Podcast appearances and mentions of James Downey

Episode 10 of Fragile Juggernaut surveys the wide range of workers who united–and sometimes fought each other–under the banner of the CIO. We begin in the slaughterhouse, with special guest Rick Halpern explaining how the United Packinghouse Workers of America (PWOC/UPWA) brought together black and white workers despite segregation inside and outside the workplace. Then, the hosts discuss two of the largest CIO unions: the United Steel Workers (USWA/SWOC) and the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE). These two unions are often thought of, respectively, as emblematic of the “right” and “left” wings of the CIO. But what does that mean? And why did these two unions develop the way they did? Featured music: “The Cloakmaker's Union” (Joe Glazer); “Killing Floor” (Howlin' Wolf); “Hard Times Killing Floor” (Skip James); “Odpocivam v Americkej pode/I Lie in the American Land” (written by Andrew Kovaly, performed by Vivien Richman); “Spirit of Phil Murray” (Sterling Jubilee Singers). Archival audio credits: UPWA oral histories recorded and generously provided by Rick Halpern; Deadline for Action (UE, 1946); James Matles Retirement Speech via UE History; oral histories of James Downey, Tom Girdler, Jr., and Harold Ruttenberg via AAPB. Buy Rick Halpern's Down on the Killing Floor Black and White Workers in Chicago's Packinghouses, 1904-54: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p066337Fragile Juggernaut is a Haymarket Originals podcast exploring the history, politics, and strategic lessons of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the rank and file insurgency that produced it. Support Fragile Juggernaut on Patreon and receive our exclusive bimonthly newsletter, full of additional insights, reading recommendations, and archival materials we've amassed along the way. Socialism 2024 is coming up soon! Visit socialismconference.org to learn more about the conference and register today.

June 17, 2022 - Kyler Kinnard & James Downey

Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill is joined in the House of Rugby studio by former Ireland international Lindsay Peat and by former Munster man James Downey as they reflect on the weekend of URC rugby. They look back on Leinster's narrow victory over Munster in a classic inter-pro in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. They discuss Ulster's form having slipped up from a strong lead against Glasgow. And a time to worry for Connacht? They suffered a big defeat to the Bulls at the weekend and their upcoming fixtures are not to be envied.

As the Rugby World Cup draws to a close, we turn our attention on House of Rugby to the URC and the provinces. Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill is joined in studio by James Downey and Pat McCarry to look back on an exciting weekend of URC rugby with wins for Connacht, Munster and Leinster. The look at Connacht's great start to the season, with three wins from three. BUT can they sustain that on the road now? They've three away fixtures coming on the trot. Munster's young-guns got the job done against the Dragons, and some of them could be impressing enough to keep their place. The lads look at the impressive output from some of their academy stars. Plus, Jacques Nienaber will soon start with Leinster. What will the World Cup winning coach bring to the set-up and could he be the magic ingredient missing in tight European games? All that, plus a look at some changes at the high-performance level in the IRFU.

Neil Treacy is joined by former Scotland scrum-half Rory Lawson and James Downey as the build-up to the defining Pool B clash between Ireland and Scotland begins to ramp up.

Neil Treacy is joined by James Downey and former South Africa World Cup-winner BJ Botha to look back on the opening week's games at the Rugby World Cup in France, as Ireland start their campaign with an 82-8 win against Romania.

Neil Treacy is joined by former Ireland international centres Darren Cave and James Downey on the RTÉ Rugby World Cup podcast. We take a general look ahead at the RWC 2023, and whether or not Ireland can break their quarter-final glass ceiling. And the panel also preview this weekend's opening round of matches.

On this week's episode Editor/Author Mike Sacks (Vanity Fair) discusses his career path, the importance of not asking for permission with your writing, as well as how he prepares for some of the artists he interviews.SHOW NOTESMike Sacks Website: https://www.mikesacks.com/Mike Sacks on Instagram: mikebsacksMike Sacks on Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelbsacksAUTOGENERATED TRANSCRIPTMike Sacks:It's never been any time in publishing history where you could do this, where you could put out a book that looks professionally done. In the past, you'd have to buy 5,000 copies of your book, and they set Moldering in the basement. Yeah. Now it's a purchase. It's a paper purchase, so if someone wants it, they'll pay for it. Then it's published and it's not published until then.Michael Jamin:You're listening to Screenwriters. Need to Hear This with Michael Jamin.Hey everyone, it's Michael Jamin. Welcome back to another Screenwriters. Need to hear this. We've got a surprise twist for you today. I've done over 90 episodes and today we're taking a turn to the world of high literature and publishing something I know very little about. And I'm very pleased to welcome my next guest, Mr. Mike Sacks, and he comes from the Mike. Welcome. Let me give you a proper introduction. I'm not done with you yet, before I let you say something. So Mike is, aside from being an editor at Vanity Fair, he's written a number of books, I don't know, 11 or 12 something. A lot of books. He's gotten his work in Vanity Fair, Esquire, gq, the New Yorker, time, New York Times, Washington Post MCs, Sweeney's, radar Radar. Funny or Die. He was Die Mad New York Observer, premier Believer, vice Max. It goes on and on. So this guy's from the world of literature. So thank you so much, Mike, for being on this show. I want to learn all about your experiences.Mike Sacks:Well, I'm from the world of literature, meaning I have no money and plenty of time. So this is nothing else to do,Michael Jamin:But why? Okay, but why was it that I want to talk about your books and all that, but okay, so what attracted you to the world of literature though?Mike Sacks:My biggest dream was to get into tv. I mean, I wanted to write for Letterman. I wanted to write for SS n l, but I didn't know how to do it. I mean, I didn't know any writers. I didn't know anyone who knew any writers, very mysterious world. So what I thought at that time was that I would write for the written page and then be discovered like I would from AA or AA to be pulled up to the majors. It doesn't work like that. I didn't know it at the time, but over having done that for so many years, I just came to actually prefer that, I guess, to any other medium. I've done a little bit of TV and a little radio, and I do a podcast in the end. You know what, I came to love? I love the control. I love the fact that there's no one over my shoulder telling me what to do, how to do it, and I think if I were at 2021 to have gotten a job on Letterman or S N l, I would've been in heaven. I think now it sounds like hell, and I don't think I would've last would last a week.Michael Jamin:But tell me when you say no, no, you get to do what you want of that. Is that entirely accurate when you're are working with a publisher or even a magazine?Mike Sacks:Not always, especially when it comes to humor, which is one of the reasons I stopped humor for magazines. I mean, what I found is that most editors view themselves as humor writers in disguise, and if they hadn't have to have a job, they would be famous humor writers. So a lot of them consider themselves humor genius as very high humor iq. So I would get a lot of rewrites based on that and also based off of, I was writing a lot of stories and pieces based off of current news. So that goes bad very quickly. So I prefer now, what I've been doing now is self-publishing and putting out evergreen pieces where meaning it's not tethered to any sort of current news. So when I look back at some of the GQ pieces, the Esquire pieces written in 2008, 2012, to whatever it is, it just seems very dated. The humor that I love is always tethered to character, and it is not dated. I mean, even going back to, or even I guess last century, Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allen, Albert Brooks, Steve Martin's, all character based, and that to me is what interests me now, and I wanted to bring that to the written page rather than have something that is say, Trump's tweets from the Middle Ages or some shit that it's not going to last.Michael Jamin:But you've been on both sides of this because you are an editor at Vanity Fair. So you obviously, you're rewriting, you're telling people you know what, what's going to play in this magazine? But you're also saying, and then human magazines, that you also getting 'em on the other side, I mean, right.Mike Sacks:And I think I have that advantage of knowing how to deal with editors, knowing what not to say, not to drive them crazy, and if they do have a suggestion to, usually it's not worth fighting over. But my job, inventing affairs, is not to edit humor, it's to edit hard news, preferably hard news, rather than puff piecesMichael Jamin:Especially. Yeah. How did you get that at Vanity Fair? Well, I was How did, go ahead. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Yeah, I have anotherMike Sacks:Question. Yeah, yeah. It was one of those things that you just kind of stumble into, and I was New Orleans. I was living in New Orleans, working in retail. Then I moved back to Maryland working in retail and got my first editing job in dc, which is a very DC type of job. I was editing a newsletter for an association that provided shareholder information to large institutional investors. So DC has a million associations, a million groups, they all need editors for their newsletters. So I got this first job. From there, I got a job working nights and weekends as an editor at the Knight Ritter Wire Corp, which used to put out articles sent around the world. And then from there, the Washington Post, and then from there, vanity Fair. So it was just sort of stumbling into one job after another, where at the time, what I really wanted to do was go to California, go to New York and write humor.It just never really seemed to work out that way. I just kept getting these jobs, and on the side, what I would do on my own time, I would write for Mad and National Lampoon and then later New Yorker. So it was just one of those things. Now, if I had to do it over again, I probably would've gone straight out to California or to straight to New York, rather than live in New Orleans and Maryland for a while. But you know, do what you do. And I didn't have the balls to do it. I didn't know anyone. I didn't have anyone to tell me, Hey, you can do this. Right. To me, it seemed very mysterious, like, Hey, how do you go to the moon? I have no fucking idea. Yeah, but itMichael Jamin:Was, it was mysterious. But you still figured it out on this other, that's the thing. You didn't know how to do it, but you did know how to do it for this other thing over here.Mike Sacks:Well, that's the thing. I mean, that's the irony is that you stumble into what you end up want to be doing, and I didn't, if I had known graduating that I would've been the circuitous route, I probably would've said, screw it. I don't want to spend seven years doing nothing, working in retail and then trying to get into magazines. But it just ended up working to my benefit where I think writing for the written page is really the best fit for me, more so than writing for TV or the movies. Not to say that I wouldn't love to have a script produced and this and that, but I do. I think I've worked alone for so many years. I wouldn't have the patience to work with producers and that timeframe. I like to put it work out and keep moving down the road. I don't like to stumble and sort of stagnate with the same piece.I've met writers who three years later will meet again working on just trying to pitch this same project. We didn't go into writing for that. I got into writing. I loved it, and I loved to write what I wanted to write. And I see too many writers out there, even in the comedy business who are miserable. And I always do try to remember, this is why I got into comedying and into writing, is because I used to have fun with my friends, and I used to go home and write and enjoy myself. And if I ever lose that, it's not something that I would want to necessarily live with. So what I do have now is a two-track system where I do make a living as an editor, and then on the side I am able to write what I want, how I write, how I want to write it, and I don't have to put out material that is not something that is something that I want to put out. Everything I put out is what I want to put out.Michael Jamin:But how many hours a day do you devote to your side writing projectsMike Sacks:Today?Michael Jamin:Well, on an average day, how much do you do on the side?Mike Sacks:I'd say at least six hours a day. I mean, I get up early,Michael Jamin:You six hours a day on your non-paying. In other words, you're not, you're non vanity. Fair job, you'reMike Sacks:Yes. And that's always been the case. I mean, there's no other way to put out material, whether it's articles or books, then to just simply do it. And it did take me giving up a lot of TV watching and a lot of drinking, which I had been doing, and to sit down and make this my O C D compulsion where I have to do this every day, and if I don't do it every day, I'm miserable. I'm just an absolute best. AndMichael Jamin:You've been both traditionally published and indie published as you're talking about, and why don't you talk a little bit, but the differences in why one appeals more to you than the other?Mike Sacks:Well, that's a great question. Now, I think there's different elements to self-publishing versus traditional publishing. If you have the opportunity to be a MCs or the New Yorker, certainly take it. I think when it comes to self-publishing, what I prefer is self-publishing books. Now, I published about four or five traditional published books when I first started, and what I ended up finding out was in the end, can, if you are competent as an editor and a writer, and if you can find a good designer, you can do all this on your own. And there's a lot of advantages to that. The main advantage is in humor. Most producers, most agents, most publishers do not have our humor sensibility. I'd say their humor sensibility lies more in the hit radio market than maybe the alternative market, which I think most writers are into. So first of all, it's going to be very, very difficult to sell the idea that you want to an agent, and that's the first step, which can take years.Yes. I know a lot of people who reach out to agents with their humor ideas, and before they know it, it becomes something else entirely, whether it's now geared towards children, whether it's a rom-com or whether it's this or that or ya novel, and then they're stuck with something that after a year doesn't sell anyway, so they wasted a year on a project that they're not happy with. I don't think you need an agent now for books. In fact, when I say books, I mean comedy books. This is very specific. If you want to put out a comedy book that's like, or similar to the Woody Allen books, you grew up reading to the National Lampoon books, you grew up reading to Mark Lehner, to anyone, Simon Rich that you grew up reading, that is not going to happen anymore. One and two, it's not necessary for it to happen. Any advantage that you have in the mainstream market can be reproduced on your own end much better.Michael Jamin:Well, let's talk about that because you can't get into, or it would be a lot harder to get your book into Barnes and Nobles, right? Well,Mike Sacks:Here's the thing too. Yeah. Everyone dreams about having their book in Barnes and Noble or an airport bookstore. It doesn't fucking make a difference anymore. So you have one copy of your book in the humor section, which is next to the restrooms. I mean, how many people are going to be stumbling by it anyway? It's not going to be on the front table. Right, okay. It's just not going to be. So when it comes to getting a book, even chosen by an agent, skip the two, three year long process and put it out yourself because an agent typically doesn't even read the book. And if they do read the book, they don't typically understand the book. What they're going to get is not much money anyway. Comedy doesn't bring in much money, so they get you a 3000, $4,000 advance. So that's something you can reap on your own without getting that advance, by putting it out yourself and having a hundred percent or not a hundred percent, maybe 60% of the profit coming back to you. So what I have done and what I recommend people to do at this point, this has never been, it's never been any time in publishing history where you could do this, where you could put out a book that looks professionally done in the past, you'd have to buy 5,000 copies of your book, and they set moldering in the basement. Now it's a purchase, a pay per purchase. So if someone wants it, they'll pay for it. Then it's published and it's not published until then. Do you and the pro,Michael Jamin:But do you get, this is, I'm getting a little off topic, but do you order a handful just so you have and send out with when people want to sign copies? I,Mike Sacks:Well, yes, it, it's the very specific process that I had that I have, which is that you as well as writing it, putting it out yourself, designing it yourself, you have to market it yourself. And I don't know if you want to get into that now later. Yeah, yeah,Michael Jamin:Let's talk about that. Okay.Mike Sacks:Yeah. Okay. So I have a very specific process, and I've been on the other end of this because I've been as a receiver of these books at Vanity Fair. And we would get hundreds of books per week from publishers. And what publishers would do was they would send out willy nilly all these advanced review copies arcs, which would end up just being in the free pile at work, 99% of which is never even looked at, 99% of which isn't even right for the magazine. So they would send out these books to me at Vanity Fair, and it would be totally inappropriate for the magazine. We don't do poetry. We don't do humor, we don't do sci-fi, so why are you sending me the books Now, the disadvantage of that to the writers, they end up in the free pile in a magazine like ours, and then typically the editorial assistants will then sell these books to the strand or on line.So you have these advanced review copies where no money is going to the author and they're getting these review copies before anyone else. So what I've tried to do with my own marketing is I'll order say 50 books and I'll pay for those myself. It's cheaper when you're ordering your own book. It's cheaper than it would be if you're paying for it otherwise. And then I send it out to a very specific group. It's more like surgical precision rather than going wide. And that group consists of comedians and actors and people who, with one mention on their Instagram can do more than a hundred advertisements can in the back of any magazine be beyond that. To get even more specific, what I'll do is I'll write the person's name, the receiver's name on the edge, the binding of the book. So they can't, or their assistant can't then sell it. I'd rather than just throw it out than it ending up being complicated.Michael Jamin:Why can't they though, if they name, why couldn't they? Because,Mike Sacks:Well, they could cross it out. They could black it out, orMichael Jamin:They could sell it with their name on it. What different, does it matter? Matter ofMike Sacks:Course. But who's, who's going to want to do that? No one's really going to want to do that. I'd hope it has happened in a few times that someone, I just out of curiosity, even before my book was legally supposedly come out, it's being sold on Amazon, I was like, who the hell is selling it? And I've purchased a copy and I'll see who then sold theMichael Jamin:Book, and then would you give 'em shit or something?Mike Sacks:No, I wouldn't. No. I mean, it's just a lousy thing to do, but I'm not going to get into it with them. But by doing that, it lessens the risk. So you do that, you make a pinpoint marketing plan rather than spreading it out wide, which is another thing that traditional marketing staffs don't do. Typically the marketing staff don't even read the book. They don't understand a book they can mostly consisting of 20, 30 somethings who don't have our sensibility and who are just sending out mass produce, press releases or versions of the book that in the end don't help you and could even harm you. So these are things that I learned by putting out in a traditional publishing venue of things to do and not to do when I would at one point when I plan to put out books by myself. So it's really important, I think, to know just as importantly, what not to do than it is what to do and what not to do is to spend thousands of dollars and sending it to every person who's in media, who's not going to be able to help you.Michael Jamin:You're very targeted. It's so interesting because there's so much, and I'm new to the publishing world, but there's just so much overlap in terms of how Hollywood works and how the publishing world works. My mind, it was publishing was a little more rarefied and maybe there was a No, it's not still about selling.Mike Sacks:No. The thing is that you have to understand that I think I understand is that publishing is not a money business. I mean, you're not going to sell a book for however much you might sell a comedy screenplay for. If you did really well for yourself, there's not much money in it. So if you're getting into it for money, I think you're doing it for the wrong reasons. But if you're getting into it for control, then it's for you. And then to have that control, why then give it to someone else to edit, to design, and then to market, it's then out of your hands for no reason. Because I, you've seen books, comedy books designed, and they overdesigned comedy more so than they underdesigned it. I'd rather have an underdesigned look thanMichael Jamin:I wacky. I wish you could mention some without. Well,Mike Sacks:I'll mention incriminating Yourself.Michael Jamin:I'llMike Sacks:Mention my ownMichael Jamin:That were Overdesigned.Mike Sacks:Yeah. And these were the first books that I put out my interview books. And here's the kicker, poking a Dead Frog and then also my collection.Michael Jamin:I'm going to pull it up hereMike Sacks:Of short humor. I had to pay for those to be redesigned. I wasn't happy with the original designMichael Jamin:That you designed.Mike Sacks:Well, no. Their design I wasn't happy with. Oh, I see. I'll tell you the typical look, it would be a chattering teeth on a bench with a microphone placed at it. It would be like a banana peel next toMichael Jamin:It. Just something that says comedy right. Comedy right.Mike Sacks:Because marketing swears by the fact that this will sell more copies. It has to do this. It's all a bunch of bullshit. Anyway.Michael Jamin:But here's the thing, does it though, I mean, they must have the numbers. They must not just say it like I am. I'm completely with you going through all this now, but are they right?Mike Sacks:No, they could be, but do you want your book to have a chattering teeth being interviewed? Right, right,Michael Jamin:Exactly. Sitting up,Mike Sacks:Sitting on a bench. I mean, I don't, so it sells another thousand copies. Who gives a shit? When you look at the classic books, especially the Woody Allen compilations, they're just white on black, right? I mean, it's very, very simple. You don't need something screaming out comedy. These are not a collection of hamburger puns we're talking about here. This is, unless it is a collection of hamburger pots, right? I'm talking about comedy that I grew up reading and I want out there. You're not going to get a cover that you're probably going to be happy with if you go traditional publishing.Michael Jamin:Right. It's so interesting because I'm going through, as you know, all of this now and everything you're saying is truly resonating with me. That's why we talked about a couple weeks ago, and it was so helpful. I want to even mention, I want to talk about some of your work because you sent me, you're very kind. You sent me some arcs and Well, you sent me a bunch of stuff. Let me put it up on the camera here. We're going to talk about this. This is your poking at Dead Frog. This is a book about, we interviewed some really great comedy writers, Woodmont College, which is a fun read. I want to talk about that as well. But first, this is the first, that book that I first dug into, and I have to send Mike, I think you are an artist. I really do because I do.But I mean, and he's being, he's blushing. You can't see on your podcast, but the book, to me, it has a very almost indie underground vibe it to me, and tell me if you're wrong, if this is not what you meant when you wrote it to me. It was like, the premise is very interesting. It's almost like a Russian nesting doll. The premise of this book is you, the author, are going through a garage, through a garage sale. You stumble upon this odd book that is written that it is the account of someone's life. The book that you wrote is called Randy, the Full and complete unedited biography and memoir of The Amazing Life and Times of Randy Ss. So you as the author, go into this garage sale or whatever, and you find this book written by this, some schmuck. Some schmuck wrote it about his friend or whatever, a guy he knows. And what's so interesting, and then you share the book. And so what's interesting to me, what I found very interesting, even about the premise of it, it's quite brilliant. It is basically, first of all, you're saying, look at this amazing book. I didn't write it. I have nothing to do with it. I just found it. It's amazing. And already you're hyping it up, but you're also distancing yourself from it saying, well, if you don't like it, it's, it's not mine. But you're also saying exactly,Here's a schmuck that the story's about, the book's about. Here's a schmuck who wrote about another schmuck and how amazing it is. And that's what I find it. So it's so almost indie. Like I said, it's like a Russian nesting doll. It's like no one has any attachment to this book, to this story. Here's this great story. I thought that was very funny premise ofMike Sacks:It. Well, thank No, that's really actually a good way to describe it. I mean, I always wanted to write a current day Medici book where some idiot is, pays an unemployed writer to write about his life in flowery terms, rather than it be 15th century Italy. It's, or Florence, it would now be 21st century Maryland. So that was one premise. Then on top of that, it would be a very mediocre life, written a very flowery type of way. But what I do love is found artifacts. I genuinely love finding shit, whether it's self-published memoirs or whether it's old or whether it's, that to me is fascinating. And what you mentioned really hits at the crux of it is that I'm not putting this book out. I'm two characters removed from the person. Yes. Writing it. And by doing that, by putting out a book like this, it's playing a character acting role where I'm not the person, and if you don't like it, it's really not my fault. Right. And by doing that, it frees me up as a writer to then take more chances because the margin of error is higher. If you don't like that joke, I had nothing fucking to do with it. I'm just reprinting. It'sMichael Jamin:Right. That's exactly my point. Yes, exactly. And that's so interesting about this because usually you write a book, you have a narrator. The narrator may even be talking about their life, but you, like you said, you're two steps removed and you don't even know who to believe is describing the story. Well,Mike Sacks:I'll tell you what I always think of, and that's Steve Martin. He was being interviewed about pennies from heaven, and he said, I can't dance, but if I play someone who can dance and maybe not well, but if I play someone who's dancing, then I can do it. So he's not even dancing. It's the character who's dancing it. And I always view that as what I'm trying to do is just have fun with it. I'm not the person in this book, my name isn't even on it. Hopefully. My father always used when he was alive, would say, why is your name, why are they not on these books? On the re-release? It was, but when I put it out myself, my name was not on any of these books. And to me, it's part of the joke. I want people to think it's real. I don't want them to think that I wrote it. I want them to come across this and say, oh, someone is republishing a shit self-published memoir. That's someone an idiot in Maryland published in 2013. Right. That really is my dream.Michael Jamin:Yeah. And that's so funny about it. It's, that's why I say it's almost underground. It's almost, yeah. I, I guess my question for you is, when you wrote this or any of your writing, are you thinking of of the audience or your reader in mind, or are you really just like, this is what I want to do? It sounds to me, I already know the answer, butMike Sacks:It's never what the audience necessarily wants. I mean, I found that by even writing Twitter jokes, if you put out what you think the audience is going to want, then I think it's not going to hit as hard. And that's part of the problem with what I had freelancing for magazines. What are the editors going to want? And then what are the editors going to want for the readers is you have to, it's not even running for yourself at that point, but for these projects, not by skirting around having an agent skirting around having a publisher, you can do whatever the hell you want. And by you, I mean me in this case, it's just these are projects that I just have an itch to scratch. I don't know why. And there's no one on earth who I think necessarily is the perfect reader for this.I just know that if I stumbled upon this book in a bookstore or online, I would fall in love with it. And that is really the, I'm trying to please myself. And it's a very specific thing mean, so specific that it'll sell a few thousand copies. This is never going to be in an airport bookstore. It's never going to be in any bookstores. I mean, it's sort of like the underground radio I used to play in New Orleans when I worked for the radio station. I love these groups, but they never would've been played on.Michael Jamin:But that's why I say you are an artist because you are doing this for the, with the purest of intentions, which is not cashing out like this is your expression.Mike Sacks:No, it isn't. But I have found one, it goes back to my O C D where if I don't do this sort of thing, I'm a mess. I'm a depressive mess, an anxious mess. The other thing that I've noticed is that by putting out these type of books and by genuinely not giving a shit, if anyone likes it, people do the right. People do tend to like it. And right with my upcoming book, I have a ton of actors and comedians who have liked the past books, John Ham and Paul Rubins and Amy Sedaris, who want to be involved in the next project. Again, I don't think it's going to certainly make them any money, and it's not going to make me any money, but it's just what I like. I genuinely like this. I, I'd rather watch an Albert Brooks standup bit from the 1970s than any of the most popular sitcoms or reality shows on now. That's just my what I like, my personal, and this is my personal, when it comes to books, very specific. It's not going to appeal to many people, but I have found that by putting out what you want, how you want, it means more to people, the right people, the people you respect, the people whose sensibility you got into the business to try to impress it has impressed those people.Michael Jamin:Tell me though, this takes me to, when you submit to let's say McSweeney's or any of these places, then are you writing with them in mind to this is what they want to buy, or are you just like, I wrote something and maybe they'll like it, maybe they'll like it.Mike Sacks:Well, you really do have to take in mind who you're sending it to. And I know this, having been friends with MCs, Sweeney's editors, they receive a ton of material that is not right for them. So don't waste their time by sending them something that is not going to be appropriate for the site. You really do. And that goes for anything that goes for Vanity Fair and New Yorker or anything. You have to know what they're looking for. And you can't be obnoxious about it. You can't say, this is a great piece, I want you to publish it, even though it's not right for the site. This is their site. I mean, this is right. That's up to them. And they have every right in the world to say, this is rightMichael Jamin:For us. But are you personally writing for them or have, or are you just writing and then you go, maybe they'll like it.Mike Sacks:Well, if I have an idea, I'll go through my mind. Would this be better for McSweeney's or New Yorker? And then you write, do have to play to the interest of the editors. You do have to play to what they're looking for style wise. If you're writing, none of these pieces would be submitted to the shouts and murmurs to New York. I just know that it wouldn't be accepted and they'd have every right not to accept it. But if there is an idea that does coincide with style and format to a specific magazine, I'll start thinking in terms of that and I'll start writing in terms of that. You do have to make it easy for the editors not going to want to rewrite, to take the time to rewrite what you're sending them. They want something coming in appropriate for the site or magazine and as clean as can be. And if you're difficult in any way, even if you're a genius, they're not going to want to work with you again.Michael Jamin:And they do give you notes, they give you feedback, and you got to take that because that's what they want.Mike Sacks:Well, what I found is typically the notes just consist of editing out, which is fine, rather than putting in, which was my problem with magazine writing was they would put in their own jokes. I'd rather just them I, I'd rather overwrite and have them take out.Michael Jamin:Now, aside from being really an honor, let's say, to be in the New Yorker, how does it help you as your career?Mike Sacks:I don't know if it does. I mean, I, embarrassingly enough, I never read the New Yorker until I was 25. Maybe I didn't know from it. And then once I did, I fell in love with it. I mean, I remember the first piece that I read in a public library in Maryland that just was blown away. It certainly doesn't hurt, but I don't think that, especially now with the daily shouts of murmurs, I don't think that will get you an agent automatically. I do think good things can come from it. Agents may reach out and if you have enough pieces you could put out in a book. But I don't know if it's a magic key to any kingdom. It perhaps used to be.Michael Jamin:Right. Oh, you think, why do you think it's changed then?Mike Sacks:I just think there's more opportunity out there for writers that can put out, there's a million places you can put up your own website and potentially be as read as by as many people as readers as the New Yorker has. I mean, this is all new. When I was first starting out, this was pre around the beginning of the internet, very few options. So there was Crack Magazine, there was Playboy, there was New Yorker, mad Magazine, maybe the end of National Lampoon. So six, five or six choices. Now there are thousands of choices. And if it's good, it doesn't really matter necessarily where it is, as long as it sort of stands out from everybody else.Michael Jamin:See, the thing is the game, the game has changed so much even in the last, let's say even 10 years, about how to make it as a writer. But I think, or screenwriter, and I think so many people are still hung up on playing the game the way it used to be played for some reason. I can't figure out why.Mike Sacks:I think so too. And that is something I try to tell young writers is that you don't necessarily have to play. If the game is working for you and you're getting in the New Yorker and you're getting an agent, fantastic. I mean, that's the way to do it. If you're not, you have to come in the back door. And that there even is a backdoor, I think is a tremendous opportunity. Right. Because I mean TV writing, how many voices would we not have heard writing for TV 30 years ago? I mean, a lot. Yeah. The avenues are much bigger now to hear a, which is better for comedy, a lot more voices, different styles of voices, there are fewer gatekeepers than there used to be.Michael Jamin:Now you never did, go ahead, I'm sorry.Mike Sacks:No, and to spend years of your life trying to do it the way that someone in the 1980s did, I don't think is conducive to any sort of success.Michael Jamin:Do you think it's do So what is it? Do you think it's just ego driven? Is that I want that pat in the back of having it in a New Yorker. I want the pat or the pat in the back of traditional publishing or whatever.Mike Sacks:Maybe. I mean it, it's, I think it goes for anything, but I think it's sort of basing your wants on a philosophy that doesn't have to exist anymore. It's like a restaurant trying to appeal to OTs. I mean, do they have to do that anymore? Do you have to appeal to only the New Yorker editor? Can you not put out what you want, how you want on your own? And that's another thing. You don't have to write for New Yorker. If you want to get into comedy. You can put out videos, you can put out standup, you can put out a one person show, you can put out a fake document. I mean, there's a million things you have to do. So to tailor your creativity into a mold that you don't want to fit in, I don't think is worth spending your time because there is no end of the rainbow necessarily. Even if you do get into New Yorker, I don't think your life is going to change to the point where it might have been worth it spending four or five years trying to do so while not using that time to put out your own thing however you want.Michael Jamin:Hey, it's Michael Jamin. If you like my videos and you want me to email them to you for free, join my watch list. Every Friday I send out my top three videos. These are for writers, actors, creative types. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not going to spam you and it's absolutely free. Just go to michaeljamin.com/watchlist.So it's not like you are constantly trying to come up with ideas and submit to the New Yorker. It's just like if they have something, you'll give it to them.Mike Sacks:Well, I did. I spent years doing that even before that, McSweeney's, and I love them both. I read 'em every day. I think the editors are amazing. I just don't, the ideas that I wanted to put across whether there was a fake novelization, whether it was a found fake memoir, whether it was a parody of a college catalog, whatever it was, didn't fit into that realm anymore. And I could've spent three years trying to get these books in there, and they probably wouldn't have. And even if they had, how would that have helped me? I think you really need, as a young writer, to sort of discern what you want to do and how you want to get it across, and what's the best way to do that? What's the best Trojan horse to get your idea into that castle? What's the best way? And if it doesn't consist of trying to get into New Yorker with a 1000 word short humor piece for shots and murmurs, don't feel that your writing is any lesser for not having for fitting into that category. You, there's a million ways now that you can get out your creativity and you don't have to go through traditional gates.Michael Jamin:The thing that I wanted to mention earlier is you were, because you said this is like, it's really about you can wait. You can spend years writing something or submitting something and waiting for the yes or waiting for someone's permission to take. And that waiting is fucking terrible. And if you put it out yourself, if you put your energy into something, more comes from it. You know what I'm saying? The more energy you put, the more creating you do, the more things that will happen if you just stop waiting around some sitting around begging.Mike Sacks:Totally. I mean, if you're going to wait for permission to achieve success, you're going to be waiting a long time. And really, this philosophy did not come for me, to me from writing. It came from music. I grew up in DC and I grew up around Discord records, which put out minor threat and Fugazi, and I always mention them because when I was growing up in the late eighties, nineties, they were doing, this is pre-internet, and they're putting out music on their own terms. And to me, out of DC, it was a miracle. I had never heard of such a thing. And they put out what they wanted, how they wanted. And to this day, Ian mackay, who ran Discord Records, owns all the rights. He only put out what he wanted, and he is living the good life. That to me, was really what influenced me more than anything.And after years of trying to break in, even when I did sort of break in, I found that it really wasn't worth it. And you found it wasn't worth it there. Well, no, it's not like you're tenured as a professor. Even if you get into New York, it doesn't mean you'll get in again. And even if you're in New York, it doesn't mean you'll get an agent. And even if you get an agent, doesn't mean that you're going to be able to publish your dream project. So I think really in the end, and we have this opportunity now to do so, you have to be in charge, good or bad. You have to put it out and just keep on moving. Don't stagnate. And I stagnated for a long time. You cannot. I did, because I would think of ideas and I would submitted and I would be accepted. Or I go to certain agents who handled my favorite writers and they didn't like it, and it would bother me. YouMichael Jamin:Feel like a failure.Mike Sacks:You feel like a failure. But even worse, you waste time. And what you find is as you get older is time really is the most important precious thing. Because there is limited time once you learn your craft to be able to put it out. And if someone is gumming up the system by saying, for whatever reason, I don't want to take on this project, I don't think it's worthy. Well, who gives a shit? You don't need them anymore. You don't fucking need them anymore. Put it out yourself like you would a garage band record and then keep moving. But whatever you do, do not stagnate. Because before you know it, 10 years have passed and you have produced nothing. And I'll tell you, there's nothing more depressing soul crushing than that. No one got into writing to be prevented for 10 years from doing something that's hell. And that out of everything is what you need to avoid, is you need to keep moving down the path.Michael Jamin:But the little X factor I think people forget about is the marketing aspect. People think, well, I can write it, but how do I get people to see it? How do you know, read it or whatever.Mike Sacks:I'll tell you, it's not as hard as you might think. The fact that word gets out there, especially in small communities, small communities go on small communities. So this small community I'm talking about is comedy. People who read written word comedy, people who love written word comedy. We're not talking about hundreds of thousands of people here. We're talking about a somewhat small community.Michael Jamin:So if you can, and where do you find this community?Mike Sacks:You find them online, you find them on podcasts, you find them on Instagram, you find, say, pat Oswald, who loves reading comedy, maybe he'll like this book. You send it to him. If it's a smaller project and you send it to someone who is famous, I don't think they're going to be upset about it. If you set, this is part of the marketing, Hey Pat, and I'm a big fan of your work. I put this out myself. If you liked it and only if you liked it, would you mind mentioning something online? And most people who are in comedy, remember what it was like to start off. Know what it's like to get a praise from someone who has followers and whose work means a lot to others. That's really how you spread the word. If you're, I took any of these books and sent them to a New York Times reviewer, they wouldn't know what the fuck was going on.And quite frankly, I don't know if the review readers would know what the fuck was going on. So you also do have to know your audience. It's like the alternative music I listened to in the late eighties, early nineties when I was at Tulane in New Orleans, working for the radio station. You know, appeal to those who like this music and it's new, so it's not going to appeal to everyone. And then hopefully a few years later, it will appeal to everyone. It does take some time. But until that point, you have to send your records to the college DJs. You have to send your records to people working in record stores. You have to pinpoint out who you're sending to, the people who are going to spread the word, the people who are coming up now and who comedy and who are going to be able to talk about it with their friends.Michael Jamin:And why not, though? I'm asking you personally, why not? Again, I think I know the answer. Why not write something more mainstream that you think will sell or whatever peopleMike Sacks:Will love. I just don't have any interest in that. I mean, it's like, why do I not listen to Taylor Swift? I respect her. I think she's amazing, I guess in theory, but I would rather listen to Portland, the man or whatever the music is. And I don't think that I appeal. You just sort of reach a point in your career where you have to say to yourself, I don't appeal to the mass amount of people. I mean, I show these books to my relatives. They don't know what the hell's going on. Which is fine. It's not for them. It's not for everyone. So I mean, I think really you have to put your head down and not even worry about that. But if it does come to you, sell the maximum amount that the public is interested in. Well, that's just the way it is. I mean, no one writes to, I don't think, to be popular. And you can sort of tell, I think like a, Paul McCartney and Elton John were just lucky enough to put out the records they wanted. And it appeals to everyone. But most people aren't that lucky. And I am one of those. I don't think that even if I wrote something to the top of my ability that I was completely happy with, it would ever appeal to more than maybe 5% of the readers.Michael Jamin:Well, here's a good segue. Read to this other book that you wrote, poking a Dead Frog, and this is available for everywhere. And these are conversations that you had you conducted with top comedy writers. And I think for this is particularly the place for, because I have a big audience who are into this, they should go check it out. There's a lot of really interesting conversations. Well, some were actors, bill Hader, but you also have, I'm just going through the list here. Yeah, James Downey, a lot of seven, eight live writers. James L. Brooks, you a got a lot of people. My buddy Mark Marin. You had a lot of people, a lot of really great people that you found. How did this come about?Mike Sacks:Well, that was through Selfish Reasons. That's the second book that I put out of interviews. The first book came out about five years earlier. That's called. And Here's the Kicker. And this is another case of wanting to do something and being prevented from doing so. That book, that first book, and here's the Kicker, where I interviewed comedy writers, was rejected 20 times really by publishers. The only reason why it was finally accepted was that I was friendly with an editor who used to work at McSweeney's named John Warner, who was working for a smaller publisher in the Midwest called Writer's Digest. It was only because of that book came out. That book came out when there was no podcast. Very little was out there about writing about comedy. I put it out only for the express selfish purpose of being able to talk to the people whose work meant a lot to me. I wanted to talk to them and pick their brains about how they got to where they got, what worked for them and what didn't work for them. Another thing was a lot of them were dying off. This was the first generation of comedy writers. Quite a few people I interviewed for that book were in their seventies and eighties and nineties, and they passed away shortly after that book came. How didMichael Jamin:You get contact with them?Mike Sacks:Well, what I found funny enough was the easiest people to contact were the older writers who were all on a o l at that time. They would get right back to you. They would not their assistant. Usually the font would be like 46 point. It'd be huge font. But they always got back to me whether they wanted to do it or not. The ones who didn't get back to me were the younger writers who either had their assistance say no or just never. I never, and to this day, I haven't received an answer from a lot of young writers, but the older writers always got back to me and usually said yes. In one case, I wanted to interview a comedy writer who worked in the early days of radio comedy writing. So at that point in 2007, 2008, there weren't many around. I reached out to someone who ran a newsletter on radio comedy shows, and he sent me a list of writers who still might be around out of that list. One was still alive, and I just happened to call the Town Council where she lived. I said, do you know a Margaret Lynch, a Peg Lynch? She wrote for radio. She goes, yeah, yeah, yeah, peg Lynch, we know her well. I said, she's still alive. She goes, yeah, there, she's still alive. She's 95 and she's doing well. So I called her out of the blue, and I think it was a case of her thinking, why has no one called me before?Michael Jamin:AndMike Sacks:Talking to her was really something. I mean, I did, I wasn't familiar with her, but after doing research, after we hung up and I said, can I call you back? She basically invented the modern sitcom. She had a radio, then a TV show called Ethel m Albert, and she wrote, I think 30,000 scripts for radio and for movies. Jesus, Jesus. Some of them lasting 10 minutes or so. But it was all based on real life. It really was Seinfeld before Seinfeld. And the stories that she came up with, for instance, one was she grew up in Minneapolis outside the Mayo Clinic. Her mom was a nurse there at 14 years old. Peg Lynch took it upon herself to interview celebrities, PA passing through the Mayo Clinic for her little radio show that she had in town. The first person she asked to interview was Lou Gehrig when he was at the Mayo Clinic being diagnosed with a L Ss.And right Lou Gehrig said yes to that. Wow. Which I just found incredible. She also interviewed Newt Rockney when he was passing through the Mayo Clinic. So just to be able to talk to these people from another World Bridge to another time, that was really my selfish reason. I didn't think the book would sell. I didn't think it would really do well. I just wanted a product that I could have as an excuse to be able to talk to all these great writers. Some of whom, and most of whom maybe readers that weren't even familiar with. This was just my going after readers, writers that I liked and writers that I sort of stumbled upon,Michael Jamin:But poking at Dead Frog. And again, comedy students should pick this up because it is helpful to hear you talk about people's processes, how they broke it, not just how they broke in, but also writing how they approach the material. And it's just very interesting. But this must have been an easier sell. No,Mike Sacks:Yeah, that was easier because the first book did well. So by the time and that came around, I did get an agent and he did sell, and I did get it in advance, so that was much easier. But it also started coming around that people were talking about comedy, more analyzing comedy, having websites devoted to comedy. But when the first one came around, there really was not much out there. ItMichael Jamin:Was. And how were you conducting these interviews? Just over the phone. Yeah.Mike Sacks:Typically I prefer over the phone,Michael Jamin:But some of them looked like they just weren't interviews. Some of these pieces looked like they were just submission. Like you tell, Hey, write something for my, tell your process. They've submitted you something. Is that right? I like Mark Marin specifically. Specifically. ItMike Sacks:Seemed like he, yeah, well, mark Marin, that that's a case where I actually didn't even reach out to Mark. It was someone who was doing interviews for me. He reached out to Mark, but in other cases it was like, Hey, show me what it's like to submit a packet for a late night show. Can you just show me your packet? And they, yeah, that interesting. Send me your packet. But in most cases, it was me talking to them either on the phone or in some cases in person, after many, many, many hours of research. And that was part of the problem. I didn't know how good they would be to talk to until after I did all this research. So in a lot of instances, I interviewed a lot research though. Well, I mean, for each of these interview subjects, I would do 20 to 30 hours of research, reading everything they wrote, reading every interview they've done. And you really don't know what they're going to be like until you talk to 'em. So in a lot of cases, a lot of people did not make the book because either through my fault or the way they were feeling that day or whatever, it just wasn't jiving. So even after having done all that research, I would have to trash the interviews. So what you see in that book is really maybe 60% of the interviews that I conducted entirely forMichael Jamin:That book. Oh my God. Because it's not a thin book. There's a lot.Mike Sacks:That was a long year, man, putting that thing together. I mean, likeMichael Jamin:A year, huh? SinceMike Sacks:Year.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Wow. I mean, so yeah, it's just interesting that you, like even Mike Scher in here, I mean, yeah, Mel Brooks, Amy Poer, a lot of really interesting people being talked about their craft. I thought it was very interesting. Now, let's talk real fast about this one. Woodmont, this is your phony college brochure, and it's pretty funny. What is the audience for this? It seems like this would be great to leave in a dorm room somewhere, but what fuckingMike Sacks:I, well, what I was thinking was that, that I wanted it to be confused with a real, real college catalog. I thought that it was sort of ripe to be made fun of, because those catalogs are pretty ridiculous. Unfortunately. The first publisher we took it to, I have nothing bad to say about them, but they wanted to put it out in digital form only, which I did. And it looked good. But I wanted something tangible that you could sort of send to people. And I then took it to,Michael Jamin:Go ahead. Go ahead,Mike Sacks:Please. I took it to another publisher who was willing to put it out in hard copy form.Michael Jamin:And where does it get sold then?Mike Sacks:It's online. You can find it anywhere. It's on Amazon. It's,Michael Jamin:I mean, it's pretty funny. Welcome to Woodmont. And I guess their motto is No refunds,Mike Sacks:Right? It's all money based. I mean, I think it costs 150,000 per semester to go there. It's just the shittiest boutique college you can ever imagine. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Yeah. It's pretty funny read. Yeah. But that's what I say when this is just something that you wanted to do and you say you did it. Yeah. Yeah.Mike Sacks:And a lot of people might think, why? And I don't have any answer for that. There's no good answer. I don't know. I mean, it did. Okay. People seem to it. Did it change my life? No, but it just seemed like I had to do it.Michael Jamin:I'll tell you why about, I'll tell you why I've been, because I perform, I've been doing some performances, my little one man show, and every night before I go out, you know, can hear the audience. And I'm backstage and I'm starting to get nervous. And I always ask myself this question, why am I doing this? And then I only answer I'm able to come up with is because I can.Mike Sacks:But it's more than can. I mean, you can go to Mount Aetna and try to climb it, but you're not, so what is it about doing that? Is that you need to want to share it.Michael Jamin:Something.Mike Sacks:Yeah. Some itch that needs to be scratched. Right? Very specific itched. You could be home relaxing with your wife and family, but you're out at this club at 11 o'clock at night. Why are so, I mean, the question is really, why are you doing it. What is it about doing that that you need to do that you would prefer doing over, not just doing nothingMichael Jamin:Relaxing? Right. And that takes me to my last thing, my last question for you had one of the great honor, I would suppose of your career is that you've gotten to open for David Saris, and I want to talk to you a little about that mean. Yeah. Which pieces are you reading or did you read?Mike Sacks:I would usually write these pieces special for these shows. I mean, I have been doing this for a little while now, and I, I've found that the pieces I would write for McSweeney's in New Yorker wouldn't necessarily connect with a live audience. But what David does, he's such a genius, is that he'll write these pieces that appeal to not only a live audience, but also to an audience at home reading internally. I don't know if any other writer who does this, and by the time he turns into piece to New Yorker, he'll know what jokes work and what jokes. I mean, it reminds me of what the Marcus Brothers used to do. They used to travel around performing these movie scripts live to see what jokes worked and what didn't. So he's really unique in that sense. But when I would read these pieces, the reaction would not be that good.So I sort of had to tailor these pieces to a live audience. And it's a lot of work. I mean, these pieces are really meant to be read once, twice, three times, and then they're never heard from again. But it is an absolute thrill to do this because I have been out on tour where I have read to literally no one. I mean, no one has shown up, and I refuse to go out on a book tours now because of that. I don't think one sells many books. So it's like being in a bar band where never, no one shows up to opening for the Rolling Stones. I mean, it's just huge. And the fact that he allows me to do that, I mean, there's no one of his caliber who is as giving to other writers and readers as he's just spectacular.Michael Jamin:And how did you meet him then?Mike Sacks:Well, I met him interviewing him for the book, my book, and we just became friends. I think we talked for four or five hours the first time, and we just connected. And he's just a very giving person. I mean, no, what he'll do, this is what he does. And I don't, no other au author would do this. No one. When I read for him, he'll sometimes say, listen, if you want my autograph, you want me to sign your book? And these lines are hours long. You can wait in line. But if you buy Mike's books, you can go straight to the front.Michael Jamin:Isn't that nice?Mike Sacks:Isn't that ama? I mean, who else would do that? So people just out of wanting to get that, getting through the line more quickly. They'll buy my books and they'll sell out and they'll talk to me for a second and then talk to Dave. But no one else is as giving no other writer. How manyMichael Jamin:Books did you bring that they sold out? I would be like, shit, why don't I bring more?Mike Sacks:Oh, I don't know. I mean, bookstores provide them, I'm guessing 50 maybe. Okay. And the 50 of each book. Oh,Michael Jamin:Okay. A lot.Mike Sacks:There's a few books. There's a few books there.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Are you going out with him again soon?Mike Sacks:Yeah. And in fact, he just asked if I wanted to do some shows up in Maine, and I'm going to beat, my wife is from Maine, but we're not going to be there up there then. But he did very kindly ask me to be open for him in Baltimore, which is what I've done in the past. I am from Maryland, south of Baltimore, near the Virginia line. Oh, that'd be great. I love Baltimore. And yeah, I, last time I invited John Waters. Wow. Someone on whose work I absolutely love and have been in touch with. And he showed up to the reading and got to see me read. I actually read something from the Woodmont College catalog and through in the John Waters reference, just to appeaseMichael Jamin:Him. Oh, that's funny. Wow. This is Mike. I want to thank you so much. This has been a very illuminating talk for me to hear from your side of the world. Tell me, me, plug your books again all and tell me how people can follow you and find you and your podcast. Tell me, plug away.Mike Sacks:Yeah, I am on everything. Instagram, Twitter, blue sky everyth, the new piss stream or whatever it is for Instagram. I forget what threads. It'sMichael Jamin:Threads. I couldn't even get on Blue Sky. I don't know. Good for you.Mike Sacks:Yeah, someone asked me if I wanted to get, I had no idea what it was, but I'll say yes to anything. And I have my own site, mikes sex.com. And then I'm also a Wikipedia page as well. And honestly, I know what it was like to start off and not to know anyone. If anyone wants to reach out to me, I'm at Mikebsacks@gmail.com. I'll answer any questions. It is not as hard as you might think to publish a book. And I always encourage people to do so because I love to see people skirting the system to get what they want made. I think that's very important. Don't ever think that there's someone between you and success, especially when it comes to comedy. Yeah. Anyone can do it. And if you have any questions, feelMichael Jamin:Free, reach out. Wow, that's very kind and generous of you. That's very nice of you. Mike, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, man. Thank you. Again, don't go anywhere I want to sign out. Alright, everyone, thank you so much for listening. Lots of great resources on my website, Michaeljamin.com. Sign up, we've got free webinars coming up and my newsletter. Alright, until next week, keep writing.Phil Hudson:This has been an episode of Screenwriters. Need to Hear this with Michael Jamin and Phil Hudson. If you're interested in learning more about writing, make sure you register for Michael's monthly webinar @michaeljamn.com/webinar. If you found this podcast helpful, consider sharing it with a friend and leaving us a five star review on iTunes. For free screenwriting tips, follow Michael Jamin on social media @MichaelJaminwriter. You can follow Phil Hudson on social media @PhilaHudson. This podcast was produced by Phil Hudson. It was edited by Dallas Crane Music by Ken Joseph. Until next time, keep writing.

Former Ireland internationals Gordon D'Arcy and James Downey join OTB's John Duggan to look back at Ireland's first warm up game ahead of the Rugby World Cup. In association with Vodafone | #TeamOfUs

Join Thomas and Jamie as they toast the comedic giants who have shaped the legacy of Saturday Night Live! Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to celebrate the Class of Season Three and all of the talented individuals who have tickled our funny bones and made staying in on Saturday Night a right of passage. We also take a moment to analyze future classes by looking at the voting records of several candidates that missed the mark this season. We're so grateful to all of our listeners but especially the ones that stepped up to vote this season, we had a record number of ballots cast.!So grab your favourite snack and settle in for a conversation that is sure to raise some eyebrows and fuel water cooler debate. It's the SNL Hall of Fame: Class of Season Three!Transcript0:00:42 - JDAll right, thank you so much, Doug. This is JD here and you are about to enter the SNL Hall of Fame. Please wipe your feet before you come inside, as we don't want any filth in the Hall of Fame. The SNL Hall of Fame podcast is a weekly affair. In each episode, we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest or writer and add them to the ballot for your consideration. Once the nominees have been announced, we turn to you, the listener, to vote for the most deserving and help determine who will be enshrined for perpetuity in the hall. And that day has come. I am joined by Thomas Senna and we are going to go down the results and take a look at who has made it into the Hall of Fame and who missed the cut this year, who will be eliminated from the ballot and all sorts of other good stuff. So, before I go any further with this information dump, I'm going to say hi to my friend here, Thomas, how are you doing? 0:01:49 - ThomasHello Jamie, I'm doing very well. This is a special occasion. I got my tucks on and my bow tie. Let's announce some inductees. 0:01:57 - JDWell, before we do that, we'll just quickly go through the parameters that people had to cut through to make it. You need 66.6% of the ballot to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. If you don't get at least 10% of the ballot, you are eliminated from the Hall of Fame And, of course, you stay on the ballot for 10 seasons. So we're only in season three. We don't have any jeopardy of that happening thus far, so that's good. That's good news. What are you most excited about today, Thomas? 0:02:35 - ThomasSeeing if some of the people who I thought deserved to be in the Hall of Fame if they actually make it. So one group in particular, one writing group in particular, has been a sticking point with me as far as not making the Hall of Fame. So I was going into this reveal just super curious to see if they would make it, if the Lonely Island, let's say it if the Lonely Island would finally make the SNL Hall of Fame. I think they've been deserving since they were on the ballot in season one, that's right. So that was my main thing going into it. this is where the hell is the Lonely Island? So I don't know. We'll see if they're in this time around. 0:03:16 - JDYeah, we definitely will. Okay, well, I can tell you off the top we have the biggest Hall of Fame class, the largest Hall of Fame class that we've ever had, the most members inducted into the Hall of Fame that we've ever had, which is staggering. We had a record number of voters turn out, like over 100 more than last year. We finished with 297 different voters. That's pretty impressive to me that you all came out and exercised your comedic franchise. That's just wonderful news. So I don't know, do we just go right into it? Let's get into it. All right, who is our headliner this year? Thomas, who made it with the most. 0:03:58 - ThomasSo with the most votes this season, at 83.2% of the vote we have, mr Dana Carvey is an SNL Hall of Famer. No surprise, i don't know about you, Jamie, but I thought this was a slam dunk Dana's in the conversation for greatest of all time. 0:04:17 - JDI think Absolutely. 0:04:18 - ThomasHe's like a great of all time Mount Rushmore. Those are the conversations that Dana is in. So Dana Carvey in with 83.2% of the vote. Congratulations, Dana. 0:04:31 - JDYeah, a cast member with the most percentage this year. Just a machine really. I mean, if you listen to Fly on the Wall now, it's aggravating to a certain degree because everything that somebody says spawns a bit. but I just think that's how his brain works. He's just always on. He's always thinking about how to make people laugh and how to leverage the different characters and impressions that he's been able to harness over the years and be fresh with them. He's truly a great, great SNL great. 0:05:09 - ThomasYeah, i don't know if it's cliche to say, but he's one of those guys where if you were going to go into a lab and build an SNL cast member, it might come out exactly like Dana Carvey. Yeah, and that was such a good point that you mentioned. Like he's just, he's all about the bit, he's all about what's going to serve the comedy, and you can hear it in his podcast and he'll even tell you that he might do it a little too much. Like he's said that maybe he steps on the guests a little bit, but that's because that's how his mind works. He's trying to. He's trying to find the bit in everything that he's talking about, and sometimes he doesn't have that thing where it's just like well, maybe, maybe I'll just wait my turn or whatever. I'll tell you that. But I think that served him so well when he was an SNL cast member, so deserving to be an SNL Hall of Famer. 0:05:56 - JDAbsolutely, Dana. The plaque is in the mail. Next on the list is another cast member and another first-ballot Hall of Famer, and that is Amy Poehler, with 75.1% of the ballot. What do you think about Amy Poehler, Thomas? 0:06:15 - ThomasYeah, I think another very deserving one. I think she was arguably maybe the face before Kristen Wigg got there. Maybe there was a little overlap, but I think Amy was arguably the face of her era of SNL. I think she was very beloved in her era. I know Jon Schneider had told us some crazy stats about Amy Poehler as far as just the sheer amount of sketches and the percentage of sketches that she was in when she was a cast member at SNL. But I think man, 75%, three forwards, that's probably about what I thought Amy would get, and rightfully so. I mean she was just a fantastic sketch performer. What do you think, Jamie? 0:06:59 - JDI think she did it all Like she really was a five-tool player when you think about it because she started out as a sketch performer. She started out as a featured player and sketch performer, and then she had a second life as a weekend update anchor she was tremendous at that as well. You know, working both with Seth and Tina Fey. She did it all Like she did it all, Like she is somebody who did it all and excelled, Like she did it all at a very high level, I guess I should say. And to me, I thought for sure she would make it. But the SNL Hall of Fame is tricky sometimes. Sometimes you don't get what you think. 0:07:42 - ThomasThe will of the people, man, that's right What this is. 0:07:46 - JDIn this case, it turned out in favour, So that's good Yeah. 0:07:50 - ThomasCongratulations to Amy Poehler for making it. So the next person, the next inductee that we have, also the first time on the ballot, with 74. 74.4% of the vote we have, but maybe not. Maybe not an original cast member, but pretty darn close to an original cast member. It's Bill Murray getting 74% of the vote on his first time on the ballot. Bill Murray, SNL Hall of Famer and you, Bill Murray fan, Jamie. 0:08:22 - JDI'm a huge Bill Murray fan. I had a renaissance with him, i think, when a lot of people did from his role in Rushmore. So that really got me back into him and it made me go back and look at the Saturday Night Live stuff. And if you think about it, he was really in a tough, tough position replacing Chevy Chase who was doing feature films and on the cover of magazines. Chevy Chase was, you know, it, it boy, and Bill Murray had some big shoes to fill And I think he did a great job. He became, you know, a leading man ask because Acroyd stayed in a sort of a glue role And Murray ended up getting a lot of you know, a lot of the male-centric parts and Did a fantastic job with it just fantastic. 0:09:14 - ThomasYeah, I think Bill would even tell you or admit that he Was having trouble in his mind gaining traction initially. That's why he did the whole plea to the audience sketch where he sat down and said hello, I'm Bill Murray. I'm not quite hitting on the show and here's why I think I'm not. And here, trust me, i am funny. Regardless of what you've seen on the show. I am a funny person. I'm just not funny on the show. So he was. So I think you know a lot of that was a great bit. But I think a lot of that was rooted in maybe something real that he thought like why am I not connecting? like why are you know? and, ironically, like his first show ever that he did was he was in a lot and he did a really great job. But maybe he had a string of shows where he Felt like he wasn't in much and he did that, that plea to the audience, that just really propelled him and then he had, you know, we ended up seeing Nick the lounge singer and Just so many of the nerds. There are so many memorable characters and he was just so Magnetic. He knew how to just grab the audience and take them whatever Bill wanted to take them. 0:10:22 - JDYeah, yeah, and he's continued to do so in his post-signal career as well. So, really wonderful, I'm, I'm, I'm so happy that Bill Murray made it on the first ballot because it would have been a tough one, like the next one, to explain to people No, no, he didn't make it on the first ballot. The next one we go to is Another cast member, another first ballot, Hall of Famer with seventy-three point seven percent, and that's John Belushi. Belushi, of course, little divisive in, you know, in our, in our current era, that we are in because we, we we've just got access to so much more information than we've ever had before. And There was a little bit of misogyny there. You know there were a lot of drugs, but he had a way of peeling through all of that and Making himself very magnetic on the screen. Very funny, very funny. I was never a giant blue she fan, i was a Murray guy. But there's no doubt that blue she belongs. There's no doubt in my mind. 0:11:29 - ThomasYeah, there's no doubt for me either in the seventy-three point seven percent, maybe a little lower than I would expect, but that, like you mentioned, you few factors in some of the things like the misogyny. A lot of times he didn't treat his Cohorts on the show as well. I maybe look down on them because of some misogyny that he had and that's factored in and as it should be, I think. If, if somebody values that and wants to keep Belushi off because of that, then I Absolutely agree with that. But his, since I've been doing this show and kind of getting in more to maybe the Original cast and watching sketches more in-depth, I've come to really appreciate some of the subtlety that Belushi brought to the screen, especially with the samurai. I just his, with his just facial expressions, with the samurai and his movements, and he could do it all as a sketch comedian. He wasn't. He wasn't just on the guy who yells a lot or on the guy who does pratfalls, as Belushi could do, could do everything he can. He can play it really straight and subtly He can. Only he can act with his eyes. He could be funny with just his movements. He could say clever things. So I think just all around what a sketch performer Belushi was has really I've really taken notice of that since I've been going back and watching a lot of the original cast, so I think I think Belushi definitely deserving. 0:12:56 - JDWell, drum roll. Can we get a drum roll for our fifth nominee? 0:13:05 - ThomasThe lonely island is in the SNL Hall of Fame With seventy-three point four percent of the vote. We have the lonely island Third time on the ballot. So they went up from fifty-two point nine to sixty-two to seventy-three percent of the vote. So I think I've been banging this drum hard. I know, Jamie, you've been, you've been kind of wondering, you've been Extolling the virtues of the Lonely Island. I know our buddy, Jon Schneider, has been confused as to why the lonely island is not in the SNL Hall of Fame. But they finally are the lonely island Well deserving. You could still feel their impact, almost what. Now, 17 years, 18 years After they started doing their thing on SNL, they changed the structure of the show in a lot of ways, the presentation of the show. That's still felt today as far as pre-tapes and expectations of pre-tapes, and just iconic, just Influential. I'm so happy about this.0:14:08 - JDYeah, me too. I really only have a three-word Response, and that is lonely no more. They are on an island of Hall of Famers, and they rightfully are on that island. So Really glad to see that we don't have to have this debate with people anymore. 0:14:28 - ThomasYes, I know exactly, I don't have to get frustrated anymore. So congratulations, Andy and Akiva and Jorma, you three are SNL Hall of Famers. 0:14:37 - JDAll right, our first host, this fellow, made a tremendous jump. I'm not even sure it's Mathematically possible the jump that he made, going from 47.4% last year to 73%, and that is the store of the 90s, John Goodman. I have no issues with John Goodman being in the Hall of Fame whatsoever. He was there when I was there. I got to watch him every year. You know he's been a great friend of the show in terms of guest spots and You know if you were to write a guidebook of What what a good guest looks like, i think there'd be a chapter in that book that would be called John Goodman. 0:15:25 - ThomasYeah, he said. He said in the archetype for what a great SNL host is, he was on, I believe, 11 or 12 seasons in a row as Homes, from last 89 to 2001 or something. So he spanned the entire 90s And beyond. I think it was 11 or 12 Episodes and or seasons in a row. Because he was old, reliable, because he was so good, like if he was one of those were the cast when they, when Lorne would be in the office and say, well, we have John Goodman coming in in March to host, and the cast would be like wonderful like it's not that the cast could take The show off, but they knew that they would have somebody to play with and it would ease a lot of The burden that was put on the cast to put on a great show. They knew that they had somebody coming in who could live up to putting on a great show with them. Goodman was just in so a lot of good one-offs I don't know if you remember the sketch where he played the referee and he was. They were doing the show, the talk show, and it was fans asking the referee. Yes, this is basically just berating the, berating him the whole time.0:16:30 - JDThat's a one-off sketch Yeah yeah, he was. 0:16:35 - ThomasHe was a Cajun chef with, when he was on with the Phil Hartman, that recurring sketch, the anal retentive chef and John Goodman came in and played a Cajun chef and they were playing off each other Really well. He's one of the Braske guys, the Bill Braske guys absolutely so many Iconic things that Goodman came in and did. Whether it was recurring or one-off, goodman brought so much to the table and, yeah, 47% in season two. I think maybe some of the seas parted maybe after season two as far as who got in, and maybe a lot of voters felt that Now's the time that I can put Goodman on my ballot since I already took care of business with some other people. So yeah, I was a healthy jump with Goodman, and it's deservedly so. He's an I don't even know 12 timers, 13 times. I'm not good. Yeah, I'm not sure. 0:17:30 - JDYeah, I know that it's 11 in a row. This is where we need a chief statistician, all right. Next on the docket we have, another writer, and this one is equally interesting to me in the sense that They made a tremendous jump from season one to season two, and that is, of course, everyone's favourite late-night talk show host, Conan O'Brien. Thomas, I Want to let you go first, son, on Conan. 0:18:03 - ThomasSo this is the only one. No offence to Conan. He's honestly my favourite. He and Letterman are my two favourite late-night talk show hosts of all time. Like I'm a huge Conan fan, I listened to his podcast. Conan O'Brien needs a friend and he's wonderful at that He's. I love Conan and everything that I've seen him in. I just don't know that he's an SNL Hall of Famer specifically, right? if you just look at Conan's work on SNL, he was behind some good stuff, I think I remember I don't think this is him or Jack handy, but there was a skeleton sketch where John with Gal played, an Anatomy professor he was a professor and he was, and the skeleton would scare him every time he would look at it. And I've heard Conan talk about maybe he was, had had a little bit to do with that And so. But it's hard to think back at Conan's time at SNL and say, yes, he definitely put a stamp on the show. To me, It was more so. Other writers, like I said, like Jack Handy, maybe somebody else who we might talk about on this episode, but there are James Downey, there are other writers that were just more so influential on that era than Conan was and I don't think he would take Umbridge With with me saying that honestly and it's no offence to him, he's a genius Comedically, but if you just look at his time on SNL I had this is one of the ones that I don't quite agree with the voters here. I'm happy for Conan, but it's something where I'm just I'm not quite in alignment on this one. 0:19:30 - JDThis one, to me, screams like name recognition. You know, it's like We know who Conan is, above a lot of the other writers, even the Lonely Island. I changed the ballot from the first season to the second season to add their names on the ballot, just to make sure that everybody knew that the Lonely Island was Andy, Akiva and Jorma. You know, Conan is a writer. That is a name commodity and It would be interesting to know, to dig in if there was a way to do that, to find out, you know, if that's Where that came from, because it was surprising to me as well, especially, you know, in light of somebody else we're gonna mention. 0:20:15 - ThomasYeah, I think Conan's just lovable and People respect his overall talent and I think that bled in, bled into this for sure. 0:20:24 - JDIt's definitely. It's definitely tough to get people to restrict their votes. You know the conversation that you have with the guest That is so SNL-specific. You know it really is tough to sort of Separate that from. Oh my gosh, He was the talk show host that I grew up with, the late-night talk show host that I grew up with and I loved him and, And, oh my gosh, I listened to the podcast the other day and heard them doing the girly man dilemma you know, And right. So he's a writer, so you know he belongs, or whatever. 0:20:57 - ThomasYeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, and the. So the next inductee into the SNL Hall of Fame is. I'm very much surprised by this in a good way, in a positive way, because I didn't know if this person Was gonna have a chance on their first ballot and I'm pleasantly surprised that they're actually in on their first ballot. So another host, and it's Christopher Walken. With 69.7% of the vote, Christopher Walken and Jamie Burwood did this episode with me on Christopher Walken. It was so much fun to go rewatch his episodes and Just just bathe, in the oddness and silliness that was Christopher Walken on SNL, and the more I thought about it because I was unsure. Even going into that episode. I'm like I think he's a good nominee but I don't know that he's a Hall of Famer. But after rewatching his sketches and Talking to Jamie Burwood about this, I'm so happy that Christopher Walken is in the SNL Hall of Fame Such a unique presence on the show. 0:22:03 - JDThat was a great episode, Thomas, that was a great conversation. 0:22:06 - ThomasYeah, Jamie was awesome She came She really came through there. 0:22:12 - JDYeah, walk into me. He was a, you know, a host that brought silliness. And For a serious actor, for somebody that is known as, like you know, he was a freaking deer hunter for heaven's sake, such an intense movie and to see this guy come on and just Be silly and have fun and get his hands dirty, you know, that is Just a lot of fun and I'm thrilled that he's in. I'm, I'm absolutely thrilled. 0:22:45 - ThomasYeah, he was possibly the most iconic sketch of that era, one of the most iconic sketches ever with the cowbell sketch, Christopher. Walken I mean, yeah, people know Will Ferrell killed it in that sketch, But Christopher Walken was his equal, in my opinion, in that sketch, like Christopher Walken's Delivery and his funny lines, balanced out Will Ferrell's, a lot of will Ferrell's more physical, comedic style in that sketch. And Walken also had the continental, which people loved. Yeah, a recurring sketch for a host that you know. Christopher Walken was announced as host and people knew like, ooh, we're probably gonna get a continental. This will be great and just his, yes, Walken was just such an odd Duck and that served him so well on this show. Just such a unique flavour to hosting SNL. So I'm very happy about that. Christopher Walken is in. 0:23:36 - JDNext up. Cut the ribbon, and queue the band, because we have our first musical guest. Wow, as A Hall of Famer, it should come as no surprise. 0:23:49 - ThomasIt only took three voting cycles to have a musical guest cheese. 0:23:55 - JDBut I would say Paul Simon is, you know, quintessential. He's been there from the, you know, almost day one, day two, you could say, or week two, right through to Gosh. When was his last appearance in 2018? yeah, that sounds about right. 0:24:15 - ThomasYeah, that was his final performance. 0:24:19 - JDLike ever, Oh really. 0:24:19 - ThomasYeah, on SNL, no, just yeah. His final performance on SNL was actually his final performance. His final performance, yeah, as a musician. Yeah. 0:24:28 - JDWell, that's iconic Yeah. 0:24:30 - ThomasThat's enormous. 0:24:31 - JDYeah, yeah, I think, well-deserved. You could argue or nitpick if you wanted how many times he was actually the musical guest versus, you know, just having the show be a variety show based around him. But I think when you think of no matter what area you think of and you think of him, you have a good, good vibe, good memories. I mean the turkey suit, the boxer. I remember when he was on when he was touring Graceland and he had all the African dancers and band and that was so spectacular to see as, like a small town kid, you know, I saw that and it was like revolutionary. It was like, wow, this is so cool. I guess this is what world music is, but it was poppy and fun And, yeah, I think, well-deserved, yeah. 0:25:24 - ThomasAnd he 68.7% he finished with Yeah, Paul Simon got 68.7% of the vote and he reunited with Art Garfunkel on SNL. That's enormous. Yeah, that's huge After six years of them not performing together. He and Garfunkel reunited on SNL. And I know on this show we try to have categories, so we have our cast member, host, musical guest, and writer categories right, Paul Simon. I even told my guest for that episode, Matti. I said we're going to have to play fast and loose with the musical guest criteria with Paul Simon because he performed music on 15 episodes of SNL. Whether he was actually officially billed as a musical guest, maybe what was that? Eight times or so, but he performed music in 15 separate episodes on SNL And he's just. You can't argue that. His fingerprints were all over the show And that had a lot to do with his talent. I know he was Lorne and he are damn near best friends, but he was just always a guy who was called upon in big moments too. In the first episode after 9-11, who was there performing? It was Paul Simon. So, yeah, fingerprints all over the show. I'm happy we have a musical guest in. We needed some representation. So there you go, Paul Simon. 0:26:55 - JDThe next one I'm really excited about, and this is what I was talking about when we talked about Conan. I almost wish their voting numbers could have switched, because this person actually acknowledged our show, so that gives them extra points. As far as I'm concerned, this is another writer with 68% of the vote, and that's Robert Smigel. 0:27:20 - ThomasYes, Robert Smigel. I'll give a little context behind that. So Bill Kenney was my guest the great Bill Kenney for the Robert Smigel episode, And Bill actually reached out to Robert Smigel on Twitter. He DM'd him and said I'm on this podcast, SNL Hall of Fame, And I was wondering if you could give me some sketches that you wrote and some of your memories or whatever. And Bill just thought he would take a shot. He didn't think Robert would reply. But, Robert replied to Bill and gave him this nice comprehensive list of sketches that he was in And Bill said thank you. So Robert helped with research for his own episode, which I thought was wonderful, and I was surprised too by he wrote a lot of things that I didn't know that he had a hand in. Phil Hartman did a famous Ronald Reagan mastermind sketch early on, great sketch, wonderful sketch. I think that was the sketch that we played in full at the end of Smigel's episode. It was. I didn't know Smigel was behind that until he told Bill Kenny that he was. He just said so many classics. I talked about Conan O'Brien and his era, how Conan wasn't the guy that you thought about. As far as writers go, I think Smigel was the guy in that era. 0:28:44 - JDI agree. I agree Just that category of Smigel and Odenkirk and you know, as you said earlier, Jack Handy as well. I don't know that they hung out, but Odenkirk and Smigel did for sure, and just great sensibility, some different looks, comedically, yeah, I think I think well deserved, so happy to see writers being three writers, three writers in this class like that's enormous. 0:29:17 - ThomasYep, and if you look at Smigel's tenure, okay, so so he was. Just, you know, he wrote sketches early on, from like 86, 85, 86 until maybe the mid-90s. Smigel wrote all these classic sketches to Bears, he wrote the Kleck and Chicken, and he wrote Schmitz Gay. So he wrote all these classic sketches right, and then he left, came back and he did TV Fun House. So I think I think he was an SNL Hall of Famer before TV Fun House. If you only included his pre TV Fun House, I think he's still an SNL Hall of Famer. If you only included TV Fun House, by itself he might be an SNL Hall of Famer. You combine those. It's just incredible. Like Smigel, his fingerprints. As far as a writer, I don't think other than maybe James Downey I don't think it could be topped by Robert Smigel of what he delivered as a writer to the show. 0:30:12 - JDI tend to agree with him. One more, we got one more. 0:30:17 - ThomasWe've announced 10 so far, So we have a recap. So we have Dana Carvey, Amy Poehler, Bill Murray, John Belushi, The Lonely Island, John Goodman, Conan O'Brien, Christopher Walken, Paul Simon, Robert Smigel and this next person. this is the last on the list of inductees this season. Their first time on the ballot, So a first-timer from the original cast. an amazing glue person, wonderful, and one of the first great weekend update anchors. I'm talking about Jane Curtin. With 67.3% of the vote, Jane Curtin made the SNL Hall of Fame. This means a lot to me. We love Jane. 0:31:10 - JDI went back recently and listened to the episode you did with Andrew Dick. and just a phenomenal episode, maybe a Hall of Fame episode. It was tremendous, Andrew made a great case. Yeah, I listened to that before I cast my votes. I did cast a vote for Jane Curtin. To me, she's very deserving, but that solidified it. I think that's the resonant detra of this show. You listen to these great conversations and you're reminded. It's almost like poking a fire that is out, but the embers are still there and you poke away and then next thing you know you have another roaring fire. That's what our show intends to do, and when it works, it works. I have no doubt that Curtin made it in part because of that episode, but the largest part that she made it in was her body of work. She's got a tremendous body of work. 0:32:08 - ThomasYeah, she, she again. Weekend update. She was, she pioneered. I know Chevy Chase was the first weekend update anchor but I think Jane really grabbed the reins and made it her own she was the weekend update anchor after Chevy left until seeing at the end of season five And she and she and Murray co-co-anchored here and there But Jane was like the face of that And then she was like the greatest talk show host Absolutely And maybe an SNL history And that's a thankless role as a sketch performer. But Jane, Jane cause, because Jane was the straight person in those situations and played so well off whatever crazy guests that she had on her talk shows, like the Dan Aykroyd Irwin main way character. Jane played so well off of that Irwin main way character. And that's just what she did every time And she was really good when they gave her, you know, more straight like comedic sketches to work with. She could play that. She's just so darn likable and so darn talented. 0:33:14 - JDYeah, yeah, absolutely. So that is your class of season three, Really proud of everybody for coming out and voting. Again, we had more votes than we've ever had before. Let's look at the unfortunate side of things. Now We'll spend less time, you know, with these, with these nominees, for sure, but these are the ones that didn't make the cut. They fell under 10% this time around and they will be off the ballot next time. And we're going to start at the bottom. Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall with Lily Tomlin when she went from 15.5% to 13.5%, going from season one to two. Whenever you see that sort of shrink down, you do sort of get concerned that it's not going to work out. And sure enough, Lily Tomlin fell under 10% this time, so she is off the ballot. 0:34:13 - ThomasThink about Lily Tomlin's hosting gigs. I think a lot of her work was on the Lily Tomlin show. Yes, she was very talented, but she was I think she was so isolated in what she did on the show in many ways And just even compared to hosts from that era, I don't think she necessarily stood out or had any sketches that you think back You're like, yeah, that Lily Tomlin sketch, like you think about Steve Martin, for instance. 0:34:45 - JDYou can come up with a dozen. 0:34:47 - ThomasYou can come up with the Fair Strunk Brothers, but you think back to Lily Tomlin. I think she just sort of washes over people And that's probably what happened here with the voters in your right. The writing was on the wall. 0:35:01 - JDYeah, I think if we were, I'll have this vote in 1983 instead of 2023, she's likely in because, people, she was still a named commodity And unfortunately she you know she won't be a vote in Hall of Famer. There are other ways that potential voter nominees will get into the Hall of Fame that we'll deal with in the future, but for now, she is off the ballot. Thomas, you want to just run through the next three because they're all first-timers. 0:35:31 - ThomasYeah, yeah, so also off the ballot. Beyonce is off. She only got 4.9% of the vote in her first time on the ballot. Rihanna got 5.4% of the vote. She's off the ballot. And Elliot Gould also got 5.4% of the vote and he's off the ballot. So Elliot Gould, Rihanna, and Beyonce are all first-timers and all already off the ballot And I don't have a huge problem. Necessarily, Beyonce especially. She's probably so famous for her work outside of SNL that she's just not associated with SNL. She's had some great performances. Will Norman and I had a great time going through Beyonce's SNL appearances, but definitely not surprised. I mean Beyonce's just so Beyonce that it's not a surprise And we couldn't get it. Apparently, the Beehive didn't crash the party and vote for this, because she probably would have made it if that was the case Last year we lost Taylor Swift, so the Swifties didn't help her, and this year the Beehive didn't help Beyonce. Yeah, and I think Taylor Swift is a good comp to Beyonce. I think they're just so famous outside of SNL that it's hard to associate them with SNL for a lot of people. Yeah, what do you make of itd? 0:36:49 - JDElliot. Gould. Oh sorry. Yeah, Elliot Gould. I'm a little disappointed because he was correcting me if I'm wrong, but I think he's a five-timer. He's definitely a five-timer because he's in the new five-time sketches, so he's one of the first five-timers after Buck Henry. But I think he's too closely associated with the early part of the 70s when he was a raging movie star. He was a giant movie star And people think of him now as Mr. Geller People, my age thinks of him as Mr. Geller from Friends which is a little less prestigious. So I'm not shocked. In the same way, I'm not shocked with Lily Tomlin, but I'm maybe a bit disappointed because he is a five-timer. So that might be something we have to revisit. Rihanna, I think, has the same sort of thing as Beyonce, like she's giant, but I do think that she participated in some sketches And I think she, you know, I think of Shy Ronny off the top of my head And maybe it's too close to what she does normally like it was a song, it was a hip-hop song, so maybe that sealed her fate. I'm not sure. 0:38:06 - ThomasYeah, as far as Elliot Gould goes, he is a five-timer But I actually think I'm actually happy that that's not the end-all, be-all of getting into the Esna Hall of Fame. You know what I'm saying. Like I'm glad there's some subjectivity to it and people aren't just getting in because they're a five-timer. I mean, John Goodman is a ten-timer plus and he had to wait a couple of seasons, a couple, two or three voting cycles And so I'm glad that there's some subjectivity to it. Like the Baseball Hall of Fame, like the 3,000 hits I guess, is an unofficial kind of mark, but still, I mean you could get over 500 home runs, over 3,000 hits, and still not be voted into the Hall of Fame. Whether you know, when baseball there are some performance-enhancing drug issues that play there. But I'm glad there's not like a threshold to where if you've hosted a certain amount of times then you're just in, like there needs to be some subjectivity, because like a three-time host could have more of an impact on the show than a like a six or seven-time host. 0:39:11 - JDWell, I look at Adam Driver at this point. Adam Driver, to me, is amazing as a host, and I've watched a couple of the other Gold episodes. You know, I know it's different, I know it's from a bygone era, but it didn't resonate with me, you know. 0:39:27 - ThomasYeah, exactly Now, that's a good example, Adam Driver. I think John Hamm as a host was far, far better than somebody like Elliot Golden. So I hosted three times. So, yeah, I'm actually as far as I like Elliot Gold, but he wasn't necessarily one of the hosts that totally stood out to me even from that era. 0:39:47 - JDWell, we lost three others. I'll go in reverse order. At 8.4%, Elvis Costello. He went down from 8.2%, or actually, he went up, but not enough. Miley Cyrus has been on the ballot for all three cycles. She went from 7.1 to 7.6 to 8.1. So she was growing, but at this rate, she would have had to be on for like 15 election cycles to hit the 66.7 if she grew at that rate. And then Drew Barrymore went from 9.9 to 7.7. I think that's again. You know, she was an interesting choice for a nominee and it made for a good episode, but I definitely don't think of Drew Barrymore as synonymous in any way with SNL. 0:40:36 - ThomasI agree with that. I enjoy talking to Nicole Robine about Drew Barrymore and it was fun to re-explore Drew Barrymore's work, but I agree, I think I don't have a problem with her, same with Miley Cyrus. Elvis Costello is an interesting example to me of somebody who had a memorable moment on SNL, but it was a moment And he had other pretty good performances and whatnot. He was on the 25th anniversary with Beastie Boys, but really with Elvis Costello. it was that moment, in 1977 or whenever, that ended up getting him banned from the show, or I see you. so I say banned in quotes because who the heck knows if that was an official ban from Lorne, but it was an infest When we get Lorne on, we'll ask. 0:41:23 - JDWe'll ask him, that'll be one of the first things that we'll ask Lorne when he's on the show. 0:41:28 - ThomasYeah, so that's an example to me of like it was a memorable, infamous moment. Yes, But does Elvis Costello's appearances in his work on SNL warrant a Hall of Fame selection? Our voters said no. I agree with the voters. 0:41:42 - JDYeah, I think our voters I think, by and large, the voters got it right this time. Maybe, you know, maybe the Conan one is a little tenuous, but I'm certainly not angry that Conan O'Brien is in our Hall of Fame like I think. I think he will add some name recognition. I'm angry. 0:42:00 - ThomasWhat the hell, Conan, are you kidding me? No, i. 0:42:06 - JDThink that The voters did a great job. Now We'll wrap up here, just going over Anybody that you want to sort of discuss, so that you can see a pathway for season four. Obviously, the ballot will be restocked with 15 new names next year, but it's definitely peeled down from what it has been, so it won't be as monstrous next year when you vote. Is there anybody that you see that has a path to next year, or is there anybody you see that you're worried about Sliding out of contention? 0:42:41 - ThomasSo the person who I'm interested in is their path. So we had we have our first musical guest Paul Simon and the SNL Hall of Fame well deserved. This next person is another musical guest who I believe should be a lock. Snl Hall of Famer Voters haven't quite agreed yet, but Dave Grohl. So Dave Grohl was on the ballot in season two and received 32.2% of the vote. He jumped to 54% of the vote. So I see a path to where we can get in another Musical guest, a deserving musical guest, in Dave Grohl, and I think Anybody who's curious about Dave Grohl in SNL go Relisten to the episode that I did on him with Ryan McNeil. That was, I think. I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I absolutely loved that episode that Ryan and I did. 0:43:36 - JDthat's the episode that we're gonna submit for the potties. 0:43:39 - ThomasYes, Yes episode, because I think you know there was a lot of meat on that bone. Dave Grohl loves the show and has had so many memorable performances on the show in my opinion He jumped from 32 to 54 and I think there's a path to make the next leap for Dave Grohl and I expect, I hope and expect Dave Grohl to be an SNL Hall of Famer sooner rather than later. 0:44:08 - JDNice little rhyme there for me. I am looking at it Right now. I'm looking at James Downey, because James Downey, I feel, belongs in the Hall of Fame and one way or another we're gonna get him in there. But I would love to see him get in through the traditional process of voting. And so far, well, he didn't go up as much as he went up from season one to season two. He went from 30.3 to 44.4. He still managed to slide upward and He finished that just under 50% with 49.5. I think there's a path for him, maybe not season four, but definitely season five If he can continue this growth. But I'd love to see him go in in season four and get his due for sure. 0:44:53 - ThomasYeah, definitely. We have a cluster of writers there that Conan got voted in. Maybe that'll open things up for people to consider other writers. So we had Jack handy, who got 52% of the vote this year. We had James Downey at 49, and Franken and Davis at about 47%. Even Paul Appel got 34% of the vote. So there's like a cluster of writers that I'm interested to see what happens with them If they get, if they start losing steam or if they gain steam, and we all of a sudden look up and there's like Two or three writers, maybe at this time next year. Yeah, that's no Hall of Fame. So that whole writing category is gonna be interesting to me. 0:45:35 - JDThat's name one more that I'll highlight that I'm Really intrigued by, and that's John Mulaney went from 47.7 to 43.3 and then this year fell to 27.3. I don't know what I can attribute that to other than We got two hosts in, so maybe he lost some hosts there because we elected two hosts. Maybe it's because he didn't show up this year. Maybe some people are taking, you know, his, his time away. Maybe they didn't like Baby J. I don't, I don't know, I don't know. It's fascinating to me. 0:46:13 - ThomasI thought Baby J was fantastic for the. I do the record turning his intervention and Stay at the rehab facility into the material and a John Mulaney-type way. I thought I thought that was great. Maybe I don't, maybe he would. They held against quote-unquote off-the-field issues. I don't know, maybe people held that against him or maybe he's they. For me, the thing with Mulaney is I still view him as a Current, I guess. Performer, so maybe that you know, maybe people against him. 0:46:45 - ThomasHe's still an active part of SNL, so that could work against him. So so, yeah, that's an interesting one. Falling 16% from the prior vote is pretty alarming. Actually, that's, that's in. That's a steep fall For for John Mulaney. And I should say to the person who received the highest percentage of the vote without getting in Was Maya Rudolph. Maya Rudolph got 58.3% of the vote, only up from 57.9. Maybe it was just a crowded field as far as cast members, like new cast members coming in Your Dana Carvey's and Jane Jane Curtin's, John Belushi's Maybe that's what stifled a rise for Maya Rudolph. But Maya Rudolph, 58.3% of the vote, the most for anybody who did not get inducted into the SNL Hall of Fame, probably a path for Maya. I think Maya is gonna be in at some point. 0:47:46 - JDYeah, me too. It's too talented to not get the votes needed. 0:47:50 - ThomasToo beloved too, yeah, fan favourite. 0:47:53 - JDAbsolutely Well, Thomas. It's been great going through this with you today and to listeners of the show, it's been great doing this with you again this season. We will return in September and With it with a brand new set of nominees and some great new conversations. Thomas, is there anything you want to wrap on? 0:48:15 - ThomasDo you want me to actually rap? No, I can't. I think it is Thomas Our listenership would drop if I pulled out some of my rhymes. But No, I'm just excited for season four. I'm excited for people to find out kind of how we chose the nominees and who the nominees are. Just the whole process was was very fun for me and, yeah, just looking forward to another season. I want to thank everybody who listens and votes and just doing this podcast means the world to me. I was telling Jamie, this is like this is my number one hobby is doing research and talking to the guests and Editing and pulling it, putting out these shows. So it's just been a wonderful, wonderful thing. So I'm excited to keep going, excited for a brand new season. And the seas parted, we had 11 inductees and we had some people drop off the ballot So we have like, kind of the ballots gonna look a lot different. It's in a lot of ways next time around, so that'll be fascinating. But I just want to thank everybody for listening and voting. 0:49:21 - JDWell, on behalf of Matt, then, Thomas, we bid you adieu as you're leaving today. Please do me a favour and, as you walk past the weekend update exhibit, turn out the lights, because the SNL Hall of Fame is now closed. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/snlhof/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Get ready to dive headfirst into a heated debate about the nominees for the SNL Hall of Fame! Join jD and his esteemed panel - Jon Schneider, Andy Hoglund, and Andrew Clark - as we dissect the 15 new nominees and discuss who should make the cut. With a stacked lineup of talent to choose from, this episode is guaranteed to be a rollercoaster ride of opinions and insights.We kick things off by discussing the legendary John Belushi and Bill Murray, delving into their legacies and why they should undoubtedly be inducted into the Hall of Fame. We also tackle the question of whether the Lonely Island crew deserves a spot on the ballot, and explore the impact of other SNL greats like Buck Henry, Dana Carvey, and Christopher Walken. Strap in for a whirlwind of passionate opinions and spirited debates about the show's most iconic contributors.As we wrap up our discussion, we shift the focus to other nominees like Dana Carvey, Rosie Schuster, Jeff Richards, and Don Pardo, debating their merits and contributions to the show. We even consider the role of music in SNL's identity and touch on the possibility of an annual honorary award. Don't miss this exciting episode as we weigh in on who should be immortalized in the SNL Hall of Fame!Transcript0:00:08 - Speaker 1It's the SNL Hall of Fame podcast with your host, jamie Dube, chief librarian Thomas Senna, and featuring Matt Bardille And now curator of the hall, jamie Dube. 0:00:42 - Speaker 2Hey and welcome to the SNL Hall of Fame round table. It's JD here and I'm glad to be joining you once again on the SNL Hall of Fame, a podcast which is a weekly affair. Each episode, we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest or writer and add them to the ballot for your consideration. Once the nominees have been announced, we turn to you, the listener, to vote for the most deserving and help determine who will be enshrined for perpetuity in the hall. Well, this isn't a normal episode. This is a very special episode. We have put all the nominations up, There have been 15 new nominees added to the remaining ballot And today we're going to invite some people to share their ballots and go from there. So why don't we introduce who we've got to? my immediate right is John Schneider. How are you doing, John? 0:01:37 - Speaker 3I'm doing great, Jamie. Always great to be here. Feet are wiped and ready to go. 0:01:42 - Speaker 2Excellent, oh, i didn't say it The one time I don't say it. 0:01:46 - Speaker 3We don't just say you know like it's not like a foot fetish thing. Jamie always introduces and tells people to wipe their feet. So it's not John being, you know, having a fit thing. 0:01:56 - Speaker 4I think John just kind of a little revealing about himself. actually, That's my takeaway. 0:02:00 - Speaker 3I mean, they do call this the SNL Hall of Feet. Right, That's where we are. 0:02:04 - Speaker 4Yes, of course John's not on his show, so he's getting a little racy. 0:02:08 - Speaker 2We don't got the teens listening in. He's got the host belt off. 0:02:14 - Speaker 3Let's go. 0:02:16 - Speaker 2All right, Andrew. Hey, how's it going I? 0:02:19 - Speaker 5am super duper, feeling great. It's very sunny here in Toronto. 0:02:23 - Speaker 2Excellent. And Andy Hogland, how are you doing? 0:02:27 - Speaker 4Hey, I'm going. Good man, It's Hogland. Though I'm just going to be straight, It's pronounced Hogland. 0:02:31 - Speaker 2Did I just do it. I just asked you and then I did it. 0:02:34 - Speaker 4You just asked me, so that's why I'm calling it out. 0:02:35 - Speaker 2Oh that's great. No, you can totally do that, because No, I'm feeling good, man. 0:02:39 - Speaker 4I'm surrounded by a couple of Canadians, which is cool. I've never had that before. It's like having an orgy with Justin Trudeau. Let's do this. I'm just keeping it racy. John set the tone. 0:02:52 - Speaker 3Yeah, I thought we were just doing foot stuff. Andy, You took it to a whole other level. 0:02:57 - Speaker 2All right, let's dive into our program today. The first thing I want to do is to remind everybody who is currently in the SNL Hall of Fame We've had two wonderful seasons and we've inducted three separate classes. The inaugural class was, of course, lauren Michaels. In this class of season one, we inducted Dan Ackroyd, chris Farley, tina Fey as a writer, phil Hartman, steve Martin as a host, eddie Murphy and Gilda Radner All, if they weren't noted, were cast members. Then the class of season two we had Alec Baldwin as a host, will Ferrell as a cast member, bill Hader as a cast member, tom Hanks as a host, norm MacDonald as a cast member, seth Meyers as a writer, mike Meyers as a cast member and Kristen Wiig as a cast member. So pretty highfalutin company to be rubbing elbows with. But we've got a really excellent list of nominees and I just want to go through them for you before we kick off the show, because this is a stellar list right here. Amy Poehler, beyonce, Bill Murray, bach, henry, candice Bergen, christopher Walken, conan O'Brien, dana Carvey, dave Grohl, dick Ebersol, drew Barrymore, elliott Gould, elvis Costello, emma Stone, frank and Davis, herb Sargent, jack Handy, james Downey, jan Hooks, jane Curtin, john Belushi, john Goodman, john Malaney, justin Timberlake, lily Tomlin, maya Rudolph, melissa McCarthy, michael O'Donohue, miley Cyrus, molly Shannon, paul McCartney, paul Rudd, paul Simon, paul LaPell, prince, rihanna, robert Smigel, scarlett Johansson, the Lonely Island and Tom Pretty and the Heartbreakers Guys, this would be a great if this was the lineup for the 50th anniversary show. you would be like that's a pretty freaking good lineup. 0:05:06 - Speaker 4And how did John Belushi get out of his get out of hell? 0:05:11 - Speaker 2Oh boy, oh boy, it's on already. Well, no comment, let's jump right into it. Then We'll start to my right with John, and the way we'll do this is John will announce one of his nominees. I will tabulate it here. I've got a little sheet that I'm keeping keeping score with to make sure that everybody stays in their allotment of 15 votes up to 15 votes and to make sure that everybody elects at least one of each of the four main categories. There's been a lot of questions with Dick Abrasall being nominated and he does not fall into any of the four categories. Currently He is a producer and that's where he'll stay. So John is going to name his first ballereteer and then I'll go to Andy and Andrew to ask if they have them on their ballot and we'll go from there. That's how this show is going to work. Let's do it, john, with your first pick. Who have you got? All right, you're on the clock. 0:06:10 - Speaker 3This is a stacked lineup of people to choose from, but looking through there is one person that I looked at this list and said there is no question whatsoever that they should not be on everyone's ballot. This person has to get into the SNL Hall of Fame and it might be a little bit of a hot take, an unconventional pick, but it's Amy Poehler. And the reason why it's Amy Poehler is because she has the highest sketch per episode average among women in the history of the show. If you take out Charlie Rocket, she's actually top four among everybody in the history of the show. Before she was on the show, the show was on for 28 years or 27 seasons. There had never been a woman who led a season in sketch appearances until Amy Poehler did that. To me she is fantastic. Did weekend update, had amazing characters, impressions, blended a couple of eras. To me she is a surefire Hall of Famer. Slam Dunk. 0:07:10 - Speaker 2Wow, you heard it here first. Folks Slam Dunk, Andy, what do you think? 0:07:16 - Speaker 4Respectfully, amy is not on my ballot. Actually I totally understand John's rationale. I will say just as a bit of context you know, when Ryan Tibbs, when he circulates all the Hall of Fame ballots for baseball every year, i'm always fascinated by the rationale that individual voters give or don't give. I just think it's really fascinating color. So just for the listeners to adjust their radio dials to my frequency a little bit. I followed two rules when I came up with my ballot. The first is Justice Potter Stewart's famous phrase where he described his threshold for obscenity in his 1964 landmark Supreme Court decision, jacob vs Ohio, and I know it when I see it, which is to mean I instinctively have a very pure bar for who belongs or does not belong in the Hall of Fame, like Ted Knight and Caddyshack. But the second is also like baseball sportswriters, i'm leaning a little bit towards the historic picks, you know, and I'm a little disinclined to give it to some of the newer cast members. So Amy unfortunately sort of fell into that category a little bit where I just my mind went to more towards people in the 70s or 80s And Amy I kind of associate with some of the newer eras, even though it has been 20 years So she's not on my ballot And honestly she kind of mugs it a little bit for me So I don't like the mugging and I was just disinclined with everyone else who was available. 0:08:51 - Speaker 2Wow, shots fired. Yeah, Andrew, Mr Clark, I can do that too. 0:08:58 - Speaker 5Yes, i did have Amy on my ballot because I think that she was important for the show, for the success of that show and making it sort of, you know, rejuvenate itself when it did. And also I kind of see Amy Poehler and Tina Fey as being very important as influences in comedians who are now in their early 20s, who are inspired by those two. So I kind of number one her contributions, the characters that she brought, the writing that she brought, all of those strengths And then also, i think, her importance almost as something that people aspire to become. So now we have all these wonderful young comedians, female and female identifying comedians, who are doing a lot of work. So I kind of give her her props. But I could see and I agree 100% with Andy that you know we're going to get as we go down the list. There are some people who are very, very significant in the history of the show In the 70s. It may be people who just started watching in the last five to 10 years who recognized who. We're going to disappoint each other today, i guess, is what I'm trying to say, but I got to tell you I think Amy belongs in the whole thing. 0:10:11 - Speaker 4Can I challenge John on air right now? You can do whatever you want. John, if I'm not mistaken, I believe you and I are aligned that several of Amy's years are among the shows worse, is that not accurate? 0:10:28 - Speaker 3Yes, there are a couple in there that are rough. 0:10:33 - Speaker 4So, john, i just want to throw that out, not to call out, but being the best of the worst, that is a crazy argument, stop this. 0:10:42 - Speaker 3I'm sorry this is a crazy argument, because if you're going to say that, then we're saying anyone who participated in those two years. The fact is that Amy Poehler was not a cast member for those two years. She was a cast member for much longer, like I said, for six years in a row, from 2002 to 2008,. every single season she led the cast in sketch appearances. To me, she dominated those years on the show which, by the way, weren't just those two bad years. they led into a golden era of the show, probably for the first time in a generation. So I respect and I will have people on my ballot who were on the show in the 70s and the 80s, but we're not doing the Hall of Fame of the 70s, we're doing the Hall of Fame of Saturday Night Live and, let's be real, amy Poehler has been a major part of the second half of the existence of the show. 0:11:27 - Speaker 4Yeah, no argument, just wanted to get that on the record briefly, just for full context, that John does think Amy's era is among the worst. 0:11:37 - Speaker 3I did not know. That is not what I think, but I'll fight you on that another time. 0:11:44 - Speaker 2Yeah, let's move forward here and, Andrew, we're going to continue with you. 0:11:48 - Speaker 5Okay, well, my pick is somebody who, without whom I don't think there would be have been any history of Saturday Night Live. It's someone who, when he sadly passed away, my friends and I held a toga party for which I was roundly punished by my parents. We were at the ripe old age of 16. I'm talking about John Belushi. So I believe that John Belushi absolutely has to be in the Hall of Fame because he and that cast, and him and Dan Acroy particularly, were really what made the whole thing explode. Chevy Chase was a huge part of it, but I think they were the engine that really ran the show And he was the first true, true breakout star. He had a much brighter trajectory, if you ask me, than Chevy Chase. I'm going to. I got to say John Belushi's hands down, in my opinion, has to be in. 0:12:39 - Speaker 2Great pick. 0:12:40 - Speaker 4Thank you, andy, totally agree, yeah, i mean. any words to use to describe John Belushi's legacy on SNL or in comedy have already been uttered before, so I don't have too much to contribute beyond that. continental divide is an underrated romantic comedy. 0:13:00 - Speaker 2All right, mr Schneider, he is definitely on the list. 0:13:04 - Speaker 3I'm of the belief that every original cast member should be in the Hall of Fame just by default for what it's worth. But you know there would be. You know Saturday Live was was good and Chevy obviously brought a lot, but there was nothing like the energy that John Belushi brought to the show, like he made it a, like he made it must watch television because he never knew what he was going to do on a given night, starting all the way from the beginning with the Joe Cocker stuff, moving to the Blues Brothers stuff, like everything. He was a force. So you know, like Andy said, there's been so much written about him. If you know SNL, you know John Belushi, even if he's been gone for so many years, and that's a testament to the legacy of him. So I think it's a no brainer to put him in. 0:13:40 - Speaker 2Yeah, so that's our first, our first, well, in honor of the new Zelda game, our first try for us. So, andy, who have you got up? 0:13:51 - Speaker 4I have Bill Murray, who is arguably the the most accomplished and talented cast member to come out of the show. You know, i think you know. All all things being equal, he does have a bit of asterisk on on his legacy, courtesy of Kiki Palmer, but nevertheless his accomplishments since living leaving 8h are Unrivaled. Give or take a ghostbuster, you know, oscar nomination or Wes Anderson collaboration. But look like, even those merits aside, you know Murray is a pivotal figure in the show's history, the first replacement cast member. There's been what like a hundred and seventy cast members in the show's history. Eight or nine, like John just mentioned, are that original 1975, you know, upstart, not ready for prime-time players. You know Murray sets the mold for joining a cast in midstream, which is a path that almost everyone else in the show's history has has had to emulate in one way or another. And Look, i'll be honest, i'm not in high school anymore. The, that combination of smarm and self-aware irony that made him a legend to Letterman fans and and the geeks and freaks and geeks. It doesn't quite do it for me as it as it once did, but still honker, the nerds, nick, the lounge slinger, his, his awards commentary on update. These are essential early SNL characters. The show simply post-chevy, doesn't exist without them. So that's my argument and stick into it. 0:15:17 - Speaker 2John, how do you feel about Bill Murray? 0:15:19 - Speaker 3Yeah, i totally agree. He's definitely a shoe in for me for the Hall of Fame. His analytics are off the charts. He's also a top five sketchbook episode. Um, get her in the in the history of the show. Just, he was producing every single night once he finally found his groove, i guess towards the end of season two, and he, you know, you don't think of him as when you look back at season three, four, five, lot of people don't think of him as the star. But he really really was. He was so good and did so much. And I Totally agree with Andy. I think that the show is in a dark, dark place if he doesn't jump onto it when he did so. For me I mean, think about that, right, we talk. You know, we may end up talking about Jim Downey at some point tonight. I mean the fact that that Bill Murray and Jim Downey joined the show to add some life into it. When the show is losing Chevy, i mean it just incredible stuff. So for me Can't, can't have a Hall of Fame without Bill Murray. 0:16:08 - Speaker 5Well, we're breaking all the rules of podcasting and radio by agreeing with one another. But yeah, i Bill Murray absolutely. Some people get changed by being on Saturday Night Live. Bill Murray changed Saturday Night Live. He didn't alter himself. I don't believe at all. When he went on that show He had deep us. You know second city chops. The reports about him when he was in Toronto are legendary How he would deal with hecklers, we'll just leave it at that. He didn't take crap from anybody and he's had an absolutely stunning career, dramatically and comedically right. And I work with Robin Duke, who's just retired at Humber, and you know some of the stories she talked about. Bill Murray sort of Helping her when she was on Groundhog Day and Explaining how the cameras worked and how you had to sort of act in order so the editing could happen Shows you that it's not only kind of a creative genius, it's a real technical skill and an understanding of how movies and stuff work. So I think that all goes together for Bill Murray. I agree He's absolutely should be in there. Great. 0:17:15 - Speaker 2Wow, another try, force, boom. Where are we at then? We're back to John, right, yeah? Okay, john, create some controversy. I. 0:17:25 - Speaker 3Mean, i think, controversy was already created, when I suppose so yeah, well, even even going into last season, when the biggest travesty to be left out of getting into the hall of fame to me was Jan Hooks because that was that was insane to me. I mean you're talking about you know, andy was talking about what he sees when he looks for in a cast member. The eye test is definitely there when I was going away. Yeah, i mean this is, this is insanity. I mean she comes in season 12, just is Incredible, like, just can do everything that you possibly would have wanted on the show, and Just the heart and soul of that second generation, the second golden era of the show, and obviously we lost her and 2014 and it was just, you know, her, you know thinking about the stuff She produced with Phil Hartman, and stuff is so heartwarming, so many great sketches, so many amazing impressions to me, you know, i always, you know, hear from people who were Just obsessed with Jan hooks, absolutely fell in love with her on the show, and it wasn't even just that. She was, you know, so beautiful in the way that she performed. She was just so naturally talented and gifted to be on the show and it was so important For the generation that was to come. You hear Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and my riddle talk about how Jan hooks was so important. Tina Fey put Jan hooks on 30 Rock at some point. You know, like that's the type of thing that you know, she. She left a legacy behind and to me she needs to be in all of him. 0:18:48 - Speaker 2Yeah, i agree. She finished last last vote with like what 40%, 39.8%. She's got a long hill ahead. I'm afraid it's not gonna happen in this bet. She's round for her either. But but I agree with you, it's shameful. She's she's an all-timer. She's an all-timer, you know She's in. She's in the female rush more right or the yeah, the female SNL cast rush more. 0:19:10 - Speaker 4Everything that John said about Amy Poehler is true about Jan hooks. I'm gonna do a hot take that minus the analytics. 0:19:18 - Speaker 2Well that's. 0:19:18 - Speaker 4That's Mike Murray. 0:19:22 - Speaker 2So you have, you have her, is it safe to say, then, in your Hall of Fame, andy. 0:19:27 - Speaker 4Absolutely, and it doesn't. I don't even know why, why we should justify it. It's just, it's so clear to me that she belongs there. Why? why even let's have like like 30 seconds of dead space and then just move on. 0:19:42 - Speaker 5Yeah, i mean, i think part of what Jan hook and people in that cast suffer from a little bit is that that skip between Internet and not internet. So a lot of the stuff comes later. And so the other cast members, the later cast members, their stuff is available online a lot more easily than Jan hook stuff Because when it's getting filmed it's not been signed off copyright for Dispersal on the web and everything, so it's you have to work harder to get some of it. So I think actually there's just people who haven't seen what she did with Phil Hartman as much. You kind of have to be a bit more of a of an aficionado. But yeah, there's absolutely no question that the stuff she did with just with Phil Hartman alone is so iconic for that show. I mean, it's hard to imagine her without and the range of characters and also doing a kind of She kind of epitomized, the kind of like I don't know how to put it not po, yeah, post feminist Anxed, being run through Reaganomics and then through the Clint near and everything that kind of. You know, there was always a real edge to her material, even if she was doing like a sweet domestic character. 0:20:48 - Speaker 2Oh, she was great. She was just great. I just recently watched the diner, the Alec Baldwin diner sketch, and just So, so funny. You know, she's just natural gosh. Okay, so far we've had hooks on all three ballots. Another try force That one actually makes a triangle in my little, in my little spreadsheet that I made. Wow, that's funny. So we're gonna come back to Andrew Clark and I'm gonna challenge you to do something other than a cast member. 0:21:19 - Speaker 5Okay, well for me then I would go with Christopher Walken as host. Great, even though I spoke about Elliot Gould as host this season. I and who and I would make an argument for him too. But it's hard to make the argument over Christopher Walken because of his relationship with the show. You can almost give it to him just for cowbell, because it's become. You know that when your sketch has its own range of t-shirts Not just a t-shirt but range you know you've entered the vernacular. I think Christopher Walken Was a sort of must-watch host. People will always be attentive. He again didn't let the show really change what he did. He sort of brought what he did into the show. The fact that he has so many iconic Recur like characters as a as a host, i think is a good argument for Christopher Walken to be, you know, in the Hall of Fame as a host. 0:22:11 - Speaker 2Great John or Andy to either of you have mr Walken in the Hall of Fame on your balance, Oh right. 0:22:18 - Speaker 4Yeah, i mean, look, he has his own best of right, he has recurring characters. I mean, you know I don't remember offhand Deferred a John on the number of times that he's literally hosted, but you know, it almost gets to the point where when you have that, that body of work, you know You're, you're not, you're not a cast member, but there's just so much there that your, your, you know your tombstone deserves a reference to. You know You're time with the show. So shout out to the, the continental. And yeah, i totally agree. 0:22:49 - Speaker 3Yeah, same here He was. I'll say he was a little bit more borderline for me. Nothing against Walken, he didn't make my ballot, but he was. He was close being cut because there's a lot of really good options this time, including among those. I don't think he I wouldn't put him in the upper pantheon of greatest hosts in the history of the show. I think he's probably I mean, unless you're gonna put all the five timers there But I think he's that like next grouping and he's probably near the top of that. So for me there was a few of those on the list and he just made it. 0:23:20 - Speaker 2Oh, wow, okay, you guys have agreed a lot, so we'll go to Andy and, andy, i'll challenge you to do the same thing, something that isn't in the cast member category. 0:23:31 - Speaker 4Yeah, yeah, no, not a challenge at all. It's the, the next name on my list. Matter of fact, it's, it's buck Henry. Bring him on as a host. You know, one of the, the early, important hosts who kind of validates the show right Cuz, because buck Henry belongs in a Different comedic generation. You know, get smart and all that you know. But he's he's, he's a steady presence during those, those for five years, lending, lending a lot of credibility. And then, if I recall correctly, is the host of the, the final show of that era To. You know, and and John mentioned Jan hooks on 30 Rock. I mean, as as as Jane Krasinski's mom, buck Henry, as as Liz lemons dad was, was always so funny to me. But I think his, his tenure on on SNL throughout those first five years Definitely warrants his inclusion onto the hall and and has one of the the darkest sketches in the, the show's history. And I love when, when the show kind of makes, makes a bold play like that and it makes Child molesting part of the fun. You know, cuz you don't see that enough People are so uptight when you agree, John. 0:24:42 - Speaker 3I mean can't, can't, not watch Uncle Roy. Yeah, i mean, i got to talk. I was blessed to get to talk about Buck Henry on one of the episodes of the SNL Hall thing, so I've made my case for him. I am as big of a fan as Buck Henry, as you know. Anyone could possibly be. I think he, like, is so good He people say Steve Martin could have been a cast member. Well, i think Buck Henry could have been a cast member. He fit in so seamlessly. We talked a lot about Buck being the one who would take the sketches that no one else wanted to take. That is such an important Rule as a host and I do believe for decades. When they, you know, bring on hosts, they use Buck Henry as a template for what they look for if a host will return or not. They judge them on the Buck Henry category, like did you do the buck stuff? and I think that he is just to me. We talked I mentioned, you know, the upper pantheon of hosts. I think he's in that, that top room of greatest hosts in the history of the show. 0:25:39 - Speaker 5Andrew, yeah, you're probably gonna regret me on the show because I'm just gonna keep going. Oh yeah, that guy was great. But with Buck Henry I think the other thing that he did for the show was he lent a certain gravitas to the show because you remember, he's someone who Work, you know, adapted cash 22, he did the owl in the pussycat, he worked as a co-writer on the graduate, so he's kind of like Hollywood Hip and so being on Saturday Night Live really I think gave that element to to the show and, of course, to him as well. And then he did. He did so fantastically and he's always so game. So I agree with John's point. Like, if you know, when you talk, when you hear people interviewed who was a great host, they always seem to say cast members It doesn't matter what cast say that the host was game, they were willing to try, they're willing to do something. And you got that in spades with Buck Henry. He was obviously happy to be there and, yeah, some seminal characters and and a lot of his work later. I still love his work in the player you know it's the graduate, but with the stroke I mean he had those improvisational chops that he brought to the show or heaven can wait. 0:26:45 - Speaker 4He's great in that. 0:26:46 - Speaker 2There you go another try for Stryforce. Holy John, will you throw a Curveball here and strike us out? I'm gonna challenge you again to Pick from another category. 0:27:00 - Speaker 3Sure, I would love to other than cast members. I mean I'm gonna try and do something that I've been trying to do since this podcast started, which is get the lonely island Into the Hall of Fame. I mean, what, what is going on with people? I mean, do they not realize that they changed Saturday Night Live for the better? like, the show you're watching now is Influenced by the Lonely Island more than most of the names on this list. Like, let's just be real. So You know, and and outside of SNL was often, you know, influenced by the Lonely Island, including a lot of things you see on social media now. So, but you know, for just talking about what happened on the show, i mean, these guys came in, they wrote Brilliant pre-tape sketches. They went viral. People who were not watching Saturday Night Live came back to the show because of the things that the Lonely Island was producing. They were largely responsible for creating cast members becoming huge stars And as hosts as well. I mean they would bring in, you know, hosts into these Music videos or sketches that they were doing and then people would learn and get to know these hosts and they would become bigger Stars outside of the show. And then, you know, every now and then, they throw in this random Music video with an artist that would just come in. It's like, oh my god, t-pain this year now, like just the craziness that they would get into. I mean, for there's a lot of hyperbole when it comes to the Lonely Island, but I think it's well deserved, because they are some of the greatest writers in the history of the show. 0:28:19 - Speaker 2Absolutely 100%. The most baffling thing so far that has occurred in in the Hall of Fame is the voting for the Lonely Island 52% to start and last year went up to 62.6%, just a smidge under the requisite 66.6, but I just can't figure it out. The. I've made a correction on the ballot this year and I've included any of the group for David Frank and the Davis, for example. I have a parenthetical Al Franken, tom Davis, i have for Lonely Island. I haven't broken down by their members too, so people can see maybe Andy Sandberg and Have a better understanding. We'll see, we'll see. Does anybody else have the Lonely Island on their ballot? 0:29:07 - Speaker 5I didn't, and I think that says more about me than it does. The Lonely Island, to be quite honest, because I think John made a very strong case and I think they're heard a little bit by being a group to be honest, and not just a person. And then when I think about McGroober, which is my favorite film of all time, and that it comes out of the Lonely Island with Jorma Directing it, that I'm almost to just make the Lonely Island put them back onto my ballot just based on that, that McGroober comes out of it, yeah, i would just say they weren't on mine. I think that has more to say about me than it does to say about the Lonely Island, quite honestly, because I Don't think at the time when I was watching it that I understood how important those videos were for bringing new viewers to the show via Online, not through traditional broadcast. And then, of course, later on, i don't want to go on and on, but, like you know, never stop, never stop, stopping. It comes out of it. Yeah, what was like one of my daughter had like on a loop. So I again I think I'm gonna plead the old man card slightly here and so I will yield, if need be to put them on. I'm gonna push over, i'm afraid, but but they weren't on, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve to be. Do you have to be far too agreeable? I'm sorry, i apologize. 0:30:21 - Speaker 2I will start to be mean. Do you have space on your ballot? Did you use all 15 votes? I'd have to get rid of somebody. 0:30:30 - Speaker 5Let's see, it would have to be. It would have to be a writer, wouldn't it? Well see, i have Jackhand. Well, i shouldn't give it away, so I would have to give away somebody. Can I wait and see? 0:30:42 - Speaker 3Yes, We're gonna convince you Yeah. 0:30:44 - Speaker 5Yes, i'll put them on ice for Andy. 0:30:47 - Speaker 2Where are you at? Do you have a lonely island on yours? 0:30:49 - Speaker 4I'm embarrassed to say that they're not on mine. I I totally, totally agree with everything that John said. You know, we were definitely still in the shadow of the Lonely Island. You know, 15 years later. You know, please don't destroy P Davidson and Chris Redd, like these guys are making just really pale imitations of what Lonely Island did. And you can't write the the history of YouTube without Lonely Island, right? like you really can't. I'm embarrassed, but my philosophy going into this was it's they'll have time to to make it into the Hall of Fame. You know Buck Henry won't. You know Buck Henry's dead. He's not coming back. 0:31:27 - Speaker 3The list is not on the show anymore, andy. I just want you to know that they're not producing new content. They're both Buck Henry and the Lonely Islands. Their careers at SNL are done. Come back and host like there's, but this is not an. Andy Samberg hosting thing. This is the Lonely Island writers on the show as writers on the show See okay, Well, all right. 0:31:46 - Speaker 2Well, let's get cute about this, You know okay so you're gonna be nominated at some point, i'm sure. 0:31:51 - Speaker 4Hold on, let's, let's, let's just double check for a second. So it says Lonely Island as a writer. So that means it's not really the videos, right, it's about they wrote all the videos? Well, yes, but when you watch those videos you're like the writing is really what makes it here. You know, or is it Andy Samberg's performance, or is it T-Pain singing? So if we want to get cute for a second, maybe it's not that at all. 0:32:16 - Speaker 3It's. It's the writing. What this is insane. 0:32:18 - Speaker 2This is what you're. If you're a sketch troupe, you you know you're you're likely going to be Attributed writer status to everything you do, whether it's you know Performance or or not you know. 0:32:34 - Speaker 4I guess my point is maybe Right. It would be a Hall of Famer as a cast member. Maybe Lonely Island, maybe it's not their time yet, i don't know. There's there's a lot of, there's a lot of competitive people here and You know, if I want to justify myself Which I do, it's it's maybe the categories not right. Maybe they shouldn't be here as a writer right now. 0:32:56 - Speaker 2Interesting. 0:32:57 - Speaker 3Well, this is the most insane thing I've ever heard. I love Andy, i this is insane. Okay, nobody is walking around being like oh yeah, i love it. When Rihanna was like that, like oh yeah, that was that, you know. Like it was the Lonely Island It wasn't the people appearing in the sketches with them Like that was great, that was a cherry on top, but this is an insane take. Well, i'm not sure what that meant, but, okay, sorry you, you drove me nuts, that's what. I don't know who Rihanna is. First of all, sorry, canadians. 0:33:31 - Speaker 4Look, look, i mean, this is an important argument to have. I just wonder. I mean the McGroober thing that almost if you guys want to call me out on my BS here, you should say they wrote McGroober, they should be in, you know they wrote McGroober They should be in. 0:33:49 - Speaker 3There you go. 0:33:51 - Speaker 5I'm easily pushed around. I just want to establish that. I hope I've established that for anybody watching, listening at the moment. Yeah, i'm gonna come up tough soon, believe me. 0:34:00 - Speaker 4It was Samberg as a cast member, i'd be like, hmm, but I don't know. Does the whole group deserve to be in? yes, maybe maybe not a couple of cobley Maybe, so I think so. 0:34:11 - Speaker 3Sorry, jamie, i know, i know we don't like to do 20 minutes on the Lone Island, but I just have to ask just one more question. Yeah, just just just as sink Lee explained to me your thesis statement for why the Lonely Island should not be in the Hall of Fame right now. 0:34:24 - Speaker 4Absolutely So. As I said at the start of this podcast you know, if, john, you want to rewind a couple minutes I said that my approach is similar to the sports writers who, philosophically, have blinders on and say I'm not, not anyone from the stair from the steroids era. You know, there's sports writers who say Clemens bonds, they just don't deserve to be in. Or they say, oh well, maybe this person will get in on a later ballot, but right now, historically, i want to get Michael O'Donoghue in, or I want to get Harold Baines in, or whatever you know. So it's just that my argument is more philosophic than it is a Representation of their legacy on the show, because what you said actually was very eloquent and well put. But this is a competitive Conversation and there's a lot of other people who I think aren't in the Hall of Fame yet, you know, including Bill Murray, including, you know, for God's sakes, dana Carvey. They pick up the slots. The slots get eaten up, i'm sorry, by people who've been waiting for years, john, years. 0:35:29 - Speaker 2They've got the call now, though. 0:35:31 - Speaker 4Exactly. Think of Dana Carvey at home right now. You know with his sons What, how he's gonna feel when Jamie calls him and let him know. Do you want to deny? 0:35:39 - Speaker 2him that, no that he can win one of these. 0:35:42 - Speaker 3Oh wow. Let me just say to all the listeners as we wrap up this conversation Andy Hogan is unequivocally wrong about this. Please think about the history of the show and how influential these guys are. 0:35:55 - Speaker 4Think about how Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds aren't in the baseball Hall of Fame. That's where I'm coming from. 0:36:01 - Speaker 2Listen, they potentially cheated. They did cheat, but who? 0:36:07 - Speaker 4cares. So did Willie may. Willie mays cheated who cares? 0:36:10 - Speaker 2Yeah, I remember all right, all right. 0:36:12 - Speaker 3We were covering the show and then we found out that Yorma was doing steroids. Like how crazy was that. 0:36:16 - Speaker 2That's right. That's right. 0:36:18 - Speaker 4I'm sure they were cocaine is the steroids of Studio 8. age Balushi out Yeah right, all right, andrew. 0:36:26 - Speaker 2Who have you got next? 0:36:28 - Speaker 5I'm gonna make things a little controversial and I'm gonna pick Prince as the musical guest. Oh okay, i believe he was on four times. Every time is a home run. It's Prince, he's the greatest, like he should just get in on virtue of having been Prince. I'm a little bit of a fan, but I also think that Prince always brought a little bit of a sense of humor about himself, even when he was being the most Prince like, so to speak. And I also speak as someone who saw Prince live and He wasn't an absolutely Unquestionably probably one of the greatest performers I've ever seen. So I'm gonna say Prince as As musical guests. I want to put it out there Everybody, vote for Prince. 0:37:17 - Speaker 2Does anybody else have Prince on their ballot? 0:37:20 - Speaker 3I don't, i mean I love Prince, prince, i would die for you, but I just. But, yeah, i mean the musical guest category for me is as limited as possibly be because there are so many Like stacked people in the other categories. Yeah, so for me I had to pick one, maybe two, one that I think is at the top of that list, and fortunately there are other people that did have more influence on SNL than Prince did. 0:37:46 - Speaker 2I should think Prince has a career that the trajectory is similar to SNL. It's a few years off. But that first performance in 79 I think it is is like really, really good and He's sort of unknown. You know he's just this, you know Performer, one of those cool ones that you get to see on SNL and turns out they turn into you know A really big deal. And then the right parenthetical on the on the end of his career is just the legend of him playing the. It was the 40th right. 0:38:20 - Speaker 5That's right. 0:38:21 - Speaker 2The after party you know, so really interesting. Cool, andy, who have you got up next? 0:38:27 - Speaker 4My next person is Actually we talked about this briefly Dana Carvey. How is Dana Carvey not in this hall of fame yet? Is this really his first ballot? 0:38:36 - Speaker 2This is his first ballot. Yeah Well, because we produced the show where we You know having a lot of him every year. Right, it's staggered. It's just staggered across the board because I Didn't do, i didn't think of this idea in 1980. If I did, you know that would have been well, that's not here, nor that I mean to me. 0:38:54 - Speaker 4Dana Carvey, you could argue, is the best pure cast member in the show's history. So the fact that he's just now on the first ballot and isn't yet in the Hall of Fame, it raises a lot of Troubling questions. 0:39:08 - Speaker 2Do you think he will get a higher voting percentage Than the current holder, which is Will Ferrell? 0:39:17 - Speaker 4Probably not just because Will Ferrell came of age as a cast member with, with people who you know, maybe Participating this a little bit more. I mean, that's the only argument that I could really understand is that Carvey's, you know, made his debut 37 years ago, you know. so maybe people don't quite appreciate, but when I started watching SNL in the 90s I mean Garth Hansen, franz, Oh my god, absolutely, that's. 0:39:42 - Speaker 2That's why I started watching in 86. It's 91.8% is what will Ferrell got last year. 0:39:48 - Speaker 3Here's. The major difference, though, is that will Ferrell dominated his era, whereas Dana Carvey didn't. He's definitely on my ballot and I agree with the notion that he's one of the best Cast members of all time, but he is among a group of elite cast members, including Phil and Jen, and he slides into that generational group really well. But, yeah, the reason that I loved how Andy said best is because best is typically defined as having like the skill set to succeed on the show. Right, it's like are you a naturally born sketch performer that it was just built in a lab to do Saturday night live? Yeah, and a Carvey is that. 0:40:23 - Speaker 4So there's impressions. Yeah, i mean to John's point and this kind of goes back to our initial Conversation about Amy Poehler. You know, will Ferrell is on at a time that I wouldn't consider a golden age, you know. So he dominated. Yeah, dana Carvey is probably the best, or among the best, cast members of, obviously, a golden age, a second golden age Like murderers row, though it's like. 0:40:52 - Speaker 2You know how do you pick between Gary and and babe, right, you know what I mean. 0:40:56 - Speaker 4Yeah, i mean, they're both first balladers. 0:40:58 - Speaker 5Yeah, Yeah and he also. He's also working with Mike Myers, that's right. This is who's also and he's sort of garth to Mike. I mean that I would agree that he's definitely should be in, because if you try to order an SNL cast member over the phone and Then Amazon shipped it to your house, it would be Dana Carvey, right, right. He literally epitomizes all of the things that you would want and you know, i think he's, he's for me, he's, he's unquestionable. 0:41:26 - Speaker 2Cool, back to John. 0:41:28 - Speaker 3Yeah, so I'm gonna round out my cast category, if that's okay with you, jamie, with someone who I think was so important in the history of the show and that's Jane Curtin. She comes in to host weekend updates right after Chevy Chase and Jess absolutely crushes it, see. You know, shows everybody why. You know She was meant to do that job and it was. You know it was a man's world. Unfortunately, at the time a lot of people felt like it and like for her to break through that mold was so great. I mean, let alone not not not only the stuff on weekend update, but the fact that she would anchor sketches the way that she did and have like play that straight woman role so well, where she would be like you know, think about, like looks at books and sketches like that, where she would be side-by-side with Gilda Radner And Gilda would be doing a crazy character. Or her interactions with Emily Latella or Rosanna, rosanna Dana. She was like to me, the host of the 70s among the cast and She is one of my favorite cast members of all time, if I'm being completely honest. Just her ability to just show like the strength and poise that she did on that show when all this craziness was happening around her, so for me a she went as well great, nicely put Andrew. 0:42:38 - Speaker 5I got. You make some great points And I didn't have her. And again, it's no knock on her, but she wasn't there only because, although I think she was an integral part of that cast, if I had, if there was one person that maybe it's a terrible thing to say, honestly, it sounds like such an awful thing to say, but if she had not, if she, if she wasn't there, would it? would things be that much different? I don't know necessarily that they would, but you know, again, she's incredibly talented. Nobody we're discussing here is bad, let's put it that way. So if they're not getting it, it's not for any deficit on their part, and I think you're making some great points about her And I've heard those arguments made like, hey, jane Curtin was great. She's not getting her props by other people as well. So I don't think you're in a minority, john. So you know you make a good case, but she wasn't on mine. 0:43:33 - Speaker 3Can I? can I push back Andrew for a second? Because please? yeah, you discussed the like your argument is based in value, right? If you were to take Jane Curtin out, how does that change the 70s? So if you were to remove her from the cast? and then everything happens as is, so Chevy Chase leaves the show, who, to you, then replaces Chevy on update? and would that be better? Because I can't envision a scenario where that happens. 0:43:55 - Speaker 5Neither can I. I don't know how to answer that question. I think you make a good point. I guess it's more on the lines of I'm looking at my list and thinking who might? who would I bump for Jane Curtin? If it happens, i'd be happy. You know what I mean. If she gets in, i'll be super happy because I think she's absolutely brilliant. I guess you use the word host in a way. I think maybe she hasn't getting, hadn't got some of her credit because she was an anchor and maybe that's literally and figuratively, in an improv sense. She was an anchor at a lot of those scenes and the anchor doesn't always get all of the attention. You know, she's a little bit I hate to put like football analogy like the offensive lineman. They only get noticed if they make a mistake, if they do their job really well. It doesn't always get seen And I feel like in her cast maybe Jane Curtin was a little bit like that. There were other people getting all the press and she wasn't getting in the press for bad reasons, like bad behavior and those sorts of things. But I can't answer your question. I don't know who I would put in. 0:44:52 - Speaker 3I'm at somewhere right now. Jane Curtin is flashing her bra at the screen just hearing about getting some attention. 0:44:59 - Speaker 5Well, perhaps I hope so, John. she has Jane, I agree. I'm just getting dirty. 0:45:10 - Speaker 2All right, Andy, where are you with Jane Curtin? 0:45:13 - Speaker 4Well. So John detected I flinched a little bit when he brought her up and it's because, to be candid, about 10 minutes ago I realized, with the quirks of us picking one from each category, like Noah's Ark, i'd inadvertently left off a musical guest. So as we were talking, i had to remove Jane Curtin from my ballot. She was on there and I needed to add a musical guest. So, elvis Costello, today's your lucky day, but Jane Curtin unfortunately gets the stick, not the carrot. 0:45:46 - Speaker 2Wow, i'm pretty stunned. This is going to be an interesting vote this year. if you three are representative of the majority, i love to keep her on. 0:45:58 - Speaker 4But it's just the way this is set up. We have to include a musical guest Because, like I said, philosophically a part of me is like if Eminem's not on, i don't know if anyone deserves to be on. 0:46:10 - Speaker 2All right, andrew, your next pick. 0:46:13 - Speaker 5So then, I will be picking from the writer category because I picked a host, i picked a performer and I picked a musical guest, correct, right? And this is going to be very, very difficult for me because I spoke, i was happy enough to speak, about someone who I don't think I'm going to nominate Because does that make any sense? 0:46:33 - Speaker 2I mean, I think what you, the way it's put is, there's what? 45 nominees? 0:46:39 - Speaker 5Yeah, yeah. 0:46:40 - Speaker 2Something like that There's a lot of really talented people and you got to nominate one, but it doesn't mean that when you nominated them, maybe you were influenced by a couple of the other episodes. 0:46:49 - Speaker 5Well, no, i've got to. I got to go with James Downey as a first pilot. 0:46:54 - Speaker 2Yeah, I think so. 0:46:55 - Speaker 5I don't think there's. There's no show without him. He was the guy who also brought a certain impartiality to it And by that he always pushed back, whether it was left or right of center politically. He came to Humber and did a workshop for us and it was great to hear him talk about the work. And one thing I remember him saying was was student asked him about Norm MacDonald and the OJ Simpson jokes And why did they keep going? And I think he compared it almost to Thelma and Louise, like driving off the cliff, like they just couldn't stop. They didn't even dislike OJ or Embersol or any of those things, they just had to keep going. When you look at his influence, particularly on American elections, just some of his, yeah. So to me it's, it's Jim Downey for sure for the writer category, even though I would love to mention Jack Handy, who I'm a huge fan of. But I'm going to go James Downey for my pick today. 0:47:48 - Speaker 2Okay, well, you can have more than one writer. You can, you know you can do whatever you wish, but but I will say James Downey. I'm really interested to hear what Andy and John have to say to. Either of you have James Downey on your ballot, absolutely. You both do So, andy, tell us, tell us why he's on your ballot. 0:48:06 - Speaker 4Yeah, i mean, andrew, hit the nail on the head. You know Jim Downey was on the show. For what? Over 30 years. You know he's he's one of the most important writers in the show's history. He's one of the most important, you know, political, satirical minds or whatever However you want to put it. I love that. He's, even technically a former cast member. You know he just checks so many of the boxes and probably behind the scenes contributed to so many of the cast members that we love too, like he's talked about. You know his, his role helping Chris Farley with, with some of his characters and moments on the show, and not for nothing. Also want to shout out his, his role in there will be blood. Love his little part as Al Rose as well too. So I'm a huge Downey fan and he 100% gets my endorsement. 0:49:00 - Speaker 3John greatest writer in the history of the show No doubt gets in. 0:49:04 - Speaker 5Great, okay. Do you think that there will be blood appearance? was it was influenced by his appearance in? was it Tommy boy? 0:49:12 - Speaker 4or Billy Madison, billy Madison. 0:49:15 - Speaker 5That wonderful speech you know, I wonder. 0:49:18 - Speaker 4PT Anderson is a huge SNL fan, right Like he was there in those early 2000 days when he was courting Maya Rudolph. So yeah, probably I mean he's cast his smigol too in a in a punch drunk love. 0:49:30 - Speaker 2So oh wow, I didn't realize that was smigol Andy. Who have you got next on your ballot? 0:49:38 - Speaker 4The next person on my ballot and I apologize, i'm going alphabetical is Dick Ebersol, actually, who I don't know if that's going to be contentious or not, but you know, a part of me is like you can't write the history of the show without you. literally, he helps create the show in 70 and then he, you know, is such an important, you know voice behind the scenes that that allowed the show to exist until you know, norman Michaels came, came out of his hibernation, you know so there's no Eddie Murphy without you know, dick Ebersol, and just an important person in the history of American broadcasting. 0:50:17 - Speaker 3So why is there no Eddie Murphy without Dick Ebersol? 0:50:21 - Speaker 4Because while Eddie is under Gene Dominion's tenure, technically you know, ebersol is the one that doesn't fire Eddie and then allows Eddie to become as big as he does during his time of the show. But I appreciate the the pushback there. 0:50:41 - Speaker 3I was just gonna say like if you got delivered like a really good steak and it's like sitting on your desk like you're not going to eat it, Right, right, But he doesn't he doesn't, can Eddie either. 0:50:49 - Speaker 4You know, And I just I don't know. I think that it's still, you know, nevertheless it still exists, But I kind of think of it. As you know, the Hall of the Baseball Hall of Fame you got to, you got to have some executives in there too, you know. Or Melvin Miller should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame as well, Absolutely, And Ebersol, I think, is that kind of figure. 0:51:13 - Speaker 2So, yeah, that's my take An architect. 0:51:15 - Speaker 4Yes. 0:51:16 - Speaker 2Yes, john or Andrew is Ebersol on either of your ballots. 0:51:22 - Speaker 3He's not on my ballot for what it's worth. I do think he should be in the Hall of Fame and I think he should get the Lorne Michaels Honorary Award that you gave to Lorne to put in there, because I think he's of the category of his own. But I didn't put him in because, as he is known as his first name, he's kind of a dick, so I sort of left him off. 0:51:42 - Speaker 4Oh, that's the bar. 0:51:43 - Speaker 3Yeah, that's the bar. 0:51:45 - Speaker 4Isn't John Belushi on your list? 0:51:47 - Speaker 3Yeah, look, it's really hard to Oh Murray. No, the real reason, to be honest, is just, I'm looking through this and he makes no sense to put him in any category with any of these other people. So for me it's like his contributions are so different than everybody else here. It's like comparing apples and oranges to me, So I couldn't put him on my list, but I also know he needs to be in there. 0:52:09 - Speaker 5All right, okay, yeah, i didn't have him. I didn't have him, and you know there's some good points, but I don't know. I'd almost say, well then, maybe Rosie Schuster, only because she played an important part of those first few seasons. 0:52:24 - Speaker 4When did she run SNL? 0:52:26 - Speaker 5She never ran it but she certainly played a huge role creatively. I know It was Mary Delorn And this very funny wrote for Larry Sandershow, but I would demure, but I do think he should be in, so I just don't know where you put him. So I think an honorary exec category, maybe we should start. 0:52:44 - Speaker 2The Miller category. That's a great idea. All right, there's a lot of behind the scenes. 0:52:48 - Speaker 5People are for sure. 0:52:50 - Speaker 2Yeah, well, i even think the announcer. I can't think of his name right now off the top of my head. Don Pardo, don Pardo. 0:52:57 - Speaker 4Jesus. 0:52:58 - Speaker 3Louise, right, like Don Pardo, should be in for sure I would recommend to the committee at the SNL Hall of Fame to consider a once a year award to just give someone an auto pass in. 0:53:09 - Speaker 4Yeah, dick Ubersol, don Pardo, jeff Richards, patrick Weathers, eminem, eminem. 0:53:14 - Speaker 5Yeah, james Spoons, but I mean Andy's making a good point, because it was Dick Ubersol, along with Barry Dillard and a few others, who approached Lord Michael's a bit. So he's sort of like is the opening of the door, so to speak. Yeah, i don't know how influential he was in giving Lord Michael's a long run. I think it was 17 episodes or something that they guaranteed. But yeah, it's hard to imagine. but I guess it's spoiled for choice a little bit here. 0:53:40 - Speaker 2John, who have you got next? 0:53:43 - Speaker 3So I'll put somebody in from the musical guest category who, to me, is going in just for being for really fitting into all categories, and that would be Paul Simon. He is not in the Five Timers Club, but he is an amazing host and musical guest in the history of the show, also very influential and, a lot of you know, creative, i'm sure, but he's becoming very good friends with Lord Michael's. But yeah, i mean, paul Simon hosts the most unique episode in the history of Saturday Night Live. The second episode of the show has some really, really great appearances. You basically retire. 0:54:18 - Speaker 2Paul Simon variety show. you mean Yeah, yeah, basically exactly. 0:54:23 - Speaker 3Basically retires on the show, most recently when Seth Meyers hosted the show. He pretty much retired from music after that. But you can see his entire career throughout the history of the show And you know I wouldn't necessarily if someone says, hey, like John, who's the greatest musical guest in the history of the show, paul Simon wouldn't be top of mind. But because Paul Simon is in the musical guest category and he also has those hosting appearances and additional cameo appearances, for me just his contribution to the history of the show would lead him to be my number one musical guest choice. 0:54:51 - Speaker 2Does he appear on any other ballots? 0:54:53 - Speaker 5No, not mine, Just Prince. 0:54:57 - Speaker 2Because he's Prince. You already know. 0:54:59 - Speaker 3No, no no, Why not Paul Simon? Like? what's the reason for not putting Paul Simon on the ballot? 0:55:05 - Speaker 5I guess I just like Prince better, but I can't make any rational argument against Paul Simon, so I'll just plead the. Instead of pleading the fifth, i'll plead the Prince, but I think that next to Paul McCartney, maybe Lord Michaels has a thing for Paul's, but I think as a musical influence. And I think when and I don't want to speak for obviously I'm not speaking for Lord Michaels, but when you I think he always saw the show as part of that whole experience for that generation which was so music being so important. Paul McCartney and Paul Simon, the two Pauls, are the sort of musical anchors of that show, so to speak, and of course, sir, i think, part of his identity as a baby boomer and a member of that waves. 0:55:51 - Speaker 2How about you, Andy. 0:55:53 - Speaker 4I did not have him on my ballot, as mentioned. I'm just sort of disinclined to have musical guests on here. It's just not where I went. The one that I have is Elvis Costello, like I mentioned, but John makes a excellent historic argument in favor of Mr Simon. 0:56:11 - Speaker 2Okay, Let's move forward, then, with Andrew's next pick. 0:56:16 - Speaker 5I've got somewhat of a I think we'll be controversial pick, which is Maya Rudolph. 0:56:23 - Speaker 2Oh okay, Why do you think it's controversial? 0:56:26 - Speaker 5Well, i guess when we start looking at everybody, i mean everybody's so impressive. So maybe I'm just getting starstruck. But for my money Maya Rudolph should be in the Hall of Fame because of her unbelievable character work and her range. Especially the musically Bronx beat was always one of my favorite Sketches that she did with Amy Poehler. So I see her as someone who belongs in the Hall of Fame. But I think if you're looking, you know, and I'll leave it to Andy and John but historically I think you can argue for other people. Like you know, john could say how can you have Maya Rudolph in if you're not going to have Jen? or like how does that make any sense whatsoever? So I'm going partly on my own instinct and intuition, which is not always rational, but I'm going to say Maya Rudolph, i have that I, and she was pretty quick for me to pick her, so I'm going to go for Maya Rudolph. 0:57:21 - Speaker 2How about you, gentlemen, is Maya Rudolph on either of your ballots? No, and is there any remorse here There? 0:57:29 - Speaker 3is I mean like some what? you've heard or Yeah, i mean, look, personal taste, she's definitely on my ballot. I love her on the show. She was, you know, the you know actually watching it growing up. Her leaving the show was one of the most impactful losses I felt while watching the show because I think that she's so important and such a great cast member. But just in terms of where we are at right now in the SNL Hall of Fame voting, there are a lot of cast members I would put above her And even in her own era I don't think she was ever the number one cast member And right now I'm voting in people who are really like dominated the field. 0:58:05 - Speaker 2Yeah, And I mean you've only got what? four votes left as well At this point. You know it becomes, they become more valuable, sort of right. Right, All right, Andy. 0:58:15 - Speaker 4Yeah, i mean, look, i like my Rudolph Again. I'm just a little disinclined to have someone who you know is part of this millennium. That's just again how I went about it. I'm a little bit more slanted to people from the 70s, 80s, 90s. Actually I have a lot of writers on my ballot, to be honest. But that said, one other historic host that did make it that we've talked about briefly is Elliot Gould, again kind of similar to Buck Henry, just someone who you know gets the show early on, kind of brings some cashier when the show needs it, helps, makes it hip, and I think generally people just forget about what a big star Elliot Gould was in the 70s. Long goodbye and whatnot You know. So he's next up. You know, i'm not sure if my comrades are with me on this one, but I think you think about the Mount Rushmore of guests outside, steve Martin and Buck Henry in the 70s. You got to go with Elliot. 0:59:19 - Speaker 3Gould, i think in the 70s, is what is key here. That's why I don't have him on my list right now. I do think he is definitely a Hall of Amor, but I just think that there's hosts that are above him, that transcended multiple eras, that I think are more impactful. 0:59:34 - Speaker 4I would say Well, let's not forget about his season six stint where he's in bed with Denny Dillon and Gail Matthias and whatnot. 0:59:42 - Speaker 3I'm not forgetting about that, but I think like you know him hosting. Thank you, my best. I didn't. I just think in a span of you know those, i guess like five years in one episode. It's still like all in the same generation for the most part. So for me it was a debate for me between Christopher Walken and Elliot Gould, who would take that last spot on my ballot, and I'm pretty sure that Elliot Gould would make my next year's ballot. But I have other hosts that I think are more important or personally ones that I think are more impactful. 1:00:11 - Speaker 5Yeah, i mean, i was between Christopher Walken and Elliot Gould for me and I actually was able to talk about Elliot Gould on the show And I think you know your points are great. The other thing, of course, was you saw his musical chops. Like he had a musical theater background. I think every one of his opening model was as a musical number And he was the first one where the female cast members pretended to have a crush on him. He was the one who came on the show and canceled Star Trek. So he's a lot of really great stuff. And I

Join us for a lively SNL Hall of Fame Roundtable discussion with our esteemed panel of SNL aficionados - Darrin Patterson, Jamie Burwood, Victoria Franso, and Deremy Dove. We dive into the credentials of our SNL Hall of Fame nominees, including the impact of musical guest Paul Simon and iconic cast members like Dana Carvey and Bill Murray. We also ponder the lasting effects of writers like Paula Pell on the show's legacy and debate the influence of guests like Christopher Walken, Conan O'Brien, and John Belushi.Our spirited conversation takes us through the contributions of John Goodman, Jim Downey, and Candice Bergen, considering their potential induction into the SNL Hall of Fame. We reminisce about Goodman's versatile performances and chemistry with fellow cast members, Downey's daring comedic choices, and Bergen's groundbreaking legacy as a host. Throughout the discussion, we examine each nominee's lasting impact on SNL and the comedy landscape.As the debate heats up, we touch on the credentials of beloved cast members like Molly Shannon and Bill Murray, and consider their iconic characters and performances. We also discuss the underappreciated talents of Anna Gasteyer and Cheri O'Teri, and explore Darren's outside-the-box pick for his ballot, Jan Hooks. So, prepare to laugh and reminisce with us as we celebrate the legends who shaped SNL and consider who deserves a coveted spot in the SNL Hall of Fame.Transcript0:00:08 - Speaker 1It's the SNL Hall of Fame podcast with your host, Jamie Dube, Chief Librarian Thomas Senna, and featuring Matt Bardille At now. Curator of the Hall, Jamie Dube. 0:00:41 - Speaker 2Yes, hello and welcome to the SNL Hall of Fame Roundtable. This is the show in which we invite SNL Hall of Fame voters, in this case all former guests on this podcast. We invite those voters former guests to share their ballot and their thought process behind their choices. So this is always an interesting exercise to get the psyche of some of our voters. So in previous roundtables as well, we've had panelists even cut deals with each other for votes. We've had panelists change each other's minds. So there's going to be some like, willing and dealing. There's going to be a lot of that going on, maybe tonight, maybe with our esteemed panelists that we have on this particular SNL Hall of Fame Roundtable. So why don't we get to it? Let's introduce our wonderful panel And I'm doing something a little different just off the top. I'm going to let the listeners know that I'm doing a little icebreaker question to just kind of briefly get to know each of our panelists. So the question is which current cast member not including Kenan Thompson, because he's the obvious choice? So which current cast member not including Kenan Thompson could you see in the SNL Hall of Fame one day? So that's going to be our little icebreaker once I introduce our wonderful guests. So let's get started. Darren Patterson. Cohost of the SNL Nerds podcast. Darren, thank you so much for returning. You were on our Tom Hanks and Dana Carvey episode. Tom Hanks and SNL Hall of Famer. We'll see about Dana Carvey. Thank you so much, darren, for joining me today. 0:02:19 - Speaker 4Thanks for having me, Tom. This is fantastic. 0:02:21 - Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, we're excited. So the question is aside from Kenan Thompson, which current SNL cast member could you see in the SNL Hall of Fame one day? 0:02:32 - Speaker 4I can only pick one, because I kind of. 0:02:34 - Speaker 2Well, I don't know. Let's see. Well, who's your main one? 0:02:38 - Speaker 4The main one from this cast, I probably would say Colin Geo's. Just because he's been on this show for so long, he's written so many, he's written a ton of called-opens and he's Him and Che have been the longest running SNL Weekend Update anchors, news anchors to date. That's why I was thinking, just and Che probably the duo I could definitely see making it into the Hall of Fame. I could also see Boan making it into the Hall of Fame in the future. I mean, you know, first Asian cast member and he's made so many memorable, you know, snl Weekend Update. 0:03:27 - Speaker 2Oh, the classic instant play, the Iceberg sketch alone. 0:03:30 - Speaker 4Just exactly, Yeah. And even before that, I still remember when he made his first appearance he wasn't a cast member. It was in the Sandra Oh episode where he had to keep playing. I forget who he played, but he loved and impressed a lot of people's minds. People were like who's that guy? That guy is hilarious. And then the next season he became the cast member, So I could see, I could see Joe's Che Boan. There you go, That's a little. I like that. 0:03:56 - Speaker 2I think Eggos is a good choice. I think Joe's and Che some day going in as a duo is interesting. It'd be like the Al Franken and Tom Davis, they kind of be on the ballot together. So yeah, wonderful choices. I can see all three of them some day. So next we have on our panel from TV show graphs. I say from TV show graphs, but I don't know if you are TV show graphs, if you just have taken on like that's your persona, like you are TV show graphs, or you're just from, or the creator of, tv show graphs. 0:04:28 - Speaker 5I'll take it either way. 0:04:30 - Speaker 2Just taking it either way. Yeah, so Jamie Burwood, who was a previous guest for the Molly Shannon episode in season one, also my guest for Will Ferrell, who is in the SNL Hall of Fame, and somebody who's on the ballot right now, christopher Walken. So, jamie, thank you so much for joining me and you got to answer this question. 0:04:48 - Speaker 5Yeah, the icebreaker Okay. So I feel like those were all really good answers. Bowen was my initial just like gut reaction. I feel like just in terms of like having that like it factor where I feel like he'll continue to have that like longevity and like association with the show. I would say my other like maybe future looking pick would be like JJ, just like thinking about where I could see things going in the next few years and just like how unique it is, i think, for someone to come in with such the positive reception that he had and I feel like there's just an element of what he's doing that feels like really timeless comedy that like people could continue to appreciate for many, many years. So I would throw him into the mix but agreed with the other, with the other options as well. 0:05:42 - Speaker 2Yeah, i could definitely see JJ master impressionist. I feel like we'll be talking about his impressions for years to come, like how we talk about Darrell Hammond, for instance. I think that's a really good choice. So, thank you so much. Jamie Next we have, who is the co host of the bigger than the game podcast, which is a really great sports and pop culture kind of podcast that I enjoy listening to, and he was my guest this season on the Dick Ebersol episode, which I found fascinating. He's going to be a really fascinating one here on the ballot. So, mr Jeremy Dove, thank you so much for joining me. Jeremy. 0:06:21 - Speaker 6Thomas, i'm so pumped to be on with everybody. I'm honored honestly to talk about SNL Hall of Fame and see if my ballot can measure up to everyone else's and I'm open minded. So if someone brings up a great point and maybe I'm like I got to add this person or cut someone off, so I'm excited. 0:06:39 - Speaker 2That's what we're doing here. We're willing and dealing. 0:06:41 - Speaker 6We're willing and dealing. 0:06:42 - Speaker 2Yeah, you can. You can exchange votes. You can talk somebody into or out of a vote. It's going to be yeah, you can do it this as you please. So, Jeremy, which current cast member not named Keenan Thompson Could you see in the SNL Hall of Fame someday? 0:06:55 - Speaker 6For me it was the slam dunk and you kind of made that point of the way. Like Franken and Davis are duo and they're always going to be remembered as that duo. But Colin Joest and Michael Che just what those two, the chemistry that they have, the way that they bring I always love it when someone makes weekend update appointment television And those two have really done that and they've really, you know, brought that to the zeitgeist where I know plenty of people who don't watch SNL but want to watch those two and see what they're going to do And I think also what they're doing, as you know, head writers and behind the scenes. I'm interested in, once they're done with the show, to kind of look at their legacy and see like they're going to be in that category where I don't know if we fully appreciate it all that they've, you know, put it to the show. So those are my two that I look at as slam dunk. Hall of famers. 0:07:49 - Speaker 2Yeah. So it sounds like when it's time for Michael Che and Joest to be up for consideration for the Hall of Fame, jamie do and I are going to have to have a conversation about should we put them in as a duo, right? Should we put them in together? So that, yeah, that's going to be interesting. You and Darren both brought up really great things for consideration. So, yeah, jeremy, thank you so much. And finally, we have someone who's an improv and sketch performer, currently based in Chicago, also a frequent guest on our good friends at the Saturday Night Network. She's a frequent guest on their network and also my recent guest on the Amy Poehler episode of the SNL Hall of Fame. So, victoria Fronto, thank you so much. Welcome to the SNL Hall of Fame round table. 0:08:36 - Speaker 3I am so excited to be here. This is my first, hopefully not my last, but this is a. It was very difficult to try to rank these people because you think everyone deserves not everyone, but deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. 0:08:52 - Speaker 2So, aside from Kenan Thompson, who we can all agrees the obvious choice among the current cast member, who from the current cast could you see in the SNL Hall of Fame someday? 0:09:03 - Speaker 3So I'll be really honest and say that this current cast is killer. They have some really awesome folks on here And I think, besides Kenan, the obvious would be as mentioned a few times here would be Colin Joseph and Michael Che, but I'm actually stuck between Chloe Feynman, heidi Gardner and Ego Newotem. I think yeah, i think Chloe Chloe's impressions and characters is are really one of a kind and really unique to her. And then, of course, heidi and Ego I think arguably too, could potentially be a duo as well, kind of like a teen and Amy situation. But yeah, those are the three I would say could be up in the Hall of Fame one day. 0:09:52 - Speaker 2Yeah, especially, i think I hope Ego and Heidi especially I think, they've turned in with a lot of. Chloe is still potential, but I think, with Heidi and Ego, i think they've already started to establish a body of work. Yeah, i hope they get their proper dues. So yeah, thank you so much for. 0:10:09 - Speaker 3I do want to give an honorable mention to James Austin Johnson Like I think Jamie just said too, because he did his first episode, was the first person we saw in a cold open. I don't think we've ever seen that. 0:10:23 - Speaker 5Or if we have. 0:10:24 - Speaker 2If we have, it's been a while, so that's in itself, i think, hall of Fame, where they Yeah, when he was a newbie he just came out and just did Joe Biden an impression of Joe Biden like immediately. 0:10:36 - Speaker 5Yeah. 0:10:36 - Speaker 2So, yeah, that has to be points once a long time from now, maybe, when James Austin Johnson is up for nomination, i'm sure that'll be mentioned. So thank you all of you panelists. And now I want to ask you guys. So we changed the voting process a little bit this time around. So now voters are required to vote for at least one person in each of the main categories. So we have as the categories cast member, host, musical guest and writer. So voters have to vote for at least one person in one of those categories, and then you have 11 votes to do as you please. You can just vote for four nominees and that's it. You can use all 15 votes that you have at your disposal. It's up to you. We've had a wide range over these last few voting cycles, so I'm going to start with you, victoria. How many votes Did you use on your ballot and why? 0:11:32 - Speaker 3I used all because I'm a sucker, i can't choose. 0:11:38 - Speaker 2You're just positive, putting pretty positivity out into the world. 0:11:41 - Speaker 3I mean it's, if you're on Saturday Night Live, you're on there for a reason, right? they don't just choose anybody. So I think it's hard to not use all of my votes. I had a hard time, so yeah. 0:11:55 - Speaker 2So Victoria, yeah, victoria, 15 votes that she's going to use on her ballot. Jeremy, how many votes are you using? 0:12:03 - Speaker 6I used all 15 as well. So I'm with Victoria. I went off 15 and for me it's just. I mean, this ballot is, i start to feel now for people who have to really vote for people in Hall of Fame, like you know, in Sports Hall of Fame, like I'm always getting on them, how could you leave this guy out or how you leave that person out. But it is hard and for me, being a lover of history and I love looking at things in a historical aspect, so there's like the heavy hitters who are like the automatic slam dunks on the ballot, but then there's other people who maybe they don't get the recognition from the public, but their historical value to the show and what the impact that they made. I take that into consideration big time. So I used all 15. 0:12:48 - Speaker 2So Jamie Burwood. how many votes did you use on your ballot? 0:12:53 - Speaker 5Yeah, so keeping it going, i used all 15 of my votes as well. For me, this was just a super stacked ballot, honestly, even more so than the last voting round. I really struggled to even narrow it down to the 15. And I think, for me, just realizing how many different ways people can contribute to the show as well like looking at the list of writers, looking at hosts it's just, it's so hard to compare apples to apples. So, yeah, i had no problem using all 15. 0:13:22 - Speaker 2Yeah, and I do have a feeling that most of our voters will use all 15 of their votes. I know I'm a voter as well. I think I'll probably use all 15 votes. It's just kind of a stacked class and there's a lot of tough decisions to be made, so I think you all are not alone in using all 15 votes. So let's get to it. I'm going to name the nominees just to just to reiterate again for our listeners, and then we will reveal everybody's ballots. So the nominees for this this year's class. For the cast member category, we have John Belushi, dana Carvey, jane Curtin, jan hooks, bill Murray, amy Polar, maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon. For hosts, we have Drew Barrymore, candice Bergen, john Goodman, elliott Gould, buck Henry, scarlett Johansson, melissa McCarthy, john Mulaney, paul Rudd, emma Stone, justin Timberlake, lily Tomlin and Christopher Walken lot of hosts on the on the ballot this year. Musical guests we have Beyonce, elvis Costello, miley Cyrus, dave Grohl, paul McCartney, tom Petty and the heartbreakers Prince, rihanna and Paul Simon. And for the writer category, we have James Downey, al Franken and Tom Davis, jack Handy, the Lonely Island, conan O'Brien, michael O'Donohue, paul Appel, herb Sargent and Robert Smigel, and we also have kind of a wild card nominee here. So it's not. He's not part of one of the four main categories, so voters do not have to vote for him. There's no separate producer category, but if somebody chooses, they could use one of their 11 remaining votes to vote for Dick Ebersol, who is on the ballot. Darren, he's giving the thumbs up. He was my guest on the Dick Ebersol episode and I'm curious to see what what you all have to say about Dick Ebersol when we get to him. If we get to him, i feel like we will get to him, though. So now's time where we reveal your ballots, so I want to start with Darren Patterson. So, darren, who's the first person you would like to talk about from your ballot? 0:15:39 - Speaker 4First person I'd like to talk about. I hmm, maybe we'll go with musical guest, just because it's like I only chose two people from there, really. So yeah, musical guest the first person who. I think it's a no brainer that they should absolutely be in SNL Hall of Fame, mr Paul Simon, you know he was there. He's been there since the beginning. He's good friends with Lorne. He's always sort of been, i guess, sort of the the fact or the fault musical guest, like when the show was first starting. Of course there was. You know he's been in a few sketches here and there. It was the famous sketch where he had that sort of reunion with Garfunkel and you know kind of you know, maybe not nice word for said. You know, of course there's a they called open waves like a dress or the opening monologue. Rather, we dressed good turkey for Thanksgiving episode, like he's always just sort of been, you know, this sort of old souls, old presence of the of the show for forever. So yeah, number one musical guest Paul Simon. 0:16:46 - Speaker 2And, as I told my guest on that episode, maddie Price, were kind of playing fast and loose with the criteria for Paul Simon because he was only billed as a musical guest eight times I think, but he played music on the show about 15 times. So I think we should probably I would import voters to maybe take into account all 15 of those times he was host and he performed music. He performed music when he wasn't billed as anything on the show. So Paul Simon, maybe Lorne Michael's best friend and just part of the fabric of SNL. So wonderful pick, darren. Do any of you have Paul Simon on your ballots? 0:17:27 - Speaker 6Yes, yes, he was my slam dunk musical guest as well. I think about two things the what happened after 911 and him singing the boxer and that whole moment kind of helped to In a way heal the country and such an iconic moment in SNL history you know, with Giuliani and all the firemen You know behind in Lauren coming on stage. And I also think about the SNL 40th And the fact that I think Paul was touring I forget where but Lauren pretty much saying like I need you here, you have to come. So Paul Simon flying in like on the red eye to be there for that event, but just kind of showing how important his place is, not just for Lauren but SNL history. So Paul Simon was my musical guest, slam dunk now very good. 0:18:17 - Speaker 2So, jamie, victoria to either of you. Jamie, do you have Paul Simon on yours? 0:18:22 - Speaker 5Yeah, i did, and I struggled with the music category a bit as well, but I did end up including him. I think Something that comes into play for me and it's there's so many different factors, but I think, like impact across decades is something I talked a little bit about last time and I think, for all the reasons that were said before, but also I think for that like Longevity and like having impacted different types of ways, was what pushed him over over the edge for me. 0:18:51 - Speaker 2Yeah, his first appearance was in the second episode of the show And if that was basically the Paul Simon show, which is in 75 in season one, and then his most recent, i believe, was 2018. So you're right, i mean just spanning eras, more so than almost anybody in the show's history. Victoria, what do you think Paul Simon make your cut? 0:19:10 - Speaker 3You know what He did not, but that doesn't mean I don't think he's eventually worthy. I mean, i do think he's worthy, but I only had. So no. For my musical guest I chose Beyonce. Has the most Grammys, has, you know, played such a significant part of SNL outside of her physical appearance on the show has made? She's a global icon. And you know who's are we gonna forget? like the Justin Timberlake, you know Lonely Island sketch No Beyonce. So double dipping, triple dipping. 0:19:47 - Speaker 2Yeah, a musical guest, though. That's great, and we I've noticed in the past that musical guests have been kind of shut out. I mean, they have been shut out as far as voting goes. So it's kind of neat to see all of you have at least one musical guest, if not more. So, specifically to Beyonce, jamie Dermey Darren. Do any of you have Beyonce on your ballot, jamie? why not? 0:20:13 - Speaker 5I didn't. I think it was just a limited. I feel like there's folks where I'm like, okay, next time, like next time, i'm getting them on and then we'll see what the battle looks like next time. I feel like it's always super crowded, but I'll keep her on my shortlist for next time. 0:20:27 - Speaker 2Jeremy, are we, are you on Victoria's side or? 0:20:31 - Speaker 6sorry, victoria. So for three, i gotta Not go with Beyonce on my list. It's just, she's iconic, she's great And, like Darren said, no disrespect to the beehive because they're always listening, but I just don't associate her For SNL Hall of Fame. She hauled very good, but not the Hall of Fame. So I have those. I got tough standards, so no, no Beyonce on my list. 0:20:58 - Speaker 2So if we're taking this four-person sample size, beyonce may have to wait Next voting cycle and we'll see unless, unless the unless the beehive kind of gets wind of this And I'm sure they'll push her over the edge. 0:21:12 - Speaker 3All in that one tweet it just takes one. 0:21:14 - Speaker 2Oh no, that sounded like a threat. I heard that. I heard that in your voice, victoria. We'll see. Alright, mobilized the beehive, let's go. Jeremy, i want to stay with you. Who do you want to talk about? 0:21:28 - Speaker 6I'm gonna go with the host category and mine might be a little bit different, i don't know, but I'm going with someone on the first ballot It was this season, i believe episode 2. I gotta go with Buck Henry. For me he was my slam dunk for the host For just the way his impact was on those initial five years and I'm someone who is Very partial to anything that's like the foundation of something I'm gonna give a lot of credit to. And when you think of there's two people in that era who were hosts and a Lot of people get confused and think they were a part of the cast and obviously that's Steve Martin, number one and number two It's Buck Henry and just for a long time, until I think, like the 88 89 season, had the most hosting Appearances than anyone else. So I mean, we talked about five timers club and how big of a deal that is for SNL lore. We got to give it to like the OG of that and that's, you know, buck Henry. And even just it was his suggestion for recurring characters, which is, you know him telling like to Lauren and all the writers, like that Belushi samurai sketch. We should, you know, got to do it again And you know just his impact on the show and his impact with influencing the original cast. Buck Henry is my slam dunk for host. 0:22:50 - Speaker 2All right, buck Henry the first go-to host in SNL history. He hosted twice a year the first five seasons of the show. Pretty good and understandable choice. Jamie, how do you feel about Buck Henry? 0:23:04 - Speaker 5Yeah, so I did include him as well. I think just really being like first member of the five-timers club for me was like okay, that's, that's a big credential like that. That really holds a lot of weight, i think. And it also was thinking about like when he was hosting. So like he hosted multiple like series, or season finale is, i Feel like for him like it wasn't just about frequency either. It was really like the role that he played and how people saw him as part of the show and just really being Integral to like the feel that the show had in in those early years. So yeah, for for me He was Not like the very top of my overall list, but definitely like made the cut for the 15. 0:23:44 - Speaker 2All right, darren, you're an SNL scholar, i believe. how do you feel about Buck Henry? 0:23:50 - Speaker 4Yes, yeah, i feel very good about Buck Henry. He actually made my list, um, for a lot of the reasons I dare me said he's just one of the. You know, key integral host has been there since day one. I mean, i mean the man got hit with the samurai sword mid-sketched and kept on going. I mean that's, that's dedication. I mean I don't care what you say and yeah, you know, he's always been there. You know some, some of the characters he played me Maybe, maybe have an age as well. That uncle. 0:24:21 - Speaker 2Roy. 0:24:22 - Speaker 4Yes, i'll go. 0:24:25 - Speaker 2Yeah, let's yeah. 0:24:28 - Speaker 4But uh, yeah, like you know, he's been, he was, he's been there for so long, has a longevity. 0:24:34 - Speaker 2Yeah, for me, yeah, he does all right buck, henry, on three ballots so far, victoria, are we making it four for four? 0:24:41 - Speaker 3We sure are. He is part of the foundation of this show and, as Jamie mentioned as well, the first five-timer, i mean he's a ten-timer at least. So I mean he's, he's iconic, he's a legend and you know, if you're an SNL nerd, you know who he is. So He, i mean, i feel like that's a no-brainer. 0:25:04 - Speaker 2So I guess, going into voting and the reveal of the SNL Hall of Fame this season, you've got to be feeling good about Buck Henry's chances from from how it sounds. So, jamie Burwood, i want to go to you now, and who would you like to talk about from your ballot? 0:25:20 - Speaker 5Yeah, so I'm gonna move it into the writing category Because this is one where I was really disappointed It didn't get in the first time, was even more disappointed They didn't get in the second time. So really gonna try to work on on the pitch for this one, and this is the lonely island. So for me I I just feel like thinking about the impact that they had on the show and taking it to the next era was just so huge and I feel like sometimes Isn't something we recognize enough. Just really the way that they made SNL comedy Viral friendly in a way that allowed the show to evolve and that I honestly think played a big part in the fact that We're still here today. The show made the changes with the times into this more kind of like snippet Viral friendly world. I just think about the era with them and the role that they played and like defining the tone of the The show. I could go on and on, but I will stop there, super passionate about this one in terms of just the, the role that they played in their era. 0:26:31 - Speaker 2So I have cut the the most passionate professional wrestling promos on why The Lonely Island should be in the SNL Hall of Fame and that the fact that they're not It's a really. I think out of anybody who's not in the SNL Hall of Fame who has been on the ballot before, i think I'm most passionate about the Lonely Island, so it's just kind of ridiculous to me that they're not in. so does anybody Agree with me? want to take up that mantle, that? take up that cause, darren? Yes, what do you? 0:26:59 - Speaker 4think, yeah, i'll, i will take that cause up with you, sir. I had them on my list as well, just because, basically a lot of reasons Jamie said, just the way they were able to sort of Bring in SNL to like the new era is like really pretty unprecedented, because I mean, yes, snl has had short films on the On the show before, like you know, the Albert Brooks stuff, the Shiller, tom Shiller, you know. You know Short films and whatnot, but I think the thing that separates Lonely Island from them is they were coming up around the same time YouTube was becoming big and like people were getting into that and So like it was like the sort of perfect marriage where they were coming up with these you know We are little videos and and also the music videos too, and like YouTube sort of helped, you know, elevate them and bring out, sure, snl into like a whole new era and also like the songs that they came out. 0:27:55 - Speaker 2Yeah, really, there's a chance like I'm on a boat. 0:27:59 - Speaker 4My pants, yeah, i, yeah, i mean a dick in a box. I think one of Grammy or at least was like nominated, i'm pretty sure one. I know it was definitely nominated and It was like the impact they left. You can still see it on the show today, like after they left they were still trying to do those catching music videos with Pete and Chris red and Like even now we're pleased on destroyed people. Still, they get compared to Lonely Island. Does you know? I'm time to time. So, yeah, lonely Island. They definitely left like a legacy behind when they left. I mean it's, i mean just that incredible, that incredible bad album. 0:28:36 - Speaker 2I still think, yeah, fantastic and full of bangers classic Jeremy, what do you have to say about the Lonely Island? 0:28:44 - Speaker 6I Hey, I've done it before, I'll do it again. I think I stand alone on the fact that they are not on my list. 0:28:52 - Speaker 2Oh no, I'm sorry, so the person I was yelling at in the past was you. It was. 0:28:58 - Speaker 6All right, it was, and the thing is it's it's someone's Gotta get cut, you know, that's the thing. So I'm not here to say that they're not worthy of the Hall of Fame, because everyone made great points. I just look at everyone else on the list. I want to give props to those of past generations Because I feel like the younger audience will forget them, and I want to give them their props. And I just also to what Jamie said earlier. There's some people on here who have hit like cross-generational as far as either a cast member or a writer or host, and I want to give them their love. So I think the Lonely Island if they don't make it this year, i definitely probably can see me voting for them from the next ballot. But they were a tough one, but they did not make my my top 15. 0:29:47 - Speaker 2Victoria, are you gonna agree with Jeremy, or are you on the correct side? 0:29:56 - Speaker 3I I I'm shook. I Agree with Jeremy in that we should give those who've given SNL It's name and the reason why it's here today, because it's a strong foundation, it's it set the tone for other you know comedic ventures, but the Lonely Island Emmy award winners, grammy nominated, for sure deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame. I mean they were. I don't want to say they're ahead of their time, but I guess they've helped SNL stay on course and be with the times and not be so old-school. And, you know, push forward a new way of thinking. And I Think Darren mentioned it too of you know those music videos with Pete Davidson and Chris Radd. And now, please don't destroy. I mean we wouldn't have those, quite frankly, if it wasn't for the Lonely Island and I'm a mother lover, you're a mother lover, we can love, you know, i mean catchy, like what was it called? I'm on a boat is so iconic to. I mean I Don't feel like that's really an argument, thomas, do you like? I feel like that's just like an, also a no-brainer. 0:31:12 - Speaker 2Yeah well, here on the SNL Hall of Fame, we respect everybody's opinion and it's all valid, but I should point out In order to get into the SNL Hall of Fame And the nominee needs sixty six point seven percent of the vote. Lonely Island had about sixty two last cycle. I think they're gonna get in this. That's just my prediction. Judging by, they got seventy five percent Here, unofficially, including myself. They got eighty percent, so I kind of a feeling. 0:31:44 - Speaker 6I'll say this if they get in, i'm not gonna be like what, like I'll be for it. Okay, you know I'm not like anti. Yeah, i won't do that. There's some other names on here who I might do that for, but not Lonely Island. 0:31:58 - Speaker 3I'm down if they get in, listen all it. All it takes is one tweet. 0:32:04 - Speaker 2Oh, victoria's trying to utilize, like she's trying to weaponize. Okay, he really is. Geez, victoria. So I want to. I want to see when to go back to you, victoria. Who do you want to talk about next on your list? I have zero followers. 0:32:16 - Speaker 3It's funny. Oh Man, I want to say Paula Pell. 0:32:22 - Speaker 2Paul, up hell in the writer category. Yeah. 0:32:26 - Speaker 3I mean one. Her tenure there was Long, i think, from 1995 to 2013. That's almost 20 years. Is that right? my math thing, correctly, okay, yeah, i graduate from the College of Communication where minimal math was required for a reason. But no, i mean you know the Spartan cheerleaders, debbie Downer, the omeletville Justin Timberlake character. I mean she's put up such great characters that are Stand out in SNL history. I mean it would be hard for me to not include her on on my ballot. 0:33:02 - Speaker 2And very influential to Jamie. You have Paula Pell. 0:33:05 - Speaker 5I did. Yeah, i just listened to this podcast episode the other day and Was already convinced, but it really put me over the edge. I think I talk a lot about like her era in SNL, just because I I love that era and I feel like I I maybe don't give enough credit sometimes to the writing beyond that era and I think she was such a critical Writing force of that time and I definitely have a sweet spot, i think, for writers that do a great job of creating characters and, like Victoria said, she really shown in that way. I also just think she's a wonderful Person and so she gets the wonderful person bonus point, but just impact alone for that era from the writing side. I did include her. 0:33:50 - Speaker 2Yeah, she had her thumb prints on a lot of things that we don't even realize. Definitely it was interesting to go back and research. Darren, How do you feel you have Paula Pell? 0:34:00 - Speaker 4Look, i have her on. I wrote her down as one of the writers but I didn't Ultimately choose her just because I think the writers character is like a really Stack deck. And you know, while I do appreciate Paula Pell, i love girls, five ever, i love it all But I didn't, i didn't quite choose it just because I felt there were maybe a few there a little bit more stronger. But yeah, i mean, paula Pell is fantastic. She's like you know, she, i do. Sometimes I do feel like she kind of gone, unsung in a lot of way than meets, you know, a lot more loved. And she, she got on the show, or you know. 0:34:40 - Speaker 2Yeah, and this one is tough. If you had to make that cut, i had to make some tough cuts. Man, we don't have to walk on eggshells. This is a safe space. We can bellow it out with confidence. We didn't and we didn't. If you didn't vote for Paula Pell, then and that's perfectly fine, i think. I think, with writers in general, sometimes it's hard to know what they wrote and what they did, and especially in the late 90s to mid 2000s that she was involved in. So I'm always curious to see how writers are gonna do here. But Definitely fair enough, darren Daryn, me, how about you? 0:35:12 - Speaker 6Absolutely Yes, paula Pell makes my list for what everyone else said, the sketches that are so iconic from cheerleaders Debbie Downer, like that was like all of us love SNL, but everyone had to watch those Debbie Downer sketches, her work in association with Kristen Wiig and she was really a big part of her popular sketches as well, and also in that rise in those like 2000s when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and Maya and Kristen kind of really You know, put women on the forefront of SNL, like really the first time by really taking over and not making it a boys club, and I feel like Paula Pell was a big part behind the scenes and making that happen. So for me, the way you guys talked about Lonely Island, i think it's a crime that she's on the second ballot. So Paula Pell is a definite one for me. 0:36:02 - Speaker 2Yeah, paula Pell, snl, was much better off having her voice on the writing staff. Absolutely So, darren. You have Paul, simon, buck, henry and the Lonely Island So far. So who's another person on your ballot you would like to bring up? 0:36:18 - Speaker 4Well, let's forget the person I talked to you about on the last time I was here, dana Carvey. I think it's no brainer, i think he's one of those people who maybe people kind of forgot about how impactful he was in his day, just because, like he's still around now and he's still, you know, his own late night shows and he has his podcast. But like you have to remember, like when he was on the show, how hard he hit and how much he just elevated every scene and elevated the show. Like his very first episode he came out with the Chopin Broccoli sketch which was like something he'd done in stand-up and I think, like I mentioned the last time I was on a podcast, like a cast member is lucky if they have one memorable recurring character that they can go to with a catchphrase. And Dana Carvey had multiple recurring characters with multiple, you know, catchphrases. He was the church lady, he was Hans and Franz. He was, you know, garth Wayne and Garth He was. I mean, he had the Johnny Carson impression, he was the George W Bush. He had like all these impressions, all these characters. He was just like knocking it out the park like every episode And he was just like really beloved and everybody really liked him and he was just like a great performer and I don't know like Dana Carvey, like in his prime. 0:37:38 - Speaker 2Yeah, he was a force and I have a feeling that we're gonna have a clean sweep here, but I don't know, somebody might surprise me. Let's see, victoria, what say you? 0:37:47 - Speaker 3What say me? Of course, of course, dana Carvey. I mean it was just mentioned, hans and Franz, church lady, i mean. But more than that, going to Jeremy's point, and I, you know, even though I have some recent folks on here, i do pay homage later in my ballot to those who came before us, especially women, but Dana Carvey is someone who, without him, there is none of these recent folks either. So you know it's where. So we, we keep standing on the shoulders of those before us and he is a shoulder of muscle. I don't know if that's a real phrase, but he's a shoulder of muscle, he's like his and then leave, you know Wayne's world, and then all his other stuff afterward, is, is, is killer. I don't think I feel like that. One is also an obvious one. I'm kind of confused as to why he's not in there already but, we will, but we will discuss, we will discuss. 0:38:49 - Speaker 2Well, he's not in there because this is his first time on the ballot. See at the Esenola fame. We kind of like to space it out a little bit. So this was just his first time on the ballot, so that that's an easy reason. It was no slide against Dana. 0:39:03 - Speaker 3Okay, i'll tell Twitter to back off. 0:39:06 - Speaker 2Yeah, tell him to back off. Thank you, jamie Burwood. Are you a fan of Dana Carvey? 0:39:11 - Speaker 5Yeah, definitely. I think, just when you think about like performers that are just so associated with their era on SNL everyone's already touched on just characters, i think church lady, like in the conversation, for just top one of the top tier, all time characters impressions, i feel like people will still play the like George HW clips and it just has that lasting impact. So, yeah, for me I don't think there is a. I'd be curious to hear an argument to not include him, but for me I think it's a no brainer. Agreed. 0:39:49 - Speaker 2Jeremy do have four for four. 0:39:52 - Speaker 6Absolutely. That was, for you know, the one, the four that we had to have. Dana was my cast member. For me, i look at it like on my episode when I was on with you, thomas, i talked about Dick Ebersol and that Eddie Murphy, joe Piscobo. That's the first cast that saved the show from like being done. The second was with Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman, kevin Nealon and all those And, honestly for me, if I see a greatest SNL list and Dana Carvey isn't in the top 10, that's when I'm just like throwing an outrage, i'm throwing papers, i'm going what the heck is this? Dana Carvey, to me, is a top 10 SNL cast member, so it's a no brainer, dana Carvey. 0:40:37 - Speaker 2Yeah, i think Dana is going to be. I'll go out on a limb and say he's going to be a lock. I think he's going to get voted in here on his first try And with him to me it's not just is he an SNL, snl Hall of Famer, it's, is he on the Mount Rushmore of SNL cast members? And I think that's the conversation that Dana is in. Jeremy, who's who's next on your list? 0:40:58 - Speaker 6For me this person was the writer lock. So the other three are all mentioned for my locks Paul Simon, dana Carvey. I mentioned Buck Henry. I'm going for that writer, robert Schmigel, who was brought up his own first time on the ballot, and just so many of the iconic sketches that he was a part of, from TV Funhouse to the, that finale for the 85, 86 season with the John Lovitz you know, and you know Billy Martin and Lauren, like they're burning up, like that cast and who will survive, and that's pretty gutsy, for like that was Michael's first season, and for him to kind of write that sketch, the iconic not going to phone it in tonight, that code open with Steve Martin that everyone still talks about to this day, the bear sketch. There's just so many things that Robert Schmigel has an impact on And from that initial run in the 80s into the mid 90s and then he's come back and done so many things. Robert Schmigel to me is also like, as far as a writer, a slam dunk Hall of Famer. As far as writers they kind of like what you said, thomas, it's not. If he's going to be a Hall of Famer is, is he on that pantheon of Mount Rushmore of greatest SNL writers. So for me Robert Schmigel is easy. 0:42:16 - Speaker 2Yeah, darren. What do you think about Robert Schmigel? 0:42:20 - Speaker 4I think, yes, i had him down as one of my writers to. He's like one of those writers just really defined his era of SNL. I mean, you know, like Darren me said, like with the TV fun house, a lot of those, if you go back and watch some of those TV fun, a lot of them. He's really pushing the envelope in a lot of oh yeah, like you know, the form with real audio, especially that one, i think, sex in the country which is Jesus. I mean, wow, victoria. 0:42:52 - Speaker 3Well, now that you say that, no, i completely agree with everything Jeremy said. I wouldn't change anything about what Jeremy said, but my only thing is he did not make the ballot this time around, i'm really sorry to say, as just his work is phenomenal just didn't have that much of an impact on me. That's all Nothing against him. If I had 16, he'd be on there. They only gave me 15. Sorry, so you're passing the buck. 0:43:22 - Speaker 2You're blaming me and Jamie. Jamie, do for for our, for our, oppressive rules for voting. 0:43:29 - Speaker 3Yeah, all right, i got it. 0:43:31 - Speaker 2I got it. I'll say this about Robert Smigel and Bill Kenny and I had a good conversation about it. I think if you only looked at his sketch writing, he might be an SNL Hall of Famer, and if you only looked at TV fun house on its own he might be an SNL Hall of Famer, but combined it's a pretty big argument. just the totality of it all, i think. So he would get my vote. Smits gay, I mean it's gay is one of the one of the iconic ad parodies of the early 90s. Yeah, so Robert was just behind. So much And I think at some point he may get in and it'll be very well deserved. So I want to go to Jamie Burwood find out who's next on your list. 0:44:18 - Speaker 5All right. So staying with the cast had to go with Amy. This was tip top of my list. Just no question on this one. for me, definitely like top three across my ballot overall. I think just looking at how she was like promoted so quickly from featured player to full cast member, just thinking about I think the versatility for her is what really stands out. Just thinking about weekend update, impact characters, impressions, like the political bits, like just every little piece she touched upon. And I just when I think, when people think about that era of the early 2000s, like you can't talk about that era without talking about Amy. So for me she was a definite check plus, plus, plus. 0:45:15 - Speaker 2And Victoria Franca. You were my guest on the Amy Poehler episode In this season. Do I even have to ask? 0:45:22 - Speaker 3You don't, you absolutely don't, but I just, jamie, just said it. She was the first woman to be promoted within her first season at Saturday Night Live as someone who's trying to semi-follow on her footsteps of being in the Chicago comedy scene. I don't think people truly understand what she's done. Pre-snl in this realm is such a big deal and not many people get to experience it. And then I mean this will explain why she's she was number one. I also just wanted to defend my episode. It would be silly for me not to have her on my ballot, but she, if you go to her Wikipedia page and you look at her awards it has, you have to go to a different Wikipedia page to list all of her awards and norms. So enough said she's. You know she's one of a kind, she's the first of many And yeah, i mean for my mention this in that episode that I am standing on her shoulders and I know that she's standing on others, but for me she's the one pulling me up to the top. 0:46:30 - Speaker 2So All right, Darren Patterson, does Amy Poehler get the thumbs up from you? 0:46:35 - Speaker 4She does. She was on my list. I mean it's, i don't know how you can not have her on the show. She's, i don't know, she's fantastic, she's phenomenal. You know, founding member of the UCB and the episode she didn't really show that she's like had strong improv chops from the from the jump. You know her time. A weekend update was memorable with both with Tina and with Seth. 0:47:03 - Speaker 6Yeah, that's a no brainer, It's, she's. she's someone like you can make a case kind of like it's hard not to even put her in like anyone's top 10 of all time kind of lists. So Amy Poehler's easy. 0:47:15 - Speaker 2Yeah, Amy Poehler's super beloved. I have a feeling we'll be sending her her Hall of Fame plaque here in the next few months. Darren, I'll go back to you Who's next on your list. 0:47:26 - Speaker 4Well, let's go back to host And this, this host I wrote, i wrote down, i believe one of you guys talked about on the episode Christopher Walken Let's talk about, start talking about walking. I feel like he's yeah, i mean, he's pretty much he's a no brainer just to get into the Hall of Fame again. He's one of those hosts you wouldn't think would be good in comedic sketches, just because he mainly he does drama and he has, you know, he's a bit of an odd character But somehow a Sunnell was able to like funnel that odd energy he has into all these classic sketches. You know, of course, the continental kernel Angus And you know, and of course, the cowbell sketch with the blue oyster skull, one of the most iconic sketch that people are still quoting to this day. You know, i got to have more cowbell. Yeah, it is. It is strange like how, you know, christopher Walken does have this kind of odd energy, is able to funnel that into comedy to show that he's not, you know, such a, you know, kind of weird weirdo, but he's actually pretty funny too And he's actually has comedic chops. 0:48:40 - Speaker 5So, in addition to all those points, i feel like just the way that his episodes had this like kind of total feel to them of like you had certain things you look forward to, like those opening musical numbers that were just always a little bit zamy and fun and certain recurring characters and sketches that he participated in, kind of bringing to the next level. I feel like he was always up for anything And I think like what's really what's really interesting to me about him and we talked a little bit about this in the podcast was not only did like you see him having an impact on the show, you see the show impacting how people think about him. Like when you talk to somebody about Christopher Walken, they think of SNL. Like it's just become so intertwined like his identity and SNL, that I feel like he he had to get one of my votes. 0:49:33 - Speaker 2So, darmie, does Christopher Walken's odd energy and personality resonate with you? 0:49:40 - Speaker 6It does but not for my list. But okay, he doesn't make my list. But, like, i'm a big fan of Christopher Walken And everyone has made great points and you know, got nothing but love for everybody. But I will say this, and I believe, thomas, we spoke about this like back when I was on the show with you, like off air And I might get some heat for it But if you take away in the cowbell sketches iconic top five sketch of all time if you take that away, i don't think Christopher Walken is making the impact with everyone. In my opinion I'd like to weigh everyone else is saying so I feel like there's moments That can be Hall of Fame worthy. There's those Hall of like in sports, hall of Fame type of games, hall of Fame type of contributors, in other ways. But I feel like that sketch is how Christopher Walken, in my opinion, should be in a Hall of Fame. He's a part of a Hall of Fame sketch, a Mount Rushmore sketch, but you take that away. are people really talking about Christopher Walken on SNL like is he hitting it that same way? I Personally don't think so. So Christopher Walken, i could see him getting in in the future on my ballot, but for right now he's. He's a. It's a tough one, but no. 0:50:54 - Speaker 2Victoria, what do you think I? 0:50:56 - Speaker 3Agree with Jeremy here. I outside of cowbell and maybe Colonel Angus, which is like Just recently came a top of mind, i Can't really name anything else I mean in the cowbell itself, i think The star of that was Will Ferrell, so he wasn't even a focal point really in that for me. So I mean not to say he's not talented, not to say he's not iconic, but I think when it comes to I think he deserves to be in a Hall of Fame like an actor or comedy Hall of Fame. 0:51:27 - Speaker 2But just ball. 0:51:28 - Speaker 3Hall of Fame right, but just for me, it wouldn't be the Saturday Night Live Hall of Fame. And if you're listening to this, christopher Walken And I know that you are Don't kill me. 0:51:39 - Speaker 6All it takes is one tweet. 0:51:42 - Speaker 2All right, victoria. Who are gonna be tweeting about next? who's on your list? 0:51:46 - Speaker 3This is hard. This is hard. I moved, i Took someone else out and I, as we were talking, and I replaced this person with them. I won't say it because I feel like this person can be mentioned by someone else, but a writer and, i think, someone who is, who deserves their flowers, at least from NBC The one and only Conan O'Brien. Conan O'Brien is Undoubtedly funny. He's made such an impact on Saturday Night Live and I feel like he's. You know, i think he's earned it and and how much work he's put in. And you know, we all know Conan O'Brien. He's, i think he's a staple in the comedy world low-loan Saturday Night Live and, and his career wouldn't be where it is today without Saturday Night Live. So that's so. 0:52:34 - Speaker 2I've added him in all right, team Cocoa Victoria is. Team Cocoa Is anybody else. Does anybody else have Conan on their list? And if not, why not? I'm actually want to go to Darren. What do you think about Conan O'Brien? 0:52:49 - Speaker 4Hey look, i love Coco, i love mr, mr O'Brien I I came very close to having a moment. Let's very close. Just, you know, just he is, of course, you know, in the eight. I think the 80s era as an L is the era I grew up with, right, that's why I really have an affinity for it. And so to see, like Conan O'Brien in that era, where he was with other writers, like You know, bob, odin, kirk and and Schmeigel, like that really Endured me to him. Of course He was a fantastic writer with a Simpsons. He was in the very first five-timers Club sketch, of course. 0:53:25 - Speaker 6It was a very easy no for me because I Definitely respect Conan as the performer and the late-night host and what he's become. But I feel on the show He was a part of a group of writers that like emerged, but there's not a lot of sketches that were like that's a Conan sketch, i believe. Even on, like the fly on the wall Podcast with Carvey and spade, schmeigel went on and said that the, the girl watcher that love it's in Hanks did. That was a mostly a Conan Like written sketch which I a lot of people gave to Schmeigel, including myself, that Schmeigel only helped out with. But I think Conan because who he became, we know him, i think of him writing wise, more for what he did on the Simpsons than what he did on SNL. So for me, conan not on the list. 0:54:12 - Speaker 2Jamie, do you have anything to say about Conan? 0:54:13 - Speaker 5Yeah, he did not make my list, unfortunately either. I feel like I Was like being pulled a little bit by the fact that he's like a great entertainer and human. But then I like got checked and was like, if I didn't think of him from other things, would he still make my list? and when I applied that check he didn't. 0:54:30 - Speaker 2So I think that's fair. Well, we've just caused Victoria to mobilize the beehive and team Coco, so so right, i think we're all in for it. 0:54:40 - Speaker 3I hope you're all sweating. 0:54:42 - Speaker 2Yeah, Jeremy, I want to. 0:54:44 - Speaker 6I want to know what's who's next on your list for me, i got to go with a guy who I probably would not put him on my top 10 Greatest cast members anymore but he's definitely on top 10 most important, and that's John Belushi. To me, one of the people to establish What SNL was, not just because he was there and on the show, but just that kind of rebellious, kind of anti-establishment counterculture feel that SNL had for so long and now it is part of. It is the establishment now But to kind of give it where like SNL had that cool feeling. I think John Belushi was the first one to really get that. I mean the sketches from the Blues Brothers to, you know, with the samurai, just so many things on there, are just iconic and For someone like him who at one point was on the number one, you know, late night show had a number one album with the Blues Brothers and the number one movie with Animal House, all at one point Kind of really you can say Chevy Chase But I feel like the the blueprint for that SNL star to get into movies and everything. I look at John Belushi As he's that first one to kind of be like, oh, from SNL Stardom to movie stardom. That was him and he kind of paved the way, for you saw what Bill Murray did and Eddie Murphy and Sandler and all these other guys. So John Belushi I I guess that I would got to put him as Top 10 most important cast members. He's a no-brainer. 0:56:19 - Speaker 2Yeah, jamie, is he a no-brainer for you? 0:56:22 - Speaker 5Yeah, he was, and this is where, like, i feel like I sometimes have to separate, like personal preference and historical impact. and I think, like personal preference aside and I mean no, no disrespect, amazing comedian, but Just, yeah, legacy on the show, i think a lot of folks would really have him in the conversation for Top 10, some might even say top five, just impactful Cast numbers. So, yeah, he definitely made my list. 0:56:49 - Speaker 2Yeah. 0:56:49 - Speaker 4Darren Yeah, absolutely, he made my list too. I mean he was he was the first cast member in the first cold open of the show ever. Yeah, and like a lot of things that Darren, me and Jamie already hit the two like his impact on the show, the energy brought, he brought that Sort of rebellious wild card, you know factor to the show. That that really, you know that really Resonated with the young audience at the time, while the college kids and whatever like he, you know, he just like was embodied, that just like the crazy You know party guy and and you know, just doing cartwheels. I mean just his yeah, his impact and his energy was just so Momentous and it affected future cast members too, like like Chris Farley is, you know, said on record numerous times like yeah, i modeled my whole life after John Belushi. 0:57:41 - Speaker 3The trace of him is is throughout comedy for Forever and I mean in Rolling Stone, and I have the magazine He's the cover, and Rolling Stone, in February 2015, did a ranking of, i think, all 141 SNL cast members. At that time, of course, that was eight years ago, and he was number one and I think it just speaks to him and it speaks to his comedy and you know, he's, he's, he's a legend, he's one of the goats, as as the kids say these days, and he's I'll say he's like the Michael Jordan of SNL cast members. 0:58:22 - Speaker 2Yeah, and I think he, I think he's gonna find himself in the SNL Hall of Fame. He's another one of those. When we set up the season and looked at the ballot that it's pretty sure was gonna make it. So this is almost just confirmation of that. I'm gonna go over to Jamie And find out who's next on your list. 0:58:39 - Speaker 5Yeah so Let's maybe talk about dick. Ever saw I Was. I don't want to steal your thunder, dare me, just listen to your podcast on this one as well and I Yeah, i think just when we're talking about like impact on the show and thinking about multiple Touch points where he had a pivotal role, that was what really pushed this over the edge for me. So I think, thinking about that initial role in helping to create the show and the role he played with Lauren, but then also thinking about his role and arguably the biggest save of the show And I think a lot of times we'll throw around the phrase like oh, snl wouldn't be here, wouldn't be what it is without XYZ person, but I think in this case, like it's actually pretty true. So that, to me, pushed me over the edge on this one. It's a little bit of a non-traditional, like getting outside the cast host world, but I did end up including him in my ballot. 0:59:41 - Speaker 2Yeah, dick ever saw. Super interesting to me. I'm gonna clear the the seas for you. Now dare me Tell us what you want to about dick ever saw. 0:59:51 - Speaker 6Jamie, you are amazing. This is so cool. I thought I'd be up here by myself and this you've made my week. Thank you, jamie. Dick ever saw the man who helped to co-create Saturday Night Live. He picked Lauren Michaels We all can agree the most important person in SNL history to run the show. It's a big part in forming it. Then when Lauren leaves and Jean Dominion almost threw it down the toilet and they fire her, they bring in ever saw and By box office numbers and I think it's hard to really argue it the biggest star to come from the show is Eddie Murphy. And who's the one now? Eddie was hired Reluctantly by Jean Domenion who put him in that star seat. That saved the show. That was dick ever saw and I mean those two things right there I got to give love for. But then you can also look at that Steinbrenner year Where you have Billy Crystal and Chris guests and you know Martin short and those iconic sketches that came from one year. That's also dick ever saw. So right on, jamie, dick ever saw slam dunk for me. 1:00:58 - Speaker 2Yes, jeremy, thank you so much and you're a great guest on that show and Dick ever saw just a fascinating candidate to me, victoria. I'm curious to know your thoughts. How much did you give dick ever saw much consideration? 1:01:12 - Speaker 3Yeah, jamie and Jeremy Said it that I mean it is what it is SNL like. As Jamie said, it would literally not be here If it wasn't for him. So, giving, giving him his, his flowers. 1:01:29 - Speaker 2Yes, dick ever saw. all right, darren, are we gonna make me and Jeremy and All the dick ever saw fans happy out there? 1:01:37 - Speaker 4Uh, yeah, yeah, let's do it. Just because I think I know a lot of, for some reason like a lot of purists, i guess. Only consider the Lorne Michael years of SNL, like the true SNL, just, and also, like I mean, with the exception of you know, like it's at the Eddie Murphy episode, no one really talks about the ever saw all years that much, but like I've I Gotta go back and watch them again. But like I do remember there being like a lot of Like solid shows and a lot of solid performers and sketches Happening in those years and they don't really kind of get talked about that much. It's like one of those things where, like people are surprised when you, when they hit I like Julie Louis Dreyfus was on SNL It's like, oh really, i don't. 1:02:20 - Speaker 2Darren, i want to stay with you. Let us know who's next on your list, next on my list. 1:02:29 - Speaker 4All right. Well, i mean I forgot if. Okay, all right, we all right, We got it All right. Bill Murray, we got to have Bill Murray in the SNL Hall of Fame. It's not even it's. What are we doing here? I Mean the guy came in replaced Chevy Chase after Chevy left after season one and Pretty much did a better job Chevy Chase's job than Chevy did. I mean he came out with like Nick the loud singer and did the nerds with Gilda and he just Kind of brought in this really kind of loosey-goosey, laid-back energy to the show that really people really like, really loved and fived with. You know people find him endearing and like that really enjoy working Joy working with him on the show, like I would say I mean, and also he's just gone on to be Be this really great actor and have this really great career. 1:03:22 - Speaker 2Jeremy, how do you feel about Bill Murray? 1:03:25 - Speaker 6another slam dunk. Saturday night live was a hit show. Chevy was the first breakout star and him coming on During the second season and even that sketch that kind of made him get established. Which is I'm not doing well on the show. I need your help and just even watching that clip all the time was some people call me Billy around here. I get called the new guy, like. It's just just a great way to kind of like, which I think you would see now is like not that, but back in you know, 76, 77. That was a different way of kind of like breaking the zeitgeist and saying like you know, i know you guys aren't really looking at me as the you know the audience. You're thinking of Chevy, but I'm here too. So, kind of like what Darren said, he's just synonymous. He wasn't on the first season. Well, a lot of times people associate him with the first year because he just made such an impact the next four. So bill Murray is an easy one. 1:04:19 - Speaker 2Yeah, he's a de facto Original, not ready for playing primetime player. Honestly, in most people's eyes, jamie is Bill Murray on your ballot, yeah absolutely. 1:04:28 - Speaker 5I was curious to see how long we would get into this before his name came up, so I'm glad it finally has. I think Everyone's gonna have covered it really well. But just I have mad respect for anyone who's put in that kind of like Tough position and keeping in mind how early in the show's era it was. In this day and age We're used to cast coming in and out. But for him to kind of be in that role in the second season of having to replace Somebody, so great and just how he stepped up and is now in conversations of again all time among the all-time great. So respect to him on that. 1:05:00 - Speaker 2Yeah, victoria, we got a Chicago boy here. Does he get your, your vote? 1:05:05 - Speaker 3Yeah, he, yes, he is the blueprint for all of us and I, you know, i'm not gonna add anything new to it, except he is why, partially why I am here today, and also my brother would kill me if I did not have him on my ballot as a as a Born-and-raised Chicago boy himself. 1:05:29 - Speaker 2Bill Murray clean sweep on everybody's ballots h

Join us for a trip down memory lane as we discuss who deserves a spot in the SNL Hall of Fame with our panel of former guests, Brad, Dave, and Will! Hear their thoughts on this season's candidates, with Brad kicking off the conversation with his number one pick - the legendary John Belushi.From debating the comedic stylings of Belushi, Bill Murray, and Dana Carvey, to discussing the merits of newer SNL icons like Dave Chappelle, Justin Timberlake, and Maya Rudolph, our panelists offer insightful opinions on the lasting impact these cast members have on the show. They also touch on the early years of SNL and how its pioneers shaped the show into the cultural phenomenon it is today.But don't worry - we don't just cover the A-listers. Listen in as we discuss underrated gems like Jane Curtin, Jan Hooks, and even controversial figures like Dick Ebersol. Plus, we weigh in on whether musical guests like Beyonce and Miley Cyrus deserve a spot in the SNL Hall of Fame. Grab your headphones and join us for a nostalgia-filled, laughter-inducing, and enlightening roundtable discussion!Chapters(0:00:08) - SNL Hall of Fame Roundtable Discussion(0:08:21) - SNL Hall of Fame Candidates(0:13:35) - Debating SNL Hall of Fame Candidates(0:24:56) - SNL Hall of Fame Picks(0:34:02) - SNL Hall of Fame Ballot Discussion(0:45:44) - SNL Hall of Fame Nominations(0:54:11) - SNL Hall of Fame Inductees Discussion(1:07:04) - Debating SNL Hall of Fame Nominees(1:15:37) - Suggesting Musical Guests for SNLTranscript0:00:08 - Speaker 1It's the SNL Hall of Fame podcast with your host, jamie Dube, chief librarian Thomas Senna, and featuring Matt Ardill At now. Curator of the Hall, jamie Dube. 0:00:41 - Speaker 2Hi everyone, welcome to the Saturday Night Live Hall of Fame. I am your guest host for this roundtable, matt Ardill, and it is my pleasure to be hosting an amazing panel of former guests who are going to share their votes for this season's set of candidates going to the Saturday Night Live Hall of Fame. So what we'll do is we'll go around and we'll have everybody introduce themselves. Brad, if you want to start. 0:01:12 - Speaker 3Hi, i'm Brad Robinson from the Not Ready for Primetime podcast. Happy to be here, dave. 0:01:19 - Speaker 4I'm Dave Buckman. I own Coldtown Theater in Austin, texas. I'm a second city alum, boom, chicago alum and general podcast panelist for Saturday Night Live related podcasts. 0:01:33 - Speaker 5It's Dave and Will. Yes, hi, I'm Will Norman and I'm just also an SNL enthusiast and podcast guest here on the Hall of Fame Network. I've been on the Was Only Beyonce episode. I'm just excited to talk with all of you today about this season's nominees. Thanks for having me. 0:01:48 - Speaker 2Great, and what are we all expecting tonight, like? what kind of result, what kind of conversation? I mean, i know I'm spending a fun time, i think it's going to be an interesting combination of opinions here, but what are you all expecting for tonight? 0:02:05 - Speaker 4I'm expecting to have my mind changed on a couple of people. I have more than 15 on my ballot, so I need to be talked off the ledge for a couple of weeks. 0:02:18 - Speaker 3I'm interested to see where the conversation goes old versus new. My ballot's fairly full and it's fairly full with returning nominees and older nominees, so I'm excited to see if I can convince some people to keep these old timers on the ballot. 0:02:36 - Speaker 5I'm expecting an all out blood bath tonight. I guess I might be. Maybe that won't be the case, maybe not be the case, but I'm on the opposite of Dave, where I used about 13 of my votes. I'm still kind of on the. I guess I'm kind of on that border with a few of them and actually just want to have a conversation to see who I might be overlooking and who some of those votes might go to. with returning nominees and first ballot people, i'm excited to see where the conversation goes today. 0:03:03 - Speaker 2So we'll use 13. What made you land at that number? Why did you hold back a couple? 0:03:12 - Speaker 5So I ended up leaving my ballot at 13 because there's a lot of other candidates that were first ballot or returning nominees that I feel like I needed a little bit more time and was actually hoping to get some conversation with the panelists here today to just kind of see where I may have overlooked someone besides, just kind of speaking to my own biases, to see if I could be educated on some people that I might have overlooked that deserve to be in those final two spots. 0:03:35 - Speaker 2Awesome, Dave. how many votes did you use and what was your logic? 0:03:41 - Speaker 4I used all 17. Even though we're only allowed to have 15. 0:03:47 - Speaker 2So could it be some editing on the fly kind of thing going on, Yeah? 0:03:50 - Speaker 4I'm going to have to really I'm going to need Will and Brad to kind of like tell me why somebody doesn't deserve to be on there, because I mean I could have honestly, i could have picked 25 out of these 30. It was very, very hard to get to where I am now and I'm looking at it. I just don't mean how do I, how? the people I have on my bubble are just legendary. So how do you, how do you cut them from that ballot? I don't even know how to like rank them if I was going to. So that's where I'm at. 0:04:22 - Speaker 2And. 0:04:22 - Speaker 3Brad, i'm a bit more like Will. I've got 14 selections. 11 of them are pretty solid. I've got actually 12 because one of them is the musical guest my one musical guest vote. So I've got a couple that I'm on the fence to hear about, and I left an empty spot to see if, you know, someone can convince me. 0:04:40 - Speaker 2I like you, brad, chose 14. I have one where I'm like, oh, like this, last time I did this I filled all 15. Then afterwards I was like, oh, you know, that was a really strong case, but I cast my vote and I'm going to have to stand by it And I'm going to be the one to let somebody convince me at the end of how I'm going to vote. So it makes it for an interesting conversation. Create some stakes when we're doing that Terrific. Okay, well, what we'll do again. Like well, i'll just start working my way around the, around the ring here, and why don't we just start naming off our, our picks? So, brad, do you want to start us off? 0:05:23 - Speaker 3My number one pick is John Belushi Easy pick. If you've heard our podcast, i'm a huge John Belushi fan, saturday Night Live and otherwise and he's hands down my number one pick between iconic characters, great impressions, legendary sketches, does it all, plays himself And you know, in addition to Dan, the first cast members to ever be featured on the show in another role while they were cast members, when him and Dan were musical guests as well, they were the first cast members to actually be shown, showcased in another light as well. So John Belushi is my number one. 0:06:02 - Speaker 2I watched a lot of those very early episodes at an entirely inappropriate age. So you know, i got to know his work really young and he made me laugh then and he still makes me laugh now. I mean, i think I rewatched just recently the Star Trek sketch And it's just that the impersonation that he does of Shatner is hilarious And it's just like it. Just it shows a range that a lot of people especially now as there's been distance from his work people don't credit it with, like they think Animal House and this loud ruckus character. But he had a lot more to him And, yeah, i can totally understand that. 0:06:44 - Speaker 3Yeah, he has a lot more to him, especially in season one. You know he does his Shatner impression. He's got his Marlon Brando impression, the Joe Cocker impression that he does in episode three. I still will put up against anything that's been done in the last 50 years on that show And even stuff you forget, like we've been going back, we've been watching the old Land Shark sketches and he does a Richard Dreyfuss impression which is amazingly great. It's surprisingly good. I don't even remember it, it's so good. So it's even the small stuff. And then, before he gets big, that season one is great watching John because he plays very childish and like impish sort of scenes where, like by season three, that's all gone because he is, he's full blown Belushi by that point. So it's it's. He definitely has a range And if you've watched from the beginning through, you see that whole arc. 0:07:28 - Speaker 5Any other 70 thoughts on Belushi, belushi was near the top of my list as well. I mean, i think it's impossible to tell the story of SNL without mentioning Belushi and his contributions, so obviously taken away too soon. 0:07:42 - Speaker 4I did not put Belushi on my ballot. Maybe in future ballots, perhaps when he stacked up against fourth or fifth rounders, but Belushi never hit me Well. I love little chocolate donuts, i love the Blues Brothers, i love the Marlon Brando impression, i love the Joe Cocker impression, but I don't think that he was much of a team player. I think he was very much about Belushi and Belushi's goals for the show And a lot of his humor hit me is very angry and aggressive rather than funny, and I just that's not my kind of humor. I feel the same way about Michael Adonahue. It just it's not. It was funny, i think, to me when I was 12 or 13, but I think I've grown. I've grown out of that style of humor And I also love Animal House and I love all of his movies too. But when stacked up against some of these other folks, i think their contributions to the genre of Saturday Night Live there's better contributions out there. 0:08:47 - Speaker 3I'll try to argue him in this a little bit. I hear what you're saying with his comedy coming from anger and I do agree it definitely gets there. But if you look at the early seasons, one and two especially, i don't think he's gotten there yet. You know, the Joe Cocker, the Marlon Brando impression is amazing. The Star Trek scene both of the elite cool, are great. His Beethoven impression, the Richard Dreyfus that I mentioned, little chocolate donuts There's so much stuff he does the samurai character that lead up to him getting to that point. I think once he becomes what we've come to know as John Belushi, i agree with you a bit that it does get a bit edgy. Edgy's the wrong word. It does get a bit angry. It does come from that place and it's not as genuinely funny. But to Will's point, i don't know how you talk about Saturday Night Live without John Belushi, without seeing him in the B outfit, without seeing him in the samurai, without seeing him behind the counter of Olympia restaurant, not being Jake Blues, him and Akaroid together final days sketch. there's just so much of those first four years that if you don't have John Belushi I don't know what happens. Season one's all about Chevy. Chevy leaves and Bill Murray didn't jump right out of the gate as blowing the doors off the place, and John really helped keep that together until Bill found his voice. I mean not just John alone, john and Dan and all of them, but John Belushi is a key, key factor as to how we made it from the Chevy Chase era to the Bill Murray era and that show exploding into the zeitgeist of comedy. 0:10:15 - Speaker 2It's a strong argument. It's an interesting case. This is the fun of the round table We get to hear the different points and counter points. So, dave, do you want to share your first pick? 0:10:30 - Speaker 4My first pick is Bill Murray. Bill Murray is, for me, the consummate sketch performer. He basically owned Season 4 and 5. He's come back to host so many times and kind of just lift the crowd and the cast and the show with him every time he comes back. His contributions, beyond his four years in the show you know he set a tone for the kind of cast member A he's the first new hire you know, for all its purposes the first feature performer And just the kind of person that's in every sketch. you know, setting that archetype of like that Phil Hartman, that Bill Murray, will Ferrell, somebody who's just going to consistently get in there every single sketch and destroy and even make bad scenes better just by being in them. And his characters are just so many, so many to mention. you know, from the nerd sketch to Nick the Louncing singer, to his time on the Weekend Update desk doing Oscar picks. There's just so many iconic things that you can point back to Bill Murray which would absolutely be in the Hall of Fame. 0:11:42 - Speaker 2Anybody else? vote for Bill Murray. 0:11:46 - Speaker 3He's my number two. I can't argue with anything. Dave said He's my number two pick Again. I mentioned it before like he had a rough coming in after Chevy. You know Chevy left and he didn't jump right into the spotlight so it took him time. He took the reins and he ran with it and you know he didn't really have that many impressions but didn't need to. Like Dave said, his sketches are great. His characters are great. He held down Weekend Update. There's a lot of anger behind Bill Murray. I'm just going to say He's got that drive in him a little bit as well. Just to relay my John Belushi point. But no Bill. 0:12:15 - Speaker 4Murray. But no, dave, i mean again, but he's impish, he's got like. 0:12:19 - Speaker 3He plays it off much better He does. 0:12:21 - Speaker 4But no, I add him right there. 0:12:22 - Speaker 3Number two with Dave. Same thing You can't talk SNL without Bill Murray, Will any thoughts? 0:12:27 - Speaker 5Yeah. So I think I'm probably going to hop into Dave's camp here and say that Bill Murray is not on my Hall of Fame ballot, so yeah, so I'll explain. I still have two spots left, so it's not definitive. But the reason why is so? I will start by saying that Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love Bill Murray, but I was worried that I was fading a lot of my feelings about Bill Murray, his post-SNL career versus Jesse down the show. Obviously, most respect to Nick the lounge singer, his work on the update. Also now that one point time he had the obviously innovative for the time, his plea to the viewers and kind of saying hey, i'm new on the show, i don't know if it's actually really working, like, can you guys like write in and, you know, give me some support. And I think kind of even in that, even though it's obviously very innovative, just the fact that he was kind of in that spot, i think about it as a Hall of Fame or someone who is just to me like, are they Hall of Fame or not? I think he was obviously great on the show at the time, but just wondering if I was shading him a little bit too much with my fandom of him post-show, but I think it has made some very compelling arguments. Like I said that early not the one to John Belushi, but, like I said, there's still some wiggle room. So maybe I've overlooked Bill. But just to make it on my first cut of the first view. 0:13:38 - Speaker 2I'll admit, he's not on my list either. Now. I mean, i know, i know, but I love Ghostbusters, i love Grand Hog Day, i love his work in the show, I love his work after the show. But again, it was like it was one of those things where I'm like am I letting this, like the these things that I loved as a kid outside of the show, shade my opinion there? But also I'm like I was trying to balance it out where I'm like not choosing all of these big names and choosing like, just choosing different people And it's like, but, but I have one, i have one, so he's definitely. You know, dave and Brad made good points. When I come to the end, i don't know He's, he's, he's in there. He's in there as, like my baby. Now, will, who did you? who's your first pick? 0:14:29 - Speaker 5So my first pick at the top of my list was Dana Carvey. So for me Dana Carvey, master impressionist, obviously had some iconic characters. He did obviously a great push, a Bush impression. I think most people who impersonate George W Bush are doing an impersonation of Dana Carvey doing Bush. You got Church Lady. I obviously have Garth from Wayne's World, garth Algarso. He has an iconic character on the show as well. That went on to other things And I just think when you think about the, when you think about some of the all timers, we look at the cast members that we love for the Hall of Fame. They are people who can do it all that can carry a sketch, that can do impressions, that can do characters, original characters that get along with the cast, that have things that outlast their time on the show. And I think we don't be looking at the Hall of Fame. You know it's easy to kind of. We just talked about a shading things with, like someone's post career Versus what they did on the show, but we're ice-litting just to someone's timeline. Snl I don't think that there's a time in the future of SNL's existence that someone couldn't mention Wayne's World and Wouldn't be. You know, no Notable as an else. A sketch isn't that special. You know Bush impressions like I'm no data Carby so I'm not gonna do those impressions, but I think it's. It's very hard to say he's not probably one of the best cast members ever come through and During his time in the show and I think he just made it a great impression and so he was no top of my list. 0:15:57 - Speaker 2Anybody else vote for Dana. 0:16:00 - Speaker 4Dana's at the bottom of my bubble. He's somebody that I'm like, i want to put on that list because how him, how He's like the perfect cast member. It's just somebody who's always gonna have fun and be likeable and Come up and come in with characters every weekend, week out. I think a lot of his material doesn't hold up so much. Some of the writings just feels weaker compared to modern-day sketch comedy writing. But he can't deny his level of Talent and just like he was just built for that, for that show. But I I don't know if I don't know if Wally of going back and watching his stuff holds up against some of the other folks On this list. 0:16:49 - Speaker 2Brad, do you? 0:16:49 - Speaker 3have any thoughts. I've got him at number three On my ballot. He is probably, pound for pound, i think, one of the best performers the show's ever had. As will said impressions. I don't know if there's one he can't do bush, our Johnny Carson, car, senio, characters, church at Hans and Franz waning garth. So I mean, right right there, his resume is amazing. He's one of the first guys who would take a cold open and sit by himself in front of the camera for seven minutes and open the show by himself. And I like to look at it at you, look at each era of Saturday night live and where they stood in that era. So you got to remember Dana Carvey showed up Lawrence second year When he came back after his return and the show was not in a good place and that cast is really the reason that that SNL Exists today is guys like Dana Carvey, mike Myers, dennis Miller, john Lovett's, jan Hooks, nor done that cast pulled it Through and Dana Carvey, right off the gate with like chopping broccoli and church chat in the first four or five episodes of That season is just vital for not only that season But the next four or five, six years that he was on that show keeping Sarah night and I have relevant funny hip and Continuing he's on my list as well, just for that. 0:18:03 - Speaker 2I mean, to be fair, that's also like my high school era SNL. So I mean I feel like that. That always kind of burns itself into your, your emotional psyche. So like him and Mike Myers and all of that crew From that era, or just really emotionally important to me, but also like, just like even his little stupid stuff, like the chopping broccoli sketch. It's just such a silly little premise but he Pulls it off in a way that it never becomes stupid, never becomes like okay, we get it. He says I'm chopping broccoli over and over again, let's move on, it just remains fresh. He knows how to keep the, the, the tightness, that's the tension, just right, and And he I found he brought that to like everything. So he is on my list as well. Awesome choice, awesome choice. I am just gonna go by alphabetical order because I can't wait These people. It's so too difficult that that's a level of emotional investment I'm not ready to to give. But I'm gonna start with Amy polar. She is, she is on my list. She's just such a like Dana Carvey, like a workhorse. She would show up for a sketch. She would give it her all. You know it's, it's, it's that massachusetts upbringing kind of thing, like where she she just Fights and goes, and I mean you can see it in like her entire career with like UCB and and all of these other projects that she's. She's lifted from the ground up. When she attacked a sketch She really put all of her energy into it. And I mean like, yeah, these great characters like Betty Caruso, where it's just like she has a way of grounding, even her silly characters, where, you know, bronx beat is just such a silly concept But it never veers into the realm of like coffee talk with Mike Myers when he did coffee talk, where it's just like, okay, this is just a little bit too silly, especially now that Barbara Streisand this showed up. It's just, it just remains true to the premise and Yeah, so that that was my first vote anybody else I agree. 0:20:23 - Speaker 4I mean Amy's on my ballot as well. I think there's Some power. She is just a dynamo, a force to be reckoned with. You know, caitlyn's one of my all-time favorite characters and her stint on we can update is Exemplary. Paired with Seth and with Tina, she had a rough couple first episodes but then just Dominated we can update for many years. I love her characters, i love her energy. I love her Just her general energy and attitude towards comedy and lifting other people up through positivity. And And Bronx beat again also one of my all-time favorites. So Amy Poehler for sure belongs to be the whole thing. 0:21:07 - Speaker 5Yeah, i would. I would agree. She was, like I said, probably I guess number two or so on my list. They said also just an all-time cast member in that like lineage of You know, kristen Wiig and just kind of that dynamo, like that's there throughout the time at the time on the show and They said she has some great characters. Or Sir Hillary Clinton is like the original, like I said, she's just very dependable. There's just those cast members that show up in a sketchy note. It's gonna be good, they're gonna get, but they're all and I just feel like she was one of them And just to me like a no questions asked, first ballahalla famer. 0:21:39 - Speaker 3I do not have her on my ballot, i do not think she's the first time ballot Hall of Famer, but Uh, you guys talk a lot in the podcast. What's a recency bias? I'm probably. Whatever the opposite of that is. So I don't. I don't think I have anybody on my ballot as a first-time nominee. That is Post 1990 something. I think she'll get in eventually, but I there's a lot of other people I think are more deserving to get in, whose time's running out almost. So I didn't vote for Amy Poehler Cuz. I think she'll get in eventually, but I don't think she's first-timer for me. 0:22:11 - Speaker 2Why don't we switch directions will? do you want to share your next choice there? 0:22:17 - Speaker 5Yeah, sure. So I would say next is another first ballot Hall of Famer, but I think has a pretty long tenure. Be mr Christopher walkin Was one of my taught, near top of my list. I think that we look at all the All-time hosts on the show, i think walkin's definitely up there. Obviously it's hosted a lot over his time in his tenure. He has had some notable characters and some great sketches. Is the continental I think I was obviously great sketch his Colonel Angus sketch still makes me laugh and then Tribial, psychic, you know, i think, just the hilarious premise that he just executes to perfection. So it's just. I feel like walking is one of those guys who came on and obviously he was very Easy along the cast and talk about being a team player. When I'm thinking about hosts, people that have been on the show, that are in that, that world, it's You know how able, how are you able to enter like, be within the cast, not just kind of on the outskirts let them do their thing, but really ingratiate yourself to the cat, have your own memorable sketches and and have almost recurring thing, have recurring sketches that Make me think if it weren't for your life outside of ethanol, you could have easily been a cat member, and that's kind of tough to give a host, and not over the cat's members that are there grinding it out every week, over every week but he just feels like someone who once again is is up, up to nominate. I think he's just been a great, great host and I thought that he deserves to get into the whole thing. 0:23:40 - Speaker 2Anybody else vote for Christopher walk. 0:23:43 - Speaker 4He's on my bubble. I don't haven't cut him yet, i know, certainly participating in cowbell and the centaur sketch and sense of sketch and Continental and yeah, all those, just wonderful, just being game for anything. And just I was listening to a couple of his Scenes before the show tonight and just his two handers, which is him and somebody else, going back and forth, is just beauty he has. His rhythm is perfect, his deadpan is perfect, he is game for anything and it's, you know, out of all the people that just reads cue cards, i mean, does anybody do it better than Christopher walk in? no, i don't think so. I think he's one of the all-time best hosts and I wish they'd, i wish they'd bring him back Just once, just one more time. But yeah, i mean he'll probably be on my ballot. I don't see why he wouldn't be, Because I don't think he's gonna. He would be bumped by anybody else on this list. So, sure, he's on my ballot. I'm gonna call it right now. 0:24:48 - Speaker 3Awesome, awesome, brad. Any thoughts? I do not have him on my ballot. He is a great host. He's a fantastic host. I only have one host Cemented on my ballot to on my bubble, but again, he's one of those people where I think I feel like Maybe not first-time ballot, but I can see him definitely in the future. 0:25:08 - Speaker 2He was on my list. I think the thing that put him over the top I mean it was the, the Christmas carol where he's reading it to the kids It was just like it was so dark and so weird and nobody else could pull that off, except for Christopher walkin. It was just like perfect, i have to feel it's like he's. He's almost like a train foddle man, like song song and dance man Came up like during my trivia I talked about how he was hired to dance with Liza Manelli by her mom at A birthday party. Like it's just like he's such a weird human being on so many levels And it's just, it's like it forged him into this perfect. You know you don't get many of those hosts, but those ones that are just make the perfect fit And that's sort of I feel he fits in well. Next up, dave. Who's next on your list? 0:26:09 - Speaker 4The next person on my list is Jan hooks. Jan hooks, to me, is my just Top, top performer. I think she's my number two favorite cast member of all time. She has Such a grace to her but also a little bit of smarm to her Maybe one of the best actresses to ever be on on the show, actors to ever be on the show. Her commitment to The moment is unparallel. She can play heartbreaking. She can play Goofy. She can play straight. She is Maybe one of the best utility players they've ever had, somebody who can do characters, do normal people and Just take Whatever you've given, whatever you've written for her, to another level of humanity, which is brings a three-dimensional Shape to a sketch that a lot of people can't deliver. So I would watch Jan hooks do anything. Rest in peace. And she's by far my Yes. 0:27:23 - Speaker 3Any other votes, Yes. Oh, slam dunk. She's one of my other like slam dunk picks for this, for this class. She everything Dave said and more. Like I mentioned about Dana Carvey. She was in that that cast that kept it going and she's as vital as he was, if not more. Yeah everything Dave said, jan hooks is amazing. 0:27:43 - Speaker 2I totally agree too, because, like she, like I said, that was my high school cast and she was, she was on my list as well. I mean, like the fact that she played Tina or Tammy, faye Baker and Jessica Hahn, like she did both impersonations of this. Like that's mind-bending And Speaks to the power of makeup. But But yeah, like such an amazing kid, amazing performer, and he thoughts will oh. 0:28:12 - Speaker 5Yeah, so, oh yeah, so for Jan hook, she actually is, she's actually on my bubble, so I think there was another earlier cat somewhere that I went with instead. But like I said, I have all respect for the work that she's done on the show. I think, generally speaking, there's a lot of I'm kind of on the opposite side of Brad, where If there's people that have kind of gone through and have been on the ballot, i kind of in my mind I'm always like is my gut instinct, is this person the hall of fame or not? I'm kind of out of less than the baseball film, of like kind of co and get multiple out back to get in. It's kind of like do I think you're in right away? I definitely think she's on my bubble for this first one, like select those spaces open. But it's couple other people that I that I had a lover, but they're still definitely room for her. I know she was a huge contributor to the show and I'm definitely deserves all respect in the world. 0:28:59 - Speaker 3Brad, your next pick, i'll do a Jane curtain. I've got Jane on my ballot again. Original cast show wouldn't be What it would be without her and I think she is the most underrated cast member in the history of the show. You know my show. We're currently halfway through season one and we have a Bit that has just kind of come up organically, which is how great is Jane? because every episode at some point we talk about how great Jane curtain is. Whether she's playing Somebody's wife or mother or this star of the sea of the sketch, she just does everything. She. You know she didn't have a lot of characters. They came about a little bit later in in her run. But you know she had some impressions. She was the Quinn's essential talk show host. Any time They needed a talk show host for those first five years, jane curtain would do it and she would do it well and she would go toe-to-toe against any host Against blue, she against any kind of knucklehead. They would throw against her in any of those those talk shows. Or you know She held and weekend update. You know she was the first person to Do an editorial on the desk when Chevy was hosting weekend update And then she was the first person to take over form by herself, and then her and Dan, her and Bill, and if you just go back and watch it's, it's, you got another. Use baseball analogies on this. Her batting average is very high. It's very it's very rare Jane curtain Strikes out or has an out, she brings it every time. 0:30:25 - Speaker 2You got any other Jane curtain votes. 0:30:28 - Speaker 5She made on my ballot as well. I think you know we're talking about like Jan and Jane, obviously both great, but that's kind of one of the original. For all the reasons that Brad mentioned, like her being able to hold down that forward and be that Constant through the early stages of the show, i thought that she was great and that she out of my ballot, so she definitely made it on mine as well yours to you, dave. 0:30:48 - Speaker 4Yeah, she's my number three, Jane, before John. For sure Yeah she is. But my favorite cast member of all time is Parnell, and Jane curtain invented that role in the cast. She is the backbone of that cast. She makes The sketches have grounded reality. She's the person we identify with in those scenes. As an audience member she Was finally allowed to flourish in that season five and some of the characters she came out with were fantastic and Wonderful. Underrated actress. I wish. I wish She did not have this feud with mourn or the show, because I would love to see her Lorraine host Once before the 50th. It would be a great show. But when I was growing up, of course, my favorite was acroid when I was a kid watching those old shows. But when I started doing comedy for a living it was Jane. I always go back to Jane. Jane was was doing most of the work in those sketches and I really appreciate her as a comedian. What we don't, we don't really call straight man anymore in in the ground in the woke world of comedy. I'm trying to push forth Absurdo and reason here and set up straight man and And crazy guy. You know, but she is the reason here to be For the ages for sure. 0:32:15 - Speaker 2I think this was our first unanimous vote and she was on my list as well just for all of those reasons and, like You know, like Dave said, bit the backbone. I mean, during those first, those chaotic first few seasons, she was almost like a outside of the context of on the screen she would really help keep that cast together and and grounded just as a cast, but then on the screen She, she kept those scenes just flowing and she's just, you know, criminally underrated by by a lot of people, i feel so. So, yeah, if anybody gets a unanimous vote, that is her make. It makes me very happy. Well, my next pick is my. This is my musical guest, dave Grohl. Just like his, his love of the show is so undeniable, like he's game to do stuff every time he's there and and he's willing to become back and be a part of the show, even to not start, just like as like backup for Tom Petty and and like just just put himself out there as a recurring Supporting musical act. And he's been on like an incredible number of times, so like just crazy number of times for a musical act. So I think it technically puts him in the platinum club, which is because he's been on. I think that many times. I gotta wonder what they get when you get into the platinum club. If they get the look that the fancy blazer When you make it into the five timers, what? what happens there? and I feel sorry for whatever Martin Short has made to do for them. I hope because, he seems to be there either go to Minion at the five-timers club. So yes, anybody else? have any thoughts on Dave? 0:34:04 - Speaker 4Dave's on my bubble. I'm considering just. I think he's on the bubble for a couple reasons. Number one is, yes, he's been there more than any other musical guest, which is something to be applauded and Noted, but I can't think of Performances of his that are iconic outside of Nirvana Performance. I don't. I don't look them crooked vultures, was that one of them? Sure, and they're always great, and I love the food fighters. I love when they come on, i love their songs, but I can't think of one that was just like, oh, when I go back and think about That performance, like some of the great musical performances on that show, none of his really come up for me. So that's why he's On the bubble for me. So, definitely, longevity, definitely. You know, fan of comedy gets the show, always brings it. But as far as actual content, nothing stands out to me as iconic. 0:35:03 - Speaker 2So we'll keep going the same direction and I'll switch, switch around next round. So so will what, what, what do you have next? 0:35:12 - Speaker 5All right. So I think I'll go with some more. I'll be on the recency bias side of things today. I think that's a role I'll play today. So I'm gonna go with someone that's actually coming up again That means in controversial conversations but I'm gonna say Justin Timberlake. I know he's kind of been on the ballot before and kind of steadily climbing, but I'll kind of reiterate what I said before. I just think to me he's just he's one of the best hosts that they've had. I think when you look at it for the time that he was on the show. I know he has been there in a while but similar to early hosts in the early days, like Steve Martin, like appointment television for people to say I'm gonna watch your SNL this evening because Justin Timberlake is gonna be on, or doing double duty I thought that he really brought that level of excitement to the show. Obviously felt like he could have been a cast member on the show. He did recurring sketches. He's talking about Omelaville and all the iterations that came thereafter. Obviously a talented musical artist as well, doing double duties I mentioned before, and I mean Dick in the Box will be around for the rest of time. And I think that when you talk about whether you are in utility or in everything and you're just doing a great job consistently, or you're there and you just have some iconic moments. I think he has a little bit of both And definitely the tensions on him because he's the host. Still a lot of stuff is written around him, but I think people that were on the show at that time, people that he worked with and collaborated with, and say that he felt like someone who could have been on the cast And I just feel like he's someone who, to me, is a Hall of Famer And so that's why I would nominate, or I have Justin on my ballot. 0:36:49 - Speaker 2Anybody else got Justin on there. 0:36:52 - Speaker 4Yes, i do. Justin is definitely. He's the only host I have on my ballot. He is a consummate professional as a host. To not only be a musical guest as well, which I think you would have to be in order to be an iconic Hall of Fame host Not have to be, but it certainly helps And his performances I can think of many of his musical performances as well but to have recurring characters as a host, not with one generation but with two generations. He is the singers with Andy Sandberg, the Andy Gibbs show with Jimmy Fallon. He has his own recurring character, as you mentioned, omletville. That is his own, he's him, he's the constant in that. That is insane, just. I mean Christopher Walken, of course, is in there as well with Continental. That makes sense as well. But I mean I would look forward to any Justin Timberlake show. I'd watch any Justin Timberlake repeat If it comes up on the early version at NBC. I'm sticking around and watching the Justin Timberlake show because I know it's gonna be a great show And he represents to me five-star host experience. So all for Justin Timberlake. 0:38:11 - Speaker 3I don't disagree with what you guys said, but he's not on my ballot, but it's just there. I confined I think 13, 14 more people that I'd rather make sure got in or stayed on the ballots before him. I'm sure enough people will vote for Justin Timberlake that he'll. If he doesn't get in, we'll make it through the next round and I will happily vote him in, probably next class. But as you see, the second half of my list, there's a lot of prevent defense and I'm voting for a lot of people because I don't want them to go away. 0:38:39 - Speaker 2I mean, i love his work And, like Dave said, two generations. he was able to forge relationships and have multiple, not just dick in a box, but we got like mother, lover and three-way. So it's a trilogy of very weird and uncomfortable songs. 0:38:58 - Speaker 4And the dating game. 0:39:00 - Speaker 2Yeah, yeah And yeah, and also the Barry Gibb talk show. I mean, that's one of my is. My wife is a huge Bee Gees fan, so she gets excited when that comes on because she says this is so hot, he was on my bubble, he was on my bubble, so I still have one left. I don't know, maybe it'll be Justin, we'll see. So, dave, your next choice. 0:39:24 - Speaker 4I'm gonna go with Maya Rudolph. Maya Rudolph, to me, is a concert professional. It's her third ballot So, like Brad, i don't want her to go away too soon. So I wanna make sure that I vote for Maya Rudolph because she is a phenomenal cast member and a phenomenal host when she comes back. She has so many talents She plays broad, she plays specific, she does accents, she does celebrity impressions, she has a rhythm that is all her own. She does impressions. She is everything that you would want in a cast member. If I'm a director or producer, i want a Maya Rudolph in my all-time cast because I can throw anything at her and she is going to take it and make it better for sure, and she's gonna bring the house down. The audience is gonna love her And I just think she's phenomenal, phenomenal talent. If I was gonna build my top seven cast members, if I had a dream team, maya would definitely be in that cast. 0:40:32 - Speaker 2Anybody else vote for Maya. 0:40:35 - Speaker 5I did as well. I agree with everything that Dave said. I think that she's an all-timer. I think she's incredibly talented and also on the stacked cast. I think it was a time of the show when the women were really dominating and just obviously doing it really great And I feel like she almost got overlooked at times. So it was amazing. Kind of reminds me of how like Cecily was, I also want to stack cast, but I think she just because she never really had that goodbye when she started kind of building her family and kind of would pop back on the show every once in a while near the end of her tenure. I don't think she got the roses she deserved on her exit, But I just think, you know, once you can look at all the generations of the show and some of the talent's coming through there, I just think that she is amazing and definitely made it to my ballot this time around. 0:41:16 - Speaker 3Did not make it to my ballot, but she's on my bubble for the exact reasons Dave was saying. You know, i think she definitely needs to get in and I'm trying to gauge when I finally do give that vote to get her in, because I don't want her to fall off. But she's on my bubble and she's probably one of the leading candidates to sneak in my last spot or two. 0:41:34 - Speaker 2Yeah, Same here, like she's just such an incredible talent. But again it was like without weighing of choices. That makes it tricky. But again, like the Prince show, like her Beyonce on the Prince show is so hilarious, just paired with the Prince impersonation, it's just they're so bonkers together, her and Fred, and it's just it's a thing of beauty. But again it's like there's so many hard choices. This is a real tough one. Okay, brad, what do you have for us? 0:42:11 - Speaker 3You know, i can go for a twofer if I may, because they're kind of intertwined and I have a feeling they'll both get shot down. I have James Downey and Jack Handy, two longtime amazing writers. So I think a lot of casual fans probably don't even know their names or, if they do, don't know them well enough. Second time ballot for Jack Handy. Third for James Downey. I remember I emailed Jamie after season one when James Downey didn't make it in and I emailed him like how the hell did your voters not put James Downey in the Saturday Night of Hall of Fame? He's such an amazing talent and contributor through multiple generations. So the two of these are writers which you know. I think you guys have talked about this before. Writers are a little bit underrepresented in the hall. These are two votes that would be slam dunked. I would put them in for both of their writing work, for all of the work they've done, all their sketches, all their contributions, all the work they've done with the key cast members you know their names and faces of So many of them have worked with Downey and Handy over the years. 0:43:07 - Speaker 5I also had both of them on my ballot for the same reason Thank you Will thank you. Yeah, i mean, you know, I think you know Jack Handy with deep thoughts, you know I say I think alone, like those are, those are, those are classics. And then with with Downey I think obviously he's been involved a lot of sketches. But I also leaned into the fact there are so many people that have passed through SNL that mentioned him and his influence and his notepad and constantly being one of the best, the greatest joke writers of all time. And you know, as you mentioned, Brad, like writers are kind of in the background, they don't get the recognition that they, that they deserve for being the backbottled body sketches. And both those two just felt like they should get their due and they definitely made on my ballot this round. 0:43:48 - Speaker 4Yeah, i had James Downey for sure, just because of his contributions and the longevity of his tenure there. you know, going from the original cast all the way through Norm MacDonald, you know it was quite an impressive run and being a influence in that writer's room for that many years, i don't know he's. for me he's a slam dunk. Jack Handy was an unfortunate cut. I couldn't. I couldn't get Jack Handy on my ballot. I wanted to and I'd listened. actually I listened to. the Jack Handy episode went back today while I was grocery shopping today and listening to it And as he wrote a lot of things that I hadn't realized he wrote which was good for me to hear. But it occurred to me while I was listening to it how singular his voice was and how he doesn't really have a lasting influence on the future generation. So it feels to me like he was. his contribution was very like this very specific style of humor that didn't really like resonate through the generations. Maybe Wolf Ortea, a little bit kind of picks up where Jack Handy left off, maybe a little Kyle Mooney, just that kind of train of thought. But I don't think that Jack Handy had the staying power of his influence as some of the other folks on this on this list, and as much as I love Tunis and who doesn't love Deep Thoughts, deep Thoughts was already a thing before he got to Saturday Night Live, so that wasn't his Saturday Night Live contribution. That's the thing. he got hired, got him hired at Saturday Night Live and he started contributing that to Saturday Night Live, so I wouldn't really count it as his contribution to Saturday Night Live, as much as it is his signature piece. 0:45:36 - Speaker 2Both really influential writers. It's a strong case that Brad makes, so it should be interesting to see if they make it. My next lip selection is the one that I feel is gonna get shot down Very controversial one Dick Eversall. I mean he was there from the beginning. He helped make the show reality. When Lauren stepped away, he got a lot of flack and people are like, oh, the Eversall years. But really he saved the show. Like he made hiring choices bringing on Eddie Murphy. He kept the show going. Only a lot of people blame. There's the terrible Robert Downey Jr cast era. A lot of people peg that on him and don't realize no, that was Lauren's first year back That was his fault. The fact that he had the brat pack as half the cast is not on him. It's not on Dick. So, yeah, i think, if we've got Lauren in there, i think we should have Dick alongside him as one of the founding producers and creators of that show. 0:46:46 - Speaker 4Dick Eversall is definitely on my ballot. He's my number five on my ballot, just above Justin Timberlake, for all the reasons that you said. And I started watching the show regularly during that era. That was when I came online with Saturday Night Live. So Gary Kroger, mary Gross shows were like what I started watching every week, and so when Lauren came back, i didn't understand who that guy was. That's not true, But I like those shows. I love that. Christopher guest, harry Shearer, martin Shortyear I thought that was such a fun And you know he Dick Eversall, of course was in there for the beginning, but he reinvented the show in the 80s and kind of found a rhythm that we're still following to this day, introducing a lot more taped pieces promoting Eddie Murphy, bringing that, julie Louis-Dreyfus and that whole crew from Chicago as a group from the second city in the 80s, and so I love what he did to the show. I know he even tried to kill the show a couple of times, which is fine. You know you can have some villains in the Hall of Fame. For sure Billy Martin's in the Hall of Fame, right In the baseball Hall of Fame, so for sure Dick Eversall belongs to be in the Hall of Fame for what he contributed to the show before his tenure and during his tenure for sure, i have him on mine too. 0:48:13 - Speaker 3Yeah, definitely. 0:48:15 - Speaker 5Same for all the reasons you listed. 0:48:17 - Speaker 2Awesome, excellent, all right Will. Who do you have for us next? 0:48:22 - Speaker 5I will go with The Lonely Island, why not? I might be on an island with this one, but I'm going to go ahead and nominate them, the reason being the reason why I wanted to have them. Like I know, they've been kind of on and climbing And I think that one of the main reasons he talked about kind of the way, and now obviously sorry as being a live show the fact that they came in and were able to bring the show into the 21st century and be able to have prerecords that were more accepted in the format of the show and be able to, even though it's not live, i mean be able to bring another way to help the variety format of the show be relevant nowadays, especially when you look at how the show is consumed now. A lot of people aren't necessarily watching it live, they're watching it the next day And they were kind of helping it be that they had to have those kind of streaming made for the masses hits. They had a lot of obviously great sketches. They had a lot of great prerecords, like over 100. And I guess we've talked about some of them. I'm on a boat, they can a box, laser cats. There's been so many different iterations that they had, that they're able to own As a writing team too I know Andy was kind of the face of it, but being able to prominently feature writers and into those sketches and be able to bring the host into it, and that's something that even now there's prerecords that are more part of the show every single week, that yes, there were some throughout time They weren't the first people to do a prerecord, but that being a staple of the show every single week and not being something that was kind of frowned upon and like we'll do it every once in a while, i feel like they deserve to have a spot in the Hall of Fame And, like I said, i guess kind of talking on both sides and I'm not glad they're getting close to that point where need to figure out they're going to get in or out, and there's a lot of stories to be told about the beginning of SNL. But I feel like when you look at how the show is now and bringing it to modern, like a more modern era now, and the way things are consumed, i think they deserve to be in for their contributions. 0:50:14 - Speaker 3I agree with you, will. They are still not on my ballot, but I'm pretty confident they would make the Hall of Fame without me voting them in. I'm sure they will get into your point about them wanting to get in. This is their third ballot. If they don't get in this time, i would vote for them for their fourth time Because, as much as I don't want them to get in right away, it would be a sin if it took them till their fifth and final ballot. So they're not on mine. I'm sure they'll get in And if not, they'll be a next time, i'm sure. 0:50:42 - Speaker 4Yeah, I think there's very few people who have changed the game. Not only did William and Eddie Murphy change the game, John Lovett's changed the game, Kristen Wiig changed the game, But very few writers changed the game on SNL Live. And then Lowellin definitely did that And you got to give them props. I think step two your dick in that box might be one of the funniest things that's ever been written in SNL Live Every Christmas. That makes my wife laugh out loud Every Christmas without fail. And if you can make my wife laugh at a dick joke out loud, you've earned your spot in the Hall of Fame. 0:51:21 - Speaker 2They're on my list as well For all of those reasons. I mean, the tree tapes have become either really really weird love is a dream, such a weird concept from that 90s era or just these kind of by the numbers commercial parodies. It was like, ok, what drug parody or car parody or whatever, but they brought it back almost to the Albert Brooks level of just leaning into the really silly, the comedic, and making these pre-tapes vital Again, making them feel not like an afterthought but an important part of the show And also being possibly the best musical parody act aside from weird Alianca Vic, who needs to be on the show. I will say this I will go to my grave fighting for him to be on the show. How is he not being on the show? But yeah, they're just an incredible bunch of writers, incredible talent And, yeah, totally, totally agree. 0:52:29 - Speaker 4I will say not only do they change the game of Saturday Night Live, they change the game of comedy while on Saturday Night Live, which is very hard to do Most people, if they're going to change the face of comedy, they do it after Saturday Night Live. They did it while they were on Saturday Night Live, So that's very commendable. 0:52:48 - Speaker 2Dave, who do you have for us? 0:52:50 - Speaker 4I'm going to go with the last person that's on my definite ballot and out of my bubble And that is Paul Simon as a musical guest. I think from the get-go he was one of the people that really supported the show, brought credibility to the show. I kept coming back to the show He hosted. He's done sketches But as far as a musical guest he has had some iconic musical performances. He's got certainly. Here comes a son with George Harrison. He's got still crazy after all these years in the chicken suit And he's got the boxer after 9-11. I think for those three musical performances alone you'd have to consider him as if we're going. If you have to have one from each category, i don't know how you don't pick Paul Simon on your ballot. He is a friend of the show and just wonderfully fits into the vibe of what the show has been since the very beginning. 0:53:51 - Speaker 2Any other votes for Paul? 0:53:53 - Speaker 3I do not have him on my ballot, But I feel like Paul Simon is a very weird and interesting case because I agree, Like all three of those performances Dave mentioned are great, But he wasn't the musical guest for those, He was the host or the 2000 after 9-11, he was an unannounced guest. Paul Simon's first couple appearances on the show was as a host. Now, granted, he sang a lot, but he was technically the host And so putting him as a musical guest, I don't know, And I feel like there's a very weird and this is kind of to the Dick Ebersole of it all weird fourth realm that could exist in this Hall of Fame, where you're not pigeonholed into a particular thing. And I think someone like Paul Simon really would take that, because I don't think he does it on his hosting status and gigs alone. I don't think he does it on his musical guest status alone or his cameos alone, But when you put them all together, one of the best skits he's been a part of is and he's in line with Jan Hooks, I think it is at the movie theater. And he sees all the people walk by and he remembers them from a concert and they bought an album. And then Arco Funko walks by and he has no idea who he is, but again, so I think if there was a weird fourth hodgepodge category hands down, i would give it to him, but as a musical guest I just, yeah, i left him off. 0:55:16 - Speaker 2Yeah, it feels like there needs to be like special achievement inductees. Just just for something. Yeah, you see, he's all these categories coming together, like you both said. So yeah, that's, jamie, something to consider. 0:55:35 - Speaker 4Like that old white guy that's in the background of like a thousand sketches. Yes, The white hair. You know that guy. 0:55:42 - Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, all right, rad, what do you have for us? 0:55:47 - Speaker 3I'll go with my. Now I'm kind of in my. I've gotten through my slam dunks and my bubble-ish realm. I have one host on my list and it's John Goodman. He's again multi-generations. I mean. What was it? 12, 13 years in a row he was hosting. I think there was one time he hosted with Tom Petty again and the running joke in the monologue that they thought it was the same episode from six years ago. You know as a host would throw himself into the sketches, throw himself into the show, whatever was asked, whatever he needed to do, if he had to dress as Linda Tripp. You know whether you like or dislike how he joined the world of the Blues Brothers what have you but it still says something to who he is and what he means to that show. And I, you know we talk about, as we've said before, you know the era that you grew up watching SNL. That era for me, was a lot of times when John Goodman hosted. So he's a third time nominee of all the hosts I have. I don't wanna see John Goodman go and not get in, so I'm keeping him on my ballot as my host spot. 0:56:51 - Speaker 2Anybody else vote for John, not on my ballot. Yeah, he's on there too, like I don't want him to fall off, but he's. It's that bevy of talent. It's hard to choose. All right, well, my next one is going back to the early years. Elliot Gould, elliot Gould, so, as for hosting, he was just such a fixture during that like 76 to 80 era. He was the first movie star to host, like big name movie star to come on. So it created, you know, like Paul Simon helped create legitimacy, elliot Gould helped create legitimacy for the show and it, you know, it's like Lily Tomlin was the same way, where they almost felt like members of the cast just because of the intimacy during those early years and the recurrence and the relationships they seemed to build with the cast. So, yeah, so Elliot Gould is on my list of hosts to be inducted. 0:57:55 - Speaker 4Not on my list. No, As much as I love his movie roles and him as an actor, didn't really stand out to me as a major host. 0:58:04 - Speaker 3Not on my list as well. I agree with you, know. I think everything you mentioned about Elliot Gould take away the movie star aspect and I think there's a better host candidate from that era that's on my bubble above him. 0:58:18 - Speaker 5Yeah, i also didn't have him on there, not the pile on your map, but I also didn't have him on there. But I mean definitely, like you said, great contrast to the early parts of the show. I just didn't have him on my bubble, but I didn't have him on my final ballot. 0:58:32 - Speaker 2Hey, after the surprising turnaround with Dick Embersall's choice that I totally fair, i will take this. Okay, will, who do you have for us? 0:58:41 - Speaker 5So I'll. next one I'll have it's someone that's actually returning, but next one I'll talk about a cast member is Molly Shannon. So for me I think Molly is another one of those cast members that was that's an all-timer, i think. talking about the energy that she brought, the versatile she had on the show. She was obviously with a stat cast as well as one of the most recognizable characters of all time with Mary-Catherine Gallagher Not, i know, spin-offs don't meet in your movies outside of the show, how successful they are or not, don't count for anything, but obviously recognizable enough to get a shot at it. Sally O'Malley something she had delicious dish on NPR. I mean those are some really classic moments and sketches and classic characters And I like to say that she's coming up on that third ballot. I think she's just one of those great cast member And so she made it on my ballot this time around. 0:59:29 - Speaker 2Got any other votes for her. 0:59:32 - Speaker 3Much like Maya Rudolph, i think she'd get in. She's on my bubble, but I needed to be convinced to put her above a few people. 0:59:39 - Speaker 2Well, i am with you on this one. She is on my ballot And what really put her over the top was her recent hosting gig. Honestly, because it is like watching her perform, it's like she's still so vital, like I would love to have her on the cast now, like it would. Just she's so full of energy and like all of those characters that she brought back, like Sally O'Malley, you know, it's just like they still work. They work now better than ever, and that just speaks to the timelessness and like the heart that she brings to the show. So yeah, so she's got my vote. Dave, who do you have for us? 1:00:22 - Speaker 4Oh boy, i guess my next one. I'll go back to my season one episode and that is Frank and Davis, who I spoke for in season one. They were the first team to be hired predating well, the island or good neighbor or any of these other writing teams hired practical theater company. But they actually, between them, have about they each have 20 seasons on the show, which is unreal. 19 of them were in the same season. They each had one season apart. But the contributions that they made on that show to political discourse, to political comedy, to satire they were the first ones that Lauren just gave like five minutes to do whatever you want on the show. This week They had their own mini episode within Serial Life while the Frank and the Davis show. Some of them are unwatchable, but that also shows a lot of trust, how much trust Lauren had in them and their sensibilities. Oh, frank was such a fantastic senator. But they also created so many iconic characters throughout the years The Coneheads from Tom Davis and the Continental from Tom Davis and Stuart Smalley from Al Franken Just so many things that people don't realize were them. And to also have that kind of influence over the writer's room over the course of the first 20, 25 years of the show is unmistakable. So for that alone, especially on the third ballot, they should be in the hall of fame by now. 1:02:06 - Speaker 3I've got these guys. They're on my bubble and they're on the inside of my bubble, But what I try to figure out is separating Frank and Davis from Al Franken and Tom Davis. You know what I mean. Are you putting Frank and Davis in because Al Franken created Stuart Smalley, Like because Frank and Davis was a unit for a brief period of time? Both of these guys contributed a lot years down the road. But what's the difference between Frank and Davis and two different writers combined together? So I look at it and even doing that, I still look at it as Frank and Davis, the team of Frank and Davis, And I still have them on the bubble for all they've done in those early years and what they did. But that's why they're on my bubbles. I'm kind of kind of like you just mentioned with Molly Shannon, like I would not put her recent hosting job towards her getting into the hall as a cast member. But that's just me. 1:03:03 - Speaker 2Well, Brad, who do you have for us for this next round? 1:03:06 - Speaker 3Can I ask Dave, though like what do you think about that, dave? Because I know I remember your episode and it was great. 1:03:10 - Speaker 4That's a really good notion. 1:03:11 - Speaker 3And what do you think about that of you know people? it's kind of like the Paul Simon thing again of Frank and Davis as writers, beyond being the team of Frank and Davis. 1:03:19 - Speaker 4Well, i would say it's a really good notion. As far as Paul Simon goes, i'd say that if he's doing a musical number he is a musical guest, whether he's the announced musical guest or not. He is a musical guest in that sense And I don't the fact that they were in the writers' room together to me constitutes a Frank and Davis

Neil Treacy is joined by Bernard Jackman and James Downey on this week's pod. We break down a major win for Munster, as they claimed a dramatic 16-15 victory over Leinster to reach the final of the URC, and we look at the pressure facing Leinster in this week's Heineken Champions Cup final with La Rochelle.

James Downey joins Pat McCarry and Jason Hennessy in the House of Rugby studio to discuss Irish Grand Slams in the 2023 Six Nations and U20 championship. We also hear from Johnny Sexton, Tommy Bowe, Andy Farrell and Ireland Women captain Nichola Fryday. (0:30) - Reacting to Ireland's win over England (16:00) - Freddie Steward red card (31:00) - Johnny Sexton and Andy Farrell (33:20) - U20s Grand Slam and senior highlights (57:00) - Tommy Bowe (58:15) - Six Nations awards and Nichola Fryday

Rebecca Rooney, a wetland ecologist and professor in Waterloo's Department of Biology, discusses the value of wetlands and the actions she's taking action to prevent their destruction. As final exam season approaches, a new campaign focuses on student support. Campus Wellness offers the Mental Health Literacy Certificate. And Waterloo's Giving Tuesday campaign seeks to raise at least $650,000. Resources and links in this episode: Interview with Ken McLaughlin on James Downey's legacy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMeITRHfFmA James Downey livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMeITRHfFmA Exam checklist: https://uwaterloo.ca/news/your-warriors-exam-checklist 16 Days of Activism: https://uwaterloo.ca/sexual-violence-prevention-response-office/events/consentmatters https://uwaterloo.ca/sexual-violence-prevention-response-office/get-involved/16-days-activism-against-gender-based-violence Giving Tuesday: https://imodules.uwaterloo.ca/s/1802/cf20/home.aspx?sid=1802&gid=2&pgid=1912&appealcode=23A2GGOLG&utm_source=daily-bulletin1&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Giving_Tuesday_Central_2022 Save Ontario Wetlands site: https://saveontariowetlands.weebly.com/take-action.html Wetlands and climate: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/extent-wetlands.html Beyond the Bulletin on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLawkBQ15NDEkkHnZKLer9upKt2l9edSoe Podcast listener survey: uwaterloo.ca/daily-bulletin/pod…st-listener-survey

Daniel Scott, a professor in the Faculty of Environment, discusses sustainable tourism and the International Tourism Panel on Climate Change he launched at COP27. The Safety Office reminds us with the arrival of snow and ice comes the risk of serious injury. The University makes plans to celebrate the life and legacy of former president James Downey. And there are two new award opportunities for students impacted by conflict or risk. Resources and Links: Slip and fall: https://uwaterloo.ca/safety-office/occupational-health-safety/slips-trips-and-falls Safety poster: https://uwaterloo.ca/safety-office/sites/ca.safety-office/files/uploads/files/newposterslip-and-fall_0.pdf New scholarships and bursaries: https://uwaterloo.c/forms/undergraduate-studies/ontario-ukraine-solidarity-scholarship-application https://uwaterloo.ca/graduate-studies-postdoctoral-affairs/awards/students-risk-bursary https://uwaterloo.ca/student-awards-financial-aid/awards/students-risk-bursary Research data management: https://uwaterloo.ca/research/research-data-management-town-hall-november-21 Craft sale: https://uwaterloo.ca/staff-association/events/craft-show-and-sale Interview with Ken McLaughlin on James Downey's legacy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMeITRHfFmA James Downey livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMeITRHfFmA Atmosphair: https://www.atmosfair.de/en/ Beyond the Bulletin on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLawkBQ15NDEkkHnZKLer9upKt2l9edSoe Podcast listener survey: https;//www.uwaterloo.ca/daily-bulletin/pod…st-listener-survey

On this episode we are joined by 3 more of our 6 Professional Work Placement Students.They are Edmond Casey, James Downey and Sean O'Sullivan.These students got to be engrained within Grassland Agro and got to be involved in all aspects of the business, from farm visits and advice, internal training, factory tours and projects.The three students on this episode all hail from County Cork and do Agricultural Science in University College Cork under Professor Frank Buckley.

In the final podcast of the season, Neil Treacy is joined by former Ireland internationals Sean Cronin and James Downey to look back on Ireland's memorable Test series win against New Zealand.

June 17, 2022 - Kyler Kinnard & James Downey

James Downey joined John Duggan to react to Leinster's win at Leicester Tigers in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals! @VodafoneIreland | #TeamOfUs

James Downey joined John Duggan to react to Leinster's win at Leicester Tigers in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals! @VodafoneIreland | #TeamOfUs

James Downey led the University of Waterloo for six years during a challenging time of provincial budget cuts by two consecutive Ontario governments. Ken McLaughlin, historian and distinguished professor emeritus, discusses the lasting impact Downey made. The University remembers Edward Lank, a professor of computer science. Students return to writing final exams in person. And six women win co-op students of the year. Links and resources: James Downey: https://uwaterloo.ca/news/university-marks-passing-james-downey-president-emeritus Edward Lank: https://www.heartandstroke.ca/how-you-can-help/ways-to-give https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/news/in-memory-of-our-friend-mentor-colleague-professor-edward-lank https://franceavc.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkR8Qq0Gu9c Co-op Students of the Year: https://uwaterloo.ca/co-operative-education/news/six-women-recognized-2021-waterloo-co-op-students-of-the-year Exams: https://uwaterloo.ca/student-success/resources/tests-and-exams#in-person https://uwaterloo.ca/student-success-office-resources/instructor-resources Nesting Season Collection at W Store: https://wstore.uwaterloo.ca/featured/new-arrivals.html Goose Safety Tips: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/04/15/canade-geese-safety-tips-ohio-department-natural-resources/3471009002/ Staff Conference: https://uwaterloo.ca/staff-conference/ https://uwaterloo.ca/staff-conference/agenda-dates-times https://uwaterloo.ca/staff-conference/registration Podcast Listener Survey: https://uwaterloo.ca/daily-bulletin/podcast-listener-survey

James Downey joins Marie in studio to preview Munster v Leinster, plus Alison Donnelly on the next round of the Women's Six Nations, Stephanie Roche on Vera Pauw's Irish squad, and we hear from Glanmire & Tralee ahead of another big weekend of National Finals in Basketball! Game On.

James Downey and Malcolm O'Kelly joined Will O'Callaghan after Ireland thrashed a 13-man Italy 57-6 in a torrid encounter at the Aviva. @Vodafone Ireland | #TeamOfUs

Today on the SNL Hall of Fame podcast, Jamie brings back Justin Renwick to discuss the career of the longest-serving writer, James Downey!You may think you know about Downey but Renwick blasts us with information that builds a strong case for his inclusion in the Hall. Only time will tell how effective Justin was...If you've got questions about the show or would like to be a guest on an episode in the future please reach out - jamie@snlhof.comYou can follow and support the show through discussion and sharing in all the usual places. Twitter - @SNLHOF Web - snlhof.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/snlhof/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I had a fantastic discussion with James talking about his small business called Schoolboard Audit. In which he had come up with the idea to go through all schoolboard members in the areas around where he lives, to find out what their values are, who they voted for, and ect. With this new way of looking at the election systems for voting on schoolboard members, may in fact help change the future of our children. https://www.facebook.com/schoolboardauditpage/ https://www.schoolboardaudit.com/

John Duggan joined by Leinster's Sean Cronin and former Munster centre James Downey as react to the Lions 49-3 win over the Stormers The 2021 British & Irish Lions Tour on OTB Sports with Vodafone. Lead Partner of the British and Irish Lions #UniteThePride | @Vodafone Ireland

Neil Treacy joined by James Donwey to discuss Andrew Porter's injury which has ruled him out of the Lions Tour, Should Sexton be brought on Tour with Ireland and so much more @VodafoneIreland

Neil Treacy joined by two former Munster players in James Downey and Johne Murphy as they look ahead to Ireland against England and France v Wales with all to play for. - Ireland 23-man selection (Team to be announced later this afternoon) - Ireland's attack and the direction they are going with it - Elliot Daly named at 13 for England - CJ Stander retirement announcement - France and Wales showdown  @Vodafone Ireland #TeamOfUs #OTB6NationsShow

James Downey joined John Duggan for reaction to Ireland's impressive 48-10 bonus-point Six Nations win away to Italy. @VodafoneIreland

James Downey joined John Duggan for reaction to Ireland's impressive 48-10 bonus-point Six Nations win away to Italy. @VodafoneIreland

Joining Damien and Donncha this evening we have James Downey on Ireland Rugby, Diego Maradona's agent Jon Smith on the Napoli years, Dundalk in Europe with Conan Byrne and Jeff Shepard with a Thanksgiving Eye on America.

Joining Damien and Donncha this evening we have James Downey on Ireland Rugby, Diego Maradona's agent Jon Smith on the Napoli years, Dundalk in Europe with Conan Byrne and Jeff Shepard with a Thanksgiving Eye on America.

Fr. James Downey, back from Rome due to COVID, sits down for a long chat with Alex & Maddie about his studies in moral theology.

James Downey and Cian Tracey join John Duggan to speak about this weekend’s PRO 14 semi finals, as Leinster and Ulster set up an all-Irish Grand Final in Dublin next week. @vodafoneireland

John Duggan is joined by James Downey, Tania Rosser and Ruaidhri O’Connor to discuss next week’s return of the PRO14, and what promises to be a hectic 12 months in the game’s calendar.

John Duggan is joined by James Downey, Tania Rosser and Ruaidhri O'Connor to discuss next week's return of the PRO14, and what promises to be a hectic 12 months in the game's calendar.

Week one of the 2020 Six Nations is done and dusted and Andy had James Downey with him in studio to discuss what it might tell us about the games to come, and the risk/reward of tackling the latch. Charlie Morgan (@charliefelix) from the Daily Telegraph dialled in to talk about England's lost power game, and Charlie ran through the ruck numbers to demonstrate just how impressive Gregory Aldritt was for France. Andy and James were then joined by Ged and Dan from the Attacking Scrum podcast (@AttackingScrum) to talk Falatau, Welsh expectations, and the loss of Shaun Edwards. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s well known that myocardial cell death leads to cardiac remodeling and heart failure. It is, however, less well known exactly which mechanisms lead to myocyte cell death in the heart. In our latest podcast, Associate Editor Junichi Sadoshima (Rutgers New Jersey Medical School) interviews lead authors Paras Mishra (University of Nebraska Medical Center), Joseph Hill (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center), Peter Kang (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center), James Downey (University of South Alabama) and Takashi Matsui (University of Hawaii at Manoa) about their recent comprehensive Guidelines in Cardiovascular Research article on evaluating myocardial cell death. Listen as our experts—all of whom are global thought-leaders in their individual fields—delve into the 6 main mechanisms of cell death in the heart: apoptosis, ferroptosis, autophagic cell death, necroptosis, MPT-mediated necrosis, pyroptosis, autosis.   Paras K. Mishra, Adriana Adameová, Joseph A. Hill, Christopher P. Baines, Peter M. Kang, James Downey, Jagat Narula, Masafumi Takahashi, Antonio Abbate, Hande C. Piristine, Sumit Kar, Shi Su, Jason K. Higa, Nicholas K. Kawasaki, Takashi Matsui Guidelines for evaluating myocardial cell death Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published October 23, 2019. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00259.2019

This week Gabby and Will speak to Julie Prenc and James Downey, two of our GLLOs from Werribee, about working with young people. James is one of our regulars and... LEARN MORE The post Werribee GLLOs working with vulnerable youth appeared first on The GLLO Show.

On this week's episode of the RTÉ Rugby podcast, RTÉ Rugby analyst James Downey, Against the Head editor Wes Liddy and presenter Gary Moran look back on the Champions Cup final and ahead to the Pro14 semi-finals.

After the Champions Cup semi finals it's Saracens and Leinster who are left to fight it out for Europe's top honour next month. With Brian Moore to discuss it all is former Scotland full back Hugo Southwell.  Listen as they discuss how Saracens were able to overcome Munster, the booing of Billy Vunipola, and the importance of Ben Spencer to the side.  For an Irish perspective we speak with former Leinster man James Downey on their win over Toulouse and just why the French side played Dupont at fly half rather than scrum half.  We speak with London Irish winger Topsy Ojo on the return of the Exiles to the Premiership after they beat Richmond at the weekend to secure promotion.  The Full Contact book club opens as we delve into the history books to speak with author David Beresford on his work, "Brothers in Arms", on the 1980s French golden generation to find out where they are now.  Plus we speak with Harlequins Ladies coach Gary Street about the Premier 15s final as his side get ready to face Saracens this weekend.

Ireland 7s captain Billy Dardis and former Ireland centre James Downey join Daire O'Brien, Wes Liddy and Michael Glennon to discuss the 7s' success in Hong Kong, the role of the agent in rugby transfers and the permutations as the Guinness Pro14 reaches the business end.

This week saw the culmination of the group stages in Europe leaving three Irish, two French, two Scottish, and one English team left to fight it out for the Champions Cup. Here to discuss that and the upcoming 6 Nations tournament with Brian Moore is the former England, Saracens, and Leicester hooker, George Chuter. Brian and George debate the big question following the weekend's results, are the English clubs as interested in Europe in the same way as the French and Celtic clubs? Before delving into why Exeter should have taken kicks at goal instead of going for tries against Munster, and what George thinks of Leicester's current state of affairs. For an Irish perspective on the Champions Cup we speak with former Ireland, Leinster, and Munster centre James Downey on how you beat Leinster, whether Munster can defeat Edinburgh at Murrayfield, and why he thinks Ireland will win the Grand Slam again this year. With Eddie Jones announcing his initial 6 Nations squad last week, we discuss whether it is the best possible squad and who could replace Owen Farrell at fly-half and as leader if needed.  Plus Nathan Middleton brings us up to date with the Premier 15s and previews the Red Roses' 6 Nations.

Round three of the Champions Cup has been and now we're beginning to get a good look at who will be making the knockout stages. Joining Brian Moore to discuss this week's news and action is former England and Quins number 8, Nick Easter. This week they discuss whose responsibility it is to get teams going: the players or the coaches; they discuss the rumours surrounding Wasps; and the biggest topic of the weekend: flag-gate. For an Irish perspective former Leinster, Munster, and Connacht centre, James Downey gives us his thoughts on Leinster saying they aren't the complete package yet, on Ulster's Will Addison, and his opinion on Andy Farrell taking over from Joe Schmidt. Nick and Brian debate the upcoming 6 Nations and who is expected to do well with Nick saying it won't be a "Grand Slam" year. Top rugby referee Nigel Owens returns to the podcast to explain the law surrounding the grounding of the ball, and what it is like to referee at Racing 92's state of the art stadium. Plus Wasps Ladies coach Giselle Mather returns to tell us about the Premier 15s which included a few surprises.

The return of the Heineken Champions Cup did not disappoint, with tense games, dramatic finishes, the holders Leinster thumping Wasps, a landmark victory for Newcastle Falcons in Toulon and that OMG moment for Freddie Burns against Toulouse. The former Edinburgh, Gloucester, Newcastle and Scotland scrum half Rory Lawson joins James Burridge and Tom May (once of Toulon and Newcastle) to analyse Round 1 and preview the ten mouthwatering matches ahead in Round 2. Former France captain Raphael Ibanez chats about a mixed start for the French teams and James Downey discusses the performance of his old clubs Munster and Leinster Rugby. We hear from Johnny Sexton, Tom Youngs, Ken Owens, Juan Figallo and Johan Ackermann and chat about the European Rugby Challenge Cup as well.

Brian Moore is back for another season of no nonsense rugby discussion as he and a host of guests dissect the week's top stories on and off the pitch. This week he is joined in studio by Telegraph Rugby News Correspondent, Gavin Mairs as they go through the opening weekend of domestic rugby. Listen in to hear what they think of Leicester's sacking Matt O'Connor after one match, why Brian thinks Todd Blackadder "is about to explode", and how much ground England need to cover a year out from the World Cup. We speak with Harlequins' forwards coach Alex Codling about life under Paul Gustard and their dominant win over Sale, and with James Downey for everything that happened in the PRO14.

1.00 - Munster's clash with Leinster 5.00 - The decision to pick an unfit Isa Nacewa 9.00 - Game-ready machines 12.20 - A key decision that didn't work out for Munster 17.00 - The Jean Kleyn decision 23.00 - Ulster's victory over Ospreys 29.00 - Working in France and working in Wales 38.00 - Stuart Berry interview 55.00 - Fan questions

1.00 - Tributes to Donncha O'Callaghan and John Muldoon 6.00 - The transition into coaching for John Muldoon 8.00 - Connacht's impressive win against Leinster 12.00 - Stephen Ferris  15.00 - New Ulster coach 19.00 - Carbery or Byrne to Ulster? 25.00 - Permutations to Ulster qualification to Europe 35.00 - Fan questions

Mike Phillips came out of retirement to play for Scarlets earlier this season and the former Wales and Lions scrum-half joins James Burridge, Tom May and Emma Thurston to talk about the Welsh side’s European Rugby Champions Cup semi-final in Dublin. We also hear from Leinster Rugby stars past and present, Denis Hickie and Isa Nacewa. James Downey chats about Munster’s last-four encounter with Racing 92 and we get a French perspective from journalist Leo Faure. There’s a quickfire Q & A with Munster skipper Peter O’Mahony and match-winning memories of the 2001 final from Leicester legend Leon Lloyd. Plus, Dom Waldouck is on the phone ahead of Newcastle Falcons' Challenge Cup semi-final at Gloucester, while Conrad Smith and Steffon Armitage speak about the incentive of making Finals Weekend 2018 in Bilbao, as they prepare for Pau’s match against Cardiff Blues. And David Humphreys makes his selection in the EPCR European Player of the Year 2018 award, presented by Turkish Airlines.

Brian Moore is back to debate the biggest talking points from the last seven days of rugby. This week he's joined in studio by the Telegraph's Gavin Mairs. On this episode Brian calls for an end to the yo-yoing between leagues, suggesting a three year temporary halt to promotion/relegation in the Premiership, they look in depth at player game time, and ahead to the upcoming Champions Cup fixtures. Former All Black, Nick Evans, now Quins' attack coach, joins to look back on the 6 Nations and tell us about the transition from player to coach. Following Ireland's success at international level we return to their club rugby as former Ireland centre James Downey looks at Munster and Leinster's chances in the Champions Cup, and the state of Connacht and Ulster. Nigel Owens is back to review the 6 Nations and to explain rugby's tricky laws. Plus Saracens Women's coach Rob Cain gives his thoughts on the Premier 15s which is just about to enter the play offs.

1.30 - Kev's sleeping pattern 2.20 - Kev's dig at Mike McCarthy and Pat McCarry 3.50 - Dan Leave 4.30 - Great defence from Johnny Sexton 9.00 - Scotland very difficult to play against 12.00 - Depth of Ireland 17.00 - Garry Ringrose 19.30 - Cian Healy incident 24.00 - England 28.00 - How England will target Ireland 34.00 - Fan questions

The moon is made of cheese, teachers hate cell phones, and "Billy-Madisoning" is now a verb. Also, the FINAL PREVIEW OF THE SNACK BRACKET. Plus, the guys patent Kool-est Ranch tortilla chips. "Mr. Madison, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul." ~James Downey as Principal in Billy Madison Write us a review, contact us at dullcrayons@gmail.com, and follow us at twitter.com/DullCrayons https://www.facebook.com/dullcrayons/ Keep Dull, Carry Snacks

1.00 - James Downey reveals how he avoids speedsters 3.00 - Great weekend for Irish provinces 4.00 - Ulster not getting the credit you deserve 5.00 - Playing in horrible conditions and ROG winning it for Munster 9.00 - How Irish provinces prepare for Europe compared to Premiership sides 12.00 - Stuart Lancaster 13.50 - Back-to-backs and backlashes 16.20 - The surprising amount of analysis players do on referees 17.30 - Coaching subterfuge 19.38 - Cian Healy interview 31.20 - James Fitzgerald interview 46.30 - Weekend games preview 54.00 - Listener questions with James

Jeremy Guscott is among those who join James Burridge, Tom May and Emma Thurston to reflect on all the drama in Champions Cup Round 3 and preview Round 4’s return fixtures. The England and Lions legend gives his verdict on his old club Bath Rugby’s campaign. Former Saracens captain Alistair Hargreaves helps analyse the holders’ defeat to ASM Clermont Auvergne. James Downey chats about Munster and Leinster’s back-to-back matches against Leicester Tigers and Exeter Chiefs respectively. Ronan O’Gara reflects on his tremendous European Cup career and there’s also a Q&A with Ulster Rugby skipper Rory Best.

Martyn Williams joins Brian Moore in the studio this week to look back at an excellent weekend of European rugby action. Alex Corbisiero tells us what's gone wrong with Northampton Saints recently, and how the game is going down across the Pond. Ireland's James Downey analyses the provincial sides and which team he expects to see progress. As always, we look back at the Premier 15s and England's Amber Reed goes through the results of round 10. Plus Mick Cleary unpicks Saracens humiliation to Clermont Auvergne at Allianz Park.

1.45 - ROG to Crusaders 3.00 - The amount of respect for ROG in France 3.30 - Scott Robinson's reaction to ROG joining the Crusaders 5.30 - Mike Prendergast on coaching 7.00 - Coaching positions in Ireland 8.25 - Mike on the possibility of returning to Ireland 9.30 - Gaining experience 10.25 - Will Paul O'Connell return to coaching 12.30 - POC visiting Grenoble to get a taste of coaching 17.30 - Ireland's narrow win over Fiji 18.50 - Will Joey Carberry move? 21.00 - The view of Ireland's performances from France 23.00 - How SA win against France went down with the French 25.00 - Ian McKinley interview 38.00 - Preview of the weekend's games 42.30 - The Wales Georgia debacle 49.10 - Twitter questions with James Downey

2.00 - Rory Best speaks about his current injury 4.15 - His timeline to return playing 6.50 - James Downey on his recent return to rugby 8.00 - Rory discusses farming and life after rugby 12.30 - Rory speaks about the Lions tour 14.20 - Rooming with Kyle Sinckler and his uncommon love for all things Paul O’Connell 16.00 - The downsides of rooming with Iain Henderson 17.15 - The moment Rory knew he wouldn’t be starting a test game for the Lions 19.40 - Being captain of Ireland and Ulster 21.00 - Who Rory sees as his successor as captain in Ulster and potentially Ireland in years to come 26.00 - James discusses Robbie Henshaw and Ireland’s centres for the November internationals 32.20 - The panel discuss the situation with the Irish women’s rugby team and the new head coach position 38.06 - Interview with former Munster and Ireland back row Denis Leamy 52.00 - The gang goes through the weekend’s games 56.50 - James answers your Twitter questions

Ronan O'Gara, Mike McCarthy, James Downey, Jacob Stockdale, Pat McCarry and Philip Condell join host Andy McGeady on The Hard Yards.

Ian Keatley, ROG, James Downey, Tommy Bowe join Pat McCarry and Andy McGeady on The Hard Yards.

Joining Brian in the studio this week is former Quins and London Irish lock, George Robson. We hear from Schalk Brits, Mark Cueto, James Downey and Craig Murdock to go over the week’s rugby union and league action. Plus we're looking ahead to Saracens v Falcons in Philadelphia.

Andrew Trimble, ROG, James Downey, Zebre's Michael Bradley, Ladbrokes' Hayley O'Connor and Pat McCarry join host Andy McGeady on The Hard Yards.

Ronan O'Gara, James Downey, Pat McCarry and host Andy McGeady on The Hard Yards. 1:20: ROG and James on what they looked forward to most about off-season 5:00: ROG on his 1997 holiday to Santa Ponza with the Munster lads 8:25: The perfect way to decide the Lions' Test Series against New Zealand 18:20: We hold our hands up about some early, pessimistic Lions predictions 22:10: Peter O'Mahony or Rory Best for Ireland captain? 30:35: The lads discuss their top moments of the season and ROG speaks about Anthony Foley 35:05: Sean O'Brien's amazing comeback from the brink 37:34: Our wishlist for 2017/18 42:20: James comes straight out and asks ROG about the Munster job

Ronan O'Gara, Stephen Ferris, Fionn Carr, James Downey, Pat McCarry and guest host Joe Harrington on The Hard Yards. 1:00 - James and Fionn remember their Churchill Cup appearance in '09 2:40 - The boys react to the three changes to the Lions starting XV 4:00 - ROG on the inclusion of both Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell 8:20 - James on what Owen Farrell brings to the number 12 jersey 10:40 - The thinking behind including Sam Warburton ahead of Peter O'Mahony 12:40 - Is it a better team with Warburton ahead of O'Mahony? 15:20 - Whose decision was it to pick Owen Farrell at 12 ahead of Ben Te'o? 18:25 - The sudden importance of Liam Williams to this Lions side 20:10 - ROG on the combination of players on the bench 23:30 - Why how Ireland beat New Zealand is no use to the Lions 29:00 - How big a bearing will French referee Jerome Garces have on the game? 35:00 - Stephen Ferris tells us about golfing and going on the beers in New Zealand 37:00 - The New Zealand team and the guys reaction to the two changes 39:20 - That Kieran Read pass 42:30 - Ferris on Warburton and Itoje being brought into the team 47:21 - Has the New Zealand media gone too far with the criticism of Warren Gatland? 49:31 - Marcus Horan's theory on why the media are going in so hard on Gatland 50:45 - Predictions for All Blacks vs Lions II 54:26 - Hayley O'Connor from Ladbrokes with all the odds for the second test

This week Brian is joined in the studio by former Lion and Ireland centre, Rob Henderson   Joining them to go over the weekend's explosive semi final action are Exeter's fly half Gareth Steenson, former Saracens and Leicester hooker George Chuter. Going over the PRO12 semi finals is  former Ireland centre James Downey. Plus Thinus Delport gives us a Super Rugby update, and we'll be hearing from the Rugby Football League's rugby director, Kevin Sinfield, as the Super League has its Magic Weekend. And Nigel Owens is back to answer your questions and talk about what it takes to be a referee.

Hugh Cahill is joined by Luke Fitzgerald, James Downey and Sean Holley to preview the PRO12 finals, and we discuss the decision not to give Italian clubs a guaranteed place in future Champions Cups.

Former Newcastle, Northampton and Toulon fly-half Tom May joins James Burridge and epcrugby.com’s Emma Thurston for an in-depth preview of the European Rugby Champions Cup semi-finals. The former Ireland and Lions hooker Shane Byrne looks ahead to Leinster Rugby’s match against ASM Clermont Auvergne, former New Zealand and Toulon prop Carl Hayman gives a perspective from France and we also hear from head coaches Franck Azema and Leo Cullen. James Downey speaks about his former side Munster Rugby’s clash with Saracens on Saturday 22nd April, while Supporters Chair John Trigg assesses Sarries’ chances. There’s also a look ahead to the last four in the European Rugby Challenge Cup and we’ll check on preparations for next month’s finals weekend in Edinburgh.

Hugh Cahill and Wes Liddy are joined by James Downey, the former Irish international centre who played with four of this weekend's Champions Cup quarter-finalists during his career (Munster, Leinster, Glasgow and Wasps).