We want John Goodman to pretend to be a cast member and we want the show announced by Don Pardo 9000!
So those are our requests / polite demands. =^)
Confused why? Well...
Jimmy Fallon successfully prophesied that he would host SNL in December 2011 (he did so in December, 1998) -- Jimmy's on at 2:55:
Or this video here shows the Jimmy part at the beginning:
http://videos.nymag.com/video/Alec-Baldwin-and-Jimmy-Fallon-I#c=7399XM25LXLCYXJ8
And as you can see, the gag of including John Goodman on the staff would be a hilarious inside joke (and good for a lot of media press), as would including the Don Pardo 9000. Of course, they could go all the way and get actors to play cast members Drew Adams, Michael Butler, Arianna Cleo, and Kevin Wallarski... but just including John Goodman and the Don Pardo 9000 would probably be enough to sell the joke.
John Goodman was truly the ghost of SNL hosts present because that season (24, 98-99) he cameo'd as Linda Tripp on Sep 26 (Cameron Diaz hosted), Nathan Barnett on Nov 14 (Joan Allen hosted), Tripp on Nov 21 (Jennifer Love Hewitt hosted), and Tripp on May 8 (Cuba Gooding Jr. hosted). He had 6 cameos total that season, and Goodman hosted on April 10 (99) that same season (so 7 appearances that season). And he hosted consequetively in seasons 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 (this 98 season), 25, and 26 (hosting 12 times, total). So that sets the context as to why he was the ghost of SNL hosts present.
John Goodman had 21 total appearances from 89-03, which is more than any other guest during that time period. However, Steve Martin had 24 total appearances (15 hosting), and Alec Baldwin has had 22 total appearances (16 hosting). So John Goodman is third both in total appearances (21) and hosting (12).
Here's how Goodman stacks up for hosting the most:
Alec Baldwin - 16 host
Steve Martin - 15 host
John Goodman - 12 host
Buck Henry - 10 host
Tom Hanks - 8 host
Chevy Chase (SNL Alumnus) - 8 host
Christopher Walken - 7 host
Drew Barrymore - 6 host
Elliott Gould - 6 host
Danny DeVito - 6 host
Bill Murray (SNL Alumnus) - 5 host
Candice Bergen - 5 host
Justin Timberlake - 4 host
Paul Simon - 4 host
So... Jimmy Fallon announced that he's going to host the December 17 episode of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Michael Buble. It marks Fallon's first time hosting since he left the show in 2004, but fans shouldn't be too surprised to see him back in Studio 8H — not only has he done cameos on the show here and there, but back in 1998, SNL itself announced he'd host right around then. As you can see in the video, Alec Baldwin's monologue from a season 24 episode predicts exactly this: That Jimmy Fallon, as the host of Christmas future in this Christmas Carol riff, will host on December 12, 2011. Most people remember this episode for its Schwetty Balls, but perhaps its prescience will become its new calling card!
That's right! Jimmy Fallon was only 5 days off! (What's the matter, they didn't do their calendar math correctly and pick a date that lands on a Saturday, or did they think it was going to move to Monday and be called MNL instead?)
They obviously weren't thinking (or caring) about getting the date right. They just picked the same date as that episode that Baldwin was hosting (which was on December 12th, 1998).
I actually remember watching this episode back in 98. At this point in time, Jimmy was in his first year on the show (only his third month), he was a featured cast member, and a total noob to the show. So at the time I was skeptical if he would be popular in 2011. But he pulled it off!
However, I was excited about him at that point in time, because of his song during the October 4th episode...
These are the SNL bits he previously had done (at that point in time):
1. September 26, 1998 (Cameron Diaz hosted)
- He played Gilbert Gottfried in a Hollywood Squares bit; I wonder if Fallon's Gottfried is as good as Taran Killam's sweet portrayal
2. October 3, 1998 (Kelsey Grammer hosted)
- Bit roles in a commercial and a Mr. Peepers sketch
3. October 17, 1998 (Lucy Lawless hosted)
- 5 bit roles, including a Steven Tyler impression in a group sketch.
4. October 24th, 1998 (Ben Stiller hosted)
- Adam Sandler on Celebrity Jeopardy (this was memorable and a key bit that got Jimmy on SNL)
- A Jimmy Fallon song on Weekend Update (this was when I really noticed Jimmy and thought he was going further than he ended up going)
5. November 7, 1998 (David Spade hosted)
- Solid Howard Stern and Leonardo DiCaprio impressions in group skits. Actually the Leo impression was a voice during the legendary Kiwi meets Mango sketch (classic).
6. November 14, 1998 (Joan Allen hosted)
- 2 bit roles and solid Marilyn Manson and French Steweart impressions in group sketches.
- He really sold his Jerry Seinfeld impression in Tarmac Talk. So this was noticeable and impressive.
7. November 21, 1998 (Jennifer Love Hewitt hosted)
- 2 bit roles and a Michael Stripe impression in a Celine Dion sketch.
8. December 5, 1998 (Vince Vaughn hosted)
- A hilarious (but brief) Richard Simmons impression in the cold open.
- Lead in "Married Guys" with Will and Vince
- Ghost of John Lennon
- 2 more bit roles.
And then that brings us to the Baldwin episode on 12/12/98.
So while Fallon was proving himself by filling in his impressions (more often than Jay Pharoah and Taran Killam are today, but probably not as well as they are, because the only impressions Fallon had gotten as the center of a bit were his Seinfeld and Lennon), it was relly just his guitar song he did on October 24th where you started to wonder if he was the next Adam Sandler (and he's not, if you're wondering).
So taking all that into consideration, to have Jimmy stand up and say he'd be a hit in 13 years, it was a little gutsy on everybody's part (including the producers). It was funny enough to do anyway, but I remember thinking, "We'll see. If you keep doing songs like that one you did and maybe pull out some hit characters like the awesome ones that were hits at the time... Spartans, Dog Show, Goth Talk, Mr. Peepers, Clinton, Celebrity Jeopardy, The View, Ladies Man, Roxbury Guys, Delicious Dish, Antonio Banderas Ah Yes Show, Judge Judy, Culps, Mango, Martha Stewart Living, Harry Caray, Celine Dion, Mary Katherine Gallagher, and Pimp Chat." My personal opinion is that the only bits he had that were worthy of those hits that his teammates had above were Jeffrey's that he did with Ferrell and Sanz and his guitar bits on Weekend Update. Other than those, I don't think he had anything worthy. And I think his movie career echoed that well.
(But to be fair, Shannon, Gasteyer, Oteri, Kattan, and Meadows also never had hit film careers, even though they were amazing on SNL; it takes a unique person like Ferrell or Wiig to transition from SNL to a hit film career... or Meyers, Murphy, Chase, Murray, Sandler, etc.)
That said, I think Fallon could have found a niche to be popular by being on a sitcom (maybe) or by hosting a Today Show, which is what he did when he accidentally took over Conan's spot (it was done with Conan's blessing at the time). And the only reason why Fallon is hosting SNL now is because he has a hit show (Late Night). Just in time to host when he predicted (which is obviously the reason why they picked that date for him and announced it so early).
So we know that Jimmy Fallon and Kristen Wiig are close (they were in Whip It together, and Kristen Wiig has been on Late Night several times). So it's going to be exciting to see what the two of them cook up on SNL!
Enjoy!
- TAE
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