Editor’s note: How do you define a season of SNL in just ten clips? That’s the task we gave Jon Schneider of LateNighter’s podcast partner, the Saturday Night Network, whose season-by-season video series “Everything You NEED to Know About Saturday Night Live” has just reached Season 28.
Few seasons in Saturday Night Live history have faced a more daunting succession challenge than Season 28.
Following the Season 27 departures of Ana Gasteyer and Will Ferrell, two of the defining cast members of the previous generation, SNL entered the fall of 2002 without an obvious new center. Instead, the show became a true ensemble, with nearly every returning cast member taking a turn in the spotlight. New featured players Fred Armisen and Will Forte also arrived with fully formed comic voices.
Against the backdrop of the buildup to the Iraq War, Season 28 quietly laid the foundation for another new era. By its conclusion, Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan were also ready to depart, leaving SNL with another transformation ahead.
Here are ten essential moments from SNL Season 28:
1) Fericito on “Weekend Update” (Oct. 5, 2002 – S28 E1)
Fred Armisen wasted no time introducing SNL viewers to his unique comic sensibility. In his first episode, Armisen appeared on “Weekend Update” as Fericito, a Venezuelan nightclub comedian who taught Jimmy Fallon how to tell a joke using an exaggerated facial expression and the catchphrase “I’m just kidding!” One of Armisen’s audition characters, Fericito announced that SNL had found a distinctive new voice.
2) Tim Calhoun on “Weekend Update” (Oct. 19, 2002 – S28 E3)
Arizona senator John McCain became the first sitting U.S. senator to host SNL, prompting “Weekend Update” to offer equal time to Will Forte’s soft-spoken, deeply awkward Tim Calhoun. Barely looking up from the desk, Calhoun endorsed creating another big lake and concluded that America could not be spelled without his name—and the letters R, E and A. The character was an early showcase for Forte’s highly specific weirdness, which would go on to define his Saturday Night Live run.
3) The Falconer (Nov. 9, 2002 – S28 E5)
Just three episodes after introducing Tim Calhoun, Forte debuted another signature character. The Falconer was a former advertising executive who relied on his falcon Donald to bring him food in the woods, unaware that Donald used every trip to enjoy luxuries while the Falconer starved. Forte’s commitment to his character’s misery made the Falconer one of the defining recurring sketches of his early SNL tenure.
4) Al Gore Visits The West Wing (Dec. 14, 2002 – S28 E8)
Two years after the disputed 2000 election, former vice president Al Gore hosted SNL and made his defeat the central joke of the night. In a filmed piece on the set of The West Wing, Gore persuaded former SNL host Martin Sheen to address him as “Mr. President,” briefly role-playing the job he had come so close to winning. Gore’s close friend Al Franken returned to his old stomping grounds that night as Stuart Smalley, helping Gore work through his disappointment over the 2000 election.
5) Weekend Update Halftime Special (Jan. 26, 2003 – S28 Special)
NBC tried an unusual bit of counterprogramming during ABC’s broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVII, going live with an expanded edition of SNL’s “Weekend Update” during halftime, complete with a one-off opening credits sequence inspired by then-phenom American Idol. Nearly every cast member appeared as a correspondent, Darrell Hammond brought back Chris Matthews, and Jimmy Fallon performed “Idiot Boyfriend” from his first album. The one-off special reflected how central Fallon, Tina Fey, and the “Update” desk had become to this era of the show.
6) Colonel Angus (Feb. 22, 2003 – S28 E13)
Christopher Walken’s sixth hosting stint delivered “Pranksters,” another “Continental,” and surprise appearances from Will Ferrell, Britney Spears, Steve Martin, and Jim Carrey. Its most enduring sketch was “Colonel Angus,” which built an entire post-Civil War drama around increasingly elaborate double entendres about the Colonel returning home. The night ended with another accidental classic when Walken placed the emphasis on the wrong word while introducing the Foo Fighters.
7) Post-Invasion Cold Open (Apr. 5, 2003 – S28 E16)
After a two-week break, SNL returned for its first episode following the beginning of the Iraq War. Chris Parnell, who had taken over the role of President George W. Bush, addressed American troops and asked viewers to remember service members and their families in their prayers. Like the previous season’s post-9/11 premiere, the restrained opening showed the difficult balance SNL faces when responding to a major world event.
8) Mom Jeans (May 10, 2003 – S28 E19)
One of the season’s most enduring pieces advertised denim designed specifically for a mother’s body. Written by Tina Fey and starring Rachel Dratch, Fey, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Poehler, “Mom Jeans” paired its nine-inch zipper and casual front pleat with the slogan, “I’m not a woman anymore. I’m a mom.”
9) Adrien Brody Introduces Sean Paul (May 10, 2003 – S28 E19)
The same episode produced one of SNL’s most infamous musical-guest introductions. Wearing fake dreadlocks and using an exaggerated Jamaican accent, Adrien Brody went far beyond the customary introduction of Sean Paul. Despite claims that Brody improvised the routine and was banned, he performed it at dress rehearsal and says he was never formally banned. He has never returned to host, however, and the segment remains a bizarre piece of SNL lore.
10) Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan’s Final Show (May 17, 2003 – S28 E20)
Original cast member Dan Aykroyd finally hosted SNL in a finale that doubled as a farewell to Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan. Kattan revisited highlights from his seven-and-a-half seasons in one final terrible reenactment on “Weekend Update,” while Morgan’s sendoff came opposite Aykroyd and Maya Rudolph in “Astronaut Jones.”
For more SNL Season 28, watch the latest installment of the Saturday Night Network’s “Everything You NEED to Know About Saturday Night Live.”
Previously: Ten Essential Moments From SNL Season 27
