SNL: S27E01... HOST: REESE WITHERSPOON... DATE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2001

SNL: S27E01... HOST: REESE WITHERSPOON... DATE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with 9/11 Tribute where New York’s Mayor at the time, Rudolph Giuliani paid tribute to the lives lost during the 9/11 attacks by acknowledging the members of the New York Fire and Police Departments as heroes while many of their surviving brothers joined him on stage and Paul Simon performed the song The Boxer. After the song, Lorne Michaels asked Giuliani if they had permission to be funny again to which the Mayor responded, “Why start now,” before going on to announce, “Live from New York…”

  2. Reese Witherspoon then officially opened the show with a monolog where she tried to cut the tension by telling an off-color joke about a polar bear cub.

  3. This was followed by a fake ad for Preparation H that was marked to a much younger crowd since it had a group of skateboarding teens proudly brag about using the “H” as they called it in order to make it seem more extreme.

  4. Wake Up, Wakefield then returned for another installment of the Maya Rudolph hosted high school produced morning talk show. This time she and her sidekick played by Rachel Dratch interviewed Reese Witherspoon who was both the president of the Spanish Club and girlfriend of Jimmy Fallon who played Maya’s biggest crush in the world. Of course, this relationship made the interview a bit rough because of all of the jealous undertones.

  5. We then got a parody of The Little Mermaid with Reese Witherspoon as Ariel grossed out Will Ferrell with songs that highlighted the reality of what was going on with her fish private parts.

  6. Alicia Keys then took to the stage to perform Fallin'.

  7. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Darrell Hammond dropped by as Jesse Jackson who explained how the Taliban called him right after 9/11 in order to ask for a meeting.

  8. The Culps then returned for another performance of their singing instructor-style medley of songs only this time their performance took place at their niece’s lesbian wedding with the niece. For some reason, Reese didn’t play the niece in question but instead played her cousin who gave a toast and introduced the Culps.

  9. This was followed by another parody of Celebrity Jeopardy where this time, Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek had to wrangle new cast member, Dean Edwards as Chris Tucker, Reese Witherspoon as Anne Heche and, of course, Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery while trying to get through the game.

  10. Alicia Keys then returned to the stage to perform A Woman's Worth.

  11. Farting Baby is a classic sketch that I’ve always loved where Reese Witherspoon gave birth to a flatulent baby who was so gassy that her and her husband, Will Ferrell did think they could handle raising a baby with such a problem. Reese and her mom then took care of the situation by swapping the baby out with Tracy Morgan’s kid since he thought that the farting baby was the funniest thing in the world.

  12. We then got a fake ad for Donatella Versace For The Children which introduced Maya Rudolph as Donatella in order to promote her new horrible album aimed at kids.

  13. Finally, Reese Witherspoon closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

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SNL: S27E02... HOST: SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT... DATE: OCTOBER 6, 2001

SNL: S27E02... HOST: SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT... DATE: OCTOBER 6, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with A Message From The President Of The United States had Will Ferrell as George W. Bush inform Osama bin Laden “You screwed up big time,” before going on to threaten the terrorist leader that he put a target on his back for his involvement in 9/11. Of course, with this being the opening sketch it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Seann William Scott then officially opened the show with a monolog where he defended his semen drinking scene from the latest American Pie movie by sharing classic clips of “Hollywood films” where his ancestors were in similar semen scenes as well, showing he comes from a long line of semen interacting actors, going all the way back to the silent era of film.

  3. We then got a fake ad for Law & Order: Parking Violations Unit which was a parody spin-off of Law & Order that focused on the mundane crimes that take place in a suburban parking patrol unit.

  4. Jeffrey's then returned for another installment where this time Seann William Scott and Jimmy Fallon played clothing folders at a high-end clothing store, and as always, they treated their customers like garbage while trying to hold back their laughter when dealing with Horatio Sanz and Will Ferrell.

  5. This was followed by a parody of an Emmy Awards Pre-Show that had Ana Gasteyer as Joan Rivers who kept speaking out at the dressed-down award show-goers who weren’t all flashy this year since everyone was still mourning all of the loss during 9/11. She was extra fired up due to the fact the E! attempted to cancel her segment in an effort to be more reverential which is a state of being that Joan Rivers just never seemed to be able to pull off, especially not during her red carpet routine.

  6. Jarret's Room then returned for another installment of Jimmy Fallon’s titular characters dorm room webcast/talk show. This time, he and his sidekick Goby, as played by Horatio Sanz, and special guest, Seann William Scott hosted a mean-spirited award show while making fun of photos from the last semester’s yearbook.

  7. Sum41 then took to the stage to perform Fat Lip.

  8. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Tina Fey gave us a visceral editorial about Israel over their outrage toward the United States for wanting to even acknowledge a Palestinian state. The editorial actually wasn’t all that visceral at all and was just Tina Fey saying now’s not the right time to add to the list of Middle Eastern issues. Tracy Morgan dropped by to share that he’s now in favor of racial profiling now that 9/11 has created a new focus for the profilers. Chevy Chase also made a quick appearance as the Land Shark in order to eat Tina Fey.

  9. Patriotic Shorts took us to a business meeting where everyone involved was wearing some sort of American Flag attire as part of the patriotic trend that followed 9/11. Will Ferrell then took this display of patriotism even one step further by showing up in a tiny American Speedo which freaked out the entire room.

  10. The How Do You Say? Ah Yes, Show brought the return of Chris Kattan as Antonio Banderas where this time he tried to use his Hispanic charm to win over Amy Poehler as Paula Zahn, with this being Poehler’s sketch debut.

  11. My Big Thick Novel was a new Jack Handey feature very similar to Deep Thoughts only for this series Handey’s tales are told via illustrations instead of just text. This week, Jack Handey shares a chapter where his character kept getting hit by a blow-darts and only to yell at his doctor when she told him just how many darts hit him asking if she was some sort of blow-dart counter.

  12. Sum41 then returned to the stage to perform In Too Deep.

  13. This was followed by a fake ad for The Approval Center which was a loaning company that approved deadbeats for anything and everything whether or not they have any idea what they are actually getting themselves into.

  14. My Girlfriend The Porn Star had Amy Poehler come clean to her boyfriend, Seann William Scott, that she actually makes pornos for a living.

  15. Finally, Seann William Scott closed the show by thanking the audience and saying he goodnights.

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SNL: S27E03... HOST: DREW BARRYMORE... DATE: OCTOBER 13, 2001

SNL: S27E03... HOST: DREW BARRYMORE... DATE: OCTOBER 13, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with A Message From The Vice-President Of The United States which had Darrell Hammond as Dick Cheney reporting from a secret cave in Afghanistan where he was searching for Osama bin Laden himself noting, “If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.” He then went on to share tales of his trail of destruction and showing us his new Darth Vader looking heart that keeps him running so strong. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Drew Barrymore then officially opened the show with a monolog about how she almost back out of hosting due to her 9/11 fears until Mayor Giuliani’s courage brought her back to New York despite there being anthrax fears within the NBC building after a strange package was sent to the NBC New Department. There weren’t any jokes while our host shared her fears but there was a funny moment at the end of the intro where Drew thanked her new husband, Tom Green, for showing her how to have courage, only he was sitting in the audience wearing a gas mask and refused to take it off.

  3. This was followed by a parody of Crossing Over With John Edwards with Will Ferrell as John Edwards whose psychic predictions are so far off from being accurate that it took him forever to pick a letter of the first name of someone who recently died in his effort to select an audience member to read.

  4. Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch then revised their creepy Love-Ahs characters who this time hung out in a resort hot tub and played a pair of matchmakers in an effort to hook up Jimmy Fallon, who played a solo guest, with one of their fellow creepy/intellectual friends, as played by Drew Barrymore.

  5. This was followed by a fake ad for the Willy Wonka: 30th Anniversary DVD that featured outtakes, rejected screen tests and a “Where are they now?” update special.

  6. TV Funhouse then gave us another installment of Fun With Real Audio where this time Robert Smigel animated the Emeril sit-com that I completely forgot was real, while showing the producers make impromptu changes in an effort to stop the ratings from continuing to drop since a sit-com based on a cooking show may not have been the best idea.

  7. First Liberty Savings Bank featured Will Ferrell as a failure of a son to a ruthless banker who failed so bad that he had to put the bank’s money up for sale as if he were a serious version of Crazy Eddie who was continually cutting the prices for his VCRs.

  8. Macy Gray then took to the stage to perform Sexual Revolution. 

  9. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Chris Kattan dropped by as Gay Hitler for a quick moment after a story of a new book that suggested the dictator may have been gay. Colin Quinn also returned for a special appearance where he explained what was going on in Afghanistan, and Will Ferrell wrapped up the news as Neil Diamond in order to sing Heartlight.

  10. Action Talk Show had Chris Kattan as an action hero who was promoting a direct-to-video action theme talk show filled with stunts and random fist fights with the guests.

  11. King Kong On WUUB was a sketch where, in order to save money, the WUUB public broadcasting station recreated a King Kong remake using inserted footage from studio actors and clips from other shows that the network already owned the rights to air.

  12. Lesbian Feminist Singers had Drew Barrymore and Maya Rudolph as a pair of lesbian folk singers who attempted to perform their song despite the constant interruptions from Will Ferrell who was drunk and angry that he lost Drew Barrymore to Maya but then won her back by the end of their little show.

  13. Macy Gray then returned to the stage to perform Sweet Baby. 

  14. Jack Handey then gave us another installment of My Big Thick Novel where this time he could fathom the whole, “When dinosaurs ruled the Earth” cliché.

  15. Finally, Drew Barrymore closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

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SNL: S27E04... HOST: JOHN GOODMAN... DATE: NOVEMBER 3, 2001

SNL: S27E04... HOST: JOHN GOODMAN... DATE: NOVEMBER 3, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with parody coverage of Ashcroft's Press Conference where Darrell Hammond as John Ashcroft gave the U.S. citizens sketchy details of a potential terrorist threat, making fun of how, around that time, they seemed to change the threat levels as a fear-mongering tool since nothing ever came to fruition and how they bounced back and forth between telling us to go on with our lives and telling us that another attack was inevitable. This must have been right before they started to color code the level of fear they were trying to promote since there wasn’t one joke referencing the current threat color. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. John Goodman then officially opened the show with a monolog that he attempted to “wing” just like the Yankees did during the recent World Series in an effort to pay tribute to the city following 9/11. Though he was confident in sharing his plan, the moment he attempted to make an impromptu joke, he got so nervous that he almost had a heart attack. Chris Kattan joined him on stage as a player from the Arizona Diamondbacks but the reference went over my head because, by this time in my life, I was completely done with following sports.

  3. This was followed by a parody ad for Herbal Essence For Men that made fun of the marketing campaign that was used to market the real product around that time that show women having orgasms while washing their hair, implying that the shampoo was just that good.

  4. Hudson Valley Community Circuit was a local interview show hosted by special guest, Dan Aykroyd who interviewed locals businesses with unfortunate names like Al Kyda’s Persian Rug Emporium that led these businesses to suffer following the attacks of 9/11.

  5. This was followed by a parody ad for Liberty Medical Insurance where John Goodman portrayed Wilfred Brimley who pitched the home health product for his diabetes even though he openly admits that he hadn’t been taking very good care of himself, almost as if, even he was confused by why they made him their spokesman.

  6. She's The Girl With No Gaydar!!! introduced Rachel Dratch’s clueless character who keep falling for men who are clearly gay since, as the title suggests, she has absolutely no gaydar.

  7. This was followed by a parody ad for e.p.t. Home Pregnancy Test where, after a one night stand, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyer to check and see if they’re pregnant with this new pregnancy test. This ad made fun of the confessional style of the real commercial where the two discussed how they met, that it was an affair, and how they played to work together to get through this no matter the results. Then, the second the test came back negative the two instantly parted ways. 

  8. This was followed by parody coverage of CBS Evening Anthrax Update where Darrell Hammond as Dan Rather projected which newscasters might have anthrax with the same type of guessing that’s made during election coverage.

  9. Ja Rule then took to the stage to perform Always On Time.

  10. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Seth Meyers dropped by to predict that New York was sure to win The World Series as long as Boston fans don’t jinx the team by rooting for them. Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman then came out as The New Blues Brothers so that they could sing The Letter in response to all of the anthrax attack through the mail.

  11. We then got a parody of America Undercover where John Goodman and Dean Edwards played cops who were on the scene where they questioned the circumstances surrounding a dispute between a white trash Chris Kattan and his white trash wife, Amy Poehler who was hiding in the stove following a white trash argument while they were hopped up on meth.

  12. Ja Rule then returned to the stage to perform Givin' It Up.

  13. Bad Conceptual Theater had Dan Aykroyd as a PBS show presenter who presented a play that was written by an infinite number of monkeys in order to test out the old saying.

  14. Little Sleuths had John Goodman as a disgruntled detective who gets partnered up with Seth Meyers and his little sister Amy Poehler who play little sleuths as if they were part of a kid’s show.

  15. Finally, John Goodman closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E05... HOST: GWYNETH PALTROW... DATE: NOVEMBER 10, 2001

SNL: S27E05... HOST: GWYNETH PALTROW... DATE: NOVEMBER 10, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with A Message From The President Of The United States where Will Ferrell as George W. Bush tried to clear up any Islamic myths about America that he claimed Al-Jazeera was spreading. These myths were so over-the-top that there would be no way that anyone would ever believe they were true. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Gwyneth Paltrow then officially opened the show with a monolog about how she was happy to host for a second time now that her real-life childhood friend Maya Rudolph had joined the show. Maya then joined our host on the stage and the two sang the theme song to Flashdance that they used to sing all of the time as kids.

  3. The Boston Teens then returned where this time, the always recorder couple portrayed by Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch attended their school’s Fall Formal where they shared several techniques on how to sneak booze into a school dance before they were interrupted by Gwyneth Paltrow who was stood up by her boyfriend because he was taken to jail. From that put on Dratch attempted to comfort Gwyneth while Fallon continued to make jokes.

  4. Gwyneth Paltrow then joined Gemini's Twin as the rotating third member, for a quick return visit to TRL with Dean Edward as MTV’s Sway who had taken over for Carson Daly. This time, they debuted their new patriotic album by sharing their latest video.

  5. Mrs. Attebury had Ana Gasteyer as the as the titular snob who snubbed Chris Kattan at a social gather because he was an immigrant. Other than that, the rest of the sketch made fun of how rich people view issues that are out of their price range as if they shouldn’t be a big deal to all.

  6. TV Funhouse brought us a new animation where Michael Jackson swore to the public that he was no longer attracted to little boys.

  7. Ryan Adams then took to the stage to perform New York, New York. 

  8. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Darrell Hammond dropped by as Rudolph Giuliani in order to throw out the idea that he become Mayor for life for doing so well during the aftermath of 9/11. Horatio Sanz also stopped by to revise his cartoonist character to draw more images that start out looking obscene only to end up pretty innocent by the time that he completes the piece of work. 

  9. Family Dinner Arguments Round II was a sequel to a sketch from Gwyneth’s last visit three years about where the fighting family is still at it with random outbursts during dinner the ultimately ended with Will Ferrell once again yelling the fact that he owns a Dodge Stratus, only this time it was a Mitsubishi Galant.

  10. Mango then returned as a guest at a huge celebrity event where we learned through flashback how he once dated our host back when they were all in high school. The history lesson continued as modern-day Mango and Gwyneth sang a parody of Summer Love from the movie Grease as they shared with their friends why the relationship didn’t work. The sketch then ended with Mango going on a date with the real Matt Damon who claimed to miss Gwyneth and she claimed to miss him back until she realized that Damon wasn’t the one that she dates, in reference to Ben and Matt.

  11. Fiesta Politica was a parody of a Mexican political talk show with a Charo-type host who had Darrell Hammond as Donald Rumsfeld who just couldn’t figure out how and why he was booked to appear.

  12. Jack Handey then gave us another installment of My Big Thick Novel where we learned that the Author died after what seemed to be an endless chase ended with him getting mauled by a lion.

  13. Finally, Gwyneth Paltrow closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E06... HOST: BILLY BOB THORNTON... DATE: NOVEMBER 17, 2001

SNL: S27E06... HOST: BILLY BOB THORNTON... DATE: NOVEMBER 17, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with parody coverage of a Donald Rumsfeld Press Briefing where Darrell Hammond portrayed the Defense Secretary to take questions from the press corps about the progress on our war with Afghanistan even though he went on to refuse to give a clear answer to anything by using political double speak. He also answered in ways that seemed like he was training the press corps to be more compliant in asking only the type of questions that he wants and not the questions that the people needed the answers to. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Billy Bob Thornton then officially opened the show with a monolog where he started to address all of the crazy rumors about him that was being spread around by the news. Though he wanted serious questions about things like whether or not he drinks blood, the audience bombarded him with impersonations of his character from the movie Sling Blade. At one point, Billy Bob yelled at Amy Poehler for doing the impersonation, only to have it revealed that she was playing a mentally disabled kid. Ashton Kutcher also snuck in a quick impression, with the joke being he just happened to be in the audience and wanted to play along with the joke. After one last attempt to explain why joking about his passion project actually hurts, we got one last surprise impersonation by Maya Rudolph before our host threw to the first official sketch of the show.

  3. Gay Thanksgiving was a sketch that had Billy Bob Thornton as a gay Native American who ruined the first Thanksgiving for the Pilgrims with his gay antics because they were all so uptight.

  4. This was followed by a repeat of the EPT Home Pregnancy Test commercial from earlier in the season where Seth Meyer and Amy Poehler discuss how they plan to work together while waiting for the results of a pregnancy test following a one-night-stand, only to end up ditching one another, the second the test came back negative.

  5. Nick Burns, Your Company Computer Guy then returned for another installment. This time, Billy Bob Thornton played Jimmy Fallon’s dad and the two teamed up to berate Fallon’s IT illiterate co-workers who interrupt their father-son lunch to ask for help with their simple computer issues. Toward the end of the sketch, Billy Bob treated his son with the same arrogance when he ran into a problem that went over his head.

  6. Brian Fellow's Safari Planet also returned for another installment where once again, Tracy Morgan as the titular host was in his own head while interviewing animal experts who brought in live animals to share with the show.

  7. This was followed by another parody of Inside The Actor's Studio where this time we witnessed Bill Bob Thornton hunt down Will Ferrell as James Lipton following an excruciating interview on the Inside The Actor’s Studio interview. This sketch was pretty cool because it was a blend of live action mixed with prerecorded segments as we traveled through time.

  8. We then got another parody of Martha Stewart Living where this time Ana Gasteyer as Martha, share patriotic Thanksgiving tips for celebrating the upcoming holiday.

  9. War Party took us to a party where people were celebrating the latest U.S. victory in Afghanistan while watching news coverage from the comfort and safety of their luxurious high rise apartment and sipping on Champagne. As soon as the new of victory is officially announced the entire group burst into a Broadway musical-style song. Tracy Morgan eventual broke up the fun by sharing the reality that the war is not done until it is done in our hearts. This was a very moving speech and would have led to an amazing and but then the moment there was another announcement of another regional victory, everyone, including Tracy Morgan, broke back into song and dance.

  10. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Rachel Dratch dropped in as Harry Potter to share a few lame magic tricks before having a bit of a breakdown from exhaustion from the over-booked press junket he was on to promote the latest movie.

  11. Creed then took to the stage to perform My Sacrifice.

  12. Fenced-In Area had Billy Bob Thornton as a complacent farmer who could decide what he wasn’t to do with the newly fenced in area of his yard. It’s a tiny space yet every single one of his ideas are so grandiose that there is no possible way that he could ever make any of the plans to be a reality.

  13. Creed then returned to the stage to perform Bullets.

  14. Jack Handey then gave us another installment of My Big Thick Novel where this time the chapter shared our author’s irritation with hooligans and shenanigans and even worse, the Flannigan’s.

  15. Finally, Billy Bob Thornton closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E07... HOST: DEREK JETER... DATE: DECEMBER 1, 2001

SNL: S27E07... HOST: DEREK JETER... DATE: DECEMBER 1, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with A Message From The Attorney-General Of The United States where once again Darrell Hammond as John Ashcroft listed the signs to look for if you think someone might be a terrorist. He did this in a way that made it seem that he was sharing this information as a fear-mongering tool for control and not as sincere advice. Will Ferrell as George W. Bush eventual joined the scene to point out how much Ashcroft’s list sounded like a Jeff Foxworthy, You Might Be A Redneck list before continuing on to list more. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, these jokes eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Derek Jeter then officially opened the show with a monolog about baseball stuff before he started to hit baseballs into the studio audience to show off what he’s known for while providing with fans with souvenirs, only to end up injuring anyone who had a ball come their way, creating a chaotic scene.

  3. This was followed by a repeat of the Preparation H ad from earlier in the season which had skater kids talking about the “H” while they tried to promote this hemorrhoid product to the youth.

  4. The Iglesias Brothers had Derek Jeter as the lesser-known/ugly Iglesias brother who joined, Jimmy Fallon as Enrique and Chris Kattan as Julio Jr. so that the three could promote their new collaborative album/world tour.

  5. Baseball Wives to us to a baseball game where we got to witness the ballplayer’s wives gab about their husbands from the stands while they’re “better halves” attempted to play the game out on the field. Derek Jeter played the newest member of the player’s wives club having just married one of the players who I was surprised to find wasn’t himself out of drag. Toward the end of the sketch, more ballplayers showed up in drag to join in on the fun.

  6. The Masseuse was a sketch where Derek Jeter was too tense to enjoy his massage from Chris Kattan because this was his first massage. It didn’t help that Kattan kept singing along to the slow tempo music that was supposed to get Jeter to relax. There was a sense of homophobia that went along with this sketch but at the same time, Jeter only protested Kattan’s touch when he started to act super weird even after giving him multiple chances to give him a normal massage. At the end of the sketch, we learned that we were actually at a store where Jeter was simply trying to buy a piece of gum while this played out in the cashier’s/Kattan’s head.

  7. We then got a fake ad for a dog training video called Dissing Your Dog that taught pet owners how to train their dogs by using roast like insults as motivation to get them to stop acting badly as opposed to resorting to physical abuse used to correct any issues.

  8. Derek Jeter's Taco Hole was a fake ad for a taco shop that they claimed Derek Jeter owned and ran during the offseason.

  9. Dealing With Mom And Dad was a sit-com parody that had Derek Jeter drop by as a special guest for a very special episode where he coached Chris Kattan to be a better ballplayer but after only a few seconds he discovered that the kid really was no good. Just when Jeter was about to give up completely, he decided to give Kattan a second chance and taught him how to be better at batting by violently attacking his bullies with the bat.

  10. Shakira then took to the stage to perform Whenever, Wherever.

  11. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Derek Jeter and Seth Meyers had a point/counterpoint baseball debate since Jeter was a Yankee at the time and Seth was a Red Sox fan. Seth took the “Derek Jeter sucks” side of the argument and Derek took the “No I don’t” side. We also got a quick tribute to George Harrison that showed a couple of clips highlighting his involvement with the show.

  12. Osama Pep Talk had Will Ferrell as the terrorist leader who was preparing to create another video to scare the West, only to end up scared himself when others in the group started to throw out the idea of turning in bin Laden in order to get the twenty-five million dollar reward, especially now that they’ve been losing many of their Afghanistan battles.

  13. The Perm was a sketch where Derek Jeter stuck by his outdated perm even though everyone else was openly expressing their concerns.

  14. Bubba Sparxxx then took to the stage to perform both songs Ugly and Lovely back to back.

  15. Season's Greetings From "Saturday Night Live" was just another excuse for Horatio Sanz and his group to perform I Wish It Was Christmas Today once again.

  16. Jack Handey then gave us another installment of My Big Thick Novel that acknowledged how bizarre it is to breed for reproduction purposes.

  17. Finally, Derek Jeter closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E08... HOST: HUGH JACKMAN... DATE: DECEMBER 8, 2001

SNL: S27E08... HOST: HUGH JACKMAN... DATE: DECEMBER 8, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with a White House Meeting where Darrell Hammond as Al Gore interrupted an important secret White House meeting between Will Ferrell and Bush, Darrell Hammond as Cheney who was calling in from a secret video phone and Maya Rudolph as Condoleezza Rice when he called in order to offer his help as if he were desperate to have any involvement with the Presidency. Hammond as Gore quickly got off the line when Hammond as Rumsfeld entered the scene and triggered the fear of God into the former Vice President. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Hugh Jackman then officially opened the show with a monolog about his transition out of action and into the rom-com world, He then talked about how they celebrate Christmas in Australia since it’s a summer holiday Down-Under. This led him to burst into the song Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas with the women of the cast singing backup.

  3. We then got a fake ad for Loose Bear which was an anti-constipation aid that would literally scare the crap out of constipation sufferers with the drug-induced presence of this loose wild animal that hunts the users’ dreams.

  4. Jarret's Room then returned for another installment of Jimmy Fallon’s Jarret character’s dorm room webcast with Horatio Sanz as his sidekick, Gobey. This time, the two had on brace-faced Hugh Jackman in order to make fun of their roommate, Jeff Richards while they watched him through a spy camera that Jackman had set up in his room.

  5. The Robert Goulet All-Holiday Special was one of those sketches that allowed the host and cast to practice their impressions in order to fill out a star-studded Christmas special with Will Ferrell as the special’s host, Robert Goulet.

  6. Family Christmas Portrait had Hugh Jackman and Seth Meyers as two photographers who once worked in the world of fashion but are now stuck in a Sear’s taking family portraits following a stint in rehab. Throughout the sketch, the two wreaked havoc for a family who was just trying to pose for a Christmas family portrait.

  7. Mick Jagger then took to the stage to perform God Give Me Everything I Want.

  8. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Chris Kattan dropped by for another installment of his Terrible Re-Enactment where this time he shared how Geraldo Rivera fell while reporting from Afghanistan. Jeff Richards also introduced his Drunk Girl character who attempted to flirt with Jimmy Fallon while trying to get through her commentary on how to handle your booze during the upcoming holiday celebrations.

  9. Hello, Dolly then returned and once again, Ana Gasteyer attempted to sell another collection of creepy dolls on her Home Shopping Network-style show, with this week’s special guest played by Hugh Jackman who kept trying to talk about “chicks” even though he seemed like he was completely gay.

  10. We then went to Mick Jagger's Dressing Room where the real Mick Jagger talked to his reflection, as played by Jimmy Fallon, in the mirror as he tried to psych himself up before hitting the stage for his second performance.

  11. Next, we went to Superman's Fortress of Solitude where Hugh Jackman played Superman whose parents, played by Will Ferrell and Maya Rudolph, struggled to make awkward small talk with their son since they were just projection of dead people from the memory crystals who knew very little about their kid.

  12. Mick Jagger then returned to the stage to perform Vision Of Paradise.

  13. The Donatella Versace Show then returned with Maya Rudolph as Donatella who once again interviewed a collection of fashion experts who all tried to one-up one another with their quirky fashion industry ways.

  14. The Christmas Kangaroo was a sketch where, through flashbacks, Hugh Jackman shared the tale of his father, Will Ferrell’s fight with the mythical Christmas Kangaroo as if this were an Australian Christmas tradition that one year ended with Will getting anally-raped by the bouncing Christmas beast.

  15. Finally, Hugh Jackman closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E09... HOST: ELLEN DEGENERES... DATE: DECEMBER 15, 2001

SNL: S27E09... HOST: ELLEN DEGENERES... DATE: DECEMBER 15, 2001

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with a CBS Terrorist Update that showed us a report from Darrell Hammond as Dan Rather where CBS got their hands on an old video that showed Will Ferrell as Osama bin Laden and Horatio Sanz as his handler as they threw out ideas for different ways to attack America on 9/11. This video was supposed to be the smoking gun to prove bin Laden was the mastermind behind the attacks.  Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Ellen DeGeneres then officially opened the show with a bit of a stand-up routine that included a joke where she admitted that she wasn’t gay and that her lesbianism stemmed from a case one-upmanship at a celebrity-filled party that led her to now have to stick to this lie.

  3. The Culps then returned after quite a while off and this time the singing instructing couple sang a medley of hits at a Christmas pageant that was being held in the local mall. A lot of fun came from the fact that this was a secular mall so any time there was a religious reference they had to change it ever so slightly as to not offend.

  4. Kitty Singleton, Federal Agent had Ellen DeGeneres as a Matrix-style Federal Agent who built herself up to be the ultimate badass during the intro to the sketch only to end up getting her ass kicked the second she tried to confront the gang of baddies who she was trying to take down.

  5. TV Funhouse then gave us a parody of the claymation version of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer where the Snowman/Narrator of the story ruined the holiday season after becoming defeated and jaded over the buildup of endless war that followed 9/11. Santa then saved the day by reminding the Snowman that he was an entertainer who needed to entertain and how nobody cared about what he had to say.

  6. No Doubt then took to the stage to perform Hey, Baby. 

  7. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Tracy Morgan dropped by in order to provide some selfish romantic gift ideas for Christmas. Tina and Jimmy also finished the news by performing a Christmas tribute to Mayor Rudolph Giuliani while the real Giuliani watched on.

  8. Mango then returned for another installment where this time he got Ellen DeGeneres to turn her back on lesbianism after she fell into the magical stripper trance of this little man named Mango. This new love didn’t go over well with the lesbian acting community and the sketch turned pretty epic eventually evolving into a parody of the opening to the movie A Hard Day’s Night.

  9. Family Vacation had Ellen DeGeneres and Will Ferrell as Rachel Dratch and Jimmy Fallon’s mom and dad who were off on a road trip when everyone started to chime in with last-minute concerns like, “Did I leave the iron on?” After each questioned concern we then got to see a suspense-filled shot of the home showing that it was completely vulnerable to these last minute slips of the mind that got more and more extreme as the sketch continued on.

  10. Jack Handey then gave us another installment of My Big Thick Novel where he tells the tale of how his character sighed in the presence of aliens not because he was unimpressed but because he was trying to hide a fart.

  11. Christmas Stepmother had Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler as two fully grown kids who were meeting their new stepmom, Ellen DeGeneres, for the first time. Rather than act like the adults that they are Seth and Amy bounced back and forth between who would have a childish meltdown as they called Ellen their substitute mother and treat her with very little respect at all, even though she came across as a totally awesome person.

  12. Dick Cheney's Snowglobe started out as what seemed to be a parody of Citizen Kane with Cheney having a special moment with his snowglobe, only when he wound the thing up and we saw inside the world of the snowglobe, the sketch quickly evolves to another Horatio Sanz performance of I Wish It Was Christmas Today.

  13. No Doubt then returned to the stage to perform Hella Good.

  14. Finally, Ellen DeGeneres closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights. 

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SNL: S27E10... HOST: JOSH HARTNETT... DATE: JANUARY 12, 2002

SNL: S27E10... HOST: JOSH HARTNETT... DATE: JANUARY 12, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with C-SPAN Coverage Of The Buddy The Dog Memorial Service which started with Tracy Morgan as a Reverend who introduced Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton to offer a eulogy for his recently deceased dog, Buddy who was his White House pet and saw it all, and I mean ALL. Of course, with this being the opening sketch it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Josh Hartnett then officially opened the show with a monolog about how he was going to be a new Josh Hartnett that we haven’t seen before which led Jimmy Fallon to join him on stage and advised our host not to adopt a new image since he did the same thing a year ago only to look like a total schmuck.

  3. Maya Rudolph’s High School produced morning talk show sketch, Wake Up, Wakefield then returned for another installment where this time, her and her nerdy sidekick, as played by Rachel Dratch, interviewed Josh Hartnett who played a kid who had a growth spurt over the winter break which piqued Rudolph’s interest in the former pip-squeak.

  4. Hello Stepson, Now Let’s Go To Bed: I Went To Bed With My Stepson: The Laura Bengal Covington Story was a parody of a Lifetime Original that had Ana Gasteyer in the titular role in a story where, as the title suggests, she found herself falling in love with Josh Hartnett who just happened to be her stepson.

  5. TV Funhouse then gave us a mash-up of the X-Presidents and the Ambiguously Gay Duo who all teamed up to take on Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.

  6. The Shout Out! Show was the parody of a new MTV talk show where Tracy Morgan played an old-school rapper named Grand Master Freddy who did nothing but offer unnecessary shout outs to random members of his community while his guest, Josh Hartnett tried to speak.

  7. Pink then took to the stage to perform Get The Party Started.

  8. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Tracy Morgan dropped by as Maya Angelou in order to espouse off-topic birthday card greeting that she created. Horatio Sanz also stopped by as a Vaudeville-style comedian who missed his flight and therefore wasn’t able to make it to Kandahar to perform for the troops. To make up for his absence, they teamed him up with his comedy partner via satellite where the two struggled through their quick-witted routine because of the satellite delays.  

  9. This was followed by a parody of HBO First Look that gave us a parody behind-the-scenes look at Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones featuring N*Sync.

  10. Josh Hartnett then played an airline pilot known as the Captain Of Impressions who stalled all the passengers during a take-off delay where everyone was stranded on the runway by doing a set of horrible impersonations.

  11. My Best List for 2001was a new Jack Handey segment where we were promised a best of list, only due to the fact that he had Wax and Dracula as sponsors, really hindered the legitimacy of the list items.

  12. Pink then returned to the stage to perform Don't Let Me Get Me. 

  13. Playboy's Movie Showcase had Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch as two Playboy Playmate who introduced a movie called Burqua Baddie that featured the faces of Yemeni woman in burquas who only revealed their faces yet it was still treated like porn.

  14. Finally, Josh Hartnett closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E11... HOST: JACK BLACK... DATE: JANUARY 19, 2002

SNL: S27E11... HOST: JACK BLACK... DATE: JANUARY 19, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with a sketch called Bush Eats Pretzel that made fun of the real event where we almost lost our President due to his inability to properly chew his food. In the world of the sketch, this wasn’t the actual case but instead was a cover story to hide the fact that Darrell Hammond, as Dick Cheney, would get physical as if he were an abusive dad. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Jack Black then officially opened the show with a monolog about how much he loved the show going back to when he was a little kid before he was handed a guitar in order to sing a Tenacious D-style song that expressed his excitement to be hosting Saturday Night Live not because of his experience but because he’s excited to think about how exciting it must be for the home audience to be watching him on the show. After a while, his Tenacious sidekick Kyle Glass joined him on stage to play one of those double flute things.

  3. This was followed by a fake ad for the Flenderson's Company who sold giant bow to be placed on vehicles that have been purchased as gifts by claiming a new car is meaningless without a huge bow from Flenderson’s.

  4. Russell Putnam: Private Investigator had Jack Black as a pot-head detective in order to solve a mysterious marijuana cover-up where he believed that the government was growing their own hemp for themselves and not sharing any with the people of America. Those this turned out to be true, Jack Black and his crew were too high to focus on the matter at hand so they were unable to expose the issue.

  5. Tales Of Valour had Jack Black as a village monster who preferred “slutty girls” over the virgins who the locals have been offering him for their sacrifices. This week’s virgin sacrifice was Amy Poehler and when Jimmy Fallon came to save the day, the Jack Black monster offered our hero a trade so that Jimmy can get his girl back and Jack could have a woman who’s more adventurous in bed.

  6. Love-Ahs brought the return of Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch’s intellectual lover characters who this time got creepy while interacting with Chris Kattan and Amy Poehler who played a couple waiting for their room while at a ski lodge. After a while, Jack Black joined the scene as a creepy intellectual himself in order to increase the uncomfortable vibe in the room. Thing got extra weird and the three creeps ended up in a cuddling threesome while continuing their conversation with the new guests.

  7. We then got a parody Friends Promo that promised sibling romance would be explored in the next “special episode” after things started to fall apart between Ross and Rachel.

  8. This was followed by a fake ad for an album called Now That's What Actors Call Singing!: Volume 1 that was filled with celebrities singing horrible covers of popular songs from the time.

  9. Bass-Off had Jack Black and Will Ferrell as two rival bassists and challenge one another to an old fashion bass-off after a reporter as Black what it was like to be the best bass player in the world and Ferrell disagreed with the designation.

  10. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Chris Kattan dropped by as the character Amelie (from one of my favorite foreign films) in order to just visit without ever saying anything at all. Tenacious D then joined the news crew in order to sing a song about the Hornet’s Nest which was a reference to The Middle East.

  11. The Strokes then took to the stage to perform Last Night. 

  12. We then got another parody of America Undercover where once again, Amy Poehler and Chris Kattan played a white trash, meth head couple who this time had the cops called on them for a fight that got out of hand over an extramarital affair with Jack Black and a white trash, meth head who Amy Poehler was having the affair with.

  13. This was followed by a fake ad that had Jack Black as a glue-sniffing mental giant who composed a brand new, and very complex Happy Birthday Song that they were trying to sell as a replacement for the simple happy birthday song that we all know and love.

  14. Jack Handey then gave us another installment of My Big Thick Novel where this time a monkey aided our hero’s escape from prison and then went on to prepare his breakfast.

  15. The Strokes then returned to the stage to perform Hard To Explain.

  16. Finally, Jack Black closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E12... HOST: BRITNEY SPEARS... DATE: FEBRUARY 2, 2002

SNL: S27E12... HOST: BRITNEY SPEARS... DATE: FEBRUARY 2, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with parody coverage of Winter Olympics: Women's Skiing where special guest, Dan Aykroyd, and Will Ferrell played Mormon missionaries who accosted Amy Poehler as skier Tiffany Lane and attempted to get her to convert in the middle the skiing event she was competing in, making fun of the fact that the games were being held in Utah. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Britney Spears then officially opened the show with a monolog where Chris Kattan came out as Britney only to be interrupted by the real Britney Spears who attempted to correct Kattan on his identity crisis, but even special guest, Justin Timberlake, who was dating our host at the time, struggled to tell the two apart and even suggested that he had sex with Kattan due to the mix up.

  3. We then got a repeat of the Loose Bear ad from earlier in the season which was a cold medication where the hallucinogen literally scares the poo out of users by giving them visions of a wild loose bear in their proximity.

  4. Brian Fellow's Safari Planet then returned for another installment where this time Tracy Morgan, as Fellow, was too preoccupied with thoughts of his first guest’s rabbit’s potential off-stage antics to be able to focus on the rest of his animal sharing show.

  5. Inside Barbie's Dream House shrank us down to doll size so that Amy Poehler as Barbie could reveal the truth about her wild youth to her “kid sister,” Skipper, who was played by Britney Spears where we all learned the Barbie was actually Skipper’s mom after a one night stand with a Han Solo action figure.

  6. We then got another installment of Jimmy Fallon’s dorm room webcast series of sketches called Jarrett's Room where this time, he and his sidekick Gobey, AKA Horatio Sanz, had on Gobey’s girlfriend, Britney Spears, on as their guest in order to partake in the Super Bowl Of Marijuana that they planned to smoke during the Super Bowl.

  7. This was followed by a fake ad for Camp X-Ray: U.S. Detainment Facility #240678129934-AH-29J that pretty much made fun of Gitmo by treating it like a tropical incarceration paradise for its prisoners.

  8. This was followed by A Message From Martha Stewart where Ana Gasteyer as Martha discussed her contingency plan following the fact that K-Mart, the main store that sold her good, had just declared that they went bankrupt.

  9. Britney Spears then switch to musical guest mode to perform I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman.

  10. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Seth Meyers dropped by as a character named Joe Palindrome, who was kind of like an Olympic judge, in order to give Jimmy a point based on a Ciccoline Joke. Darrell Hammond then checked in via satellite from Mogadishu as Geraldo Rivera to brag about himself while in the middle of reporting on the current war. Jimmy Fallon also performed a parody of the Winter Olympics’ theme song while Will Ferrell interrupted to state that he thinks his song, America would make for an even better theme song and then went on to perform the song with Gay Ice Skating Hitler.

  11. We then got the debut of Astronaut Jones where Tracy Morgan started in a ‘50s style sci-fi show that mainly focused on the theme song with the actual show being nothing more than Astronaut Jones meeting Britney Spears as a troubled alien who shared her woes and asked for help only to have Astronaut Jones tell her to strip naked and show him, “dat ass.”  

  12. This was followed by another parody of HBO: First Look where this time the film in focus was a fictional Gemini’s Twin feature film called Damn My Dixie’s On Fire, with Britney Spears as their latest new member.

  13. 9 News Morning Edition made fun of a morning news show that went out of control due to stolen chairs and a handful of technical gaffes.

  14. Britney Spears then switched back to musical guest mode to perform Boys.

  15. The Leather Man was a sketch where Jimmy Fallon played a shop owner of a leather store who was completely obsessed with his leather clothing and shared his love while trying to assist Britney Spears and his leather clothing kept squeaking to the point where he could barely be heard. About halfway through the sketch, Dan Aykroyd dropped by to join in on the fun

  16. Finally, Britney Spears closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

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SNL: S27E13... HOST: JONNY MOSELEY... DATE: MARCH 2, 2002

SNL: S27E13... HOST: JONNY MOSELEY... DATE: MARCH 2, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with A Message From The President Of The United States where Will Ferrell as George W. Bush added Enron to his Axis Of Evil list following their recent scandal. He then went on to add other personal annoyances to the list before he eventually announced, “Live from New York…”

  2. Jonny Moseley then officially opened the show with a monolog about why coming in fourth place at the recent Winter Olympics was more satisfying to him than winning the gold at the prior Winter Games because the losers knew how to party even harder than the winners who just stood on a stage to smile during their National Anthem.

  3. Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch’s ever recorded Boston Teens Couple then returned where this time the two argued on a ski lift while Jonny Moseley who was just a random skier who was forced to sit in between them to fill the mandatory three peoples to a seat and wasn’t interested in their bickering because all he wanted to do was ski. If things weren’t bad enough when the two lovers were fighting, it got a little awkward while they tried to make up with Moseley still in the middle seat.

  4. This was followed by a parody of The O'Reilly Factor with Jeff Richards as O’Reilly in order to share that he doesn’t believe facts over opinions when it comes to anything then yelled at all of his guests no matter what they believed.

  5. We then got a parody of the MTV dating show Dismissed where Jonny Moseley had to choose between a slutty Maya Rudolph and a one-legged Amy Poehler as to who would be his best mate.

  6. Jonny's Journey was a parody of Winter Olympics coverage were Jonny Moseley’s signature Dinner Roll jump went so big that it launched him into an airborne trip around the world where he solved many of the world’s problems both big and small as he traveled.

  7. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler dropped by as a pair of Canadian skaters who politely asked to take over the hosting duties in order to complete the second half of the show because they won both gold and silver medals while Moseley won nothing so they thought it would only be fair. Chris Kattan also dropped by as a character named Hollywood in order to share some celebrity gossip only he was completely out of the loop.

  8. Outkast then took to the stage to perform The Whole World. 

  9. Super Buzzers was the parody of an early game show from the ‘80s that was new to the Game Show Network show that featured a huge panel of celebrity guests in an effort to get ratings only there was no real point to the game but it did end with the introduction of the real Rip Taylor who got to share several of his jokes.

  10. Typhoid Mary: The Musical was a sketch where Ana Gasteyer played Carol Channing’s understudy who had to take over the starring role only to end up putting a damper on the quirky musical with all of her demanding needs and limiting ailments to where she could only perform from a stool.

  11. Jack Handey then gave us another installment of My Big Thick Novel where this time we learned that our hero couldn’t take his girlfriend back to civilization because she was a headhunter who wouldn’t fit in.

  12. Outkast then returned to the stage to perform Ms. Jackson. 

  13. Extreme Wedding had Jonny Moseley as an extreme groom at an extreme wedding that is far too extreme for his bride to be Amy Poehler.

  14. We then got another installment of My Big Thick Novel where this time our hero’s new space alien girlfriend couldn’t comprehend the planet Earth.

  15. Finally, Jonny Moseley closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E14... HOST: JON STEWART... DATE: MARCH 9, 2002

SNL: S27E14... HOST: JON STEWART... DATE: MARCH 9, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with A Message From The Vice-President Of The United States where this time Darrell Hammond as Dick Cheney addressed the David Letterman issue after the Late Show host threatened to leave CBS, treating the decision as if it were the most important thing happening in America. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Jon Stewart then officially opened the show with a bit of his stand-up routine where he started out addressing the topic brought up by “Cheney” in the opening sketch by openly admitting that he’s taken over for Letterman or anyone else on network TV if he were given a chance. He then went on to joke about the horrors of working on cable TV and gays in the military and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

  3. This was followed by a fake ad for The Cheese Game which was a Trivial Pursuit-style board game that claimed to help teach kids to learn to appreciate the true value of fancy cheeses to give them a leg up when entering the adult world.

  4. This was followed by a parody of TRL where Jon Stewart played a producer named Lou Perlstein (a human parody of Lou Pearlman) who created boy bands to molest and embezzle their money away. After a brief interview with Lou, he went on to show off his new genetically-engineered, mutated boy band named Agar, after the gelatinous goo in which they were formed. Three out of the five performers had crazy issues like a butt for a face, an allergy to the sun, and one even had lobster hands, while the other two look normal but seemed rather dumb. After the Lou interview, Agar took to the stage to perform their new song called, Thinkin’ ‘Bout Love.

  5. The Bloder Brothers then returned for another segment of Jimmy Fallon and Chris Parnell as the always bad joking, giggly, ginger-haired brothers who this time got detained at the airport for not answering a single question without crowbarring in a cheesy joke. Jon Stewart tried to help the brother’s out as their father but his humor and timing were just as bad.

  6. TV Funhouse then gave us another Fun With Real Audio with animated mockery of Collin Powell’s MTV chat with teens, in his effort to connect with the youth, only his extremely dry, political ramblings went right over the questioner’s heads sending them into fantasy lands in their heads while he spoke. Meanwhile, Powell found himself in fantasy land as well while he zoned out during the youth’s question. At one point, he saw the audience filled with a bunch of Beavises and Buttheads.

  7. We were then introduced to Talking To The Stars With Rachel And Tracy was a segment kind of like the Chris Farley show only with Tracy Morgan and Rachel Dratch asking the questions. This week, the two interviewed Jon Stewart and where Rachel was interested in asking real questions, Tracy was more intrigued by whether or not our host was aware of the free porn that was available in New York through Public Access Television. To add to the fun, this segment was sold as a sketch based on real interactions between everyone involved.

  8. We then went to a Newscaster Party where several members of the cast performed their impersonations of famous newscasters from the time to attend a party hosted by Darrell Hammond as Ted Koppel. Though not a newscaster, Jeff Richards also stopped by as David Letterman in order to apologize for something that wasn’t all that clear based on the sketch alone. After doing a tad bit of research, this has something to do with the potential late night shuffle that was referenced at the start of the show but since nothing came from these threats to switch networks, none of it made much sense thanks to the passage of time.

  9. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Chris Kattan performed another one of his Terrible Re-Enactments where this time he showed us what happened during the firing of John McEnroe from his game show called The Chair. Jon Stewart also jumped in for a bit to take over for Jimmy Fallon who left after a knee injury, only Jimmy returned before Stewart could get out his first story. Jeff Richard’s Drunk Girl character also returned to share safety tips for the upcoming spring break.

  10. India.Arie then took to the stage to perform Video. 

  11. This was followed by a parody of BET Jazz: Jazzvisions with Tracy Morgan playing the host who introduced Jon Stewart as Lonny Bartz, a Kenny G. looking jazz musician whose instrument of choice was the spoon. Not only did we get to have fun during the interview, we also got to hear a couple of Bartz’s hit songs.

  12. We Were Soldiers That Knew What Women Want was a mash-up parody with Jon Steward as Mel Gibson blending his roles from the movies We Were Soldiers and What Women Want to poorly revisit both story subjects through a brand new movie that missed its mark on multiple levels that made the original films seem like they were on point.

  13. India.Arie then returned to the stage to perform Ready For Love. 

  14. Jack Handey then shared another chapter of My Big Thick Novel where this time he debated whether or not he should jump from a cliff or head back to a party in order to attempt to tell his failed joke once again in hopes to get it right this second time.

  15. Finally, Jon Stewart closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E15... HOST: IAN MCKELLEN... DATE: MARCH 16, 2002

SNL: S27E15... HOST: IAN MCKELLEN... DATE: MARCH 16, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with A Message From Tom Ridge where Darrell Hammond as Tom Ridge introduced the new fear mongering color-coded terror alert system that was starting to be used by the news around this time. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Ian McKellen then officially opened the show with a monolog about how he used to perform the classics on stage and now here he was performing sketches that were written just a couple of days ago. He also explained why he loves the cast of Saturday Night Live which mainly seemed to be that he found Jimmy Fallon to be cute. He also said loved how the show accepted him even though he was gay unlike the hosts of Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade who were still banning gays during the time of his visit.

  3. This was followed by a fake ad for Kotex Classics which promised to bring back the thrill of the pads from yesteryear when there was one choice that was big and bulky and snapped onto a special belt.

  4. Versace Oscar Party had Maya Rudolph as Donatella Versace in order to share her Oscar picks with her strange guests from the world of fashion including Ian McKellen as Yves Saint Laurent.

  5. Delicious Dish then returned for the second installment with Rachel Dratch taking over for Molly Shannon. This week, Dratch and Ana Gasteyer did their NPR food interview with Ian McKellen where the three discussed Irish cuisine in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and the food in question turned out to be just as bland as the tone of their quirky conversation.

  6. TV Funhouse then gave us another installment of Fun With Real Audio where this time Robert Smigel animated Bjork in her famous swan dress from the Oscars to sounds of real audio from the night. The main joke of the animation was that the swan was actually alive and kept acting up during the performance of her nominated song from Dancer In The Dark.

  7. Hot Air Balloon Mystery Theatre was a PBS play-style show where Chris Kattan played a murdered man and Ian McKellen played a detective who treated the mystery like the game Clue as he tried to figure out who could have been the murderer even though this mystery took place in the tiny basket of a hot air balloon.

  8. Kylie Minogue then took to the stage to perform Can't Get You Out Of My Head.

  9. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Ian McKellen stopped by as Dame Maggie Smith in order to ream this year’s Oscar nominees and then sneak in a kiss with Jimmy Fallon. Rachel Dratch also dropped by as Paula Jones to share her regrets of signing up for a boxing match between her and Amy Poehler who played Tanya Harding. Jimmy Fallon also told a Scottish joke that magically summoned Jeff Richards as Louie Anderson.

  10. The Ferey Muhtar Talk Show was a parody of a Turkish talk show hosted by Horatio Sanz that was pretty much nothing but racial stereotypes where Darrell Hammond’s fake mustache becoming loose and started to flop around got more laughs than any of the written content, especially after Ian McKellen as the show’s guest kept trying to adjust Hammond’s fake facial hair and Horatio started to reference the makeup malfunction. Other than the mustache and over-the-top accents, I couldn’t fully tell you what the sketch was actually about overall.

  11. We then got an A&E promotion that attempted to hype up a One-Man Show that had Ian McKellen as Edmund McGrave who presented the life and times of Charles Dickens through the use of a collection of wigs.

  12. Kylie Minogue then returned to the stage to perform In Your Eyes. 

  13. Kevin And Richie's Comic Book Zone had Seth Meyers as Kevin and Horatio Sanz as Richie so that the two could geek out over their love of comic books and then went on to predict that The Lord Of The Rings would sweep the Oscars. After the opening to their show, they introduced Ian McKellen who played a Dr. Who impersonator who also impersonated Ian McKellen’s characters who were popular amongst the nerd community. Though they were impressed by his Gandalf, they weren’t won over by his attempt to pull off Magneto from X-Men which led to the end of the show.

  14. Finally, Ian McKellen closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E16... HOST: CAMERON DIAZ... DATE: APRIL 6, 2002

SNL: S27E16... HOST: CAMERON DIAZ... DATE: APRIL 6, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with The Culps where this time Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer sand a medley of pop hits from the time in the quirky singing instructor-style tones as a way to introduce themselves to a Lamaze class they were taking following an accidental pregnancy. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement or, “Live from New York…”

  2. Cameron Diaz then officially opened the show with a monolog where she introduced the world to her new brand of butt choreographer who was played by Will Ferrell after joking about growing to be known for her famous butt wiggle from the commercial for Charlie’s Angels. After the introduction, the two went on to have a butt off

  3. The 17th Annual Auto Show Spokeswoman Awards was a special event that honored auto show spokeswomen for their ability to point at cars. As with most sketches that parody Award shows this sketch was more of an excuse for the cast member to perform random celebrity impersonations.

  4. This was followed by a parody of MTV Spring Break where Cameron Diaz and Maya Rudolph and every other party goer kept requesting the song, That Don’t Impress Me Much by Shania Twain to dance to, even though the MTV VJ kept trying to talk them into picking a more current hit that might be more spring break appropriate. The sketch ended with a bizarre outro where Horatio Sanz ran across the studio audience while Chris Kattan as a goat-legged man played the pan flute while skipping close behind. They ran past what looked like a VIP area where Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer played two stuffy rich white people who complimented the sketch.

  5. We then got another installment of Astronaut Jones where this time Tracy Morgan, as the titular Jones, sang his theme song, as usual, ran into a group of big boobed Jupiterians only to quickly hit on all three of the aliens, including our host, before jumping into the closing theme song.

  6. This was followed by a fake ad for a Celine Dion Special where Ana Gasteyer as Celine showcased her attempted to become normal, in order to promote her new comeback tour only to come across even crazier by taking some much pride in the brief moments where her life got a little mundane.  

  7. Gorgeous Living With Prunella Watson was a parody Style Channel show that had Amy Poehler as Prunella who gave eccentric tips on how to prepare your place for a last minute party. Cameron Diaz played an interior designer who eventually joined the show to share a few tips of her own. Jimmy Fallon also dropped by as the Naked Chef in order to share a recipe for a treat. I’ve never seen the show being referenced but it apparently involved a bunch of British drunks who barely stayed on topic.

  8. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Dean Edwards and Maya Rudolph dropped by as Denzel Washington and Halle Berry in order to share that they were both still ecstatic following their wins at the Academy Awards. Darrell Hammond as Geraldo Rivera also checked in once again from the war via satellite to brag about his own efforts as if he were actually changing the world with his coverage. The news then ended with Horatio Sanz as his illustrator character who usually draws pictures that start out looking pornographic only to end up being super clean. This time he introduced his sidekick who was played by Cameron Diaz and the two promoted their new fuzzy friends show that featured puppets of a bearded clam, a wet “pussy” cat who was left out in the rain, and a big fat “cock” rooster.

  9. Jimmy Eat World then took to the stage to perform The Middle. 

  10. Mr. Peepers then returned after a long time off in order to be introduced to Cameron Diaz as Mrs. Peepers which went rather well.

  11. We then got introduced to MTV 4 which was an MTV channel that was sold at the only music video service hip and underground enough to introduce a new band called Crash Papayas which was kind of a female J-Pop punk band if that is a real thing.

  12. Jimmy Eat World then returned to the stage to perform Sweetness. 

  13. Jack Handy then shared another chapter of My Big Thick Novel where the main character spied through his binoculars as the sun glistened off of a woman named Lalani’s breasts.

  14. Finally, Cameron Diaz closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

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SNL: S27E17... HOST: THE ROCK... DATE: APRIL 13, 2002

SNL: S27E17... HOST: THE ROCK... DATE: APRIL 13, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with A Message From The President Of The United States where Will Ferrell as George W. Bush offered horny men and women up to counteract suicide bombers who were in it for the 72 virgins that the West was told was a reward for this type of death. As always, since this was the opening sketch, it all wrapped up with the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. The Rock then officially opened the show with a monolog about how he does all of his stunts in his movies while claiming wrestling was real. He then joked how stunt work is harder than it looks before he called Chris Kattan to the stage and dared the little man to punch him in the face only to end up instantly regretting the decision when Chris nailed him in the jaw.

  3. This was followed by another installment of Brian Fellow's Safari Planet where this time Tracy Morgan as Fellows was too distracted by his inner thoughts of his first guest’s parrot who he imaged was attempting to steal his identity which made him unable to focus on the rest of his guest or the animals.

  4. The Scorpion King had The Rock revise his role from The Mummy franchise where Seth Meyers played The Scorpion King’s son who longed to be accepted by his badass dad who didn’t understand his scrawny, complaining, teenaged kid. One of the funniest parts from the scene was one The Rock flubbed saying the word “tomb” which led to some silliness as our host attempted to get his head back into the scene.

  5. We then got a fake ad to Arthur Anderson which was an accounting firm that claimed they could help people with their taxes by having them avoid paying altogether.

  6. This was followed by another parody of Hardball with Darrell Hammond as Chris Matthews who once again did nothing but make fun of his guest whenever then attempted to make a point.

  7. Drunk Girl then got her first non-news segment where her and The Rock in drag, as her drunken best friend, wandered throughout Studio 8-H after Drunk Girl was found passed out on the floor after hanging out with Tracy Morgan.

  8. The Subway was a sketch where Tracy Morgan and Maya Rudolf played two NYC subway commuters who insulted one another through song.

  9. The Girl With No Gaydar then returned for another installment where this time she didn’t realize she was in a gay bar and attempted to hook up with a homosexual The Rock.

  10. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Horatio Sanz as Gene Shalit dropped by to make his cheesy puns while he described an attack on his house by bears.

  11. Andrew W.K. took to the stage to perform Party Hard. 

  12. All Aboard the Freedom Train: The Duets Of Bigfoot & Neil Diamond was a fake ad for a new album where Will Ferrell and The Rock as Neil Diamond as Bigfoot sang duet covers of popular songs. Toward the end of the sketch, we learn the Neil Diamond isn’t fully sure if he’s living in reality or if he’s actually hallucinating in his basement singing songs with his water heater.

  13. We then got another parody of America Undercover where once again the cops were called on Chris Kattan and Amy Poehler as a fighting white trash/meth head couple who got into a fight with doctors while being treated at the local hospital.

  14. Andrew W.K. then returned to the stage to perform I Get Wet. 

  15. A Message From "Saturday Night Live" brought back the I Wish It Was Christmas Today band in order to perform a new song called Every Body Cool Out, Every Body Chill.

  16. Finally, The Rock closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E18... HOST: ALEC BALDWIN... DATE: APRIL 20, 2002

SNL: S27E18... HOST: ALEC BALDWIN... DATE: APRIL 20, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with a sketch called Fox News: Blake Murder Mystery where the news in studio anchors from the FOX News Network couldn’t hide their excitement about the hype surrounding the Robert Blake case because they were hoping this would be the next ratings hit like the O.J. trial and they needed a break from all of the terrorist talk. Darrel Hammond as Geraldo Rivera also checked in from the war to mainly brag about himself and his plans to cover the story. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Alec Baldwin then officially opened the show with a monolog about hosting for the tenth time and how he loved it because it allowed by to be edgy and low brow while sharing his political views only to be cut off by Darrell Hammond as Al Gore who tried to stop our host from saying anything crazy following some controversial things that our host for the night said about Bush around the time, including his threat to move to Canada.

  3. We then got a repeat of the Kotex Classics commercial from last season that promoted the old school Kotex pads that had to be strapped into a special belt and were big and bulky as well.

  4. Gay Outgoing Voicemail was a sketch where Alec Baldwin played a character who discovers that his voice sounds very gay to others when heard through his outgoing voicemail recordings even though he doesn’t sound that way in person. No matter how butch he tries to be the recording all came back sounding lispy and the wording changed to sound extra gay every single time.

  5. White Men And Black Women was a sketch that had several members of the cast as rich white folks at a fancy party where the white women complained about the new trend for successful white men to dump their white wives in order to start dating elderly black women, showing the inverse of the old cliché of successful black men always hooking up with white women.

  6. This was followed by a parody of the Osbourne’s where Horatio Sanz as Ozzy kept getting interrupted by his newly famous family while trying to record his latest album. There were also many jokes about how when talking Ozzy was completely unintelligible but he was perfectly coherent whenever he would sing. The sketch then ended with him singing a song called What Have I Become which was a sad little tune about how he hated becoming a sellout and the struggles of growing old.

  7. The Cardinals had Alec Baldwin as the Pope in order to make a request to a collection of Cardinals to keep their privates to themselves.

  8. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Rachel Dratch dropped by as Ally McBeal in order to object to the cancelation of her show. Seth Meyers as Tobey Maguire also got a segment to promote himself the non-energetic choice to be the next Spiderman. Finally, Amy Poehler dropped by as Tina Fey’s daughter for Take Your Daughter To Work Day and shared that she’s embarrassed by her mother’s work.

  9. P.O.D. then took to the stage to perform Youth of the Nation. 

  10. Love-Ahs returned for another installment where this time there was a surprise birthday party for Will Ferrell’s creepy, intellectual, lover character where he and Rachel Dratch disturbed the rest of the party with their creepy companion played   

  11. This was followed by a parody of an Anti-France Ad based on the incident that brought about the term Freedom Fries which ended on the question, Isn’t It Time To Start Hating The French Again?

  12. We then got introduced to The Tony Bennett Show with Alec Baldwin as Bennett had on Maya Rudolph as Liza Minnelli only to go on and make fun of her new husband for being gay.

  13. TV Funhouse then gave us another installment of the Anatominals where the anatomically correct Yogi Bear-style characters embarrassed Lorne Michaels in front of visiting Senate officials.

  14. P.O.D. then returned to the stage to perform Alive. 

  15. Jack Handey then shared another chapter of My Big Thick Novel where this time he shared a tale of how the sight of a knife-wielding clown elicited laughter from our story’s hero because it was still a clown after all.

  16. Finally, Alec Baldwin closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

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SNL: S27E19... HOST: KIRSTEN DUNST... DATE: MAY 11, 2002

SNL: S27E19... HOST: KIRSTEN DUNST... DATE: MAY 11, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with a White House Cabinet Meeting where Will Ferrell as George W. Bush faked his political knowledge in order to keep up with the discussion about recent activities in the never-ending conflict between Israel and Palestine that he was being briefed on by Maya Rudolph and Darrell Hammond as Condoleezza Rice and Dick Cheney. Of course with this being the opening sketch it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Kirsten Dunst then officially opened the show with a monolog about how she was on the show as a little kid back when George Bush Sr. was the President and then showed us a clip with her, Dana Carvey as Mr. Bush and several other kids who all announced, “Live from New York…” When we came back to the stage Dunst was interrupted by an upside down Horatio Sanz in a Spiderman suit in his attempt to sneak a kiss from our host like the one in the Spiderman movie.

  3. This was followed by a fake ad for a new pregnancy test called Clear Results that had Ana Gasteyer as her, very pregnant, real self while she waited for the results just to be extra clear that her child filled belly was real.

  4. This was followed by a parody of Last Call With Carson Daly that made of the former TLC host’s new extra late night show where Jimmy Fallon as Daly attempted to hit on Kirsten Dunst as a hack of a pianist who was the best guest he could get considering the super late time slot.

  5. TV Funhouse then gave us a fake trailer for a digital reboot called Bambi 2002, which modernized and extreme to the point where it was no match for the old Bambi flick which, the ad kept reminding us, was locked away in the Disney Volt.

  6. This was followed by a fake ad for Demilon that had Kirsten Dunst, Will Ferrell, and Ana Gasteyer as family members of Rachel Dratch who played an old woman with Alzheimer’s. This drug was marketed as a way to keep Alzheimer patients completely in the dark and even more confused in order to take control of their wills without them having a clue.

  7. Rehearsal Scene had Chris Kattan and Maya Rudolph as actors who tried to get through a very serious restaurant scene only to have Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, and Kirsten Dunst as background actors constantly ruin the performance with their over-the-top background acting.

  8. We then got another installment of Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz’s college webcast series called Jarrett's Room where this time the two accused Kirsten Dunst as a co-ed of stealing their idea for a show and then got to see her webcast to see that they might actually have a point.

  9. Eminem then returned to the stage to perform Without Me. 

  10. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Kirsten Dunst and Maya Rudolph dropped by as the Hilton Sisters just to drunkenly interrupt. Chris Kattan then gave us another one of his Terrible Re-Enactments where this time he shared what it was like during the Queen’s run-in with a streaker. Chris Parnell finished things off with a rap where he pretended that Kirsten Dunst was his girlfriend.

  11. This was followed by a parody of CourtTV that had Kirsten Dunst as Anna Kournikova during her lawsuit against Penthouse where in the world of the sketch the trial quickly devolved into a Laugh-In-style go-go scene.

  12. Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch then returned for another installment of their high school produced morning talk show called Wake Up Wakefield where this time the show went on location to a slumber party at Kirsten Dunst’s house where they gossiped and played slumber party pranks.

  13. The DeMarco Family then returned for another installment where Chris Kattan and Chris Parnell play a pair of dancers who get overly interpretive with their dancing during their audition only this time Kirsten Dunst played their sister and the three auditioned for Eminem.

  14. Jack Handey then shared another chapter of My Big Thick Novel where this time our hero had to explain to his young daughter what they do with old horses.

  15. Finally, Kirsten Dunst closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

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SNL: S27E20... HOST: WINONA RYDER... DATE: MAY 18, 2002

SNL: S27E20... HOST: WINONA RYDER... DATE: MAY 18, 2002

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with parody C-SPAN coverage of Carter In Cuba where Darrell Hammond as Jimmy Carter kept getting ridiculed by Will Ferrell as Fidel Castro during a visit to Cuba because Castro didn’t see the point of talking to a former President who made many mistakes during his single term. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually led to the announcement of, “Live from New York…”

  2. Winona Ryder then officially opened the show with a monolog about her recent shoplifting controversy and how everyone seemed nervous and watched their things whenever she was near. Tracy Morgan then joined her on the stage to share how they used to treat him the same way and then shared footage of the other cast mates and their wacky antics from the studio’s new security camera system that was installed because of Winona’s visit.

  3. This was followed by another installment of Celebrity Jeopardy where this time Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek had to wrangle Jimmy Fallon as Dave Matthews, Winona Ryder as Bjork, and, of course, Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery while attempting to get through the game show. The sketch ended with a surprise visit from the real Alex Trebek who canceled Final Jeopardy.

  4. Uncle Mike And Uncle Danny was a sketch where Chris Parnell and Will Ferrell played Winona Ryders two dads, who sang Tonight I Celebrate My Love at her wedding reception which freaked out the homophobic family members since their love songs were in reference to men. It didn’t help when Horatio Sanz joined in as a gay interpretive dancer.

  5. Will Ferrell and Winona Ryder then played a pair of Bearologists who were having an affair. In order to off his rich wife to collect her inheritance and run off with Ryder, Ferrell released the bear he and Winona were studying to maul his wife and make it look like an accident. The only problem was when Ana Gasteyer arrived as Will’s wife, the bear shot her with a gun, putting Ferrell in a very sticky situation. Of course, no one believed that the bear shot the gun so Will was sent to jail. The moment the coast was clear it was then revealed the Seth Meyers was in a bear costume for all of these years in order to pull off this crime and run away with Ryder himself.

  6. This was followed by a fake ad for Botox that highlighted how this was a poison that women pump into their face in order to get rid of wrinkles since it was a new trending treatment at the time.

  7. Girl Next Door: The Search For A Playboy Centerfold brought back Amy Poehler’s one-legged girl who had high hopes of being the next centerfold over Winona Ryder.

  8. Once again, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey gave us the news. This week, Will Ferrell as Neil Diamond said his goodbye to the show by singing the song Cherry, Cherry with 2002 All-Start made up of Gay Hitler, Drunk Girl, “Geraldo Rivera” and the real Neil Diamond.

  9. Moby then took to the stage to perform We Are All Made Of Stars. 

  10. Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch then revised their creepy Love-Ahs characters in order to enjoy more hot tub loving with our host.

  11. Mango had Mango, Moby and Winona Ryder all on a shopping trip where all of them were eventually struck by the urge to shoplift after all of them discovered that they went shopping without their wallets.

  12. Moby then returned to the stage to perform South Side. 

  13. Will Ferrell’s Farewell had the cast member share how and why Will was so important to the show as a way to say goodbye on his final night.

  14. Finally, Winona Ryder closed the show by thanking the audience and saying her goodnights.

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