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41 Random Sketch Comedy Tidbits That Have Some Solid Characters But Are Really Struggling to Find A Button

Like any good sketch, we won’t let this list get too long

41 Random Sketch Comedy Tidbits That Have Some Solid Characters But Are Really Struggling to Find A Button

November 15, 2024

A great sketch needs to know when it’s time to wrap things up. It doesn’t want to be too formulaic with that whole “Rule of Three” thing, but trying to cram everything in can sometimes make it drag on a little too long. Like, how many different ways can you tell the same joke?

We tried to take our own advice with this list. Sure, 40 is a nice round number of facts, but there was this one extra fact that we just couldn’t cut. So let us know: Does it drag, or does it go out on a high note?

41

Chris Rock

Chris Rock CRACKED.COM Chris Rock was constantly compared to Eddie Murphy. But Rock was more of a storyteller and Eddie was known for his impersonations and characters. In 1993, he told Lorne Michaels that he was frustrated by the stereotypical material he was being given, and that he was considering a move to In Liv- ing Color. Не was fired, made the move, then In Living Color was can- celled 3 weeks later. — CheatSheet

40

Wayne Brady

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS Wayne Brady was offended by CHAPPELLE'S SHOW CRACKED.COM Brady hated it when show character Negrodamus said white people love Wayne Brady, because Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X. Brady and Chappelle had drinks to hash it out, then created a sketch where Brady could show off his edgier side. — Mental Floss

39

The Second City Toronto

Comedy hotbeds THE SECOND CITY TORONTO You wouldn't think a Canadian branch would get as popular, but Toronto's Second City produced SCTV from 1976 to 1984, and included John Candy, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, and Martin Short. CRACKED — The Second City
The Second City

38

Key & Peele’s Substitute Teacher

BEHIND-THE-SCENESE FACTS Ya done messed up, A-A-Ron. SUBSTITUTE TEACHER VELETAL ENDOSKEL LOPIAN - SONE CN vet CULAR TERUS CONTRACTILE BLADOW ATTACHED 27 ASOME INTE ARY MATERIAL BODY CONERY SCALES an TIVE TUBE EXTEL ULS/LUNGS KEY & PEELE CRACKED.COM SPINAL All it took was teacher mangles Caucasian names to light up the writers' room. It was like sharks in a frenzy after chum had been dumped in the water, says Key. He improvised in-your-face bits with students, who had to suck my lips into my face to keep from laughing. — EW, YouTube

37

SCTV’s Guest Stars

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS Rock stars catch carp with the FISHIN' MUSICIAN SCTV CRACKED.com The problem: NBC insisted on musical guests but SCTV demanded a reason for them to exist in the Melonville univers. That's why guests like the Tubes ending up angling for trout with John Candy's Gil Fisher, host of the The Fishin' Musician. — AV Club, YouTube

36

Dave & Key & Peele

COMEDY DEL NERD Dave Chappelle says that Key & Peele hurt his feelings with their show. Peabody Award Peabody Aw Peab Peabod Awa He says that they took a format he'd come up with, and claimed that it was Created by Key & Peele- Put some respect on my name, he said. CRACKED.COM — Source

35

SNL’s Interest in Jordan Peele

SNL tried to poach Jordan Peele, but MADtv refused CRACKED COM Jordan Peele was an undeniable talent-- which is why MADtv denied his request to be released from his contract when Lorne Michaels came calling. Peele remained resentful over the incident, later saying that he was upset with MAD producers for using my fate as chess pieces. While his comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key returned for the 20th anniversary reunion special, Peele was a notable no-show. — Source: 12 Angry Facts About MADtv, SNL's Wilder, Louder, Messier Little Brother

34

Catherine O’Hara

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM CATHERINE O'HARA WAS AN SNL CAST MEMBER (BUT ONLY TECHNICALLY). She never appeared in an episode - she joined SNL after she was done shooting SCTV, a show that was supposed to end with that season. But it got renewed, so she quit SNL and went back to SCTV. — Source

33

Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle walked away from $50 million. Stressed out from the pressures of his hit show, he abruptly quit and went on a spiritual retreat to Afri

32

Carol Burnett

Tugs on her ear COOL CAROL BURNETT CRACKED.COM She tugged on her ear in her first TV appearance as a way to say hi to her grandma, and she just kept doing that for years. — Good Housekeeping / YT

31

SCTV

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS There was never a show called SCTV E N A 5 CRACKED.COM For the first two seasons, the show was called Second City Television. Season 3? SCTV Television Network. For its fourth and fifth season, the now 90-minute show went by SCTV Network 90, later shortened to SCTV 90. Its final season was known as SCTV Channel. — Mental Floss

30

Kids in the Hall

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS Failed jokes inspired the KIDS IN THE HALL CRACKED.COM Your Show of Shows is the granddaddy of sketch comedy shows. When star Sid Caesar would bomb a joke, he'd blame it on the kids in the hall. The modern-day Kids took the name because they idolized those kids, Caesar writers who included Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, and Neil Simon. — Mental Floss

29

Rick James

In a 2004 performance, Dave Chappelle argued with the audience and then left the stage. He ripped into them for repeating the tagline I'm Rick James, bitch from his show, and told them This show is ruining my life before he walked off. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Hollywood Reporter

28

Debbie Downer

A Saturday Night Live performance ended up shaping an Inside Out character. They took inspiration from Debbie Downer from SNL for Sadness (and also Wednesday Addams). And their first idea for her? A teardrop. CRACKED.COM — The Hollywood Reporter

27

Chappelle’s Show

Dave Chappelle's favorite sketch isn't one you'd expect. Chappelle's Show Chappelle revealed that Season 1, Episode 9's The Playa Hater's Ball was the most fun he's ever had on a sketch. CRACKED — Comedy Central
Okayplayer

26

Monty Python’s Flying Circus

The Show's Absurdity Was Out Of Necessity The Troupe's specific style of ab- surdism was not just a tool for come- dy, it was a tool for survival. The Ру- thon's would often write sketches ending with no real conclusion. Fourth Wall breaking and strange non-sequiturs were often used when the members did not know how to end a sketch and absurdity was bet- ter than a flat punchline. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — ScreenRant

25

Dave Chappelle

SATIRIZATIONS of modern monsters Chappelle used R. KELLY's own song against him. Chappelle's parody song, Piss on You, dove into R. Kelly's misconduct head on, and opened our eyes to Kelly's troubling lyrics about underage girls in his actual songs. BITING CRACKED — Comedy Central
Comedy Central/YouTube

24

Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball

LUCILLE BALL AND CAROL BURNETT The I Love Lucy star was a mentor to Burnett. Ball, 22 years Burnett's senior, even threw Burnett a baby shower. CRACKE — Source: Mental Floss

23

Monty Python’s Final Goodbye

MONTY PYTHON SAID GOODBYE IN 2014. After 30 years, the surviving Pythons came back together for a last hoorah in a run of 10 shows, entitled Monty Python Live (Mostly). Nobody ever has the chance to , Eric Idle said. The Beatles didn't get a last good night. — Sources: BBC, The Hollywood Reporter

22

Terry Gilliam

The Artist Behind The Animations The Python's iconography would be nothing without their resident animator Terry Gilliam. Because the animations are in a collage style, some of the most famous Python images are from other works of art. For instance, the gi- ant foot is actually Cupid's foot from the painting Venus Cupid Folly and Time. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — AtlasObscura

21

Elvis

Elvis Presley loved acting out Monty Python sketches. He was such a big fan, he started calling people squire after seeing Monty Python's nudge nud

20

South Park’s Inspiration

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE ART STYLE WAS INSPIRED BY TERRY GILLIAM. SOUTH PARK The art style of the earlier seasons was inspired by Gilliam's Monty Python animation. Both Trey Parker and Matt Stone were huge Python fans since childhood. CRACKED.COM — YouTube

19

Kato Kaelin

Kato Kaelin guest starred in the first B season-- twice CRACKED.COM Just 11 days after the verdict of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, star witness Kato Kaelin starred as himself in MADtv's series premiere. It was a joke so nice they told it twice, as Kaelin would return for the second episode before departing to do a cameo on Mr. Show. This would not be the last time MADtv invited a guest star of O.J. fame. — Source: 12 Angry Facts About MADtv, SNL's Wilder, Louder, Messier Little Brother

18

The Life of Brian

The Life Of Brian $4 MILLION MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE Of BRIAN CRACKED .COM Even though Monty Python had one failed attempt at a feature film under their belt at the time, George Harrison (yeah, that George Harrison) used his own house as collateral to finance the film. That investment paid off, to the tune of $20 million. — Source: TheNumbers

17

The Holy Grail

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS THEY ONLY HAD ACCESS TO ONE CASTLE. THE HOLY GRAIL CRACKED CO All the various castle shots seen in the movie were actually filmed using the Doune castle in Scotland. The filmmakers had no other option because other castles wouldn't let them film a comedy on their property. — YouTube

16

Tom Kenny

CRACKED THE VOICE OF SPONGBOB HAD SOME SPICY SKETCHES ON MR. SHOW. Tom Kenny is now famous for voicing SpongeBob SquarePants, but between his many other kids show voices, he played some really dark characters in TV, and was in 20 episodes of Mr. Show. In You're Fired, he says f*** you to Bob Odenkirk, so yeah. — IMDB / The Laugh Button

15

Playboy

PLAYBOY PRODUCED THE FIRST MONTY PYTHON MOVIE. And Now for Something Completely Different was the brainchild of Playboy exec Victor Lownes, who wanted to launch Monty Python in America (it didn't work at that time). The production was troubled, as Lownes was too controlling. — Source: Chortle

14

From MadTV to Office Space

David Herman got fired from MADtv to appear in the movie. CRACKED.COM Не wasn't technically allowed to take the role while he was still a cast member, but he felt it was the right move for his career. So he loudly yelled all his lines at MADtv table reads until they fired him. — Source

13

Monty Python’s Three-Sided Album

Monty Python's Three-Sided Record MONTY ONTY THE PYTHON ALD CICE & TIE 0o MATCHINC This is the holy grail of multisided vinyl records: two distinct tr — Source

12

Key & Peele

Key and Peele were pitted against each other in their audition Awards by Av CRACKED.COM As ludicrous as it sounds, MADtv producers were originally only interested in Key or Peele. The Chicago-based comedians were brought in to audition for a single spot, and it was only once producers saw the duo's synchronicity that they decided to make room for both of the show's decorated alumni. Said Keegan-Michael Key, I think that what happened is that they saw that we worked really hard and that we wouldn't stop working until something is perfect. — Source: 12 Angry Facts About MADtv, SNL's Wilder, Louder, Messier Little Brother

11

Spam

Spam got its name from a Monty Python sketch. Sure, it ultimately comes from canned pork. But mass unsolicited email got named spam after the Monty Python joke where the items on a cafeteria menu just keep getting replaced by spam, and eventually the full dialogue becomes just spam spam — Source: IETF

10

The iPad

MADtv invented the iPad... sort of CRACKED.COM Five years before Apple would launch their tablet, MADtv aimed its sights at the tech giant with their indentically titled sketch iPad, a sketch about a sanitary pad that lets users hook up your Apple to your peach! — Source: 12 Angry Facts About MADtv, SNL's Wilder, Louder, Messier Little Brother

9

The Kardashians

The Kardashians hosted one of the final episodes of MADtv CRACKED.COM All of them. At once. With only six episodes to go before the show's initial cancellation, season 14 featured Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kris, and Caitlin competing against Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers in Family Feud. MADtv really did bookend their 14 year run with guest appearances from people made famous by O.J. Simpson. — Source: 12 Angry Facts About MADtv, SNL's Wilder, Louder, Messier Little Brother

8

Jeff Richards and Taran Killam

Only two actors appeared in both MADtv and SNL Feedpo RK MIC CRACKED.COM ACULA The only two comedians to become cast members on both MADtv and SNL were Jeff Richards and Taran Killam. Despite the success of MADtv's illustrious alumni, Richards and Killam were the only ones who managed to jump ship and join MAD's arch nemesis, not counting Keegan-Michael Key, who hosted an episode of SNL in May 2021. — Source: 12 Angry Facts About MADtv, SNL's Wilder, Louder, Messier Little Brother

7

Ana Gasteyer

GASTEYER'S SNLAUDITION INCLUDED DELICIOUS DISH GASTEYER/SHANNON CRACKED COM GASTEYER BASED THE SKETCH ON PUBLIC RADIO SHOWS 'THE SPLENDID TABLE' AND 'GOOD FOOD.' HER SECRET TO TALKING LIKE AN NPR HOST? JUST TAKE YOUR TIME BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO REALLY NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYONE INTERRUPTING YOU, EVER. HER PARENTS LOADED UP ON THE BEN & JERRY'S 'SCHWEDDY BALLS' EDITION. — Source: 13 More Behind-the-Scenes Beginnings of Iconic SNL Characters

6

Mr. Show

Classic sketches inspired an ART EXHIBIT Fan favorites like Choo-Choo the Herky Jerky Dancer inspired The Mr. Show Show: An Artistic Tribute to Mr. Show with Bob & David. The art exhibit offered a chance to actually walk through the Altered: State of Druggachusetts. — Huffington Post

5

Scott Aukerman

SCOTT AUKERMAN got his first real show-biz job The mind behind Comedy Bang Bang and Between Two Ferns started as a neryous Mr. Show writer. I'm not the type of guy who's funny in the room. I'm the guy who's funny late at night on a computer, trying to — HuffPost

4

Jordan Peele

COMEDY NERD Jordan Peele wrote Alligator Boots, a failed pilot from Kanye West himself. СУ And it was a puppet show, of all things- and that was when Peele had just finished doing MadTV, and would soon start the Get Out script. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Mr. Show

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS Goofballz minus dead comic MR. SHOW MR. Show CRACKED.COM David Cross and Bob Odenkirk first worked together on stage as The Three Goofballz. Who was Goofball number 3? The joke was that the mystery comic was either out getting high or dead. — Mental Floss

2

Arrested Development

ARRESTED had a heavy Mr.ShoMEnt Mr. Show influence Bob Odenkirk showed up as Tobias and Lindsey's marriage counselor for a mini-Mr. Show reunion. And frequent Mr. Show director Troy Miller produced the show's controversial Season 4. — Flavorwire

1

Family Guy

Family Guy was supposed to be a series of shorts on MADtv CRACKED.COM Similar to how The Simpsons began on The Tracy Ullman Show, Family Guy was originally pitched to Fox as a series of animated shorts for MADtv. Ultimately, MAD didn't have the budget for the animation, so the network decided to give Seth MacFarlane his own time slot. Fitting that the wild little brother of SNL almost launched the wild little brother of The Simpsons. — Source: IGN

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