird concept from that 90s era or just these kind of by the numbers commercial parodies. It was like, ok, what drug parody or car parody or whatever, but they brought it back almost to the Albert Brooks level of just leaning into the really silly, the comedic, and making these pre-tapes vital Again, making them feel not like an afterthought but an important part of the show And also being possibly the best musical parody act aside from weird Alianca Vic, who needs to be on the show. I will say this I will go to my grave fighting for him to be on the show. How is he not being on the show? But yeah, they're just an incredible bunch of writers, incredible talent And, yeah, totally, totally agree. 

0:52:29 - Speaker 4

I will say not only do they change the game of Saturday Night Live, they change the game of comedy while on Saturday Night Live, which is very hard to do Most people, if they're going to change the face of comedy, they do it after Saturday Night Live. They did it while they were on Saturday Night Live, So that's very commendable. 

0:52:48 - Speaker 2

Dave, who do you have for us? 

0:52:50 - Speaker 4

I'm going to go with the last person that's on my definite ballot and out of my bubble And that is Paul Simon as a musical guest. I think from the get-go he was one of the people that really supported the show, brought credibility to the show. I kept coming back to the show He hosted. He's done sketches But as far as a musical guest he has had some iconic musical performances. He's got certainly. Here comes a son with George Harrison. He's got still crazy after all these years in the chicken suit And he's got the boxer after 9-11. I think for those three musical performances alone you'd have to consider him as if we're going. If you have to have one from each category, i don't know how you don't pick Paul Simon on your ballot. He is a friend of the show and just wonderfully fits into the vibe of what the show has been since the very beginning. 

0:53:51 - Speaker 2

Any other votes for Paul? 

0:53:53 - Speaker 3

I do not have him on my ballot, But I feel like Paul Simon is a very weird and interesting case because I agree, Like all three of those performances Dave mentioned are great, But he wasn't the musical guest for those, He was the host or the 2000 after 9-11, he was an unannounced guest. 

Paul Simon's first couple appearances on the show was as a host. Now, granted, he sang a lot, but he was technically the host And so putting him as a musical guest, I don't know, And I feel like there's a very weird and this is kind of to the Dick Ebersole of it all weird fourth realm that could exist in this Hall of Fame, where you're not pigeonholed into a particular thing. And I think someone like Paul Simon really would take that, because I don't think he does it on his hosting status and gigs alone. I don't think he does it on his musical guest status alone or his cameos alone, But when you put them all together, one of the best skits he's been a part of is and he's in line with Jan Hooks, I think it is at the movie theater. 

And he sees all the people walk by and he remembers them from a concert and they bought an album. And then Arco Funko walks by and he has no idea who he is, but again, so I think if there was a weird fourth hodgepodge category hands down, i would give it to him, but as a musical guest I just, yeah, i left him off. 

0:55:16 - Speaker 2

Yeah, it feels like there needs to be like special achievement inductees. Just just for something. Yeah, you see, he's all these categories coming together, like you both said. So yeah, that's, jamie, something to consider. 

0:55:35 - Speaker 4

Like that old white guy that's in the background of like a thousand sketches. Yes, The white hair. You know that guy. 

0:55:42 - Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, all right, rad, what do you have for us? 

0:55:47 - Speaker 3

I'll go with my. Now I'm kind of in my. I've gotten through my slam dunks and my bubble-ish realm. I have one host on my list and it's John Goodman. He's again multi-generations. I mean. What was it? 12, 13 years in a row he was hosting. I think there was one time he hosted with Tom Petty again and the running joke in the monologue that they thought it was the same episode from six years ago. 

You know as a host would throw himself into the sketches, throw himself into the show, whatever was asked, whatever he needed to do, if he had to dress as Linda Tripp. You know whether you like or dislike how he joined the world of the Blues Brothers what have you but it still says something to who he is and what he means to that show. And I, you know we talk about, as we've said before, you know the era that you grew up watching SNL. That era for me, was a lot of times when John Goodman hosted. So he's a third time nominee of all the hosts I have. I don't wanna see John Goodman go and not get in, so I'm keeping him on my ballot as my host spot. 

0:56:51 - Speaker 2

Anybody else vote for John, not on my ballot. 

Yeah, he's on there too, like I don't want him to fall off, but he's. It's that bevy of talent. It's hard to choose. All right, well, my next one is going back to the early years. Elliot Gould, elliot Gould, so, as for hosting, he was just such a fixture during that like 76 to 80 era. He was the first movie star to host, like big name movie star to come on. So it created, you know, like Paul Simon helped create legitimacy, elliot Gould helped create legitimacy for the show and it, you know, it's like Lily Tomlin was the same way, where they almost felt like members of the cast just because of the intimacy during those early years and the recurrence and the relationships they seemed to build with the cast. So, yeah, so Elliot Gould is on my list of hosts to be inducted. 

0:57:55 - Speaker 4

Not on my list. No, As much as I love his movie roles and him as an actor, didn't really stand out to me as a major host. 

0:58:04 - Speaker 3

Not on my list as well. I agree with you, know. I think everything you mentioned about Elliot Gould take away the movie star aspect and I think there's a better host candidate from that era that's on my bubble above him. 

0:58:18 - Speaker 5

Yeah, i also didn't have him on there, not the pile on your map, but I also didn't have him on there. But I mean definitely, like you said, great contrast to the early parts of the show. I just didn't have him on my bubble, but I didn't have him on my final ballot. 

0:58:32 - Speaker 2

Hey, after the surprising turnaround with Dick Embersall's choice that I totally fair, i will take this. Okay, will, who do you have for us? 

0:58:41 - Speaker 5

So I'll. next one I'll have it's someone that's actually returning, but next one I'll talk about a cast member is Molly Shannon. So for me I think Molly is another one of those cast members that was that's an all-timer, i think. talking about the energy that she brought, the versatile she had on the show. She was obviously with a stat cast as well as one of the most recognizable characters of all time with Mary-Catherine Gallagher Not, i know, spin-offs don't meet in your movies outside of the show, how successful they are or not, don't count for anything, but obviously recognizable enough to get a shot at it. Sally O'Malley something she had delicious dish on NPR. I mean those are some really classic moments and sketches and classic characters And I like to say that she's coming up on that third ballot. I think she's just one of those great cast member And so she made it on my ballot this time around. 

0:59:29 - Speaker 2

Got any other votes for her. 

0:59:32 - Speaker 3

Much like Maya Rudolph, i think she'd get in. She's on my bubble, but I needed to be convinced to put her above a few people. 

0:59:39 - Speaker 2

Well, i am with you on this one. She is on my ballot And what really put her over the top was her recent hosting gig. Honestly, because it is like watching her perform, it's like she's still so vital, like I would love to have her on the cast now, like it would. Just she's so full of energy and like all of those characters that she brought back, like Sally O'Malley, you know, it's just like they still work. They work now better than ever, and that just speaks to the timelessness and like the heart that she brings to the show. So yeah, so she's got my vote. Dave, who do you have for us? 

1:00:22 - Speaker 4

Oh boy, i guess my next one. I'll go back to my season one episode and that is Frank and Davis, who I spoke for in season one. They were the first team to be hired predating well, the island or good neighbor or any of these other writing teams hired practical theater company. But they actually, between them, have about they each have 20 seasons on the show, which is unreal. 19 of them were in the same season. They each had one season apart. 

But the contributions that they made on that show to political discourse, to political comedy, to satire they were the first ones that Lauren just gave like five minutes to do whatever you want on the show. This week They had their own mini episode within Serial Life while the Frank and the Davis show. Some of them are unwatchable, but that also shows a lot of trust, how much trust Lauren had in them and their sensibilities. Oh, frank was such a fantastic senator. But they also created so many iconic characters throughout the years The Coneheads from Tom Davis and the Continental from Tom Davis and Stuart Smalley from Al Franken Just so many things that people don't realize were them. And to also have that kind of influence over the writer's room over the course of the first 20, 25 years of the show is unmistakable. So for that alone, especially on the third ballot, they should be in the hall of fame by now. 

1:02:06 - Speaker 3

I've got these guys. They're on my bubble and they're on the inside of my bubble, But what I try to figure out is separating Frank and Davis from Al Franken and Tom Davis. You know what I mean. Are you putting Frank and Davis in because Al Franken created Stuart Smalley, Like because Frank and Davis was a unit for a brief period of time? Both of these guys contributed a lot years down the road. But what's the difference between Frank and Davis and two different writers combined together? So I look at it and even doing that, I still look at it as Frank and Davis, the team of Frank and Davis, And I still have them on the bubble for all they've done in those early years and what they did. But that's why they're on my bubbles. I'm kind of kind of like you just mentioned with Molly Shannon, like I would not put her recent hosting job towards her getting into the hall as a cast member. But that's just me. 

1:03:03 - Speaker 2

Well, Brad, who do you have for us for this next round? 

1:03:06 - Speaker 3

Can I ask Dave, though like what do you think about that, dave? Because I know I remember your episode and it was great. 

1:03:10 - Speaker 4

That's a really good notion. 

1:03:11 - Speaker 3

And what do you think about that of you know people? it's kind of like the Paul Simon thing again of Frank and Davis as writers, beyond being the team of Frank and Davis. 

1:03:19 - Speaker 4

Well, i would say it's a really good notion. 

As far as Paul Simon goes, i'd say that if he's doing a musical number he is a musical guest, whether he's the announced musical guest or not. 

He is a musical guest in that sense And I don't the fact that they were in the writers' room together to me constitutes a Frank and Davis influence on the show, whether they're getting a singular writing credit on a sketch or on a season you know it's individual writing credits or but they are in the room for 19 seasons together in that room and that seniority that they must have had in the 80s is unparalleled as far as you know, connecting the original cast to the Phil Hartman era all the way through Tina Fey. Tina Fey brings Tom Davis back for a season. You know you can't discount what those two guys being in the room has meant to generations of writers and sketches. You know Sarah Silverman, all the way up to Sarah Silverman working with Al Franken, famously stabbing with a pencil. But I mean to be able to have worked with John Belushi and Sarah Silverman, the Silent Line. It certainly tells me a lot about your influence on the show and whether you should be in the Hall of Fame or not, it's a good point, regardless of writing credits. 

1:04:43 - Speaker 2

Okay, Brad, how do you follow that up? 

1:04:45 - Speaker 3

Ah, followed up with Herb Sargent. original writer, co-creator of Weekend Update, head writer seasons four and five, left when Lauren left, came back and did another. what, 10 years after that, writing up through the Norma McDonald era? I mean, you can't not look at Saturday Night Live and not see his fingerprints all over it And writing credits aside. you know, when that band of 20 and 30 year old knuckleheads showed up at NBC to try to do a TV show, herb Sargent was like the elder statesman. You guys had a great episode on Herb Sargent. I thought it was one of the best you guys did of how vital he just was in that machine, of getting it up and running, of helping Lauren, of having somebody to learn to lean on, to really form that show. what would work, what wouldn't work? I mean, as you guys mentioned in your show, the writer's guild has an award name after him. for Christ's sake, i mean, he's just phenomenal And I was so ecstatic to see that you guys even had him as a nominee that, yeah, i totally put him in. 

1:05:40 - Speaker 2

Anybody else have them on their list? Do you have any thoughts on Herb? 

1:05:44 - Speaker 5

Well, i had Herb actually on my bubble, but inside my bubble for the same reasons that Brad mentioned, because I think you know to your point he was so influential in the early parts of the show. And then, obviously, the mastermind behind the Weekend Update. And how can you talk about SNL or the history of SNL, that Weekend Update and what kind of a staple that was early on and what that's done for comedy and the way that it's been spun off into its own entities in different ways and often imitated, and obviously he was really influential. So he's someone that I think was also really listening to some of that. His episode earlier today And I think it was just being more educated on the amount of his influence. It's probably the thing that's been keeping him out, But I think he definitely deserves to be in and he's probably going to get that nod just because of, like I said, those early contributions and how long he's on the show and just how influential for Brad or what he was Same here. 

1:06:36 - Speaker 2

I mean, like he's not on my list but he's on my bubble as well, or I'm just like, oh, like it comes back to like those people who helped forge the show, and he is one of those people who really shaped it into what it became. Well, that brings me to me at third writer nomination, and I'm sure I'm going to get shut down again on this one. Michael O'Donohue Is he a jerk? Yes, i will get that out of the way now. He was a jerk. He was a huge jerk. He was a very mean man at times. But he also helped define the voice of the show in its earliest years and pushed it to places that I don't think it even goes to anymore. 

And in those early days there was some really cutting edge comedy. I mean, he hated the Muppets. That's one area where I will disagree with him on. But, to be fair, they did not belong on that first season. I will agree with them there. I love the Muppets. They didn't fit Saturday Night Live, especially those weird alien Muppets. But he brought the gonzo to the era. He made it like, really like. The comedy of those first two seasons was really leaning into the zeitgeist in a way that it stopped after a while, and I mean that's I don't know if it's his lampoon aspect or just him, but yeah, i felt he's an important voice and an important writer and belongs in the Hall of Fame. Any takers? 

1:08:14 - Speaker 3

I have him on mine. Oh, this is. I've been wrestling with it today as I've been looking through it. You know he's at the bottom of my just above bubble And I have him on for all the reasons you've said, and I keep arguing with myself of how many reasons am I keeping him on? 

because, of nostalgic sake And like of what you said not necessarily being worth, and the conversations we've actually had today actually, or what kind of really kind of pushed me, or I may pull him out more so than a Franken and Davis. Yeah, he had a huge part in the voice of the show, but in looking against in the start of the show, but in looking against the rest of the nominees, does that hold up enough to put him above, say, 14, 15 other people? I don't know? Or even if I only put 13 votes in, is he one of those 13? I don't know, i don't know. It's one of the ones I'm wrestling with. 

1:09:05 - Speaker 4

I did not put Michael down to you on my ballot. I have a hard time seeing the humor in his comedy It's. I guess I'm just gonna leave it at that. 

1:09:18 - Speaker 2

He's out his moment, he's very up his moment. 

1:09:21 - Speaker 4

I don't think that his type of humor had a resonating effect on comedy as much as he would have hoped or that he gets credit for I think it's. I don't see his brand of humor surviving past the 80s. 

1:09:37 - Speaker 2

That's a valid point. No, totally true, totally valid. Okay, well, we'll spin it around the other way. Brad, who else do you have for us? 

1:09:45 - Speaker 3

I only have one left that hasn't been said. That's in my list here And it's another writer. I'm trying to get a lot of writers in. I only put in one host and one musical guest. Robert Schmeigel is my last nominee Again. First ballot writer, longevity, the cast that he's worked with, the characters he came up with, the sketches that he wrote just I think he's an invaluable asset to Saturday Night Live. I have a feeling he probably won't get in the first couple of ballots, but I want to get his name out there to give him a shot of staying on. 

1:10:16 - Speaker 4

Yeah, he's on my bubble. I love him. I love him. I love his sense of humor. I love what he did with TV Funhouse. I love the sketches that he wrote. I love the energy he brought to the Dan and Carvey era, to the Sandler era. I think some of his sketches are iconic, even if they're not even well known. They are iconic, like that clucking chicken ad. It's just, it's so funny, it's so funny And it's so Schmeigel And it is Schmeigel. It's just some of the things that he has come up with on the show and from the show and with people he met on the show. He's definitely at the very top of my bubble And I would be surprised if he doesn't make it to my ballot. 

1:11:04 - Speaker 2

Will. Do you have any? 

1:11:04 - Speaker 5

thoughts. Yeah, same boat. He's on my bubble for a lot of the reasons I've been mentioned, in terms of just his contradictions to the show and, obviously, tv Funhouse And a lot of people mentioning his influence too as well. that worked with him, but he was right, right there on the edge. Like I said, might still get in. I think he will get in eventually, but there were just a couple of writers that I had ahead of him. 

1:11:24 - Speaker 2

He is on my list. I mean TV Funhouse brilliant And like Bill Swarovski's Superfans, it's just such a bonkers premise but it works. And because he had the perfect people for those roles And he wrote to that And I think a lot of his humor carries on into the modern SNL, like he definitely did resonate through the years in a way that I will admit my previous selection did not. 

1:12:00 - Speaker 3

If you haven't seen it in a while, go back and watch the Trekkie sketch with William Shatner. It still holds up and it is phenomenal today. Yes, and he's great in it He's great in it. 

1:12:11 - Speaker 4

Yes, he's great. He's great in Superfans. He's great in You Like It a Juice? He's great, you know, when he pops up in scenes. When he pops up in scenes he's like, yeah, that guy's a cast member, right, no, wait, no, he's not a cast member, wait a minute, hold on. So I mean he would have been right in, fit, right in And I just he's just, his sensibility is is set alive. I think his, his whole persona, is what makes the show fun. 

1:12:39 - Speaker 2

Dave, who do you have for us? 

1:12:43 - Speaker 4

I'm going to go back to my episode from season two, and that is Paula Pell. Paula Pell is on my ballot. She had a very long tenure in the writer's room. She came up with so many iconic characters that are in her voice And you don't even realize the amount of recurring characters that she brought to the table. In fact, when you go to the Saturday Night Live store and you're buying any trinket of memorabilia from Silent Live, the odds are that you're buying a Paula Pell character, especially if you're came up a big fan of the 90s. She had a huge influence on the writer's room. She is still so, so, so funny And I'm glad she's finally getting her due as a performer, which is what she was originally when she was working at Disney as a live performer, pre-setting live. 

That's where she cut her teeth, improvising with regular people. That's how she got to be funny. It's because she can improvise with anybody. Any tourists that came through had improvised with Paula Pell as a character, so she has a singular voice. That is, i feel like you know it when you hear it, but it's also so. It's so specific Yet. So the characters are generic but the references are so specific And that what makes her writing so on, point and timely and of the day is that when you hear a Paula Pell sketch, you can hear, you can just feel Paula's vibe all over it And I think that's what makes her such a strong candidate as a writer. 

1:14:28 - Speaker 2

She was on mine. She was on mine for all of the reasons you listed. I mean Spartan cheerleaders, debbie Downer, gilly, you know, like such bonkers recurring characters, but they work. And, yeah, she was on my list as well. 

1:14:42 - Speaker 5

I did not have her on my list. She's on my bubble. Basically. There were a few other writers that got in, but definitely prolific in, like her contributions to the show. She just didn't make it on my ballot this round. 

1:14:53 - Speaker 3

Same with me. She's on my bubble just below. 

1:14:57 - Speaker 2

Well, who do you have for us? 

1:15:00 - Speaker 5

So I will. I think we've all kind of talked through one of the musical guest elections. I will talk about the musical guest that I went with, which was none other than Beyonce. So, totally understanding that there's a lot of people, as we've talked through this today, there's a lot of people, the contributions to the show and you know that have been on there for a long time. But now, obviously, going back to today's point, i was doing the Beyonce episode on season three, getting a chance to really look at all of her performances. 

She's obviously, if you're talking about the top 10 most famous people, especially from a musical guest standpoint, that have been on the show. She's definitely there, i'm sure she's just a very hard get in general. So the fact that she's been on there with Destiny's Child I also have been on there as a solo artist. Her performances are always great. She always does a great job of being able to bring a level of energy, choreography to her performances, y'all. She has a beautiful voice And I would say, if we're talking about the reason why I think that pushes over the edge is her 2008 appearance where she performed Single Ladies, which was obviously a huge hit at the time. 

She her performance of If I Were a Boy solo was amazing. If you wanted to see her vocal range, it was just an amazing performance. And then she also had some moments being in sketches. She was in a sketch with Destiny's Child in there with Destiny's Child early on the show doing the I think it was Gemini's twin sketch parody with Maya and the rest of the cast. And then she's also in the Single Ladies spoof with Justin Timberlake and Andy Sandberg, which was also really popular sketch. So I think you know, in terms of performance that have come through the show and the higher their fame, someone who is going to be appointment television for the show and obviously has many awards outside of it. But if someone that will make sure that the lines are rocking around Studio H to get in, beyonce is definitely one of the all-timers And I quite frankly don't want to tell the behind that she's not getting in. So she had to get it in there For my last. The choice is there for a musical guest standpoint, so I submit to Beyonce. 

1:17:00 - Speaker 2

Any other votes for Beyonce? 

1:17:03 - Speaker 4

Not vote for Beyonce. 

1:17:04 - Speaker 2

She's on my bubble as well, but I mean she is again. It's one of those cases of You know people who've been through a couple of rounds already, kind of thing. But I mean she's definitely iconic and her performance. I love the sketch that she did when the single ladies video shoot with Justin Timberlake And it's just, it is hilarious And the will like the willingness to take, take the piss out of yourself, kind of thing, like not be too serious, just always elevate. So she, i will be voting for her. It's just a matter of when. Well, i have no more selections left. So How are all of you looking? yeah, many more do you guys have? 

1:17:49 - Speaker 4

I'm out. I have one more under consideration. 

1:17:52 - Speaker 2

One more will. How many more do you have there? I'm out, all right. Well, dave, this let's. Let's wrap up our Solid suggestions and votes with you. 

1:18:03 - Speaker 4

Okay. So I've got a four-person bubble. Right now only two of them are gonna make it. I've got smigo Carvey did growl in my bubble and my fourth person in that bubble is Miley Cyrus. I think she is Exactly what you would want in a musical guest. I think that every time she comes on the show she brings a performance that is In line with the variety show spectacle that Saturday in Live Demands and she keeps topping herself, which is really impressive. I mean, every time she comes it is something special, a really cool cover. You know her doing She were here on the at-home shows was fantastic. Her doing so. This is Christmas, with Sean Lennon At that Christmas episode, and I could think of two, at least two more performances of hers that were just like Showstoppers. 

And I think every time that she's on the show and you know she, her relationship with the show starts with Vanessa Bayer playing her on the show, you know. So she starts as a recurring character and eventually comes on and Let's Vanessa take the piss out of her but also delivers as a musical guest in a plus performance Every single time she's on. And if you tell me Miley Cyrus is hosting, i guarantee that's even my favorite part of the show That that week, and I'm not even a big Miley Cyrus songbook fan I don't know many of her songs, but I do know that when she's on Silent Live. I am looking forward to that episode and I go back and watch her performances and they're always phenomenal. 

1:19:46 - Speaker 2

I will say that you know she, she's on, she's. I will vote for her eventually, eventually, because I mean I, she is another talent that is, you know, like you said, brings it all every time she's on. 

1:20:00 - Speaker 4

It's something interesting too. Not just a performance, it is a, it's a piece. 

1:20:04 - Speaker 2

The flaming lips is the duet that they did. So weird, so weird. 

1:20:10 - Speaker 4

She takes big swings, and that's what I want to do using a guest. 

1:20:13 - Speaker 5

Yeah, she's a great artist. I didn't have her on my ballot, obviously, but she's. I think she is definitely talented and someone that you know. You look forward to having her be the musical guest. You know you're in good, good hands when she's gonna pop up. 

1:20:24 - Speaker 2

I know a few of us have Withheld votes, so has anybody made a decision on those held back votes? I think I I've made a call my one vote. Let me go to John Blasie. I I think you know Brad. You made a strong case. He's a Keystone of the early years. Dave, who you're gonna cut because you have a few too many? 

1:20:53 - Speaker 4

Yeah, it's either Smigal Carvey, Dave Grohl or Miley Cyrus. I'm leaning towards Dave Grohl is getting cut, probably Smigal because it's his first ballot. but I mean I Yeah Dana Carvey. I don't know, i don't know, i don't know so did anybody sway you Brad. 

1:21:10 - Speaker 3

You know I I had my Rudolph on my bubble wanting to kind of be pushed to. You know, get pushed to put her in, she might make it, i think might go down to you, might get pulled out of my bubble after talking. So you know, i may not even use all 15 and I had I had two people kind of at the top My bullet weren't brought up. Buck Henry Was somebody at like the top of my bubble, like not making less, that I was kind of hoping somebody might Might bring up. So but yeah, that's kind of where I ended. 

1:21:39 - Speaker 2

Anything change for you, any, any Pifanies. 

1:21:43 - Speaker 5

Yeah, a little bit. I mean I, i think that when I was going through on the first pit, the first run, really go with my gut in terms of you know who do I feel just is outright. You know, should I want to get in right away, but also with the you know with along with a chance to still have people get in. I think there's people that were on my bubble, that are more recent, that kind of got bumped out As we were talking here today too, and so I think, with some of my remaining votes Dick ever saw her Sergeant and Bill Murray We're right there, you know, i think, in terms of being able to get in, in terms of like to just Contrary to the show and some people, that I think it's hard until the story of the show without, and I think they deserve to get A little sooner than some people that have had some recent successes. So guess the brad that the recency by, i thought. 

1:22:29 - Speaker 4

I got to put that aside. 

1:22:30 - Speaker 5

So I learned something today, so it's good. I'm glad I came to the round table. 

1:22:33 - Speaker 4

Whoo, i think I've kind of a decision I'm I'm gonna vote for Miley Cyrus. I talked myself into it All of a sudden and so, and so my last, my last slot is either smuggler carvey and You know, at me everybody. let me know what you think that's a hard choice. 

1:22:51 - Speaker 2

That is a hard choice. I do not envy that. But well guys, thank you so much today. What? where can people find you, brad? 

1:23:01 - Speaker 3

You can find me on the not ready for primetime podcast. We're relatively new podcast diving in the first five years of SNL. We have new episodes every Tuesday and we're social media is Not for PD pot. 

1:23:14 - Speaker 4

Awesome and Dave you can find me at Dave Buckman at most social medias or check out cold town theater C O L D T O W N E Theater in Austin, texas. We also host Austin sketch fest June at 22nd through the 25th this year at coal town theater in Austin, texas, with troops from New York, chicago and LA, as well as Austin, texas and Will. 

1:23:40 - Speaker 5

Well, you can find me Popping up randomly on SNL podcast and I say also on socials that at W Norman with a zero. But yeah, just that's. 

1:23:50 - Speaker 2

That's all I got on, and and I'm matter dill your trivia meister, and You can also find me on the podcast order up talking about food with a variety of comedians and Gelman from from Regis and Kathy Lee, oddly enough, i don't know how we had that yet, but we got that get and I'm not gonna complain about it. 

1:24:14 - Speaker 4

Well, thanks everybody for joining us. 

1:24:15 - Speaker 2

Have a great day. 

1:24:20 - Speaker 1

Thanks for listening to the SNL Hall of Fame podcast. Make sure to rate, review, share and subscribe to the show. Wherever you get your podcast. Follow us on social media at SNL HOF. This is Doug Denance saying. This is Doug Denance saying see you next week. 

1:25:04 - Speaker 4

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