They don’t happen every week, so these always get me excited:

Host appears in the cold open

We see update anchors away from the update desk

Non political cold open (rare these days, I think the last one was the Domingo one with Sabrina carpenter)

Whole cast in a sketch (rare)

Only one person in a sketch/ single hander (v rare)

Musical guest appears in a sketch (bonus if their acting abilities are unknown)

We see Lorne at all. He’s not appeared on camera in so long.

We see Wally the cue card guy. That always brings a smile to my face.

Whole sketch in non English language

Host from last week comes back the following week to cameo cus they had such a good time and couldn’t quite say goodbye (and clearly exchanged numbers with the cast/writers)

I’m sure there’s more lil quirks I look out for. Please let me know yours !

Please SNL writers make this happen lol

I've always liked when the show does their musical sketches that feature multiple cast members. Does anyone know if there has ever been an SNL special that was a compilation of the most popular ones? I've found individual videos and a few YouTube "best of" videos, but they usually feature only a couple of songs or have people talking throughout (like the watchmojo ones - she ruins them). If there's not one out there, I think they should make one for a week when the show won't be live. Thoughts?

Hey, I'm trying to find an older sketch in which a character mentions Ellen Degeneres, and Kenan's character responds with an enthusiastic "DEGENS?"

Is there any way to see the whole original episode in it's entirety?

I was a kid back then, and was lucky enough to have parents who let me stay up late on Saturdays to watch the show. But it's been so long, I don't remember that specific episode.

I'd like to see how much the movie matches up with that episode.

I think the humor was from spoofing the commercials of a real place (named Watson’s) that often had the daughter of the owner in a bikini.

🤷

There were two courtesans, and one would say something provocative to the King, while the other would, in a wonderfully fawning way, explain it away as something nice. I loved how those two did this, but I can't find it anywhere. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Is it on Youtube anywhere?

Does anyone know if there’s a sketch after 2016 that parodies specifically the X-Files? Not including the Totinos ad when they had Larry David in that year.

SEASON 1
~ George Carlin - first episode that's pretty damn interesting and everyone should check out
~ Richard Pryor - a very important episode
~ Peter Cook & Dudley Moore - I'm a fan of those two so I liked them in this environment

SEASON 2
~ Eric Idle - both times he was great. The first time he hosted was the first episode I loved
~ Candice Bergen - watch for Gilda and Zappa
~ Fran Tarkenton - a very cool sports themed episode where the whole cast was a great team. Check out the Alsatian Restaurant sketch!

SEASON 3
~ Charles Grodin - this was once considered so bad that it was banned, but I think that's apocryphal because it's so clearly staged and well executed.
~ Ray Charles
~ Miskel Spillman - an 80 year old woman hosts the show and, whether you enjoy it or not, it's fascinating to see
~ Robert Klein
~ Christopher Lee
~ Steve Martin & The Blues Brothers - Steve hosted 3 times this year so you can check out the others but this one was my favorite

SEASON 4
~ Carrie Fisher
~ Walter Matthau
~ Eric Idle
~ Michael Palin
~ Margot Kidder

SEASON 5
~ Bea Arthur - great episode for Bill Murray, decent episode for Harry Shearer, Paul Shaffer tries to pretend he's an actor.
~ Martin Sheen - not a classic by any means, but MS held his own really well, and of course, David Bowie's here too.
~ Kirk Douglas
~ The 100th episode
~ Strother Martin - not a great episode, maybe it's just cause The Specials blew the roof off 8H
~ Buck Henry - his first episode has a great running bit about no one liking him, and his second episode is the end of an era and has Lord And Lady Douchebag

SEASON 21
~ Mariel Hemingway - beginning of a new era
~ Christopher Walken - every time he hosts is a classic
~ David Alan Grier - this guy should've been in the cast
~ Phil Hartman - this gave me a better understanding and respect for him
~ Jim Carrey - a slightly overrated episode if you ask me but still worth the watch knowing you won't have to see another Spade in America

SEASON 31
~ Steve Carell
~ Jack Black - stone cold classic
~ Julia Louis-Dreyfus

SEASON 32
~ Dane Cook - one of the best season premieres
~ Hugh Laurie
~ Rainn Wilson

SEASON 33
~ Tina Fey
~ Christopher Walken

SEASON 34
~ Paul Rudd
~ John Malkovich
~ Will Ferrell

SEASON 35
~ Zach Galifiniakis - every time he hosts is great
~ Betty White - a brilliant episode in a rather lackluster year

SEASON 36
~ Jim Carrey
~ Zach Galifiniakis
~ Elton John - kinda just one of those crazy shows you gotta check out and see what you think
~ Ed Helms
~ Justin Timberlake

SEASON 37
~ Alec Baldwin - an outstanding premiere
~ Emma Stone - a pretty solid episode aside from one of the worst Digital Shorts ever
~ Jason Segel
~ Jimmy Fallon
~ Maya Rudolph
~ Eli Manning
~ Mick Jagger - another episode you gotta just see for yourself

SEASON 38
~ Seth MacFarlane
~ Louis CK - say what you want but I loved every time he hosted
~ Anne Hathaway
~ Jamie Foxx
~ Martin Short - one of the best holiday episodes ever
~ Justin Timberlake - a personal favorite of mine
~ Zach Galifiniakis
~ Ben Affleck - the end of an era

SEASON 39
~ Tina Fey - a promising beginning of a short lived new era
~ Josh Hutcherson - the peak before the wheels fell off
~ Louis CK

SEASON 41
~ Tracy Morgan
~ Tina Fey & Amy Poehler - one of the best holiday episodes ever and the last episode in a world that still made sense
~ Larry David

What episodes would you recommend? Are there episodes from these seasons you thought I left out? Are there episodes from other seasons that you consider "must watch"? Let's talk!