That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)

Sweet sassy molassy! That's it. That's the post. Nah, I guess I gotta write some more here. Well, it's the first episode of SNL hosted by Ray Romano. You might remember him. Had a pretty popular sitcom for a number of years. Got a real memorable voice too. It's time to do some fun SNL gag 'em ups with him and gag them up we do! Got a few beloved sketches in this one, a few that don't really land, Weekend Update doing it's Weekend Update thing. And, of course, we make sure to dedicate a small little chunk of the episode to discuss the movie Grandma's Boy because that's what Doris Roberts would've wanted.

It's time to Art Funk with the Garf! This week, we've got a pleasantly mellow little outing from the original cast, one with a heavier bent on music than usual. And since the music is being provided by Art Garfunkel and Stephen Bishop, it's also maybe a little sleepier than usual but that doesn't mean we don't have some bangers in here too. In fact, we have one of the most recognizable SNL sketches ever nestled in this one and, for my money, one of the best musical performances as well. There's some real bafflers and Andy Kaufman so join us as we explore this strange, John Belushi heavy episode of SNL.

Here we are at an important crossroads for the show: the final live episode for Eddie Murphy as a cast member. Yes, the show would still have two pre-taped sketches left to air in later episodes but this is basically it for Eddie. And who does the show bring into host for this momentous occasion? Recently retired NBC newsman Edwin Newman. Huh. That doesn't seem terribly exciting. I mean, yeah, Kool & The Gang are there to very literally bring the Celebration but Edwin Newman? Seems like an odd choice...or is it?

The show's first black female host. One of the coolest bands in NYC providing the tunes. Quite possibly the most amount of people watching the show in it's entire history. What could go wrong? Turns out, everything! In a move that can only be described as "yeah, that sounds like something SNL would do", the show manages to torpedo this moment in time with some of the most grim, grimy, sexist and just plain ugly sketches to ever grace your television screens. Strap in for this one, folks because it's not getting any easier.

Against the backdrop of a snowed in New York, the cast and crew of the thirtieth season of SNL huddle into 30 Rock with beloved character actor Paul Giamatti to do what is quite possibly the finest outing of a fairly infamous season. We get two decent political efforts, a rare Finesse Mitchell showcase, some quality oddities and the ridiculous, joyous nonsense that is Ludacris and Sum 41 as our musical guests. And, as an added bonus, a few commercials and weirdness from an incomplete live airing I found! OH NO!

We're kicking off 2026 with another one of those quietly important episodes of the show, featuring the debut of a number of sketches that would go on to define the early 90s era of SNL. We get the first Richmeister sketch, the debut of Deep Thoughts (kicking off with FOUR of those tonight) and the first Coffee Talk, here in it's original form with host Paul Baldwin. And hey, we even get the widely loved Sinatra Group sketch in there as well! Elsewhere, things are pretty damn odd though (including one that never made it in reruns of this episode) and the Gulf War had just kicked off only a few days before so that's a lingering thing as well. And the sweetest plum of them all? Andy is sick! Ladies and gentlemen, we are BACK!