April 17, 2024 • 8 mins
Carol Burnett and friends did it all time! But on SNL, "breaking character" is frowned up. But is it really a bad thing?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
To laugh or not to laugh, That is the question.
It's one more thing.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm strong and getty. Does anybody remember laughter?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
So it's getting some attention in some circles for people
who watch Saturday Night Live Saturday Night this last weekend,
that there was so much of the cast of breaking
up and laughing during sketches. I mean, more than I've
ever seen ever combined in forty years watching the show
(00:31):
in one episode. And well, an interesting thing about that, Katie,
you're not old enough to have lived through the Carol
Burnett Show, which was a big popular sitcom, like the
number one show in America back in the seventies, but legendary.
These various clips were Harvey Corman and Tim Conway would
break each other up and laugh it. As a kid,
(00:53):
I really enjoyed it, and a lot of people enjoyed it,
and there's still popular YouTube clips. But it would seem
that there's a lit to how much of that you
can take based on Saturday Night Live. And we're gonna
play you some examples. There's some famous Saturday Night Live clips.
I mean, Jimmy Fallon used to break up a lot.
(01:13):
I mean, he just for some reason, some people can't
hold it together as well as other people. And I've
watched those clips over and over again and cried laughing.
It was so funny him breaking up. But it's just
like it's a good flavor. It can't be the whole
thing or something. Ryan Gosling, the host, for whatever reason,
he can't make it through thirty seconds of any sketch
without starting to laugh. That's an interesting personality thing, isn't
(01:36):
it that?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah? I think it is. I don't think it's like
a question of discipline.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
No oh no, no, no, no, no no, I don't
think so either. But it's pretty interesting that you're just
so giggly even though you've got the script, You've rehearsed
it over and over again, you know what's coming, and
you can't keep from busting.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Up, right, Yeah, and well.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I should have maybe started with this. I'm a Saturday
Night Live freak. I've been so into it since the
first year. I've watched documentaries about it, I watched the
podcasts where the old cast members talk about various sketches.
I mean, just I'm super into Saturday Night Live. And
Lorne Michaels hates it when people break up, like that's
his rule. Number one, do not break up during a sketch.
(02:20):
We wrote these sketches in a certain way to be funny,
in a certain way, they'll be funniest if you don't
break up, do it the way you're supposed to. I mean,
he he hates it. So I haven't seen this Ryan
Gosling thing. Is the laughter? Does it seem.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Forced or is it genuine?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
No, it's definitely genuine, really, and most of it makes
me laugh because it's funny stuff happening. And then he
can't come from like but there, So the one that's
getting so much attention. And I read the article on
the Hollywood Reporter. Heidi Gardner, who's one of the regular
cast members completely lost it during the Beavis and butt
heead thing and which you're gonna hear a clip of
(02:55):
here in just a little bit. And it's really visual.
I don't know how well this is going to come across.
Very funny sketch, it's just it was. It was a
news program. It's like one of those town halls, political
town halls like you'd see on CNN or something like that,
and the host is talking to Keenan Thompson about AI
and stuff like that. Well, Ryan Gosling is over her shoulder,
looking exactly like Beavis from Beavis and butt Heead. I mean,
(03:17):
like the hair, the outfit, the everything like that. And
he's just sitting there very intently listening and everything like that.
And then and when Keenan Thompson points out, sorry, just
the person behind you looks just like Beavis, and Ryan
Gosling's looking around like, who's he talking? But when the
butt Heead character comes out, who's really got makeup on?
(03:38):
Hondey Gardner turns around and sees him for the first time,
and then she can't talk for like a minute. And
at some point the whole thing falls apart and it
just doesn't work anymore. But uh, and I've got some
of her quotes about that from a Hollywood reporter I
could hit you with. But let's listen to the clip first.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
But if human beings created the AI, can't we just
program it to not do that? Well it de bits?
Oh my god, are you serious? What I think that's
a valid question.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
No, Now, they're a gentleman behind you that looks like
butt Heead Professor.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Just because our audience members aren't as informed on the
issue as you doesn't make them butt.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Heads butt head from the cartoon he Beavis his friend.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
I'd really like to move on and discuss AI. So
would you like him to move? Yes, thank you. The
man with the gray shirt and exposed gums, sir, kindly
(04:58):
move seats. She's talking to you. Oh, I'm sorry. I
am so sorry. I'm confused.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I'm just here.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
To learn about AI, so you know.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
And then they set to get him out of the
line of view of the AI experts, so he's not
they're not distracting. They the person who looks like Beavis,
whose name is like Ralph, and the guy because they
don't they don't even know what they're talking about. I've
never heard of this cartoon. They but they sit him
next to each other and they're sitting the same way,
and then they're laughing at things.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
So I have I have two comments. Number One, it's
not her fault that Keenan Thompson is the funniest human
being ever and everything he says is hilarious. Secondly, the
answer is the audience that they loved it. They're laughing
so hard they were crying.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Stop.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
There's the end of discussion and let's all have fun. People,
come on, I don't need more fun.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
From the sound of it, it also kind of sounds
like they might have set her up for that, like
they hid from her what that cast member was gonna
look like, just for the shock value. Yeah, So what
I was wondering is because they do dress rehearsal right
before they do the show, which I can't imagine what
a long, grueling night that is. They do a full
dress rehearsal and then do the show. But they didn't
(06:27):
put the prosthetics on, and he had these prosthetics on
his face that made him look like, yeah, butt head
is an odd looking human, and so she hadn't seen
him before. And then she turns around asking to move
in that and then when she couldn't talk for like
a minute. But so that was like, I don't know,
a third of the way through the show, and Ryan
Gosling broke up every sketch well by the time he
gets toward the end of the show, and like the
(06:47):
sketches toward the end is like, all right, okay, can
you just I mean I actually was and Henry, I
was watching with my son Henry. He said that ruins
it when they laugh, and because we watched a whole
bunch of them, And I mean there must just be
a limit to it, because like famously, like I said,
those Carol Burnett clips are the most famous Carol Burnett
clips of all time of a very popular comedy show
(07:08):
when they would break each other up. Maybe it's just
a limit. Maybe that's it. Oh sure, yeah, yeah, odd
that Ryan Gosling cannot get through a line without laughing.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I think it's like people who cry a lot versus
people who cry a little. It's just it's part of
your your makeup. Which reminds me of my favorite conundrum, Katie.
I don't think I've ever hit this, hit you with this.
I may have if I have, forgive me, I'm getting old.
Have I ever done the I told you the one
about punching yourself in the face?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
No?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Okay, So if I punch myself in the face so
hard it makes me cry, does that make me a
tough guy or a pussy.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Huh?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
You know, I've never thought of that way.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
That's like Einstein level right there. You gotta get Oppenheimer
on that one. It's got quantum mechanics in it or something.
It makes you a mental case.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
But if you want to see a fun SNL skip skit.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Disneyland Jimmy fallon Disneyland where everybody's at the table and
they're discussing their trip to Disneyland and everybody cracks up.
It's a fun one to watch, it is well, I
guess that's it.
To laugh or not to laugh, That is the question.
It's one more thing.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm strong and getty. Does anybody remember laughter?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
So it's getting some attention in some circles for people
who watch Saturday Night Live Saturday Night this last weekend,
that there was so much of the cast of breaking
up and laughing during sketches. I mean, more than I've
ever seen ever combined in forty years watching the show
(00:31):
in one episode. And well, an interesting thing about that, Katie,
you're not old enough to have lived through the Carol
Burnett Show, which was a big popular sitcom, like the
number one show in America back in the seventies, but legendary.
These various clips were Harvey Corman and Tim Conway would
break each other up and laugh it. As a kid,
(00:53):
I really enjoyed it, and a lot of people enjoyed it,
and there's still popular YouTube clips. But it would seem
that there's a lit to how much of that you
can take based on Saturday Night Live. And we're gonna
play you some examples. There's some famous Saturday Night Live clips.
I mean, Jimmy Fallon used to break up a lot.
(01:13):
I mean, he just for some reason, some people can't
hold it together as well as other people. And I've
watched those clips over and over again and cried laughing.
It was so funny him breaking up. But it's just
like it's a good flavor. It can't be the whole
thing or something. Ryan Gosling, the host, for whatever reason,
he can't make it through thirty seconds of any sketch
without starting to laugh. That's an interesting personality thing, isn't
(01:36):
it that?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah? I think it is. I don't think it's like
a question of discipline.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
No oh no, no, no, no, no no, I don't
think so either. But it's pretty interesting that you're just
so giggly even though you've got the script, You've rehearsed
it over and over again, you know what's coming, and
you can't keep from busting.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Up, right, Yeah, and well.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I should have maybe started with this. I'm a Saturday
Night Live freak. I've been so into it since the
first year. I've watched documentaries about it, I watched the
podcasts where the old cast members talk about various sketches.
I mean, just I'm super into Saturday Night Live. And
Lorne Michaels hates it when people break up, like that's
his rule. Number one, do not break up during a sketch.
(02:20):
We wrote these sketches in a certain way to be funny,
in a certain way, they'll be funniest if you don't
break up, do it the way you're supposed to. I mean,
he he hates it. So I haven't seen this Ryan
Gosling thing. Is the laughter? Does it seem.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Forced or is it genuine?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
No, it's definitely genuine, really, and most of it makes
me laugh because it's funny stuff happening. And then he
can't come from like but there, So the one that's
getting so much attention. And I read the article on
the Hollywood Reporter. Heidi Gardner, who's one of the regular
cast members completely lost it during the Beavis and butt
heead thing and which you're gonna hear a clip of
(02:55):
here in just a little bit. And it's really visual.
I don't know how well this is going to come across.
Very funny sketch, it's just it was. It was a
news program. It's like one of those town halls, political
town halls like you'd see on CNN or something like that,
and the host is talking to Keenan Thompson about AI
and stuff like that. Well, Ryan Gosling is over her shoulder,
looking exactly like Beavis from Beavis and butt Heead. I mean,
(03:17):
like the hair, the outfit, the everything like that. And
he's just sitting there very intently listening and everything like that.
And then and when Keenan Thompson points out, sorry, just
the person behind you looks just like Beavis, and Ryan
Gosling's looking around like, who's he talking? But when the
butt Heead character comes out, who's really got makeup on?
(03:38):
Hondey Gardner turns around and sees him for the first time,
and then she can't talk for like a minute. And
at some point the whole thing falls apart and it
just doesn't work anymore. But uh, and I've got some
of her quotes about that from a Hollywood reporter I
could hit you with. But let's listen to the clip first.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
But if human beings created the AI, can't we just
program it to not do that? Well it de bits?
Oh my god, are you serious? What I think that's
a valid question.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
No, Now, they're a gentleman behind you that looks like
butt Heead Professor.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Just because our audience members aren't as informed on the
issue as you doesn't make them butt.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Heads butt head from the cartoon he Beavis his friend.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
I'd really like to move on and discuss AI. So
would you like him to move? Yes, thank you. The
man with the gray shirt and exposed gums, sir, kindly
(04:58):
move seats. She's talking to you. Oh, I'm sorry. I
am so sorry. I'm confused.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I'm just here.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
To learn about AI, so you know.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
And then they set to get him out of the
line of view of the AI experts, so he's not
they're not distracting. They the person who looks like Beavis,
whose name is like Ralph, and the guy because they
don't they don't even know what they're talking about. I've
never heard of this cartoon. They but they sit him
next to each other and they're sitting the same way,
and then they're laughing at things.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
So I have I have two comments. Number One, it's
not her fault that Keenan Thompson is the funniest human
being ever and everything he says is hilarious. Secondly, the
answer is the audience that they loved it. They're laughing
so hard they were crying.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Stop.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
There's the end of discussion and let's all have fun. People,
come on, I don't need more fun.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
From the sound of it, it also kind of sounds
like they might have set her up for that, like
they hid from her what that cast member was gonna
look like, just for the shock value. Yeah, So what
I was wondering is because they do dress rehearsal right
before they do the show, which I can't imagine what
a long, grueling night that is. They do a full
dress rehearsal and then do the show. But they didn't
(06:27):
put the prosthetics on, and he had these prosthetics on
his face that made him look like, yeah, butt head
is an odd looking human, and so she hadn't seen
him before. And then she turns around asking to move
in that and then when she couldn't talk for like
a minute. But so that was like, I don't know,
a third of the way through the show, and Ryan
Gosling broke up every sketch well by the time he
gets toward the end of the show, and like the
(06:47):
sketches toward the end is like, all right, okay, can
you just I mean I actually was and Henry, I
was watching with my son Henry. He said that ruins
it when they laugh, and because we watched a whole
bunch of them, And I mean there must just be
a limit to it, because like famously, like I said,
those Carol Burnett clips are the most famous Carol Burnett
clips of all time of a very popular comedy show
(07:08):
when they would break each other up. Maybe it's just
a limit. Maybe that's it. Oh sure, yeah, yeah, odd
that Ryan Gosling cannot get through a line without laughing.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I think it's like people who cry a lot versus
people who cry a little. It's just it's part of
your your makeup. Which reminds me of my favorite conundrum, Katie.
I don't think I've ever hit this, hit you with this.
I may have if I have, forgive me, I'm getting old.
Have I ever done the I told you the one
about punching yourself in the face?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
No?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Okay, So if I punch myself in the face so
hard it makes me cry, does that make me a
tough guy or a pussy.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Huh?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
You know, I've never thought of that way.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
That's like Einstein level right there. You gotta get Oppenheimer
on that one. It's got quantum mechanics in it or something.
It makes you a mental case.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
But if you want to see a fun SNL skip skit.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Disneyland Jimmy fallon Disneyland where everybody's at the table and
they're discussing their trip to Disneyland and everybody cracks up.
It's a fun one to watch, it is well, I
guess that's it.
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Joe Getty
Jack Armstrong
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