Saturday Night Live: Best Recurring Sketches of the 1990’s

Through the 1990s, SNL has been putting out consistently good sketches and raising esteemed comedic talents that refresh the formula.

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At the surge of a new decade, Saturday Night Live has been putting out consistently good sketches and raising esteemed comedic talents that refreshes the show’s formula. Proof of this is the move of several sketches being released as movies. Some are successful, and most are not.

Nevertheless, SNL provided a plethora of memorable sketches that were either amusing at their time or became pop culture staples that lasted longer. In honor of that, here are the top 10 recurring sketches of the 1990’s. As per usual, Weekend Update characters, Saturday TV Funhouse segments and political sketches will not count.

10 Total Bastard Airlines

David Spade gave the catchphrase of the year 1994 with “buh bye”. For the two sketches featuring the accurately named commercial airline, Spade plays a rude flight attendant who would either crudely greet the exiting airplane passengers with “buh bye” or interact with them before abruptly cutting them off with “buh bye”.

Spade’s flight attendant was paired with two female flight attendants (Helen Hunt and Ellen Cleghorne) in separate instances. And like Spade, they would deliver similar sardonic greetings. The sketch endures for being a grand opportunity for Spade to deliver his well-known deadpan burns and roasts to his castmates.

9 Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet

Brian Fellow has to be one of Tracy Morgan’s most memorable benchmarks in SNL. While he is a host of a nature show, Fellow does not possess any credible expertise nor college degree in biological sciences, rather than a sixth-grade education and a “love for animals”. Though, that love is only limited to banal knowledge of the animal kingdom.

“Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet” would often involve two zoologist guests (a cast member and/or a host) talk about the featured animal in depth. But Brian’s childish tendencies would derail the interview in a halt. And the humor comes from Morgan’s lightness.

8 The Roxbury Guys

Thank the Butabi brothers for making “What Is Love” a national meme. The sketch involving the rayon-suited brothers Doug and Steve Butabi (portrayed by Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell respectively), or officially known as the Roxbury Guys, is centered on their exploits to pick up women in any party setting they would end up.

All the while, they would bob their heads as the song “What Is Love” by Haddaway plays in the background. Their misadventures on picking up chicks would often involve a third party (with the most famous being Jim Carrey) to dress like them and dance similarly.

7 Coffee Talk with Linda Richman

“Coffee Talk with Linda Richman” is a recurring sketch that was initially conceived with a New Yorker named Paul Baldwin in mind. Instead, a Jewish middle-aged woman named Linda Richman was brought in by Mike Myers. Richman’s wardrobe would compose of jewelry, fake nails, purple sweater, and dark glasses. And her discussions center on her biased on her New Yorker perspective of topical topics.

Recurring gags would be the live hotline, insertion of Yiddish words, her discussion topics involving compound words and her obsession with Barbra Streisand. Speaking of the latter, her surprise appearance is the best “Coffee Talk” moment.

6 Leon Phelps, The Ladies Man

The Ladies Man has to be Tim Meadows’ signature character. This self-proclaimed date expert would host his own television show where he takes viewers’ calls and gives courting advice that ranges from implausible to extreme. Phelps would inhabit a 70’s mentality on love and dating, a lisp and a crush on Delta Burke.

In addition, he would always have a bottle and glass of Courvoisier cognac beside him. And whenever he receives a female caller, Leon Phelps would exclaim, “Ooooh! It’s a lady!” Meadows is reliably funny as Phelps that his popularity brought him a feature film The Ladies Man.

5 Mary Katherine Gallagher

Speaking of signature characters, Mary Katherine Gallagher has to be Molly Shannon’s career apex. Gallagher is an awkward teenage Catholic schoolgirl who has a hyperactive outlook in life but suffers from stage fright. She would show mood swings, as shown by her exaggerated movements, excessive flailing, and mugging to the camera.

Her antics would surface on any dramatic arts situation wherein she shows an occasional outburst that leads her to be overly competitive. Her most popular gag would be to put her hands under her armpits and sniff them in nervousness. And frequently, she would proclaim, “Superstar!” in profound self-adoration.

4 The Continental

Christopher Walken is SNL’s most outrageous host as his own theatrics make up for outlandish characters. While his moment as Bruce Dickinson is the crowning achievement of his bizarreness, his most unforgettable recurring character is The Continental, a parody of The Continental star Renzo Cesana.

He is a smooth womanizer who cannot help but be enamored by the sight of a woman. These instances do not hide that fact as the women he calls out on typically scoff at him. The Continental would often be seen with a glass of champagne or cigarette. His famous catchphrase is obviously, “Wow!”

3 The Delicious Dish

“The Delicious Dish” is a showcase for Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon for their deadpan humor over sexually explicit verbal humor. The two play Margaret Jo McCullen and Teri Rialto, respectively, hosts of the titular culinary radio show (though Rachel Dratch took Shannon’s spot for the second host, Lynn Bershad) where they bring in a guest to showcase their specialty and taste it on the spot.

Their most famous bit though is with host Alec Baldwin playing Pete Schweddy, who features his specialty “Schweddy Balls”. The sketch is filled with double entendres that are highlighted with “Nobody can resist my Schweddy balls”.

2 Matt Foley

Played by the incomparable Chris Farley, Matt Foley is a motivational speaker who is anything but a legitimate motivational speaker. And who lives in a van down by the river. While he is spouting out usual lines from keynote speakers, he would berate at his clients to conceal his nervous yet coarse movements. But abruptly, he would share his poor life choices, contradicting his motivational statements.

Foley’s presence is so lively from his very first appearance. He brings up his signature hilarious gestures – fixing the edges of his trousers and crashing to the table – that even David Spade broke character.

1 Celebrity Jeopardy!

Celebrity impressions can go a long from being topical to being memorable. SNL took the chances of parodying Jeopardy! and feature their own celebrity version, featuring Will Ferrell as host Alex Trebek, acting as the straight man. Thanks to this, “Celebrity Jeopardy!” becomes an easy avenue for cast members like Jimmy Fallon, Darrell Hammond, the host and other cast members, to do caricatures of various celebrities and personalities.

The most popular recurring bits are Norm McDonald’s Burt Reynolds spouting non-sequitur statements, the celebrities’ naivety and Hammond’s Sean Connery revealing explicit details about Trebek’s mother, his manliness and misreading topics sexually.

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