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Robert Smigel on the Saturday Night Live writer Jim Downey as an inspiration for him when they were both staff writers at SNL; on the importance of the first read-through at SNL for a writer; on Jim Downey coming out of the comedy school at The Harvard Lampoon and how that impacted his humor 09:59
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on Chevy Chase's return to Saturday Night Live as the show's host in 1986 and his unique take on the "Weekend Update" segment; on Jon Lovitz being the breakout star of that season; on Dennis Miller on "Weekend Update"; on some of the other SNL performers who were on the show during his tenure like Randy Quaid, Joan Cusack, Robert Downey, Jr. and Victoria Jackson; on the change in the cast when Dana Carvey and Jan Hooks came on the show; 06:22
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on Damon Wayans being fired from Saturday Night Live after going rogue on the live show; on the special and volatile nature of the show being live as opposed to pre-taped; on SNL hitting its peak stride with Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin in 2008 05:00
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
On writing about the ending of Saturday Night Live while being aware the show was in threat of being cancelled; on Tom Hanks guest-hosting on the show; on the bit with Tom Hanks with three guys who sounded like Jerry Seinfeld (a swipe at that style of conversational comedy) saving his role on the show (1985-86 season); on a cliffhanger sketch about the end of SNL he wrote for the season finale in May 1986 with George Martin setting the studio on fire and Lorne Michaels (as himself) only saving Jon Lovitz but sending the writers straight into the flames; on Jim Downey’s contribution to the sketch putting a "?" next to each player's name in the end-crawl; on SNL coming back for another season but with some major cast and crew changes 08:46
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on Dana Carvey's "Chopping Broccoli" sketch on Saturday Night Live; on Dana Carvey as a performer and his collaborations with Smigel; on contributions from writers Bonnie and Terry Turner; on some of Carvey’s sketches and impressions; on working with Carvey on his Johnny Carson impression, and on The McLaughlin Group impression being one of Smigel’s favorite sketches that he wrote; on Carvey's Regis Philbin impression; on “finding the music” in an impression with Carvey; on writing for Phil Hartman as Ronald Reagan (as an evil mastermind), and on changing up the way the show and others had done Reagan impressions in the past 09:31
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on his second year writing on Saturday Night Live; on changes to the writers' room and cast; on castmember Jan Hooks' versatility; on the first show back his second season and the sketch "Game Show Psychic" with Dana Carvey and Jan Hook, and on how it was a completely different show with the new cast 06:01
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on the first show of Saturday Night Live he was hired to write for; on a sketch he wrote for Madonna when she hosted Saturday Night Live in 1985 where she portrayed a Spanish variety show hostess; on his recollections of that show; on what he learned about writing a successful sketch for the show; on what it meant to him to be part of SNL- a show he grew up watching; on being a comedy nerd coming to the show and feeling he was not fitting in 05:41
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: First Big Break
Robert Smigel on the first show of Saturday Night Live he was hired to write for; on a sketch he wrote for Madonna when she hosted Saturday Night Live in 1985 where she portrayed a Spanish variety show hostess; on his recollections of that show; on what he learned about writing a successful sketch for the show; on what it meant to him to be part of SNL- a show he grew up watching; on being a comedy nerd coming to the show and feeling he was not fitting in 05:41
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Pivotal Career Moments
On writing sketches about then-President Ronald Reagan (with Phil Hartman as Reagan) on Saturday Night Live; on his Ross Perot/Admiral Stockdale sketch about the 1992 presidential campaign which he co-wrote with Bob Odenkirk; on Dana Carvey's impression of then-President George Bush; on the writing duo of Al Franken and Jim Downey; on Adam McKay joining the writing staff on SNL; on Will Ferrell’s impression of George W. Bush; on Jim Downey’s return to SNL for the Al Gore debate sketch, featuring the classic line “lock box”; on Jim Downey not wanting to focus on skewering the laughs towards one side of the political spectrum, but wanting to focus just on the comedy 14:32
Interview: Robert Smigel
On Bob Odenkirk joining the writing staff at Saturday Night Live, and on Odenkirk’s tenure at SNL; on Odenkirk’s "Matt Foley" sketch for Chris Farley; on Conan O'Brien's contributions to SNL; on some of the classic sketches Smigel wrote for SNL such as "Trekkers," Steve Martin's monologues, "Nude Beach," and "Bill Swerski's Superfans" 44:52
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on Bob Odenkirk joining the writing staff at Saturday Night Live, and on Odenkirk’s tenure at SNL; on Odenkirk’s "Matt Foley" sketch for Chris Farley 05:47
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Bob Odenkirk
Robert Smigel on Conan O'Brien's tenure on Saturday Night Live; on Conan's contributions as a writer on the show and how he inspired Smigel's own writing 05:06
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Conan O'Brien
Robert Smigel on the writing duo of Jim Downey and Al Franken on Saturday Night Live and their different political points of view; on Downey not wanting to focus on skewering the laughs towards one side of the political spectrum, but wanting to focus just on the comedy and not political satire; on Downey's return to the show in 2000; on his later sketches becoming more counterpoint to the left-leaning sketches that predominant on the show 09:29
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Jim Downey
Robert Smigel on writing the Steve Martin opening monologue "I'm not gonna phone it in tonight" on Saturday Night Live 03:39
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Steve Martin
Robert Smigel on the sketch "Matt Foley Motivational Speaker" with Chris Farley, written by Bob Odenkirk 01:17
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Chris Farley
Robert Smigel on the Saturday Night Live "Trekkers" sketch with William Shatner and the line "Get a life," directed at Star Trek nerds, and on loving nerds 05:18
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: William Shatner
Robert Smigel on Chris Farley and George Wendt in the Saturday Night Live "Bill Swerski's Superfans" sketches; on doing the sketch at Mike Ditka's roast; on the real Mike Ditka's (of the Chicago Bears) take on the sketches and on being roasted by SNL in general 06:36
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: George Wendt
Robert Smigel on writing the "Get a life" line for William Shatner on the classic Saturday Night Live sketch "Trekkers" in which Shatner says the line to some Star Trek superfans, and on the sketch being a turning point in his writing career at SNL 02:48
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Writers
Robert Smigel on the sketch "Bill Swerski's Superfan's" about the Chicago Bears fans that he wrote for Saturday Night Live with George Wendt, and on coming up with "da Bears" catchphrase 06:04
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on coming up with the "Get a life" line for William Shatner in the Saturday Night Live "Trekkers" sketch about Star Trek fans 02:06
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on the political satire sketches he wrote for Saturday Night Live during the Clinton presidency; on the Stockdale vice presidential debate sketch; on observational humor on the show; on Dana Carvey's impression of President George Bush 04:46
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on the writing duo of Jim Downey and Al Franken on Saturday Night Live; on Adam McKay joining the writing staff of SNL and how the show's writing was changing in the 1990s; on the political sketches on SNL during the Bill Clinton presidency; on Will Ferrell’s impression of George W. Bush; on Jim Downey’s return to SNL for the Al Gore presidential debate sketch in 2000 featuring the classic line “lock box”; On Downey not wanting to focus on skewering the laughs towards one side of the political spectrum, but wanting to focus just on the comedy 09:25
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on the "Matt Foley Motivational Speaker" sketch with Chris Farley written by Bob Odenkirk, and on the "Chippendales" sketch with Farley written by Jim Downey 01:17
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on his 1986 Saturday Night Live sketch "Trekkers" co-written with SNL writer George Meyers; on his attitude towards nerds in general; on the "Get a Life" line on the "Trekkers" sketches with William Shatner of Star Trek; on the holiday monologue sketch he wrote for Steve Martin 05:20
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on writing the Steve Martin opening monologue "I'm not gonna phone it in tonight" on Saturday Night Live (December 14, 1991); on always being on-set for the sketches he wrote for SNL 03:39
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on the Saturday Night Live sketch "Nude Beach" (he had written the sketch the summer before and came back to SNL in the fall to find that NBC had dissolved the Standards & Practices department so they were able to get away with saying “penis” on air - the episode would become one of the most controversial episodes to air on the show 06:32
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on writing the "Bill Swerski's Superfans" sketch about the Chicago Bears fans for Saturday Night Live in 1991; on coming up with "da Bears" catchphrase; on writing the sketch for Phil Hartman but Jim Downey talking Smigel into appearing in the sketch instead of Joe Mantegna because his Chicago accent was more authentic and would set a "metronome" for the sketch; on writing another sketch for George Wendt as Bob Swerski; on doing a sketch “The Quiz Show” about "da Bears" versus "da Bulls"; on the real Mike Ditka's (of the Chicago Bears) take on the sketches 18:09
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Saturday Night Live
Robert Smigel on the sketch "Bill Swerski's Superfans" about the Chicago Bears fans that he wrote for Saturday Night Live 01:04
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Characters & Catchphrases
Robert Smigel on writing the "Get a life" line for William Shatner on the classic Saturday Night Live sketch "Trekkers" in which Shatner says the line to some Star Trek superfans 02:17
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Characters & Catchphrases
Robert Smigel on the sketch "Bill Swerski's Superfans" about the Chicago Bears fans that he wrote for Saturday Night Live 01:04
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Pop Culture