20. Marijuana - Fridays
The short-lived L.A. version of Saturday Night Live produced one classic moment, courtesy of guest host Andy Kaufman. In this sketch, two couples are dining at a restaurant together; each sneaks to the restroom to smoke pot without the knowledge of the others. (The overenthusiastic catcallers in the audience had obviously beaten all of them to it.) In the middle of the banal premise, Kaufman loses interest: "I can't play stoned," he says, and the sketch starts to flounder. Castmember (and future "Seinfeld" star) Michael Richards stalks offstage and returns to dump a pile of cue cards on Kaufman's lap. Kaufman throws a glass of water in his face. A crew member runs on stage; he and Kaufman proceed to fistfight; the show fades to commercial. Was it planned? Or a noble live-TV sabotage of pandering material? Later portrayed in the Kaufman biopic "Man in the Moon" (and now generally acknowledged to have been a setup), at the time the sketch drew international headlines, and it stands as testament of Kaufman's ability to provoke. —Michael Martin19. The Olympia Restaurant - Saturday Night Live
One of the most oft-quoted sketches in SNL history, 1978's "The Olympia Restaurant" even inspired the formation of a restaurant chain. Inspired by the goings-on at the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, the bit is set at a Greek diner whose proprietors have a limited vocabulary and an even smaller menu. John Belushi's siren song (Cheezborger! Cheezborger!) steamrolls any other customer request. No matter the order — he always returns to that same refrain, only occasionally mixing it up with a "No Coke — Pepsi." His co-workers (and relatives) are rounded out by grill-master Dan Aykroyd and soda jerk Bill Murray. When guest host Robert Klein saunters in and asks for a couple of eggs — he's rebuked by a choral rendition — and Belushi's rapid fire response reaches the sublime. A mustachioed Murray almost steals the show, well on his way to perfecting the dumbfounded, hangdog ennui that would soon become his trademark. —R. Emmet Sweeney18. He's Rick James - Chappelle's Show
The sketch that inspired a generation to boast "I'm Rick James, bitch!", "Chappelle's Show"'s most famous bit (and catchphrase) has at this point been run into the ground by legions of lame frat boy impressions. Nonetheless, this highlight from the Comedy Central hit's second season remains an unqualified triumph of TV-biography satire and outrageous celebrity impersonation. Cast as an episode of "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories," this series of three dramatized anecdotes about super freak Rick James thrives thanks to three key ingredients: Murphy's boastful narration, in which he repeatedly talks about putting "habitual line-stepper" James in his place through beatdowns; Chappelle's face-licking, couch-dirtying, forehead-punching performance as the flamboyantly insane James; and, of course, James himself, who refutes Murphy's tough-guy version of events ("I must be losing my mind") and candidly sums up his legendary behavior — and, perhaps, his life — with the simple maxim, "Cocaine is a hell of a drug." —Nick Schager17. Scenes from an Idiot's Marriage - SCTV
Jerry Lewis. Ingmar Bergman. Two cinematic titans join forces in SCTV's epic parody of the European art film. Martin Short aces his Lewis impression, while Andrea Martin does a blank-faced, tear-streaked Harriet Andersson, ready to untie the knot with Jerry. The sketch is a showpiece for Short, and he doesn't disappoint: his torturous mispronunciation of Sven Gunderbloom ("Sy Hoirbensen") and earnest voice-over ("My life used to be mahvelous") add up to a brilliant representation of slapstick existentialism. The centerpiece is a 360-degree tracking shot around a dinner table, centering on Andrea Martin making out with a bearded stoneface. Then Short waltzes in and introduces the anarchic to the deadpan proceedings — a water spritzer and a bucket are the klutzy highlights of the funniest Bergman parody in recorded history. —R.E.S.16. Buckwheat Sings - Saturday Night Live
The big, unkempt hair, the suspenders, the childlike voice — Eddie Murphy's embodiment of the famous "Our Gang" character stands as the pinnacle of the comedian's SNL run. Featuring Murphy standing on a darkened stage, the sketch — a TV commercial for the new "Buh-Weet Sings" album — is a model of less-is-more, achieving a state of pitch-perfect wackiness via the mentally challenged look in Murphy's eyes, the giant toothy grin he flashes after every song and the awkward, overdone hand gestures that accompany his riotous renditions of, among others, "Wookin' Pa Nub" and "Barbah ob Dabill" (the latter a tribute to Alfalfa). Still, what truly sells this unforgettable sketch is the future superstar's spot-on impersonation of Buckwheat's semi-incomprehensible speech, which is exaggerated for hilarious comedic effect, and also seems to contain within its hyperbole a sly critique of the 1920-1930s character's less-than-stellar representation of African-Americans. —N.S.15. Word Association - Saturday Night Live
A masterpiece, simply put. Chevy Chase is testing Richard Pryor during a psychological profile for a janitor position, and asks him to perform some word association. The racist undertones of Chase's selections soon become full-on epithets, and the test literally escalates into a war of words (from Negro/Whitey to Tar Baby/Ofay and on and on). Brilliantly and economically written by Paul Mooney (later a regular on "Chappelle's Show"), Chase's smarm is used to its fullest expressiveness, and Pryor's performance is a marvel — his rage slowly spreading throughout his body until it centers on his trembling, apoplectic upper lip, his twitching face humbling Chase into upping his salary. There's a beautiful modulation in Pryor's performance, the transition from finger-tapping affability to dagger-stared anger is accomplished through pure physicality — it almost could have been done silent. Needless to say, such an honest and raw-nerved uncovering of racial prejudice couldn't air today — let's just be thankful it was allowed back in '75. —R.E.S.14. Ministry of Silly Walks - Monty Python
The Pythonites knew how to deliver lunacy, but perhaps their greatest skill was in establishing the foundation for, and then slowly building upon, absurd premises. Case in point: this classic sketch, which opens with the sight of John Cleese buying a newspaper and then taking weird, gigantic steps down London's streets, and becomes increasingly funnier with each new development. Cleese arrives at his job, which a sign surprisingly informs us is at the Ministry of Silly Walks. He passes by other strangely ambling co-workers and into his office, where Michael Palin asks for help in developing his not-very-silly gait so as to receive a government grant. Cleese's ensuing demonstration is a tour-de-force of physical showmanship, his strikingly long legs bending in ways both hilarious and awe-inspiring. It's the newsreel footage of silly walks from yesteryear, however, that truly cements this sketch's status as one of Python's greatest hits. —N.S.13. Bass-O-Matic - Saturday Night Live
Dressed in a plaid suit, mustache a-droop, Dan Akroyd sends up the Ron Popeil late night infomercials of the '70s era in this sketch from the SNL golden era. Speaking quickly and with conviction like a proper huckster, Akroyd pitches the revolutionary Revco Super Bass-o-matic '76 as the answer to our troublesome days of "scaling, cutting and gutting," while dropping fish into a blender for a murky frappe. The sketch hits us on intellectual and visceral fronts: we recoil at the pitchman, his heavy-handed technique and his off-putting, not-at-all necessary product. We discount Laraine Newman's completely and amusingly unconvincing "Wow that's terrific bass!" when she takes a swig. 30 years later, the skit harkens back to simpler times, before advertising and marketing became embedded in every aspect of our lives, when we could still click away. But then and now, the sketch remains a smooth blend of comedy, requiring only the simplest of ingredients: some plaid, a mustache and bait. Mmm. —L.O.12. The Racial Draft - Chappelle's Show
In this inspired eight-minute sequence from the dearly departed "Chappelle's" second season, celebrities are selected by races (and, in one case, a religion) in the style of a collegiate sports draft. The ever-versatile Chappelle pulls triple-duty as a ESPNish commentator, the representative of the White Delegation ("Would you cut the malarkey!" he warns the rowdy crowd), and as Tiger Woods, the first man chosen by the Black race ("He's been discriminated against in his time, he's had death threats and he dates a white woman. Sounds like a black guy to me!" explains Chappelle). After Woods' official induction ("I've always wanted to say this: for shizzle!"), the draft takes pointed shots at Condi Rice, Madonna and O.J. Though "Chappelle's Show" had a well-deserved reputation for edgy racial humor, for all the stereotypes and epithets, this sketch, like so many others on the series, celebrates diversity and interracial tolerance even as it pokes fun at political correctness. After all, the draft's final choice, the Wu Tang Clan, show up in person to accept their selection by the Asian community, proudly announcing "Konnichiwa, bitches!" —M.S.11. Jaws II (Land Shark) - Saturday Night Live
With the familiar bars of John Williams' "Jaws" theme music playing ominously in the background, single young women are conned into opening their doors by a land shark, "the cleverest species of them all." The land shark's mumbled lines are hardly Rico Suave-worthy, but his charm works on the ladies — and on us. Voiced by Chevy Chase, the quick-thinking predator claims to be everything from a plumber to a candygram deliveryman to get the doors to open. In one instance — the bit's height — he politely demurs, "I'm only a dolphin, ma'am" to a skeptical Laraine Newman. The special effects are equally silly: a foam rubber shark head engulfs Gilda Radner, Newman and Candice Bergen. An example of SNL at its heyday, this imagined sequel skewered current events and pop culture, but it would work even without the cuts to John Belushi as concerned sheriff Matt Hooper. The land shark would appear in other SNL skits — that there would be real "Jaws" sequels — including one in 3D — would be Hollywood's joke on us. —L.O.
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