Top 5 SNL Characters
This one's pretty straight-forward, and particularly unscientific-- the greatest characters created for or ever to appear on "Saturday Night Live." The only ground rule really is that the character has to have been recurrent. I tried to lasso some clips for each one, but NBC patrols the internet for piracy violations like it's going out of business.5) MR. SUBLIMINAL, as portrayed by Kevin Nealon (8 appearances) 1986-1991. This was a difficult decision- not that difficult- Nealon was one of the standout SNL performers of the 1990s- Hartman was better- and now he's the best reason to watch the Showtime series "Weeds"- Mary Louise Parker's body. His Mr. Subliminal character was one I had in mind when I came up with the idea for this list- lazy blog entry. Here's a Mr. Subliminal video drawn from the 1991 Emmys telecast- NBC bastards- I think it's really funny- there are better- I hope you enjoy it.
4) DEBBIE DOWNER, as portrayed by Rachel Dratch (7 appearances) 2004-2006. It's little wonder that Dratch and her cast mates struggled to get through this sketch without laughing. It's a terrific concept-- a group of friends out for fun constantly being reminded by their friend Debbie of the sad facts of life, such as the pandemic of Feline AIDS. This is hilarious.
3) NICK WINTERS/SUMMERS/SPRINGS/SLAMMER, as portrayed by Bill Murray (12 appearances) 1977-1999. This character is the brilliant Murray at his most comically-insincere. This one's great because it's all style and presentation, not propped up by lazy catchphrases or the like. One gets the impression that Murray could keep this lounge singer character fresh for decades, simply updating the pop culture references in his act. A musical performance by Nick (with Paul Shaffer accompanying on piano) is a pleasure whether you're warming by the fire at a New England ski lodge or riding coach class on a New York City to Miami passenger train. Sorry there are no clips out there. Blame somebody at the network.
2) MATT FOLEY, as portrayed by Chris Farley (8 appearances) 1993-1997. Pure Farley energy, Foley was a motivational speaker to rival a dozen Tony Robinses, selflessly steering wayward youths towards a future more promising than his own.
1) ASTRONAUT JONES, as portrayed by Tracy Morgan (5 appearances) 2002-2009. Classic misdirection bit. The perfect outline. You've seen one, you've seen 'em all-- and that's not a criticism. The brief Astronaut Jones series was like a comic rocket across the sky. The clips of this one still have me on the floor, I can't explain why. Look out moooon!
posted by CM @ 8:29 PM
2 Comments:
Most of the time that's the problem with SNL characters - you've seen one episode, you've seen them all. All your examples are highly formulaic, while the best sketch comedy is usually based on a one-off concept idea, like the Synchronized Swimming bit with Martin Short and Harry Shearer, or Mr. Short-term Memory with Tom Hanks.
Of course, the opposite argument is that the best thing about recurring characters is the opportunity to riff on a character in different ways, like a comedic jazz artist, and that's what your examples achieved (for the most part.)
My all time favorite is Jon Lovitz as Master Thespian.
Brilliant!
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