Saturday Night Live animal sketches
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This list includes write-ups for animal-themed recurring sketches that appeared on Saturday Night Live. The sketches are listed chronologically.
Character Lists: Alphabetical and Chronological
Character Articles:
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Contents |
[edit] The Killer Bees
The Killer Bees were the first characters to recur on SNL. According to a Lorne Michaels interview for the book Live From New York, "The only note we got from the network on the first show was 'Cut the bees.' And so I made sure I put them in the next show." The bees were played by all the repertory players at the time, who wore yellow and black horizontal stripes, wings, and overly springy antennae. Much of the humour from these scenes came out of puns or metaphors that had to do with well-known activities and body parts of bees.
[edit] Episodes Featuring full sketches of The Killer Bees
- October 11, 1975 "Bee Hospital" - host: George Carlin
- October 25, 1975 "Bees Dramatic Scene" - host: Rob Reiner
- December 20, 1975 "Bee Capades" - host: Candice Bergen
- January 10, 1976 "The Killer Bees" - host: Elliott Gould
- November 13, 1976 "Grandparent Bees" - host: Dick Cavett
- December 2, 1978 "Bad News Bees" - host: Walter Matthau
[edit] Additional appearances of The Killer Bees
- October 18, 1975 In a brief appearance, the bees come out after a performance by Randy Newman and host Paul Simon tells them that their sketch has been cut.
- November 8, 1975 John Belushi appears as a lone bee in host Candice Bergen's monologue.
- November 15, 1975 Garrett Morris, dressed as a bee, tells a story of another bee who had a brush with George Washington.
- January 17, 1976 "The Blues Bees" - John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, as The Blues Brothers, perform "King Bee" dressed in bee outfits.
- January 24, 1976 "No Bees In This Show" - Scred, one of Jim Henson's Muppets wants to be in the show based on the fact that he came dressed as a bee, and can perform the popular quirks of the cast's characters.
- March 13, 1976 "Sherry's Bee" - Laraine Newman's recurring character, Sherry, is unhappy that she's been paired with a bee (John Belushi).
[edit] The Land Shark
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Landshark. (Discuss) |
The Land Shark was the only recurring character Chevy Chase created during his relatively short stay on SNL, although he often played the character when he would come back to host and portrayed Gerald R. Ford in a number of shows. Initially the Land Shark was created as a Jaws parody, but eventually fell into a more predictable pattern. The shark would always prey on vulnerable women and the sketches began with a knock at the door from a stranger. The person inside would ask who it was, hesitant to answer the door for just anybody. The still unseen shark would usually begin by guessing the woman's name. When that didn't work he would try a number of strategies like telling her he was delivering a parcel or a candy-gram. Eventually he would come up with something that would convince the person on the other side of the door to let him in, only to find that it had been a shark all along. By that time it would be too late, and the unsuspecting individual would be swallowed.
[edit] Episodes featuring The Land Shark
- November 8, 1975 host: Candice Bergen
- November 22, 1975 host: Lily Tomlin
- July 24, 1976 host: Louise Lasser
- October 30, 1976 host: Buck Henry
- May 21, 1977 host: Buck Henry
- February 18, 1978 host: Chevy Chase
- September 25, 1982 host: Chevy Chase
- October 6, 2001 host: Seann William Scott
[edit] I Married A Monkey
The I Married A Monkey sketches were created by Tim Kazurinsky to remind the viewing public that the show was indeed live. He essentially played himself, working with the premise that he had married a chimpanzee named Madge in a bizarre soap opera world. There was a real chimp on stage, and some sketches featured their "children" played by baby chimps.
Kazurinsky felt that the show had become too polished, and felt that the idea would offer some unpredictability. He explained in Live From New York, "I did it because I knew something would screw up and people would see that it was live. People would ask me 'When do you tape the show?' No, it's called Saturday Night Live. It's live." He eventually decided to put a stop to the sketches when he realized the dangers chimpanzees posed when they got agitated.
[edit] Episodes Featuring I Married A Monkey
- April 11, 1981 (no host)
- November 14, 1981 host: Bernadette Peters
- February 6, 1982 host: James Coburn
- May 22, 1982 host: Olivia Newton-John
- March 19, 1983 host: Robert Guillaume
- January 28, 1984 host: Don Rickles
[edit] Ching Chang's Pet Chicken Shop
Dana Carvey played the character Ching Chang, a typical Asian-American stereotype whose only goal in life is to put his chickens in their own show on Broadway.
[edit] Toonces, The Driving Cat
Toonces was the family pet of Lyle (Steve Martin in the first sketch, thereafter by Dana Carvey) and Brenda Clark (Victoria Jackson). At first, they were delighted that their cat had the ability to drive, and then Toonces, for the first of many times, drove over a cliff. (This sequence was always characterized by some one in the car yelling in horror, "Toonces, look out!" with the Toonces puppet appearing to scream also, followed by stock footage of a car falling off a cliff, sometimes exploding.) Someone also usually said the line: "See! I told you he could drive...just not very well." It was written by Conan O'Brien during his stint as an SNL writer.
[edit] Episodes featuring Toonces
- May 20, 1989 host: Steve Martin
- December 2, 1989 host: John Goodman
- February 10, 1990 host: Quincy Jones
- March 24, 1990 host: Debra Winger
- May 19, 1990 host: Candice Bergen
- November 17, 1990 host: Dennis Hopper
- November 16, 1991 host: Linda Hamilton
- April 11, 1992 host: Sharon Stone
- February 13, 1993 host: Alec Baldwin
- April 17, 1993 host: Kirstie Alley
[edit] Lenny the Lion
[edit] Goat Boy
Goat Boy was a half human-half goat hybrid who hosted the fake SNL show, "Hey! Remember the 80s". He was played by Jim Breuer. At the outset, Goat Boy was a typical veejay/talk show host who would announce 80s video clips and introduce guests from the era. Contrarily, when his goat instincts kicked in, he would start braying and kicking, and would have to be subdued by scientists standing by with electric prods.
The character might be a parody of the 1996 version of The Island of Doctor Moreau, specifically Ron Perlman's character, "The Sayer of the Law" (they are both goat-human hybrids, and have a similar "one hand-one hoof" configuration). However, the sketch debuted a few months before this version of the film was released. More likely, it was inspired by the recurring character of Goat Boy, a man in a suit wearing a goat mask, in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", a cult show that ran on Manhattan Cable TV in the '70s and '80s. On his album Smoke 'n' Breu Jim Breuer said the idea for the Goat Boy character came to him when he saw some goats at a local zoo while stoned.
Goat Boy's appearances tended to have a polarizing effect on audiences, some finding his antics hilarious, others finding them annoying.
[edit] Mr. Peepers
Mr. Peepers was a part monkey-part human character created and portrayed by Chris Kattan. His signature bit of physical comedy involved eating apples one after another in rapid succession, and spitting out the pieces machine gun style. Often he would spit the apple chunks directly at characters in the scene.
Mr. Peepers was first introduced as an animal act brought out by John Barbary (played by Tom Hanks) on a parody of The Tonight Show (with Darrell Hammond as Jay Leno). In an episode in the 25th season, "Papa Peepers" (played by The Rock) was revealed to be Mr. Peepers's father. Another memorable sketch was a parody of an episode of Dawson's Creek, featuring Katie Holmes as Joey, the character she played on that show.
[edit] Episodes featuring Mr. Peepers
- September 28, 1996: host Tom Hanks
- January 11, 1997: host Kevin Spacey
- March 15, 1997: host Sting
- November 15, 1997: host Claire Danes
- October 3, 1998: host Kelsey Grammer
- December 5, 1998: host Vince Vaughn
- November 20, 1999: host Jennifer Aniston
- December 11, 1999: host Danny DeVito
- March 18, 2000: host The Rock
- November 4, 2000: host Charlize Theron
- February 24, 2001: host Katie Holmes
- April 6, 2002: host Cameron Diaz
[edit] Additional Mr. Peepers appearances
On the Weekend Update segment of the May 17, 2003 episode, Chris Kattan performed a lightning-round montage of his most popular characters, and assumed the character of Mr. Peepers for a brief moment during that bit. It was the final episode of the 2002-2003 season, and also Kattan's last episode as a cast member.
[edit] Dog Show
Dog Show was an aptly titled parody of an Animal Planet show featuring people who are more than enamored with their dogs. It was hosted by Miss Colleen (Molly Shannon) and Mr. David Larry (Will Ferrell), a bizarre couple who were supposed to be married even though he was a homosexual ("Separate bedrooms, separate baths"). The two admit that they "don't like most people" but are extremely fond of dogs.
The sketch would open with David Larry banging on a snare drum, followed by the two hosts shouting "DOG SHOW!" The hosts would then introduce their dogs, "Mr. Rocky Balboa" and "Mr. Bojangles", (who was actually a female, but was given the title "Mr.", because as David Larry would point out, he is "playing a trick on her"), a pair of miniature dogs who were displayed dressed in costumes. Each sketch would introduce a guest to the "show", and often the hosts would have their dogs participate in things such as seances and weddings.
[edit] Brian Fellow's Safari Planet
Brian Fellow's Safari Planet was a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live featuring Tracy Morgan. The character premiered on May 15, 1999 and appeared ten times; its last appearance was on April 10, 2004.
The sketch consists of Brian Fellow (Morgan), a man with a sixth grade education, who is not a licensed zoologist, interviewing representatives from zoos, animal sanctuaries, or other wildlife centers who bring animals to his show.
Following a somewhat predictable pattern, Fellow asks bizarre, nonsensical questions of his guests, soon becomes angry with them (he seems to know nothing about animals and is extremely defensive when this is brought to light), and ends with him insulting them and/or asking them to leave. Often Fellow has delusions that the non-present or even imaginary characters are speaking to him in a vulgar manner, resulting in him blurting things out like "I don't want to see your wiener!", "That bird better pray he don't mess up my credit!", or "No you won't punch my mom!" He also wears shiny clear lip gloss on the show, and acts effeminate. His usual response to anything a guest says is "That's crazy!" or, quite simply, "I'm Brian Fellow!"
[edit] Episodes Featuring Brian Fellow
- January 16, 1999 (on Weekend Update). Brian does a sports update.
- May 15, 1999 host: Sarah Michelle Gellar. Animals featured: Monkey, Box Turtle
- February 17, 2001 host: Sean Hayes. Animals featured: Rabbit, Short-Haired Mink.
- November 17, 2001 host: Billy Bob Thornton. Animals featured: Goat, Miniature horse.
- February 2, 2002 host: Britney Spears. Animals featured: Short-Haired Rabbit, Donkey.
- April 13, 2002 host: The Rock. Animals featured: Parrot, Tarantula.
- October 5, 2002 host: Matt Damon. Animals featured: Porcupine, Pot-bellied pig.
- January 11, 2003 host: Jeff Gordon. Animals featured: Snake, Sheep.
- May 10, 2003 host: Adrien Brody. Animals featured: Sphynx (cat), Toucan.
- December 6, 2003 host: Al Sharpton as Brian's brother Ryan Fellow. Animals featured: Seal, Bat.
- April 10, 2004 host: Janet Jackson. Animals feautred: Flying Squirrel, French Poodle.
[edit] Brian Fellow's Remarks on Animals
- On a boa constrictor: "That's one big worm!" or "Does the snake still work for the Devil?"
- On a Sphynx (cat): "What'd you do to that cat? He bald-headed!"
- On a tarantula: "That's one fuzzy bug! ...If I had a bug like that, I'd make a coat out of him!"
- On a parrot after the bird mimics his catch phrase "I'm Brian Fellow": "That bird is a liar!"
- On a bat: "I understand bats live in caves," to which the trainer acknowledges this, "Does he know where Osama bin Laden is?" (This episode aired after the September 11 attacks.)
- On a pig: "Why does that pig hate Jewish people?"
- On a Miniature horse: "That's the biggest dog I've ever seen!"
- On a goat: "I didn't like that goat, he had devil eyes!"
- On a turtle: "If that turtle bites me, I'm gonna kill it!"
- On a rabbit: "That rabbit just winked at me!"
[edit] References
[edit] The Falconer
"The Falconer" is a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch chronicling the adventures of former businessman Ken Mortimer (Will Forte), who left his job to become a hermit, living in the forest with his trusted pet falcon, Donald. The Falconer, who speaks in a loud, strident voice, routinely encounters trouble and sends his falcon to get help, who—in turn— often gets sidetracked along the way. One such adventure features Donald immersing himself in the modern society which Ken had rejected, wantonly indulging in every imaginable vice before returning to the forgiving Falconer. Another involves the death of Donald and Ken's quest to save his life through time travel. The original sketch is written and created by comedian Leo Allen.
[edit] Episodes Featuring The Falconer
- November 9, 2002 host: Nia Vardalos
- January 18, 2003 host: Ray Liotta
- May 3, 2003 host: Ashton Kutcher
- May 17, 2003 host: Dan Aykroyd
- November 15, 2003 host: Alec Baldwin
- November 20, 2004 host: Luke Wilson
- April 16, 2005 host: Tom Brady
- November 12, 2005 host: Jason Lee
- May 20, 2006 host: Kevin Spacey
A Falconer sketch where The Falconer discovers that Donald the falcon is a fake and The Falconer's life is just a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live was performed in the dress rehearsal episode of the Rainn Wilson/Arcade Fire episode, but not shown in the live show.
[edit] Bear City
This series of very short films by longtime SNL writer T. Sean Shannon was about a town abandoned by humans after a meteor strike but then quickly repopulated by bears, who had rapidly evolved due to some strange chemical property of the meteor. City life continued as normal, only with bears in the place of humans. The introduction to each film, explaining the origins of Bear City, used a pre-recorded narration by Fred Willard.
