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Favorites From 1992 Saturday Night Live

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The Mimic, at long last!

The Mimic, at long last!

In my memories, there was one SNL sketch that I considered to be absurdly funny, but I never could find it on YouTube or any of SNL’s streaming services.

It was the 2nd, of what would become very, very, many, appearance of Alec Baldwin on the program. Here, he portrayed a 60’s-esque crimefighter: The Mimic! A few years ago I found that the showrunner Justin Roiland of Rick & Morty fame was also a fan and lamented its loss:

And, at long last, I can share it with you: The Mimic…and more.

https://archive.org/details/saturday-night-live-s-18-e-13-alec-baldwin-paul-mc-cartney

Note: This is not a streaming site. I’d encourage you to download the episode and watch it locally.

Drag the time scrubber to 10:00 and enjoy. Or, better yet, tune in a little bit earlier for the “Cluckin’ Chicken” ad where an animated chicken celebrates its dismemberment and preparation for becoming finger-lickin’ deliciousness. Alas, there was nothing better Phil Hartman playing “The Dad” role (See Also: Matt Foley, motivational speaker).

At this point, I was kinda invested in the episode and I watched it all and remembered some additional hits:

It’s also the episode where Adam Sandler debuted his song “Red-Hooded Sweatshirt” (00:28) and was joined by Sir Paul and Linda McCartney.

“Soap Opera Digest” (1:05) is a sketch about a show where Baldwin, playing to type as a self-important soap star, discusses the research he does in learning to speak like a doctor. Notably, this features Baldwin mis-pronouncing “anal canal” with deadpan comedic perfection.

And lastly “Monsieur Nobek Teaches French” (00:32) shows Baldwin’s sillier side matching Adam Sandler’s boundless buckets of silliness as M. Nobek emphasizes the musical rise and fall of French, which is like lysergic catnip to the “Abby-Dooby” Sandler of that era. On a recent visit to France, Lauren and I used the codeword of “Sandler” to indicate a French speaker who was particularly…lyrical.

Oh, and just by the way, McCartney shuts down the show with “Hey Jude.”

It really felt like 1992 was a high-water point for that generation of cast.

Once I found this trove, I looked for another forgotten favorite sketch occasioned when the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series against the Atlanta Braves and took the trophy “North for the Summer.” It was (yet another) chance to see the comedic and singing versatility of Catherine O’Hara as she duetted with Phil Hartman (Phil just never could stop be amazing) in a Canadian logging-town vaudeville song that razzed a nation in mourning over their loss.

To hear the song, aim for 45:20.

https://archive.org/details/saturday-night-live-s-18-e-05-catherine-o-hara-10-000-maniacs