Short films have been a staple of Saturday Night Live since the beginning of the sketch comedy TV show’s storied history. However, the SNL Digital Shorts defined a special era of pre-recorded absurdity, courtesy of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island. Look back on those years with our choices of the greatest hits.
Threw It On the Ground (Season 35)
Quite a few of the best SNL Digital Shorts also count as some of the best Lonely Island music videos, such as “Threw It On the Ground,” in which Andy Samberg's character raps about his defiance of "The System" by aggressively causing various objects to drop to the ground. However, these supposed forces of oppression he encounters are typically friendly offerings, ludicrous misunderstandings, or even situations he has no business approaching, such as when he interrupts Ryan Reynolds and Elijah Wood’s dinner before the “Hollywood phonies” promptly retaliate.
The Tangent (Season 31)
Fred Armisen stars in this SNL Digital Short as Joel, whose compulsion to talk for far too long without pause costs him a conversation with a friend but gets him noticed by a talent agent who puts him in a sci-fi flick with Scarlett Johannsen and scores him guest spots on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and the NBC Nightly News. However, after his movie tanks at the box office, he is put back on the street where he began this tangent and when it ends, he has no memory of the show business career he endured.
Jack Sparrow (Season 36)
One of the best SNL bits featuring a musical artist is The Lonely Island's video for "Jack Sparrow," which sees Michael Bolton cutting a new track with the trio that initially appears more earnest than the raps they are known for. However, Bolton hijacks the project with references to his favorite movies, especially Johnny Depp's character from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Shy Ronnie (Season 35)
In "Shy Ronnie," the titular geek (Andy Samberg) performs a duet in front of a group of elementary school children with Rihanna but has a difficult time "speaking up" when the pop star is in the room. The SNL Digital Short spawned a sequel called "Ronnie and Clyde," in which they team up again but as Depression-era bank robbers.
Hero Song (Season 33)
Many established comic book characters have been lampooned in some of SNL's best superhero parodies but there exists one Digital Short that introduces a wholly original costumed crimefighter. Andy Samberg stars in "Hero Song" as an average man singing a ballad about his transformation into a vigilante, which is cut short when he interrupts a mugger (Jason Sudeikis) taking host Amy Adams' purse, who then proceeds to beat him to a pulp.
I'm On A Boat (Season 34)
One of The Lonely Island's most popular songs is "I'm on a Boat," which features rapper and compulsive auto-tune user T-Pain. The SNL Digital Short that first introduced this celebrated anthem for aquatic cruising sees Andy Samberg winning a ticket for a yacht ride, for which he chooses Akiva Shaffer and T-Pain (instead of Jorma Taccone) as his guests.
The Shooting (Season 32)
In what is now considered a classic TV show cliffhanger from the Season 2 finale of The O.C., Trey (Logan Marshall-Green) is shot by Marissa (Mischa Barton), which is followed by the needle-drop of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek." Now, imagine that moment repeated an innumerable amount of times within a few minutes and you have the classic SNL Digital Short "The Shooting," which is otherwise known as "Dear Sister."
Laser Cats! (Seasons 31-37)
One of the few, and best, recurring SNL Digital Shorts is "Laser Cats!" – a seven-part series in which Andy Samberg and Bill Hader repeatedly try to sell Lorne Michaels on the idea for their post-apocalyptic sci-fi epic set in a dystopian future where cats can shoot lasers out of their mouths. He is never impressed with the productions they present to him, even with help from esteemed directors James Cameron and Steven Spielberg, who actually appear as themselves in later installments.
Natalie's Rap (Season 31)
Natalie Portman has been nominated for three Academy Awards, and even won Best Actress for 2010's Black Swan, yet one of the more universally beloved projects on her resume is an SNL Digital Short called "Natalie's Rap." The music video, in which she pokes fun at her good girl image at the time by dropping some foul-mouthed rhymes revealing her debaucherous lifestyle, spawned a follow-up when she returned to host for Season 43.
Lazy Sunday (Season 31)
The SNL Digital Shorts are actually an important in footnote in the history of viral videos, in particular the success of "Lazy Sunday," which scored an insane amount of illegal downloads. The clip, in which Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell rap about seeing The Chronic - WHAT - cles of Narnia, received a follow-up seven years later that depicts a trip to see Sister Act: The Musical on Broadway.
The Mirror (Season 33)
Some of the most egregiously overused horror movie tropes are given a good ribbing in an underrated SNL Digital Short called "The Mirror." Host Elliot Page's character keeps waking up from a nightmare involving a ghoul with a head injury (Andy Samberg) who appears in the bathroom mirror reflection but there is more to this strange occurrence than we realize.
The Curse (Season 35)
After an ignorant businessman (Andy Samberg) accidentally steps on and breaks a trinket belonging to a homeless man (Fred Armisen), the homeless man puts a curse on him. Soon, he sees a shirtless saxophone player (played by host Jon Hamm), resembling Tim Cappello from a memorable musical moment from the horror movie The Lost Boys, literally bursting himself in at random times, ruining his life.
Stomp (Season 37)
Before Andy Samberg led the Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast and Bill Hader joined them for a recurring spot, they both played cops in an SNL Digital Short fit for Broadway, appropriately called "Stomp." In the clip, a police precinct becomes the site of a performance reminiscent of the eponymous stage show but when two members of the Blue Man Group try to join in, they mistake them for aliens and open fire.
Party At Mr. Bernard's (Season 36)
"Party at Mr. Bernard's" is a reimagining of 1989's wild vacation movie Weekend at Bernie's if it became immediately clear to the party guests that the titular character (played by host Robert De Niro) was dead. Luckily, Andy Samberg and Bill Hader's characters are saved from prison when their lawyer presents Bernard's video will, in which he states his dying wish is to have his corpse paraded around for a bodacious beach party.
Zach Drops By The Set (Season 35)
Host Zach Galifianakis not only got to be the star of his own SNL Digital Short but, through that process, starred in several NBC titles. This video sees him pop up in the background of NBC Nightly News and interact with the stars of 30 Rock and Law & Order before we see a younger but still bearded version of himself as an audience member for a Robin Williams-hosted SNL episode from the '80s.
Drake Interview (Season 37)
Some SNL Digital Shorts feel like multiple videos in one. For instance, in this bit, host and musical guest Drake appears in a series of interviews conducted by Andy Samberg that each has a different bizarre gimmick, such as being all-too-brief, all-too close, all-too seductive, etc.
Wish It Would Rain (Season 37)
"Wish It Would Rain" starts off as a pretty typical – albeit ridiculous, due to Andy Samberg's blonde locks and cheesy mustache – video for an R&B break-up ballad. That is until Samberg's character breaks character proves dry and dry and "unseasonably warm" despite a forecast calling for rain.
Batman (Season 37)
Some modern live-action Batman movies, namely Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, show the Caped Crusader tending to sneak up on Commissioner Gordon and disappear without warning. This SNL Digital Short exaggerates that characteristic to the point where Batman (Andy Samberg) is shown inviting himself into Gordon's (Steve Buscemi) apartment, at the doctor's office when he is getting a check-up, and in other embarrassing and invasive situations.
Close Talkers (Season 31)
At the beginning of "Close Talkers," it seems like Gary (Steve Martin) and Ben (Will Forte) are experiencing some sort of romantic meet-cute that is quickly about to turn passionate when they lean closely into each other's faces. While the SNL Digital Short does hint at that still being a possibility, as it turns out, that is just how these old friends like to speak to each other, despite Ben pointing out that Gary is standing a bit closer than usual.
Lettuce (Season 31)
The very first SNL Digital Short, "Lettuce," is also one of the most perplexing Saturday Night Live bits you may ever see. It depicts two friends (Andy Samberg and Will Forte) discussing a recent, tragic loss while taking large bites of the eponymous vegetable in between exchanges before revealing at the very end that the entire video was an ad for the produce item.
Business Meeting (Season 32)
"Business Meeting" already has a pretty decent hook as it features The Office cast member Rainn Wilson playing a corporate leader years before Dwight Schrute became Dunder-Mifflin's Scranton Manager in Season 9. However, his discussion with his colleagues over budget cuts gets more interesting as the people he calls on for suggestions display increasingly strange quirks and identities, including a sentient turkey sub and that week's musical guest, Arcade Fire.
Roy Rules! (Season 32)
Andy Samberg seems like the type of person whom you would probably not want to engage in a prank war with because he would probably get you pretty good. Case in point: he revealed in a 2012 interview with IGN that "Roy Rules!" – an SNL Digital Short in which he reveals he is romantically attracted to his sister's husband – was an elaborate practical joke he pulled on his real-life brother-in-law.
Harpoon Man (Season 32)
"Harpoon Man" is an SNL Digital Short framed as a video for a "Shaft"-esque exploitation movie theme song starring John C. Reilly as a vengeful former whaler on a quest for vengeance in New York City. When the theme song's singer/announcer begins to insult the title hero, he heads to NBC Studios and discovers it is a killer whale (Andy Samberg), whom he promptly stabs with his harpoon.
I Broke My Arm (Season 36)
Host Emma Stone leads this musical SNL Digital Short as a popular teen boasting about a recent injury, due to slipping in a patch of grape jelly. She suffers the same incident three more times until she becomes a paraplegic who requires a computer to communicate. At that point, the grape jelly (Andy Samberg) comes alive and drops a diss rhyme arguing that he is not liable for her accident.
Great Day (Season 35)
One SNL Digital Short that serves as an effective PSA against illicit substances is the cheerful yet darkly hilarious "Great Day." It depicts a day in the life of a raging addict (Andy Samberg) who sings about being absentee father and his delusions about being friends with host Alec Baldwin and musical guest Tom Petty and living in The Matrix.
Zach Looks For a New Assistant (Season 36)
In "Zach Looks for a New Assistant," host Zach Galifianakis interviews elementary school children for the eponymous position with a lot of the same energy he brings to Between Two Ferns. However, unlike that hit web series, this SNL Digital Short is almost entirely unscripted as the kids' responses (save one moment when a boy yells, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!") were 100% natural, as confirmed on The Lonely Island's website.
Helen Mirren's Magical Bosom (Season 36)
When host Helen Mirren accepts Nasim Pedrad's request to touch the Oscar winner's chest, the experience is more intense than the SNL cast member anticipated. It transports Pedrad to a realm beyond space and time where Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl also likes to hang out.
My Testicles (Season 31)
Tom Hanks and Andy Samberg play a '90s dance music duo called Ariel and Efrim, whose eponymous single "My Tesicles" is all about their obsession over protecting their private parts. The video is about as uncomfortable as it sounds and, somehow, is absolutely hilarious from beginning to end.
The Date (Season 35)
"The Date" is one of the funniest, albeit strangest, SNL Digital Shorts that puts Will Forte in the spotlight. He plays a man with a S.W.A.T. team commander with a strained voice having dinner with a woman played by Megan Fox, who is clearly out of his league but the final punchline reveals that he has no interest in sharing a life with her.
Motherlover (Season 34)
The second collaboration between Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake in an SNL Digital Short is "Motherlover," in which their now classic characters sing a song about coming up with the perfect Mother's Day gift: dating each other's moms. Patricia Clarkson plays Timberlake's mother while Samberg's mom is Susan Sarandon, who has surprisingly never hosted Saturday Night Live.
Doogie Howser Theme (Season 34)
When he hosted SNL, Neil Patrick Harris was known for playing Barney Stinson in the How I Met Your Mother cast but his previous claim to fame was playing the title role of Doogie Howser M.D. For this SNL Digital Short, he performs the medical dramedy's famous theme song, accompanied by the cast playing various instruments whilst dressed as the adolescent prodigy.
Iran So Far (Season 33)
"Iran So Far" is an R&B music video in which Andy Samberg professes his love to then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Fred Armisen), who had recently declared that there were no LGBTQ+ people in his country. The SNL Digital Short also features Maroon 5's Adam Levine singing the chorus, which borrows from A Flock of Seagulls' "I Ran," and a brief cameo by Jake Gyllenhaal, who is mentioned in Samberg's rap.
