Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: April 4, 2008
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: Saturday Night Live, “Christopher Walken / Panic! At The Disco” (Season 33, Episode 9). [Watch on Hulu.]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Kristen Wiig’s arsenal of recurring characters on Saturday Night Live is pretty much unrivaled in the history of that show. From the Target Lady to Penelope to Gilly to Dooneese to Kat (of Garth and Kat), and that’s just to start. Partially because her time on the show was spent bridging the gaps between the Tina Fey era and the Seth Meyers era, Wiig ended up shouldering quite a bit of the load for SNL. And while your opinions on the individual characters (or at what point they lost their appeal) could vary, Wiig’s prolific output is pretty tough to deny.
One of my favorite Wiig characters was also one of her simplest premises: Sue is a regular suburban lady with lots of good friends and an affinity for color-blocked sweaters. She also loves surprises. A lot.
The fact that it’s Christopher Walken hosting this week ends up working so well for this sketch, as his stilted, aloof affect is such a fantastic contrast to Sue’s bubbling-over excitement. Wiig always excelled at playing fairly ordinary human emotions (boastfulness; nervousness) and cranking them up as high as they can go. We can all relate to being maybe a bit too excited for something like a surprise party. Sue loses motor function and crashes through windows. I’ve always always been in love with Amy Poehler’s urgent, terse “Shut it, Sue!” when Sue is about to blow the surprise. What a collection of talent in this sketch: Wiig, Poehler, Bill Hader, Will Forte, Casey Wilson — such a strong era for the show.
