Megan Fox might be the "Saturday Night Live" guest host generating all the hype this weekend, but I’m looking forward to the new season for a different reason.
Ever since SNL star Andy Samberg rapped about cupcakes and catching a Sunday matinee in the now famous “Lazy Sunday” digital short video back in 2005, the sketch comedy show - now entering its 35th season - has become must-see TV for me.
The digital shorts - which are videos played in between sketches and often feature Samberg singing, rapping and cursing with a celebrity – have become viral sensations on YouTube and generate a lot of post-show buzz with viewers.
Samberg, along with his childhood friends Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer (collectively known as The Lonely Island comedy troupe) create the shorts and are essentially paid to turn their most childish jokes into big, loud Hollywood productions with some of the world’s hottest celebrities playing along.
There should be more absurd masterpieces to come but for now, I present my list of the Best SNL Digital Shorts...so far.
Warning: These videos contain some very nasty words and mature (or, I guess, immature) subject matter, so you’ve been warned.
Lazy Sunday
This was the first digital short to really get the public’s attention and it was, quite literally, an overnight success. The morning after the video aired on SNL, it had already generated monster numbers on YouTube, and by the time NBC requested its removal from the site, it had been viewed over 5 million times. It features Samberg and Chris Parnell rapping “gangsta-style” about their trip to the movie theatre.
D**k in a Box
Samberg and Justin Timberlake, dressed in suits straight out of a Color Me Badd video, invent a very creative (and perverted) holiday gift for the ladies in their lives. Thankfully, it still hasn’t caught on with the general public. This one actually won an Emmy for outstanding original music and lyrics back in 2007.
I’m On a Boat
The production values on this video prove how successful and popular the shorts have become. How else could they have nabbed rapper T-Pain for the shoot AND rented a yacht? This digital short is a parody of various hip hop videos – and possibly Sean “Diddy” Combs’ real life.
J**z in My Pants
Two discotheque electro-trash d-bags (played by Samberg and Taccone) explain and defend an embarrassing problem that affects them in the sack…and in the supermarket. The video is jam-packed with cameos including Molly Sims, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Justin Timberlake.
Ras Trent
Inspired by the likes of Toronto-born rapper Snow, (remember him?) Ras Trent pokes fun at white kids obsessed with reggae-dance hall and Rastafarian culture. Note: The only version I could find is this one from a bored fan who flipped the video, so any text on the screen is shown backwards. Excuse I!
Note: “Motherlover” is also a hysterical video and deserves to be on the list. Unfortunately, it is only available on the SNL website or Hulu.com (a site that is currently unavailable in Canada.) In it, Timberlake and Samberg reprise their “D**k in a Box” roles for Mother’s Day. Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson play their moms.
All rights reserved