SNL

I figured I’d move on to something a bit lighter, for the time being:
Saturday Night Live.

I became a big fan of the show when I was about 13 years old living in Las Vegas. My sis followed shortly after. The cast at this time was headed by Dana Carvey and Mike Myers and included Victoria Jackson, Jan Hooks and Kevin Nealon. Carvey was my fav at the time, as he was with most people.

But this got me to thinking. Shouldn’t there be a ranking of the cast members by impact they had on the show? This can include recurring characters, versatility and how good the show was the first season after they left.

I figure a 5 star rating system should suffice for this.

Now, I’m not really in a position to comment too much on many cast members before my time but I will automatically throw in Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin and Chevy Chase into the 5 star category. Debate if you want but they are in (in my book).
What is the 5 star category? This means that whenever a cast-member is in a sketch, you’re guaranteed to laugh.

Phil Hartman was what Darrell Hammond wishes like heck he could be. Hartman’s only really popular recurring character was President Clinton. But Hartman could play anything. No matter the role, he played it great. Whether the boss in “Ed Glosser, Trivial Psychic” or the father in the "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker" sketches, he not only played the role, he was funny in it…a role that probably didn’t have much room to garner laughs.

Chris Farley was the man. The best at physical comedy on the show as long as I’ve been watching. Whether it was crushing tables, destroying walls, getting repeatedly murdered in a community theater play or falling through ice and screaming profanities, he could do it. He also played the shy, unassuming guy when hosting his own “Chris Farley Show.” Farley will always be my favorite and he was definitely one of those cast members that, when I saw him in a sketch, knew I’d be laughing.

Will Ferrell probably isn’t comfortable being on the list with two guys who died early and unexpectedly. Too bad. I remember when Lorne Michaels purged the show of every cast member except Tim Meadows in the mid-90’s. Will Ferrell came on with a very talented group (Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Kattan) and I remember the sketch where my sis and I became huge Ferrell fans. It was The Terry Gantner Family Workout. Ferrell is using karate to workout and tried to break a piece of wood with a strike. He proceeds to break his hand on it and spends the last 60 seconds of the episode screaming in pain and lashing out at his family members. Heather and I knew at that point that he was our guy. Ferrell had many recurring characters: Goulet, Janet Reno, one of the Butabi Brothers, Neil Diamond and, of course, President Bush. Beyond that, he always played utility, like Phil Hartman, filling whatever role was needed.

Who are your five-star cast members and why?