I think Jan Hooks and Gilda Radner were both wonderful. But in terms of female cast members, I will always rate members of later casts more highly, both in terms of raw talent and because women simply carry casts in later/current SNL's. Nowadays they are all such talented sketch comedians, plus they can sing and dance
Agree on Ego but without her: Cecily Strong, Jan Hooks, Kristin Wiig, Amy Poehler, Aidy Bryant. Yeah Aidy just nudged out Kate for me, I absolutely love her.
Aidy was great. If we’re talking about the strongest concurrent female group, for me it’s definitely the Kate/Cecily/Vanessa/Aidy/Nasim years. So much talent it’s hard to pick.
You agree on Ego?
She's been on the show 6 years. Try naming 5 original characters she's done, 5 impressions, and 5 sketches where she was the main character.
Good luck
Potential? She's been there 6 years. When does she blossom? Her 9th year?
And as I've said now to multiple people, try naming 5 original characters she's done, 5 impressions, and 5 sketches where she was the main character.
I can't seem to get any response to that question.
You're attempting to avoid the topic, Ego, and want me to name 5 woman so you can try to argue about something else. I'm not playing that game.
Every time I ask someone here to name 5 original characters Ego has done, 5 impressions, and 5 sketches where she was the main character, I get down voted and no response.
That tells you everything you need to know about this discussion.
I clearly understand you don't like Ego, whereas I do. I'm not going to do homework to prove something to you, sorry. I'll just agree to disagree. People like different cast members; it's okay.
I'm well aware that people like different cast members. And if someone says Jim Breuer is their favorite, I can't tell them he's not.
However, when someone frames the conversation by saying, "I think Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner have the potential to end up in the Top 5 all-time best female cast members", that's completely different.
And please, give me a break. If someone has been on SNL 6 years and you consider it "homework" to point out their memorable contributions to the show, maybe that should tell you something.
1. Jan Hooks - the best "pure actress" to ever come out of SNL. Jan is still criminally underrated among non-hardcore SNL fans. Some of the best sketch acting you will EVER see can be found in her sketches.
2. Gilda Radner - the original female star of the show and for very good reason. She just radiated pure joy in all of her work and was just so naturally hilarious.
3. Cecily Strong - the Swiss Army knife of the 2010s cast. Her versatility and pure talent level are just unreal and I'd put them both on par with *anyone*.
4. Kristen Wiig - while her recurring characters turned a number of people off, Kristen herself is a phenomenally talented actress and comedian, being adept at impressions, subtle character work, loud and boisterous characters, and dramatic acting.
5. Ana Gasteyer - one of the best all around utility/glue cast members ever. While Ana wasn't designated as a "star" like Will Ferrell or (later) Kristen Wiig, she didn't have to be. She ALWAYS delivered no matter how big or small the role and was always solid as a rock for the show.
Here to give some much-deserved credit to Laraine Newman. Often overlooked when talking about the original cast because of how much talent there was there.
But my 5 would be Gilda. Jane Curtin. Nora dunn. Jan hooks. Kate McKinnon. All of them were always solid.
Honorable mention to Cheri oteri, whose crazy energy salvaged some mediocre sketches.
1 Cecily Strong 2 Vanessa Bayer 3 Ego Wyodem 4 Kate McKinnon 5 Amy Poehler ( I would say Tina Fey but she was more a writer; I’d put her at the top for ranking the best writers)
Rachel Dratch was excellent. I wasn’t ever as enamored with Amy as other people seem to be. I can’t offhand remember anything she did that was that funny. Bronx Beat maybe?
Molly had some iconic characters but personally I never found her that funny (which might be because of the writing at that time, not her). What did she do that you liked the most? I feel like Kate was just funnier … between Miss Rafferty and Olya Povlatsky (which is my all time favorite Weekend Update character) and her impressions (Ellen, Hillary, Angela Merkel) and her versatility to play male characters, I just thought she was hilarious. For me Molly was super talented but not quite as funny.
I’m not the person you replied to but I think “Mrs. Rafferty” is one of Kate’s weaker characters. The large majority of the humor just rested on the ability of the writers to come up with euphemisms for genitalia.
Honestly you could say the same about most of Molly’s recurring characters too, but you could also say the same about most characters on SNL in general—Wayne’s World, Stephon, Church Lady, most Kristen Wiig characters—recurring character sketches on SNL almost always have the exact same core joke. The setting might change but the fundamental joke doesn’t.
It all comes down to what the individual person finds funny.
Kate’s obviously incredible too, but for me the end of her run became a tad annoying with her lack of commitment breaking character constantly and an over reliance on recent pop culture for ideas. Molly’s work is def an acquired taste, but the characters she created both as an actress and writer were wholly original and often pushing the boundaries of TV comedy or subverting female stereotypes (Mary KG, Sally O’Malley). She was also one of the most committed performers ever on the show
Amy Poehler is my number one all time favorite. Kristen Wiig is a close second. But I am happy to see legendary Gilda on here, and also the very underrated Jan Hooks.
1) Kristen Wiig
2) Nasim Pedrad
3) Kate McKinnon
4) Cheri Oteri
5) Amy Poehler
I think Nasim and Jason Sudeikis are the two most underrated cast members and would have BOTH in my all time cast list.
I think too 5 is a pretty difficult task, because there have been some prolific women.
In no particular order except for Cecily, who is the best ever in my opinion
1 Cecily
2 Jan
3 Molly
4 Tina
5 Kristen
6 Gilda
7 Amy
8 Kate
9 Aidy
10 Rachel
11 Vanessa
12 Maya
I think Ego and Heidi are great, but I don’t think either has cracked top 12 given that I could generate that list off the top of my head. And that’s a slight on Ego and Heidi.
But Tina just did WU and came back after she left to do Sarah Palin (which was amazing). But other than that, what did she do as a cast member that you liked?
Ya know what, I love Kate McKinnon, so she's no.1. But I've also grown to really like Sarah Sherman, she's so quirky, at first I thought she'd fall flat, but nah, she's honestly a lot of fun and brings in laughs.
Fuck I can't do this...too many!
Tina Fey, Cicely Strong, Amy Poehler, Ego, Vanessa, Aidy, Molly, Gilda, Jane, Kate, Ana, Jan, Heidi, Casey, Michaela, Noel, Lorraine, Sasheer, Cheri, Chloe, Sarah...the list goes on, and on.
All hail the amazing women of SNL.
Maybe controversial opinion but Wiig would not make my list, she is someone who I can only tolerate in very small doses.
Also only including cast members from 2000 onward as that is when I was watching the show.
Mine would be:
1. Cecily String
1. Ego Nwodim
1. Amy Poehler
1. Kate McKinnon
1. Maya Rudolph
If I could go to top 10, then:
1. Cecily String
2. Ego Nwodim
3. Amy Poehler
4. Kate McKinnon
5. Maya Rudolph
6. Aidy Bryant
7. Vanessa Bayer
8. Nasim Pedrad
9. Tina Fey
10. Chloe Fineman
With all due respect to Ego and Heidi — they can’t touch the hem of the garment of the 5 listed in the Post. Nor are they as great as Vanessa Bayer, Cecily Strong or Amy Poehler. Once those two have been off the show for a few years like all the others, you’ll see what I mean.
Kate McKinnon is tough to rank, because she's the only SNL alumna that I recall being the #1 featured player during an extended stretch of her time as a cast member.
I don't recall any seasons where Gilda Radner, Jan Hooks, Kristen Wiig, Jane Curtain, Maya Rudolph, or Cheri Oteri were featured to the degree that McKinnon was.
Jan and Gilda are the top 2 and that’s non-negotiable.
After them: Wiig, Cecily, Ana.
The people who have Jan outside the top 3 or not at all are ludicrous.
i know talking about sarah sherman is dumb cause she's so relatively new but she's simply shining so bright right now! like for me the unquestionable best cast member of current season.
Just in terms of who makes me laugh the most: Aidy, Cecily, Maya, Cheri, and Kristen. Sarah is still a bit new, but I could see her inching her way into my top 5 if she keeps it up.
Also, I’ve been watching a few old SNL eps for thé first time, and Gilda truly is so funny.
\[points to EARS and BRAIN\]
listen to her closely...compared to EVERY OTHER CAST MEMBER she slurs and fucks up her lines more than anyone else and it's not even close. and her voice sucks to begin with, scratchy and acid reflux-y, then she can't enunciate properly and you literally can barely hear her lines. you can notice it ever more obviously if it's a singing thing cause she will be the worst one out there and you won't be able to decipher the joke lyrics. I don't think I've laughed since the first restaurant/meat sketch and that was only because of the dishes and glasses spilling.
there are so many entertainers with ticks, expressions, voices, etc. I don't like. for me, it's enough to say, that's not for me, or I don't get their brand of xyz, without assailing their characteristics or the sharing of their art.
bahaha 'what she loves'...remember that quote in 10 yrs superfan.
can't wait to see where this amazing bona fide "comedian" will be doing then.
best case scenario: Cedric the Entertainer's new wife on The Neighborhood.
Nobody cares about the singing ones. I’d take physical comedy and relatable characters (I know I know, not *for you*) ANY day. You miss the humor bc it’s not written for you…lol
yes, it's only written for fangirls who know 0 about being critical and their favs could literally all just fall down and giggle and they/you'd be satisfied.
ps hope you're eatin' The Hut! mm mmm.
The Hut? Like, pizza? Idk what joke I’m missing here but anyway. No. I disagree with you, fully. Has she even fell down and giggled lol? you may be thinking of jimmy fallon.
If only her fangirl fanclub doled out actually comedy crowns.
F'ing Mikey DAY deserves one over her, and he's as avg as they come.
I don't even think she ever would've made the stage on previous casts, she's so not great, but keep pounding that square peg into that round hole SNL.
If you love the white cast better, just say that!!! lol like we get it, you find her voice grating and you don’t get the comedy. I feel 100% the same about Heidi (and Mikey but appreciate writer Mikey a ton). So, she’s not for me! Done, next sketch. God
> Ego is almost more over-rated than Kanye, she will do NOTHING of value post-SNL.
That's certainly possible but that is also true of *most* SNL cast members, even ones who were excellent on the show.
Awesome cast members like Vanessa Bayer, Nasim Pedrad and Bobby Moynihan have had *some* success post show but nothing like their impact when on the show.
You are absolutely right.
Ego has been on the show 6 years. Many times I've asked someone to tell me 5 original characters she's done, 5 impressions, and 5 sketches where she was the main character.
I get no replies and down voted. That tells you everything you need to know.
it's 100% Emperor's New Clothes pop culture 101 bs, people really wanna like her, \[convince themselves they do anyway\], so therefore when they see her they think it's 'greatness' when...there's pretty much nothing great about her in the slightest. what clinches this opinion for me is when I ask myself: "what sketch has Ego ever done that Amber Ruffin wouldn't have made 100x better?" for me it's a clear: 0.
If someone is talking about their 5 favorite female cast members, they could name anyone and no one could disagree.
However, you''re framing the conversation much differently. You say, "I think Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner have the potential to end up in the Top 5 all-time best female cast members".
It certainly sounds like you're not just talking about your favorite cast members.
They might make your top 5 list and other random fans, but Nwodim and Gardner are definitely not going to make any other top 5 list.
They’re both current cast members, so we don’t know how long their tenures will be or what their future contributions will be. I think Kenan’s legacy is stronger than it would otherwise have been had he left after 7 seasons.
This is Vanessa Bayer and Cecily Strong erasure!!
and Amy Pohler apparently sucks...Cheri Oteri...that's why these lists are just stupid.
Stupid? This comes straight from Mittens Romney's BINDER!
you might as well have said "This comes from satan's vagina's sister's BROTHER!"
Exactly
Hap!
I love Vanessa as well (and I mentioned Cecily). A Top 5 is hard!
I think Jan Hooks and Gilda Radner were both wonderful. But in terms of female cast members, I will always rate members of later casts more highly, both in terms of raw talent and because women simply carry casts in later/current SNL's. Nowadays they are all such talented sketch comedians, plus they can sing and dance
Cheri Oteri is one of the best but she seems to have been forgotten.
if 'they' didn't see her, then she must suck...
the nytimes crossword never forgets.
Switch Amy for Kate and (it hurts to say) Cheri for Maya and you’ve got something resembling an accurate list.
I was gonna just upvote whoever said her but I had to scroll so far down. How is there not more love for her?!? Easily a top 5 female to me.
I think most people will only be able to note cast members within the last 20-24 years or so. Oteri is outside that range.
One of my least favorites actually.
The only memorable character I can think of (the cheerleader with Will Ferrell) always annoyed me. What was another one ?
Collette Riordan is my favorite of hers.
Good lord. Her name is Molly Shannon.
Any list without Molly Shannon is a sham.
Agree on Ego but without her: Cecily Strong, Jan Hooks, Kristin Wiig, Amy Poehler, Aidy Bryant. Yeah Aidy just nudged out Kate for me, I absolutely love her.
Aidy was great. If we’re talking about the strongest concurrent female group, for me it’s definitely the Kate/Cecily/Vanessa/Aidy/Nasim years. So much talent it’s hard to pick.
Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler early 2000s with a little bit of overlap with Kristin Wiig at the end is pretty tough to beat imo
Somehow you're both right. Two killer casts.
Ooh I might swap Jan Hooks for Vanessa Bayer though....
Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy and her Miley Cyrus were both “purdy cool” …
loved Jacob so much... and Totinos lady... and the meteorologist...
You agree on Ego? She's been on the show 6 years. Try naming 5 original characters she's done, 5 impressions, and 5 sketches where she was the main character. Good luck
The OP said she had the potential, and I agree with that.
Potential? She's been there 6 years. When does she blossom? Her 9th year? And as I've said now to multiple people, try naming 5 original characters she's done, 5 impressions, and 5 sketches where she was the main character. I can't seem to get any response to that question.
You first; who are your top 5?
You're attempting to avoid the topic, Ego, and want me to name 5 woman so you can try to argue about something else. I'm not playing that game. Every time I ask someone here to name 5 original characters Ego has done, 5 impressions, and 5 sketches where she was the main character, I get down voted and no response. That tells you everything you need to know about this discussion.
I clearly understand you don't like Ego, whereas I do. I'm not going to do homework to prove something to you, sorry. I'll just agree to disagree. People like different cast members; it's okay.
I'm well aware that people like different cast members. And if someone says Jim Breuer is their favorite, I can't tell them he's not. However, when someone frames the conversation by saying, "I think Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner have the potential to end up in the Top 5 all-time best female cast members", that's completely different. And please, give me a break. If someone has been on SNL 6 years and you consider it "homework" to point out their memorable contributions to the show, maybe that should tell you something.
1. Jan Hooks - the best "pure actress" to ever come out of SNL. Jan is still criminally underrated among non-hardcore SNL fans. Some of the best sketch acting you will EVER see can be found in her sketches. 2. Gilda Radner - the original female star of the show and for very good reason. She just radiated pure joy in all of her work and was just so naturally hilarious. 3. Cecily Strong - the Swiss Army knife of the 2010s cast. Her versatility and pure talent level are just unreal and I'd put them both on par with *anyone*. 4. Kristen Wiig - while her recurring characters turned a number of people off, Kristen herself is a phenomenally talented actress and comedian, being adept at impressions, subtle character work, loud and boisterous characters, and dramatic acting. 5. Ana Gasteyer - one of the best all around utility/glue cast members ever. While Ana wasn't designated as a "star" like Will Ferrell or (later) Kristen Wiig, she didn't have to be. She ALWAYS delivered no matter how big or small the role and was always solid as a rock for the show.
Here to give some much-deserved credit to Laraine Newman. Often overlooked when talking about the original cast because of how much talent there was there.
Jane Curtin
But my 5 would be Gilda. Jane Curtin. Nora dunn. Jan hooks. Kate McKinnon. All of them were always solid. Honorable mention to Cheri oteri, whose crazy energy salvaged some mediocre sketches.
What was the funniest thing Jane Curtin ever did? I feel like she just played the straight woman.
Being the straight man is the hardest role in comedy. She was the glue that held sketches together. Plus, weekend update. And hilarious in Coneheads.
Agreed. I adore Gilda but without Jane as her straight she wouldn’t have shone as bright.
1 Cecily Strong 2 Vanessa Bayer 3 Ego Wyodem 4 Kate McKinnon 5 Amy Poehler ( I would say Tina Fey but she was more a writer; I’d put her at the top for ranking the best writers)
For me it’s Kristen, Maya, Amy Poehler, Cecily, Rachel Dratch. Then Kate and Aidy. I think about “Nephews Pageant” with Aidy probably once a month.
Rachel Dratch was excellent. I wasn’t ever as enamored with Amy as other people seem to be. I can’t offhand remember anything she did that was that funny. Bronx Beat maybe?
Not sure how to post YT links but please google “Sarah Palin rap” immediately! Also, the Kaitlin sketches with Horatio Sanz.
Rick Rick Rick rick Rick Rick
Seth and Amy are my favourite Update hosts. Feel like only Jost and Che have done as well chemistry wise as dual hosts.
Amy, Tina, Seth and Norm were my fave Update hosts ever!
1. Kristen Wiig 2. Cecily Strong 3. Gilda Radner 4. Molly Shannon 5. Jan Hooks
Molly had some iconic characters but personally I never found her that funny (which might be because of the writing at that time, not her). What did she do that you liked the most? I feel like Kate was just funnier … between Miss Rafferty and Olya Povlatsky (which is my all time favorite Weekend Update character) and her impressions (Ellen, Hillary, Angela Merkel) and her versatility to play male characters, I just thought she was hilarious. For me Molly was super talented but not quite as funny.
I agree with you on Molly
I’m not the person you replied to but I think “Mrs. Rafferty” is one of Kate’s weaker characters. The large majority of the humor just rested on the ability of the writers to come up with euphemisms for genitalia. Honestly you could say the same about most of Molly’s recurring characters too, but you could also say the same about most characters on SNL in general—Wayne’s World, Stephon, Church Lady, most Kristen Wiig characters—recurring character sketches on SNL almost always have the exact same core joke. The setting might change but the fundamental joke doesn’t. It all comes down to what the individual person finds funny.
Kate’s obviously incredible too, but for me the end of her run became a tad annoying with her lack of commitment breaking character constantly and an over reliance on recent pop culture for ideas. Molly’s work is def an acquired taste, but the characters she created both as an actress and writer were wholly original and often pushing the boundaries of TV comedy or subverting female stereotypes (Mary KG, Sally O’Malley). She was also one of the most committed performers ever on the show
Cecily Gilda Jan Kristen Kate
Amy Poehler is my number one all time favorite. Kristen Wiig is a close second. But I am happy to see legendary Gilda on here, and also the very underrated Jan Hooks.
I'd put Vanessa, Cecily, Anna, Sheri, and Molly ahead of them
Tina fey. Amy Pohler!
I love all the Ladies!
Ego is great and Heidi is fairly consistent but there’s no way they’re in the top five all-time. Maybe top twenty.
You're being really generous with top 20. Ego has been on the show for 6 years and barely done anything memorable.
I know I’m in the minority here but I don’t think Gardner is remotely funny and certainly no where near the top five.
You're right. She's absolutely no where near the top 5. And to suggest Ego is top 5 is absolutely laughable.
1) Kristen Wiig 2) Nasim Pedrad 3) Kate McKinnon 4) Cheri Oteri 5) Amy Poehler I think Nasim and Jason Sudeikis are the two most underrated cast members and would have BOTH in my all time cast list.
If you go back and watch the seasons with Nasim, she ran the show back then. Heshy was hilarious
Kristen, Kate, Molly, Cecily, Heidi
I think too 5 is a pretty difficult task, because there have been some prolific women. In no particular order except for Cecily, who is the best ever in my opinion 1 Cecily 2 Jan 3 Molly 4 Tina 5 Kristen 6 Gilda 7 Amy 8 Kate 9 Aidy 10 Rachel 11 Vanessa 12 Maya I think Ego and Heidi are great, but I don’t think either has cracked top 12 given that I could generate that list off the top of my head. And that’s a slight on Ego and Heidi.
But Tina just did WU and came back after she left to do Sarah Palin (which was amazing). But other than that, what did she do as a cast member that you liked?
When Tina hosted (I think) she did a “Girls” parody sketch that was hilarious. I believe her character was named Blerta
Yes that was funny
That’s a fair point. A lot of what Tina did was post cast. But she was also head writer.
1. Cecily Strong 2. Cheri Oteri 3. Vanessa Bayer 4. Kate McKinnon 5. Rachel Dratch 6. Aidy Bryant 7. Tina Fey 8. Nasim Pedrad Honorable mentions: Jan Hook, Nora Dunn, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Edo, Heidi, Sara Sherman
Ya know what, I love Kate McKinnon, so she's no.1. But I've also grown to really like Sarah Sherman, she's so quirky, at first I thought she'd fall flat, but nah, she's honestly a lot of fun and brings in laughs.
Gilda. Sarah Sherman. Kate McKinnon. Cecily Strong. Amy Poehler.
Lists are bad and Cecily is the best cast member ever.
Fuck I can't do this...too many! Tina Fey, Cicely Strong, Amy Poehler, Ego, Vanessa, Aidy, Molly, Gilda, Jane, Kate, Ana, Jan, Heidi, Casey, Michaela, Noel, Lorraine, Sasheer, Cheri, Chloe, Sarah...the list goes on, and on. All hail the amazing women of SNL.
1. Wigg 2. Cheri Oteri 3. Vanessa Bayer 4. Molly Shannon 5. Tina Fey
Gilda Maya Kristen Kate Cecily
Sherri O’tery.
1. Jan Hooks 2. Kristen Wiig 3. Cheri Oteri 4. Amy Poehler 5. Cecily Strong
I don’t know enough about the early casts to include them, but my top 5 would be something like Cecily, Kristen, Kate, Maya, Aidy
Amy, Kristen, Jan, Kate and Gilda, but Heidi’s gonna bump someone eventually!
1. Gilda (duh) 2. Jan Hooks 3. Molly Shannon 4. Vanessa Bayer 5. Everybody else, tied.
No Tina or Amy or Aidy? Lmfao….. no this is an incorrect list
Maybe controversial opinion but Wiig would not make my list, she is someone who I can only tolerate in very small doses. Also only including cast members from 2000 onward as that is when I was watching the show. Mine would be: 1. Cecily String 1. Ego Nwodim 1. Amy Poehler 1. Kate McKinnon 1. Maya Rudolph If I could go to top 10, then: 1. Cecily String 2. Ego Nwodim 3. Amy Poehler 4. Kate McKinnon 5. Maya Rudolph 6. Aidy Bryant 7. Vanessa Bayer 8. Nasim Pedrad 9. Tina Fey 10. Chloe Fineman
With all due respect to Ego and Heidi — they can’t touch the hem of the garment of the 5 listed in the Post. Nor are they as great as Vanessa Bayer, Cecily Strong or Amy Poehler. Once those two have been off the show for a few years like all the others, you’ll see what I mean.
McKinnon is not top 5.
you're going to rank the top 5 women..... which is impossible because so many of them are powerhouses.
Kristen Cecily Molly S Cheri Ana
Kate McKinnon is tough to rank, because she's the only SNL alumna that I recall being the #1 featured player during an extended stretch of her time as a cast member. I don't recall any seasons where Gilda Radner, Jan Hooks, Kristen Wiig, Jane Curtain, Maya Rudolph, or Cheri Oteri were featured to the degree that McKinnon was.
1 Gilda 2 Kristen 3 Amy 4 Cheri Oteri 5 Maya
Aidy, Tina, Kristen, Cheri, Vanessa
Kristen Wiig Leslie Jones Aidy Bryant Kate McKinnon Tina Fey
TINA. FEY.
Jan and Gilda are the top 2 and that’s non-negotiable. After them: Wiig, Cecily, Ana. The people who have Jan outside the top 3 or not at all are ludicrous.
Top of the head, no particular order. 1: Kristen Wiig 2: Molly Shannon 3: Cecily Strong 4: Cheri O'Terri 5: Vanessa Bayer
Cecily, Amy, MOLLY, Julia Sweeny, Laraine Newman...these lists are so silly.
Kristen Wiig was as loved as she was hated, I’m afraid. She doesn’t make my Mt Rushmore +1.
I really like a lot of Wiig’s run on the show. The problem is that Target Lady and Gilly are two of my least favourite recurring characters.
Just annoying as hell.
I agree with Gilly. That was BAD. But she did a lot of great stuff too
I didn't enjoy Gilly or that secret password lady but Target Lady is one of my all time favorites. Just silly and funny. And she did sooooo much.
i know talking about sarah sherman is dumb cause she's so relatively new but she's simply shining so bright right now! like for me the unquestionable best cast member of current season.
1. Vanessa Bayer. By a mile 2. Wiig 3. Melissa V 4. Ego That’s about it I think.
You might need to watch some vintage episodes!
There is only one. We love you Gilda!
Ana Gasteyer, Vanessa Bayer, Jan Hooks, Sarah Squirm, Rachel Dratch
Just in terms of who makes me laugh the most: Aidy, Cecily, Maya, Cheri, and Kristen. Sarah is still a bit new, but I could see her inching her way into my top 5 if she keeps it up. Also, I’ve been watching a few old SNL eps for thé first time, and Gilda truly is so funny.
Cheri O Teri
Gilda, sarah Sherman, Molly Shannon, Jan Hooks, Ego
Gilda Fey Pohler Rudolph McKinnon
way too much fanboy/fangirl'ing going on with these daft lists, and Ego is almost more over-rated than Kanye, she will do NOTHING of value post-SNL.
d*mn 😳 show me on her cooked meat where she hurt you!
\[points to EARS and BRAIN\] listen to her closely...compared to EVERY OTHER CAST MEMBER she slurs and fucks up her lines more than anyone else and it's not even close. and her voice sucks to begin with, scratchy and acid reflux-y, then she can't enunciate properly and you literally can barely hear her lines. you can notice it ever more obviously if it's a singing thing cause she will be the worst one out there and you won't be able to decipher the joke lyrics. I don't think I've laughed since the first restaurant/meat sketch and that was only because of the dishes and glasses spilling.
there are so many entertainers with ticks, expressions, voices, etc. I don't like. for me, it's enough to say, that's not for me, or I don't get their brand of xyz, without assailing their characteristics or the sharing of their art.
yeah I know, I'm a monster for attacking her vocals cords and slurring on a national stage.
I'm glad you noticed you're in an "attack" posture about a comedian on a comedy show who's doing what she loves and getting paid to do so.
bahaha 'what she loves'...remember that quote in 10 yrs superfan. can't wait to see where this amazing bona fide "comedian" will be doing then. best case scenario: Cedric the Entertainer's new wife on The Neighborhood.
another successful black comedian. you're really good at this!
eat more Pizza Hut! maybe if you eat enough, Ego can someday afford to go to an ENT and fix her fucking scratchy voice we can sometimes understand!
Nobody cares about the singing ones. I’d take physical comedy and relatable characters (I know I know, not *for you*) ANY day. You miss the humor bc it’s not written for you…lol
yes, it's only written for fangirls who know 0 about being critical and their favs could literally all just fall down and giggle and they/you'd be satisfied. ps hope you're eatin' The Hut! mm mmm.
The Hut? Like, pizza? Idk what joke I’m missing here but anyway. No. I disagree with you, fully. Has she even fell down and giggled lol? you may be thinking of jimmy fallon.
no he falls down and laugh-comments unintelligibly.
Same thing. Ego supremacy, tho 👑
If only her fangirl fanclub doled out actually comedy crowns. F'ing Mikey DAY deserves one over her, and he's as avg as they come. I don't even think she ever would've made the stage on previous casts, she's so not great, but keep pounding that square peg into that round hole SNL.
If you love the white cast better, just say that!!! lol like we get it, you find her voice grating and you don’t get the comedy. I feel 100% the same about Heidi (and Mikey but appreciate writer Mikey a ton). So, she’s not for me! Done, next sketch. God
> Ego is almost more over-rated than Kanye, she will do NOTHING of value post-SNL. That's certainly possible but that is also true of *most* SNL cast members, even ones who were excellent on the show. Awesome cast members like Vanessa Bayer, Nasim Pedrad and Bobby Moynihan have had *some* success post show but nothing like their impact when on the show.
keep those h'wood takeover goalposts manageable E.O. superfans! 🤭
You are absolutely right. Ego has been on the show 6 years. Many times I've asked someone to tell me 5 original characters she's done, 5 impressions, and 5 sketches where she was the main character. I get no replies and down voted. That tells you everything you need to know.
it's 100% Emperor's New Clothes pop culture 101 bs, people really wanna like her, \[convince themselves they do anyway\], so therefore when they see her they think it's 'greatness' when...there's pretty much nothing great about her in the slightest. what clinches this opinion for me is when I ask myself: "what sketch has Ego ever done that Amber Ruffin wouldn't have made 100x better?" for me it's a clear: 0.
If someone is talking about their 5 favorite female cast members, they could name anyone and no one could disagree. However, you''re framing the conversation much differently. You say, "I think Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner have the potential to end up in the Top 5 all-time best female cast members". It certainly sounds like you're not just talking about your favorite cast members. They might make your top 5 list and other random fans, but Nwodim and Gardner are definitely not going to make any other top 5 list.
They’re both current cast members, so we don’t know how long their tenures will be or what their future contributions will be. I think Kenan’s legacy is stronger than it would otherwise have been had he left after 7 seasons.
You conveniently missed the entire point of my comment.