For example, you can use it to make mimosas or other champagne-based cocktails. While it may not be technically champagne, it has a similar taste and can be used in many of the same ways. Martinelli’s is a non-alcoholic sparkling cider that has been around since 1868. But what about when you want to enjoy the taste of champagne without the alcohol? That’s where Martinelli’s comes in. It’s almost like he’s enjoying the joke with you for the first time.When it comes to celebratory drinks, nothing quite says “party” like champagne. If you look at his great sketches, you can see him give a little smile at a good line when it gets a big laugh. He just accepted that the show is a crazy roller coaster, relaxed and went with it. I always had the sense he was reading the words for the first time when he saw it on air on the cue cards. Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Chris Rock - they all fit that mold. One of the other great treats on the show was when a legendary host would come on and be every bit as good as you hoped they’d be. I got him once with a sketch I wrote called “The Hulk Hogan Talk Show.” Ferrell got him a few times so did Molly Shannon. He’s not one of those guys who’s so jaded he gives the cold face to all humor. It happened eight, maybe nine times during the six years I was there. The best prize you can get at SNL is to get a snorting laugh from Lorne at a read through. Translation: I was a pain in Lorne’s ass. (Maybe it’s being from Toronto? In fact, has anyone ever called him “Canada Dry” as a nickname?)ĥ0 Greatest 'Saturday Night Live' Sketches of All Timeĭuring my first year as head writer, I was constantly trying to mess with the format. He yells “fire!” in the same voice that most people use to tell the masseuse to turn down the Enya. Lorne is intimidating as hell, however, because he’s always so unflappable. The one question I always get from people is “What is Lorne like?” My answer is pretty disappointing: He’s a good guy, not a screamer, and he truly loves the show.
When I realized that midway through my second year as head writer, work got a lot more fun. That format is the reason there’s a 40th anniversary. In the end, Lorne was right to protect the show’s structure. Another time we had Kenneth Starr subpoena the cast, host and musical act throughout the show. It’s not to say the sketches or ideas we pushed were bad they just weren’t SNL. I fought to get comics and performance artists on the show - Tenacious D performed before they were well known. It was comedy heaven.ĭuring my first year as head writer, I was constantly trying to mess with the format. I once wrote for 20 straight hours and got dizzy because I had forgotten to eat.
On Tuesday, you write all day and all night. Everyone crams in to this tiny space most people pitch fake ideas so they don’t blow the joke before the read through on Wednesday, where every laugh is critical. On Monday, you pitch your ideas to the host in the big meeting in Lorne’s office. It’s a grind, and sometimes you can go weeks without getting a sketch on. You drink coffee, smoke, and write - and write, and write, and write. There were times we basically didn’t leave the office except to grab five hours of sleep. So I was slightly more qualified than Paul Bremer, and slightly less qualified than Jenna Jameson.ĭuring my first two years there, the average work week was around 90 hours. There’s no other institution in the country that would let a 28-year-old fill one of its major positions with only a single year of experience, except maybe porn and the post-invasion Iraq reconstruction effort. Fortunately, I had spent the previous five years in Chicago doing nothing but sketch and long-form improv with Second City, the iO Theater and the Upright Citizen’s Brigade. I had just opened my first checking account, still wondered why I couldn’t sleep after eating garlic knots at two a.m., and had exactly one year of staff writing on Saturday Night Live under my belt when the show’s producer, Steve Higgins, told me that Lorne Michaels wanted me to be head writer.
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