Top 30 Saturday Night Live Sketches That Went Horribly WRONG

Live TV is never forgiving! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most memorable and/or entertaining slip-ups in “SNL” history. Our countdown includes sketches "Samurai Stockbroker", "Jeffrey's", “Dog Court” and more! Did we forget another “SNL” sketch gone wrong? Let us know in the comments below.
Check out these other SNL related videos:
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#snl #comedy #live #sketch #weekendupdate #pedropascal #justintimberlake

[@WatchMojo]

Did we forget another “SNL” sketch gone wrong? Let us know in the comments below. For more content like this, click here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4GloYieZa6rmK8 Don't forget to play our Live Trivia (www.watchmojo.com/play) games at 3pm EST for a chance to win cash! The faster you answer, the more points you get!

[@Reaperguy67]

​@@_Cinenerd_ nobody cares kid

[@tiger31623]

​@@Reaperguy67if you don't care why make a comment

[@Reaperguy67]

​@@tiger31623 It's called telling the truth. He does it when he wasn't. Also stop trying to start something again.

[@tiger31623]

​@@Reaperguy67you patented your are the king of KZbin. You can't tell someone else what to do or say

[@Reaperguy67]

@@tiger31623 nope you are wrong and I'm not telling him what to do . Guess what you are trying to tell me what to do as well. Keep on crying.

[@timothyduffy8538]

The fact that they would change the script on the Stefan bits without telling him is evil geinus

[@AlWorth9738]

they didn't. watchmojo just makes up bs stories for every video

[@s4v223]

They did, John Mulaney wrote the Stephan skits and changed the script to prank Bill Hader

[@AdamG1983]

John Mullaney, what can you say?

[@AdamG1983]

Fun fact for the Matt Foley sketch: Only Chris Farley knew about the breakaway table gag. Everyone in the scene's shocked reaction was genuine.

[@iBridgee]

The best SNL sketches are often the ones where things go hilariously off the rails.

[@CraftAero]

The Candice Bergen / Gilda Radner sketch went wrong soooo right. (S02E10) The way Gilda leaned into it for the win was spot on genius.

[@trevormiles5852]

you can see true friendship there. Like when you start making your friend the butt of a joke but all know you guys are best buds, your friend just looks down and takes it. Candice in her own right was an awsome comedian.

[@VonSley]

Cant wait to see the Beavis and Butthead sketch on future lists like these. They must have not shown heidi what they looked like before 😂😂😭. My favorite sketch in a minute

[@treehuggerkyle]

I heard they do a bit of makeup during rehearsal, but they don’t see the whole thing until showtime. I can see how being told what those two would look like doesn’t prepare you for what’s coming!

[@gfear24]

I swear Kate Mackinnon is this eras version of Tim Conway. She goes out of her way to get people to break, and keeps a straight face as good as he did whenever he would torture Harvey Korman.

[@manchesterunitedno7]

The Barry Gibbs Talk Show series is the only SNL skits when Fallon somehow never break character.

[@JazzyJonas]

The Candice Bergen/Gilda Radner sketch Is one of the greatest saves in live TV history.

[@AnitaHanjaaab]

Lmao the first Californians had me in real tears. The “What’reyoudoinghere???” Gets me every time. 😂 The sketch is terrible but the constant breaking made it amazing.

[@maps_3377]

Sandler and Farley doing Zaggat’s guide could have been included here. Sandler didn’t break very often but almost always did with Farley.

[@twist58]

(1:21) THAT one had me cracking up on the first go when he mentioned the word. 🤣🤣

[@joannharrison8207]

I really miss Phil Hartman. He was an amazing comedian and person.

[@PsychoThirteen]

I remember "Massive head wound Harry" when it was live, but still laughed way too hard at it's inclusion here!

[@Kritacul]

#1 is a all time classic and I still laugh to this day watching it.

[@HPALM22]

Thanks for narrating over the funny parts

[@Coyotek4]

Up to 30, and you still don't include the Steve Martin jury sketch where a bird flies away before rendering a decision.

[@GG-py9vp]

I didn’t think cork soakers was a sketch that went horribly wrong, I thought it was hilarious. If you thought that went wrong, maybe you should consider schweaty balls! I thought that was hysterical too 😂😂 Edit: not to forget Betty White’s muffin - that was so funny too

[@afriend38]

I do agree!!😂

[@normmurray9810]

For Betty White's iconic performance, all 3 of the performers professionally maintained character, so it wouldn't qualify for this segment. I agree, it's one of my all time favorites, too.

[@robbieallan6522]

Chris Farley "IN A VAN DOWN BY 5HE RIVER!!" Is in my opinion probably the best enl sketch ever and only he could do that sketch and have EVERYONE trying so hard not to break down in tears of laughter...❤ RIP Chris 🙏 🕊 ☮

[@tonytrotter8175]

Delicious Dish and the "Pener" sketch. HILARIOUS!

[@jonvia]

SNL is only good when cast mates and hosts are on the brink of laughter

[@anthonydrake4244]

Let's not mention that Jimmy Fallon's character breaks are so frequent that they seem intentional... to draw attention to himself.

[@GG-py9vp]

True I agree. I find that on his talk show too. It’s not about his guest. It’s all about him. I stopped watching him because of that

[@TayWoode]

Definitely, it’s usually coz the actual joke isn’t that funny so he does that to try and get people to laugh

[@kelleyk28]

I love the cowbell episode!

[@brandonnewby178]

#7: Of course he looks like he's having the time of his life. He's got Cecily Strong on his lap!

[@AdamG1983]

Preach

[@DTD110865]

Not only that, she looked like she was getting something more from him than we can see.

[@PadisherCreel]

The incredible feat with the Adam Driver sketch, he did that without any cue cards

[@loboblanco4426]

The only show I watched with more enjoyment when the skit gets blown is the Carol Burnett show

[@amerz2477]

Disappointed you didnt list Phil Hartman as Bill Clinton at McDonald's

[@mistrjt9213]

From San Francisco here so SNL is way past my bedtime but I’ve watched all these skits lives, and prob will as long as SNL continues to film. Wish I can go to a live taping one day! 👍

[@renatoism]

I heard in the hot tub sketch Will Farrell was tickling Jimmy Fallon's feet underwater

[@hayeonkim7838]

Thanks for meaningful and valuable video as always 😂😂😂

[@user-ds2cg1cg1m]

??

[@zejaguar]

Go way to the80s. Martin Short hit Billy Chrystal too hard & knocked his wig revealing his Baldhead that was prepared for another sketch. The other actors had a hard time to keep the sketch going.

[@dauntlessasmr7910]

Oh you guys definitely forgot a hilarious one. Biggest blooper by a Host: Brandon Frasier dressed up as Xena, Warrior princess. In a sketch that explores her Alternative Lifestyle tendencies. Frasier in character gets knocked down on his stomach (that was scripted) but loses his wig as it falls off his head. He instantly breaks character as he grabs the wig and shoves it back onto his head before trying to continue with the sketch.

[@ckotcher1]

SNL sketches that went horribly wrong: basically every season for the past 20 years

[@CIS101]

This is really funny. All of this breaking character makes all of these skits even more funny ! It's great !

[@user-qg5wg9ut2o]

Thank you for reminding us about these awesome SNL sketches❤🎉

[@SPAnComCat]

That Video was PURE COMEDY GOLD!🤣

[@davidlee6649]

I wish you’d actually play the skits and scenes for us to enjoy them. Frustrating to just hear 90 % commentary and 10% seeing the scenes. Love mojo but hate mojo lol

[@QueenOfTheNorth65]

They don’t own the rights to show the whole skit.

[@Baysidemom2]

do you know what the phrase "copyright claim" means? if not, I suggest you look it up then re-evaluate your comment

[@richrelaxes1154]

If only you could look them up somewhere…

[@ECG3485]

DMCA compliance is the bane of Mojo's existence. They can only do as much as they can while respecting copyrights

[@Mark-gf6jn]

Amen. The producer of all these mojo videos loves to hear herself talk rather than allow the audience to engage in the commentary that is being presented.

[@IamLegendaryguy1998]

It’s not Saturday until WatchMojo post Saturday Night Live videos

[@bigrudd9346]

This or The Simpsons.

[@markalexander3659]

I lost it at the same time as Bowen in the Lisa from Temecula skit where Ego says "Oh, 'cause we black?" 🤣 Reminds me of the court room one from last season where Bowen says "And now the judge is trying to silence three women of colour" and two of those people are him and Amy Schumer.

[@karenfountain1171]

I enjoy all your videos. Thank you 😊

[@JStorm13]

Oh what we could have gotten, had Farley not passed away.

[@EvaGrammer]

Thank you for this one. Beautiful.

[@josephcottam1382]

I fell off the couch LMAO viewing the schweaty balls with Alec Baldwin😂😂😂

[@SpeedyEric1]

I don't blame Adam Driver stabbing that fake bird with a cane, because he was a Marine before he got into acting.

[@chloesmithwalker7565]

He went all Birdemic on that bird lol.

[@Clavers1369]

Huh?? Was he an anti-aircraft gunner? Improvise, adapt, overcome?

[@trevormiles5852]

shame they stepped all over his lines. Each line was pure comedy. Go look at full sketch. hope it made you smile even more.

[@chrismaxwell2274]

I guess I didn't know being a marine just makes you just stab fake birds.

[@Smokin_N_Jokin]

The breaks are the best 😂

[@matthewwilliams8978]

"Gone wrong"? These breaks were hilarious and made the show so much better!

[@Animeguy300]

You guys did awesome

[@InkaPley]

Lisa from Temecula is one of my new favs

[@andreparker3707]

I love the Lisa from Temecula skits 😂

[@williamlopez8676]

The funniest thing about the John Belucci Samauri Stockbroker scene wasn't even mentioned. This was Chevy Chase's last SNL episode before he left the show. After Henry showed up with a bandage on his head, so did Chase, only his was bigger. After that, every time Chase appeared on stage again, his bandage was bigger. Finally by the end of the show, Chevy Chase sported a huge mass of gauze on his head that was actually bigger than his whole head.

[@leobien0717]

Like wrong, wrong wrong, or absolutely right lol.

[@blackphilipalvarez1305]

Horribly wrong may be a bit of a misleading title, just skits where they broke character and laughed but that doesn’t mean it’s horrible.

[@kennethgammell9457]

Actually I was expecting this video to just play the sketches without the lady talking all over them.

[@fanboysreign]

Or the episode with Fred Armisen and Bill Hader playing the two doormen with weird accents and they can't even finish the sketch ..

[@rubberroast1598]

best sketches all time have to be Cowbell, Matt Foley, and Swyze/farley Chippendale tryout. Best episode overall though I have to admit......despite having a lessor cast these days compared to the previous 20 years, that Ryan Gosling show from 2 weeks ago is in top 3. it was awesome, damn near every sketch.

[@Buggy-su4oy]

The Space Corn Thanksgiving with Steve Carrell and Pete when during the first airing the purple background behind Pete fell surrounding him in a black screen.

[@Evocati-Augusti]

CorkSoakers might have been one of the most clever skits written and performed.

[@Evocati-Augusti]

In high school i thought i was going to become a comedian , in 9th grade I was doing really edgy content in front of the whole school, we were in such a small bubble kids didn't even get the jokes, and I used a skit I saw with my dad at New York comedy club, Dangerfield's, Bob Nelson and an Entire Football Team , which got so many complaints from parents and teachers me and my there teacher went in front of the school board, that would not be the last time, in the summer of 1990 i went to Dangerfield's school of comedy , which cost my grandmother 1,200 bucks, but my dad was going to put me in the USAF no matter what , and one morning a USAF Officer showed up at my house at 4 AM, my dad had packed a bag and I was in Texas before noon, in 1998 I sent in 3 commercial I wrote in High School to SNL, and they used one of them and then it was banned ,if you post it they will take it down...

[@MORON_Gaming]

Sometimes the mess ups make it wven funnier. In my opinion.

[@MORON_Gaming]

I messed up my own comment lol

[@kurdtfury808]

For reals. The way everybody breaks during that career day sketch makes it 10 times funnier.

[@brandiwheaton838]

I laugh so much harder when they break character

[@m.i.t.h.]

In the hot tub sketch, Will Ferrell was rubbing his leg against Jimmy Fallons under the water. Jimmy has said that was what kept making him laugh.

[@hellabella8295]

This is just out takes and I LOVE SEEING people laughing.. especially Ferrell..

[@procrastinator9]

Debbie Downer definitely should have been #1

[@ChristineCAlb1]

Racheal Dratch just has to look at the camera to make us Lol!!!!

[@AlWorth9738]

#4 Faint? The cowbell in Don't Fear the Reaper is NOT faint at all... it clearly stands out; it is obvious to anyone who knows what a cowbell sounds like.

[@jonmendelson1104]

When I was around 18 I went to visit my older brother and his buddy's band was playing a gig at a local bar. The only way I could get in was by being "part of the band" so I played the cowbell for their band, and I didn't know their music so I played as quietly as possible.

[@JasonNation72]

It seems like Kristen Wiig was responsible for a vast majority of SNL character breaking moments in history.

[@Asrugan]

I still want to see the bit when Brendan Fraser completely loses it when he loses his wig while playing Xena, how about that instead of a tenth list with Debbie Downer?

[@haroldbirge6881]

🏆🍀Freaking hilarious 😆✌️

[@FUGP72]

Gee..how did I know that 90% of this would be from 2000 on, and 75% would be from 2010 or so on, long after anyone with a brain had stopped watching? And that it WOULDN'T include any of Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo's sketches where they break, including one where they literally have a food fight during a sketch until Eddie has to say "This is live television!" to Joe.

[@VivianRodriguez37]

PLENTY!!! LOL

[@Trix897]

I KNEW that Lisa from Temecula had to be on this list!

[@natet5959]

Farley was freakin brilliant!

[@worldscalephotography]

I read somewhere that will farrell was 'pushing' his leg underwater to Jimmy on purpose to make him break.

[@CreepyBlueAnimals84]

I always loved watching Cecily Strong get Colin Jost all wet with her alcoholic beverages and watching him and Leslie Jones interact. The three of them were great when appearing on Weekend Update.

[@macwyll]

Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo had a bunch of break-up moments too!

[@AdamG1983]

"Went horribly wrong" = "become hilarious and iconic"

[@macross25]

You need to re-update this with Heidi Gardner from the Beavis & Butthead skit. That & Lisa from Temecula are official Top 10 moments in SNL history of breaking character.

[@99999myk]

Every few years, I tune onto SNL for yet another, laugh free episode . It is live yet they need to use a laugh track because it is sooooo unfunny.

[@user-bl3zv7lr5h]

I've made lots of MEMEs based on More Cowbell but replace Cowbell with other words. Like for the Big Bang Theory... I made we need "More Stewart". 😁 That's just one example.

[@Janewomanpower]

Mojo you get thins so wrong. i can't even.. oh why did i even tune in.

[@SilentFlames907]

HOW DID YOU MISS ADELE IN THE AFRICAN TOURISM SKETCH?!

[@dkakito]

Not sure how Shweaty Balls and Dusty Muffins didnt make it on here.... lol

[@rubberroast1598]

Because they didnt break character on them

[@HobbitFeet42]

Tom Green and the squealing piglet. That thing just freaked out.

[@BrainDamage922]

Idk how Omletville, the Hogwarts skit with Lindsay Lohan, Mike Meyers Hyper Hypo kid skit, and the Christmas Time Is Here skit doesn't make these.

[@JonnySuite13]

😂😂😂 OMG, hey, live TV, what're you gonna do, right? 🤷

[@rockstargunit55811]

Herb Welch talking to Keenan before he asks him what went wrong

[@WingcommanderIV]

I've watched three... And the skit going "horribly wrong" because James Franco cracked a smile and giggled a little is a bit of hyperbole.

[@LiLsCo0tZ]

Fallon shouldn't be included because he's known for screwing up every sketch.

[@alishamorris1555]

Stephan is my favorite

[@GlorifiedTruth]

SNL cast members breaking character can't really be classified as "going horribly wrong," because it happens damn near every episode.

[@daydreamer8662]

As iconic as "Morer Cowbells" is, the song actually doesn't use cowbells. But it's still hilarious as hell

[@wendeboyd503]

Yes it does. Bouchard covered the bell with tape to hit it for a unique sound. He's credited on the album for percussion, including cowbell

[@fanboysreign]

You forgot to put the canceling black grocery characters with Dave Chappelle where he makes Pete Davidson spit out his fake Count Chocula teeth...

[@Buggy-su4oy]

Hope that Lorne didn't get mad at the woman from #18....she just made a mistake.

[@thomasturner6827]

I hate recent SNL, but the classics are the classics

[@jbrisby]

Fred Armison is the Mouth of Sauron. Seriously, it's fucking unnerving.

[@giggityking6505]

Top 10 Anime fights with no winner

[@kurbads74]

Pretending of not pretending forgets that there was pretending in the first place.

[@IveGotALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

I feel like "horribly wrong" isn't the right phrasing.

[@majoraslayer64]

They broke on EVERY Californians sketch.

[@user-ww3fb1pe7j]

Does any sketch on SNL really ever go wrong? I think they just get better.

[@Typical.Anomaly]

Gotta go find out what happened to Dan Cortese now. Haven't heard that name since 1990s MTV.

[@TylerMRedman76]

You missed an opportunity to mention in the Buck Henry episode that throughout the remainder of the episode more and more cast members started sporting bandages as a further joke on the accident.

[@thearmchairjournalist566]

Yet another video of old clips used a million times in a myriad of differently named videos 😢