Inspired by the "Top 5 SNL sketches thread".

Who you got? I grew up on Dennis Miller, but might have to choose Tina Fey.

I loved Norm McDonald, too.

If you answer, please feel free to quote your favorite lines if you remember any.

Norm McDonald, without a doubt. It was a travesty when he got railroaded out.

I like Norm.

I don't think I can pick just one. Favorites would be Chevy Chase, Ackroyd/Curtain, Miller, MacDonald (took awhile, but he grew on me), and Tina Fey. I liked Amy Poehler and Jimmy Fallon, too.

Least favorite, by far, was Colin Quinn, followed closely by Kevin Nealon.

Charles Rocket.

Poehler and Fey were great together.

Nealon was a...weird choice.

Weekend Update quotes spanning the history of the show are hard to find on the series of tubes.

Here's a few Norm McDonald quotes, though:

----Actor Christian Slater was let out of prison for one night to attend the premiere of his new movie Hard Rain. Fifteen minutes into the film, Mr. Slater asked to be escorted back to prison.

---Many people are skeptical about marriage of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Pressley. They say, Lisa Marie is more of a sit at home type, while Michael Jackson is more of a homosexual pedophile.

---[on Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett's divorce] Julia Roberts said that the turning point in their marriage was when she realized that she was Julia Roberts and that she was married to Lyle Lovett.

Plus, Norm's first line of WU on the first show after the OJ Simpson verdict:

"Well, it's official: murder is legal in the state of California."

My favorite is "The Show Blows!" monologue after they invited him back as a guest post-firing.

Wow, I don't think I ever knew he came back! Just for one sketch or scene, or to host the whole show?

He hosted the whole show.

Transcript:

Norm MacDonald: When the people here asked me to do the show, I've got to say, I felt kind of weird. I don't know if you remember this, but I used to actually be on this show. I used to do the "Weekend Update" news routine, you remember that? That's where I did the make-believe news jokes. That was me, you know? So then, a year and a half ago, I had sort of a disagreement with the management at NBC. I wanted to keep my job. Right? And they felt the exact opposite. They fired me because they said that I wasn't funny. Now, with most jobs, I could have had a hell of a lawsuit on my hands for that, but see, this is a comedy show. So, they got me. But, now, this is the weird part, it's only a year and a half later, and now, they ask me to host the show. So I wondered, how did I go from being not funny enough to be even allowed in the building, to being so funny that I'm now hosting the show? How did I suddenly get so goddamn funny?! It was inexplicable to me, because, let's face it, a year and a half is not enough time for a dude to learn how to be funny! Then it occurred to me, I haven't gotten funnier, the show has gotten really bad! So, yeah, I'm funny compared to, you know, what you'll see later. Okay, so let's recap, the bad news is: I'm still not funny. The good news is: The show blows! Alright, folks, we've got a great show for you tonight! Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggie Dogg and Eminem are here. We'll be right back!

Jeez, that monologue took some balls! Both from Norm and from Lorne Michaels for (I assume) allowing it. Thanks for sharing!

What would MacDonald have going on at the time that would have justified hiring him back? Usually whoever's hosting has some project or other going on whose hype SNL tries to ride.

Maybe that sitcom with chick-from-Roseanne and chick-from-Murphy Brown?

Possibly Half-Baked? Wasn't he in that?

Checking wikipedia, I think Doot is correct. His SNL appearance was in late 1999, the same time The Norm Show came out.

Either that, or his ultra-brief appearance in Man on the Moon

Norm MacDonald gets my vote for:

I remember that line. Norm spoke truth there.

I remember watching this monologue and wanting to stand up in my living room and applaud. I mean, Colin Quinn on Update? "Really bad" doesn't even come close. Who did that guy have the blackmail goods on?

I liked Colin Quinn. I'd take him over Rocket or Hall.

Norm all the way.

Norm.

He was able to get laughs there I doubt anyone else could get. Just some truly bizarre stuff. And then he'd say things no one else was wanting to say. When he got booted that basically ended my interest in SNL. Watching Colin Quinn as his replacement was just a sad reminder of how good things had been.

Norm = Very funny guy