Parrot Sketch Included: TT's Top 20 Comedy Sketches

[jpfriction]

I doubt they’ll place because they are so specific but I was somewhat surprised to realize a lot of my favorite comedy sketches from my favorite sketch show revolve around people saying words that aren’t quite right confidently. Which I guess is what homestar runner is 90% of the time. So i guess not that surprising.

 

[Adrenaline]

My favorite detail of Pre Taped Call In Show is the progression of the host's hair loss.

 

[Issun]

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Here are 5 #1s that did not place in the Top 20:

ALL-DRUG OLYMPICS (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE)
Torzelbaum's #1

GRAVY BOAT LIGHTHOUSE (CONAN O'BRIEN)
JBear's #1

Gravyboat Lighthouse Commercial 11/24/10

An archive of clips from Late Night With Conan O'Brien and CONAN on TBS.

conanclassic.com

SPACE: THE INFINITE FRONTIER (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE)
Issun's #1

TOO MUCH TUNA (KROLL SHOW)
jpfriction's #1

MONSTER PARTIES: FACT OR FICTION? (MR. SHOW)
Johnny Unusual's #1

​

 

[Johnny Unusual]

MONSTER PARTIES: FACT OR FICTION? (MR. SHOW)
Johnny Unusual's #1

Warning for mine, there is a pretty ableist and offensive gag name with the Dr. Demento spoof character.

Also, that's not the complete sketch, sadly. It goes on for three more minutes.

 

[Lokii]

that bit of datedness sucks because monster parties fact or fiction is all fire otherwise, it's just filled with perfecto line readings.

 

[jpfriction]

Too much tuna comes up a lot on Kroll show (even had its own stage adaptation, somehow?), and like most of the sketches on that show crosses over and spins off into other sketches constantly so it is hard to just pick a favorite sketch. I was specifically thinking of this one, though, Mulaney’s reading of “Do you have fucking memento disease” had me laughing so hard my wife was legitimately concerned for my safety/sanity:

 

[Violentvixen]

I've never seen Gravy Boat Lighthouse and I love it.

I also like Infinite Frontier, because I always have a soft spot for one of the actors losing it during a sketch, especially around Will Ferrell.

 

[Daikaiju]

My tastes are too old I'm guessing...

 

[Rascally Badger]

Mulaney and Kroll did a whole live show as those old guy characters that had a Netflix special. Too Much Tuna is a great prank.

I almost want to apologize for how I Think You Should Leave heavy my list is. On the other hand, it is one of the few sketch shows that really connected with me. And as I said earlier, I completely forgot about Flying Circus when making my list.

 

[Dark Medusa]

I'll probably get around to watching more of these, but I wanted to put my two cents in and say that I Think You Should Leave sketches tend to make me very uncomfortable and I don't particularly find them that funny, too! Just shows how all comedy is relative.

 

[Rascally Badger]

Most I Think You Should Leave sketches start with an uncomfortable social situation and then just see how much more uncomfortable they can make it. As someone who is often uncomfortable in any social situation, I tend to find the push into absurdity a kind of release.

 

[zonetrope]

I don't usually go for that type of humor either, and my first reaction to ITYSL was, "So the joke is that he's an asshole?" But I grew to really admire the sheer number of variations Robinson manages to spin out of one fairly basic central idea. I don't know if it's going to show up on this list, but my favorite sketch is the one with Tim Heidecker as the jazz snob playing charades.

 

[Behemoth]

I don't usually go for that type of humor either, and my first reaction to ITYSL was, "So the joke is that he's an asshole?" But I grew to really admire the sheer number of variations Robinson manages to spin out of one fairly basic central idea. I don't know if it's going to show up on this list, but my favorite sketch is the one with Tim Heidecker as the jazz snob playing charades.

Most ITYSL sketches don't have punchlines, per se-they just spin out an absurd premise until it awkwardly cuts off. But the charades sketch has such a great punchline.

 

[JBear]

Wasn't going to say anything because I like to stay positive for these lists, but if everyone else is going to weigh in, I'll just say that you're not alone in not appreciating ITYSL. I loathe that show, but everyone else seems to love it. *shrug* Glad to hear it's not just me!

As for my #1 above, Gravy Boat Lighthouse is just so delightfully absurd. I can't fathom how anyone ever arrived at the idea, but it is 100% gold. That clip actually cuts out my favourite bit, though, which is how, immediately after that sketch ends, Conan stares at the camera and says something to the effect of "I've been doing this stuff for X years, and this is easily the dumbest thing we've ever done."

 

[zonetrope]

Most ITYSL sketches don't have punchlines, per se-they just spin out an absurd premise until it awkwardly cuts off. But the charades sketch has such a great punchline.

That's part of why I like it so much, I think, there's a relatively straightforward setup and punchline, as opposed to something like the sloppy steaks sketch, which just goes off into its own universe. Plus I generally think the show is funnier when Robinson is the straight man and a guest star is the person making everyone uncomfortable.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

As for my #1 above, Gravy Boat Lighthouse is just so delightfully absurd. I can't fathom how anyone ever arrived at the idea, but it is 100% gold. That clip actually cuts out my favourite bit, though, which is how, immediately after that sketch ends, Conan stares at the camera and says something to the effect of "I've been doing this stuff for X years, and this is easily the dumbest thing we've ever done."

This was on my list, too, but at the very end.

 

[Issun]

Confession time: Had I remembered Gravy Boat Lighthouse, it would have been on my list and therefore placed.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Pretty good for a talk show sketch. I mean, they tend to be built to be a little more enjoyed then forgotten due to the nature of those kids of shows.

There's actually a sequel sketch. It's not bad but you can't catch lightning in a bottle so easily.

 

[Violentvixen]

Wasn't going to say anything because I like to stay positive for these lists, but if everyone else is going to weigh in, I'll just say that you're not alone in not appreciating ITYSL. I loathe that show, but everyone else seems to love it. *shrug* Glad to hear it's not just me!

As for my #1 above, Gravy Boat Lighthouse is just so delightfully absurd. I can't fathom how anyone ever arrived at the idea, but it is 100% gold. That clip actually cuts out my favourite bit, though, which is how, immediately after that sketch ends, Conan stares at the camera and says something to the effect of "I've been doing this stuff for X years, and this is easily the dumbest thing we've ever done."

I'm glad to hear all this too! Sometimes the positivity of these lists is alienating, I'm really comforted to learn other people feel the way I do rather than sitting here feeling like I'm the only one who feels a certain way. And more varied opinions is more interesting of course.

And I am so glad you shared the ending of that sketch, that's amazing. It was a weird thing when compiling this list to find that a lot of links cut out what I consider crucial parts of sketches.

 

[Issun]

#9
BROOKS BROTHERS
(I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE)

67 Points, 2 Votes, Highest Vote: Rascally Badger (#2)
​

Easily I Think You Should Leave's most iconic sketch, it also contains the most memed moment from the show. A guy in a hot dog suit pointing at a hot dog car that's crashed through the window of a Brooks Brothers and telling the police "We're all trying to find the guy who did this!" has become a visual shorthand to bring out anytime anyone in the business/political/media establishment looks at any of the number of crises in the world today and shrugs and wonders how it possibly could have happened. Robinson's weird, distracting tangent at the end is also top-tier delivery of top-tier writing.

I guess if nobody wants this "car" I'll take it.

 

[Issun]

#8
ARE WE THE BADDIES?
(THAT MITCHELL AND WEBB LOOK)

70 Points, 3 Votes, Highest Vote: JBear (#8)
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And another meme that's been applicable for the last several years, this one from a British show that only ever attained cult status in North America, but sometimes those are the best. This is their most famous sketch. The idea of horrible people looking around them and thinking that maybe what they're up to is not so great is a premise that I'm surprised took until 2006 to be explored, but M&W did it so perfectly there's really no reason to go after it again.

I didn't say we weren't fun!

 

[Adrenaline]

Oh god I didn't nominate any Mitchell and Webb sketches

 

[JBear]

ARE WE THE BADDIES? wasn't my highest-ranked Mitchell and Webb sketch, but it's definitely their most iconic. I think more than a few folks have only ever seen that sketch, but I assure everyone that there's a lot more gold if anyone cares to go looking!

 

[karzac]

#9
BROOKS BROTHERS
(I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE)

67 Points, 2 Votes, Highest Vote: Rascally Badger (#2)
​

Easily I Think You Should Leave's most iconic sketch, it also contains the most memed moment from the show. A guy in a hot dog suit pointing at a hot dog car that's crashed through the window of a Brooks Brothers and telling the police "We're all trying to find the guy who did this!" has become a visual shorthand to bring out anytime anyone in the business/political/media establishment looks at any of the number of crises in the world today and shrugs and wonders how it possibly could have happened. Robinson's weird, distracting tangent at the end is also top-tier delivery of top-tier writing.

I guess if nobody wants this "car" I'll take it.

This is one of the ITYSL sketches that I think works best as a traditional sketch. "Weird guy tries to lie his way out of situation" is a pretty classic premise. Aside from the crudeness of the language ("now we just look at porn on our phones" is a great line), I think this sketch would fit in a lot of other comedy troupe's repertoires. I could imagine this as a Python sketch easily, for instance.

 

[Behemoth]

It's probably obvious by now that I'm a ITYSL super fan (but no judgment if its very specific brand of absurd cringe doesn't work for you), and the Brooks Brothers sketch is maybe the best one (although as I noted above my personal favorite is Drivers Ed). There are so many moments in Brooks Brothers that just land for me:

1. When he talks about pulling the perpetrator's behind out of their "costume."

2. When the random bystander says "well one of us is going to have to do it!"

3. The cut to Donald, and his "oh no" when he realizes how he's dressed.

4. The way Tim leans in on the "random!"

At this point I'm just reciting the sketch, so I should stop (or leave, if you will). The only part that actually doesn't work for me is the recitation of the porn sites at the end, which I think dilutes the premise. Otherwise, though, it's all gold.

 

[Kirin]

I'm glad to hear all this too! Sometimes the positivity of these lists is alienating, I'm really comforted to learn other people feel the way I do rather than sitting here feeling like I'm the only one who feels a certain way. And more varied opinions is more interesting of course.

Definitely not just you! I'm also in the camp where one of my big takeaways from this list is that ITYSL definitely isn't for me. Which is fine. It is interesting, though, because there's plenty of other comedy I enjoy (Python springs to mind) where the main drivers of a sketch are social discomfort and increasing absurdity. Part of it may just be context - an old British toff shouting in an increasingly agitated manner is amusing, a 30-something American doing the same thing in a very earnest manner is more threatening, even when the subject matter is absurd? I dunno.

Baddies is great, though. Not sure I'd actually seen the whole thing before, having mostly come across it in gif/meme form. Also is it just me or does Mitchell have, like, the exact same accent as Moss from The IT Crowd?
Also liked Call-In Show from the previous page.

 

[Daikaiju]

Ah dang, I definitely would have put Baddies on my list.

 

[Violentvixen]

I've never seen Baddies and am not sure I've seen Mitchell and Webb at all before but that's great. Going to have to check out their other stuff.

 

[Rascally Badger]

I voted for both of today's entries. I am new to Mitchell and Webb, but I spent a few weeks burning through that show (or at least what I could find on youtube) last year. That was the one that made my list, though there were a couple of others that, with more reflection I might like more.

I know its become a meme, but I love "we're all trying to find the guy who did this" I really like when and ITYSL sketch switches from one goofy premise to another mid-sketch. Like Robinson's detour into talking about porn.

 

[Issun]

#6 (TIE)
THE DAY THAT ROBERT PALINS MURDERED ME
(I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE)

81 Points, 3 Votes, Highest Vote: #3 (Rascally Badger)
​

Yet another YouTube clip missing the whole sketch, but you get the gist. It begins with a Walk the Line style scene where the country singer man man is recording a (not half bad) country song. Then the lead guitarist chimes in with his own lyrics and... well, if you've ever heard a 7-year-old make up their own song that's pretty much what you're getting here. The producer's reaction is, predictably, stunned followed by confused and ultimately unimpressed with the skeleton song.

The worms are their money. The bones are their dollars.