Frank Underwood Would Definitely Lose the Election

Obviously, there are spoilers below.

At the end of the fourth season of the Netflix series House of Cards, President Frank Underwood, the most Machiavellian, murderous politician of our time, is in a serious mess. Journalists are starting to take seriously the allegations that he was involved in the overthrow of his predecessor. His Republican opponent is far ahead of him in polls. Terrorists have just executed an American captive. He has no way out.

It probably goes without saying that in the real world, Underwood would almost certainly lose the upcoming election, even with one of his two-steps-ahead methods up his sleeves. House of Cards is (hopefully) far, far from the real world, but assuming there actually was a President Underwood up for election in 2016, here's an analytical look at his actual chances.

The biggest myth about American elections is that they are a race between two candidates. They are not. They instead are a referendum on the party in power. The winner wins essentially based on how satisfied or disappointed the American electorate is in the incumbent administration. Underwood's short amount of time in office is certainly tumultuous, but he still has elements that favor him. The simplest factor in his favor is that incumbents are really hard to defeat. In the past 11 presidential cycles, only Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush lost their re-election bids. Underwood would join them.

Let's consider what "The Keys to the White House" would say about his chances. The Keys system was developed by American historian Allan Lichtman and Russian scientist Vladimir Keilis-Borok in 1981 to predict the popular vote winner of presidential elections using 13 true/false statements (or "keys") based on factors from every presidential race from 1860-1980. If six or more statements are false, the incumbent loses. If you're skeptical of this system, let me mention that it's been quite accurate: the model has accurately predicted every U.S. presidential election from 1984-2012.

Let's use the Keys to predict Underwood's chances of survival:

1. Party Mandate After the midterms, the incumbent party holds more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than after the previous midterm elections.

The timeline of the fictitious universe of House of Cards starts in 2013 during the Walker Administration. The Speaker of the House of Representatives at the time is Bob Birch (Larry Pine). In an early episode of season four, Underwood is addressing Congress during the State of the Union, and the Speaker is now a Republican. We can assume that the Democrats have lost control of the House of Representatives in 2014.

Verdict: False 

2. Contest There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination.

The contested convention, something that almost always dooms the incumbent party, at least in recent history, is one of Underwood's biggest obstacles. A house divided often does not survive election. (Think when then-Governor Ronald Reagan challenged President Gerald Ford, or in 1980 when Senator Ted Kennedy challenged President Jimmy Carter.) Underwood loses a host of states to his opponent, Heather Dunbar (Elizabeth Marvel), a former Solicitor General. Then he is actually challenged by his own Secretary of State Kathy Durant (Kayne Atkinson) at the convention when she learns that Frank has been politicking to get his wife, Claire (Robin Wright) the nomination for vice president and not Durant, as originally promised. This alone should drive a nail in his re-election bid's coffin.

Verdict: False  

3. Incumbency The incumbent candidate is the sitting president.

Despite an assassination attempt, Underwood survives and lives on to be his party's candidate for the general election, helping his party's chances.

Verdict: True

4. Third Party There is no significant third party or independent campaign.

This would have to be a significant third party challenge akin to Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 or Ross Perot in 1992. (Both President Howard Taft and President George H.W. Bush lost those elections.) As of season four of the show, there is no evidence that Underwood would face a third party challenger, and we have no reason to believe he will.

Verdict: True

5. Short Term Economy The economy is not in recession during the election campaign.

We know from season three that the economy is in a slump. Underwood proposes a controversial solution called America Works, a plan with the aim of adding 10 million new jobs, essentially (and unrealistically) doing in 18 months what President Obama did in six years, and bringing about full employment. Aside from the fact that zero employment is impossible, Underwood marches on.

But he has other economic problems. The shortage in gas produces long lines at stations, likely increasing anger at Underwood and increasing the chance of a recession. (The 1979 oil shock resulted in a U.S. recession.)

While the show doesn't explicitly state so, the House of Cards universe is probably going through a recession or recession-like conditions.

Verdict: False

6. Long Term Economy Real per capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms.

This is the most challenging to predict, as, outside of the economic conditions previously mentioned, the show has not revealed what the economic growth is like. For the heck of it, let's just cut Frank some slack and say that despite all his other troubles there is good enough economic growth.

Verdict: True

7. Policy Change The incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy.

It doesn't appear that the Underwood administration is actually able to pass any kind of change in national policy. They make a go for it with gun control reform but likely will come up short.

Verdict: False

8. Social Unrest There is no sustained social unrest during the term. 

There don't appear to be any protests or unrest similar to those of the late 1960s.

Verdict: True

9. Scandal The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal.

This is by far the biggest obstacle to Underwood's success in 2016. During the final episode of season four, reporter Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McGiver) and the Washington Herald publish a chronicle of the revolting ways Underwood made his way to the top, including orchestrating the overthrow of his predecessor. While the revelation that he also murdered two people are not included, these charges are serious enough to provide a political maelstrom similar to Watergate.

Verdict: False

10. Foreign/Military Failure The incumbent party suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs.

In season two, the U.S. (under then-incumbent president Garret Walker, played by Michael Gill) experiences a major trade war with China. In season three, the Underwoods (with Claire as Ambassador to the UN) are dealt a setback with Russia; it's such a serious blow that it serves as the impetus for their marriage troubles we see at the start of season four.

These may be setback, but they do not constitute a foreign or military affair failure akin to "losing China" in 1949 or 9/11.

Verdict: True

11. Foreign/Military Success The incumbent party achieves a major success in foreign of military affairs.

If you need examples of this one, think of the Bin Laden raid in 2011 or the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979 (even though Carter still lost in 1980). If anything, the Underwoods experience tense situations in foreign policy, especially with regards to Russia. Claire does score a victory by negotiating with Russia while Frank is fighting for his life in the hospital, but nevertheless it's not a major foreign policy victory.

Verdict: False 

12. Incumbent charisma The incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero.

As his rivals for the presidency point out, Underwood has never served in the military. And despite his Southern charm (and reminding ourselves that his fellow citizens are not aware that he actually threw a woman in front of a moving train), Underwood is not a charismatic candidate like Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, or Barack Obama.

Verdict: False

13. Challenger charisma The challenging part candidate is not charismatic or a national hero.

Kinnaman plays Conway as a tough (almost macho), youthful candidate opposite the ailing Underwood. His Kennedy-esque photogenic qualities put him on magazine cover after magazine cover, and his military record stands in contrast to the lack of service from Underwood.

But like Underwood, he may have charm, but he doesn't have charisma, and his military service in Afghanistan does not make him an almost mythical national hero in the eyes of the public similar to Ulysses S. Grant or Dwight Eisenhower.

Verdict: True



Frank Underwood probably has at least seven false keys, absolutely assuring us that he would lose to Conway. But that wouldn't make for a very entertaining fifth season, would it? This is House of Cards, after all, the only show that succeeded in making The West Wing look like neo-realism. Frank and Claire will find a way out, just as they always do.

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House of Cards

At first I couldn't stop telling myself that it seemed like I was watching a dumbed-down version of "The West Wing."  At times, the first season attempted to remedy this by throwing in a few paragraphs of jargon regarding education or energy policy. But I soon found out that I was the dumb one. Season 2 of Netflix's "House of Cards" featured a thrilling quorum debacle in which Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey as a man of haunting ambition, navigates. The scenes are fascinating and intelligent. Gone were the certain silly moments that all too easily induced eye-rolling, like when Claire, played by Robin Wright, learns of Frank's adultery and calmly asks what good it will bring them. (Incidentally, they tell us that the Underwoods are not meant to be the Clintons.) In its place were trade wars with China, cyberterrorism, and an energy crisis.

"House of Cards," the groundbreaking Netflix show, seemed at first to take itself a bit too seriously, seeing itself as almost Shakespearean. Ian Richardson (himself a Shakespearean actor) played the character in the original British series with a certain amount of lightness bordering on conviviality; just compare the opening music to both and you'll notice an obvious difference in tone. Perhaps that's a sign of the times; our television heroes today seem to be Walter White, not Jeb Bartlett. "House of Cards" can be good fun, but it can also be toxic. Such are the times.

Underwood, our anti-hero protagonist in an era of television anti-heroes, is a Democrat. The reason is obvious: avoid criticism and make the show transparent. Why bother making him a Republican when just about any viewer--liberal or conservative--would shout allegations of bias? In an era of such pessimism, there's a feeling of a plague on both our houses. Underwood being a Democrat was the only choice. But there is an additional question: why make him a Southern Democrat when there hardly is a thing anymore? The answer is provided in David Sirota's fascinating interview with show creator and head writer Beau Willimon:

There's a catchphrase in the British version where Francis Urquhart [Richardson's character] says, "You very well might think that--I couldn't possibly comment." It was something I wanted to resurrect in a couple of places as an homage. It just felt wrong to do "House of Cards" and not have that line exist somewhere. The problem I ran up against in my mind, is that this is not the way Americans talk, it is not idiomatically part of our vernacular to speak with that diction unless you put it in the mouth of someone with a South Carolina upcountry accent. Then it rolls of the tongue and kind of works.

My dad's side of the family is from South Carolina, and I know that accent well, and then it got me thinking about what Frank Underwood's story might be. The American mythology is that anyone could be president--you could be from a town called Hope and be president--so I thought him coming from a small town and coming from nothing is a much more American tale, as opposed to coming from aristocracy, which is much more a British political trajectory.

And so I asked my dad if there is a small town in South Carolina that would be appropriate and he mentioned Gaffney, which, of course, is perfect. It was represented for years by a Democrat, John Spratt. Underwood is in no way like Spratt, but the fact that a Democrat represented a mostly rural district in a mostly red state is fascinating.

How so?

It speaks to a way that Southern politics works differently than other places; it is a lot more about personal relationships and connections you make. You have a tradition of Southern Blue Dog Democrats being a lot more conservative than many of their peers from elsewhere...a lot of them historically seem to vote as though they should be in the Republican Party, but because their father was a Democrat and their father's father was a Democrat, they are a Democrat.

That means politics there has been, up until recently, less about party affiliation, and that means stuff there is inherently more political as opposed to ideological. I found that to be appropriate for Francis Underwood--someone who doesn't define himself by party of ideology, but operates on personal connections and traverses the political web as a free agent.

Underwood may be a free agent, but he's also a sociopath (and these folks agree). Just look at these common traits of a sociopath and it becomes crystal clear: superficial charm, absence of nervousness, untruthfulness, lack of remorse. egocentricity, inadequacy for love and a sex life that is impersonal and trivial. Frank.Under.Wood. Look at this quote: "Sociopaths, as mentioned previously, can also be dangerous, especially when they feel they have been wronged in some way." Underwood has been wronged--his rejection of being nominated for Secretary of State in the first episode--and so he becomes quite dangerous indeed. (For more on the psychology of Francis Underwood, click here.)

Spacey, as exceptionally talented as he is, does not do accents well. His Southern drawl here is as bad as it was in "A Time to Kill" two decades ago. The character at first is practically two dimensional, so much so that he frequently and annoyingly breaks the fourth wall to have a chat with us, and it's not until Chapter 8 that we see that there's something actually there. Part of me thinks that's the point, that it's meant to symbolize the facade that just about every politician seems to exhibit, or that it's meant to demonstrate that Frank Underwood is a farcical character in a farcical show. I haven't figured it out yet. Nonetheless, despite his accent, he is commendable and also supported by an exceptional cast, most of all Wright as Claire. Her performance is haunting, and yet she is surely the more sympathetic of the two--watch her powerful (and slightly untruthful) interview in Season 2 for an example. Providing the show's most interesting character as Pete Russo, a recovering alcoholic congressman who can't seem to do anything right, is Corey Stoll. There hardly is a bad performance anywhere in the show--also great are Michael Gil as the president, Michael Kelly as Underwood's tough as nails chief of staff, Rachel Brosnahan as a former sex worker caught under Underwood's grasp, and Gerald McRaney as a multimillionaire energy tycoon doing battle with Underwood.

It may seem that my criticisms will make me conclude that this is a show that I don't like to watch. That is totally untrue. I can't think of another show that features such crisp cinematography (by Igor Martinovic, Eigil Bryld, and Tim Ives) and hauntingly beautiful music (by Jeff Beal). I complained that the show takes itself too seriously, but actually there are often shows that don't take themselves seriously enough. There's an enormous amount of effort, skill, talent and thought in "House of Cards," and is reminiscent of that wonderful line in Oliver Stone's "Nixon." When the title character looks up at a portrait of his old adversary, John F. Kennedy, he mutters, "When they look at you, they see what they want to be. When they look at me, they see what they are." "The West Wing" might be what we want our political system to be; "House of Cards" might simply be what it is.

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Notes on the Oscars

It was the best of shows, it was the worst of the shows. What exactly does that mean? With regards to the second clause, I mean this sincerely: It was probably the worst (or at least the most boring) Academy Awards ceremony I have ever seen. Granted, I've only seen eleven (or more accurately, ten and a half, as I was boarding a plane halfway through the 2011 Oscars. If you can't remember exactly what happened at that year's ceremony, think Anne Hatheway and James Franco; and if there was ever a disastrous show to miss, that was it). But this most recent show was pathetically, terribly unfunny. I require laughter during the Oscars, and hosts of the past, particularly Steve Martin and, to a lesser extent, Billy Crystal, have really succeeded. Someone who also succeeded was Ellen Degeneres, the hysterical host from 2007. Her sweet jabs and humble demeanor were terrific back then; this time, there wasn't a single moment that provoked laughter from me--not even a Dick Cheneyesque smirk.

Ellen's running gag about ordering pizza for celebrities (what a tremendous and awe-inspiring work of comedy it was) was essentially the "Oprah-Uma" of the show. It was dreadful to watch Ellen hand out some plates and ask, "Who wants pizza?" (When watching the Jimmy Kimmel post-Oscars show, especially the absurdist comedy of cats called "Ameowadeus," it's a wonder why Kimmel wasn't picked instead.) The best moments didn't involve Ellen or pizza; they were simply one-liners: Bill Murray's unscripted tribute to his recently deceased friend Harold Ramis, and Kevin Spacey presenting himself as a certain Machiavellian Southern politician. Appearing after Darlene Love gave probably one of the most awesome acceptance speeches in history, loudly singing "I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free," Spacey, with that Frank Underwood drawl, claimed, "And I sing because I'm so happy to be out of Washington and here with all my Hollywood friends," to the audience's great approval.

It should be noted that this was a year in which the speeches were surprisingly interesting to listen to. and not a single one of them was cut off). Matthew McConaughey gave a fine speech, thanking God (a rarity at the Oscars) and proudly claiming that it is a "scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates." Chris Mooney at Mother Jones backs him up: "What's the payoff of feeling grateful, of 'paying it forward,' and of helping out those who help you? The research suggests more hope and optimism, a better ability to manage stress, a tendency to exercise more and even sleeping better." Despite that and the fact that he ended his speech by uttering his famous "alright, alright, alright" line from "Dazed and Confused," the New Yorker gave his speech a C. After annoying (to say the least) many with his sophomoric speeches at other shows, Jared Leto got it right this time in a heartfelt speech paying tribute to everyone from his mother to the protesters in Venezuela and Ukraine. Lupita Nyong'o's speech, in which she not only humbly recognized that her joy was because of someone else's pain but also where she firmly declared that no child's dreams are invalid, was delightful. So, too, was Cate Blanchett, winning for "Blue Jasmine," when she criticized "those of us in the industry who are foolishly clinging to the idea that female films, with women in the center, are niche experiments. They are not. Audiences want to see them, and in fact, they earn money." Her shouting that "the world is round, people!" could barely be heard over the applause.

There were other moments that might qualify for being decent. Amy, Meryl and Lupita danced, so well and spontaneous that one almost wonders if it was rehearsed ahead of time. John Travolta infamously (and bizarrely) pronounced Idina Menzel as "Adele Dazeem" (to which Menzel went to Twitter and thanked "Jorn Tromolto"), and now you can go to Slate to "Travoltify" your name. (For the record, I'm Craig Keezy.) For a while, it seemed everyone--including me (a bit)--picked on Hollywood legend Kim Novak, until we were shamed by the Siren's powerful defense:

"So let's say--just as a hypothetical for-instance--that you are an 81-year-old star whose last movie was in 1991 and who hasn't been to the Oscars in many a long year...As the evening approaches, the anxiety sets in. Harsh lights, you think. High-definition cameras. And a public that remembers you chiefly as the ice goddess whose beauty once drove James Stewart to the brink of madness. And even back then, when you were 25 years old, you worried constantly that no matter how you looked, it wasn't good enough. So a few weeks before the ceremony, you go to a doctor, and he says, 'Relax, honey. I have just the thing to make you fresh and dewy for the cameras.' And you go to the Oscars, so nervous you clutch your fellow presenter's hand. And the next day, you wake up to a bunch of cheap goddamn shots about your face. Nice system we got here, isn't it."  

Anyway, with such a dismal performance by Degeneres, the pathetically dull and pointless musical performances, and the fact that the flip-side of getting all but three predictions correct is that it made for a fairly boring show, the 2014 Academy Awards likely will not be fondly remembered. It was mostly the worst of shows.


Finally, poor Leo.

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Horrible Bosses

I feel very fortunate that I have never had a horrible boss. I have worked at a fast food restaurant, as an umpire (dealing with horribly stupid people all of sorts, but alas, no bosses), an RA, a waiter, at a newspaper, as a summer camp counselor, a teacher, and a telemarketer (talking to horrible people but not being bossed by them). I have not been manhandled, verbally ripped to shreds, or been forced to fire people by my bosses. But I could perfectly empathize with the characters played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day, as they were harassed and humiliated by their bosses played by Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, and Jennifer Aniston, respectively. A movie like "Horrible Bosses," which can provoke empathy even from those who cannot empathize directly with the characters and can make an audience laugh throughout its entirety, deserves a thorough endorsement.

Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day play three friends with horrible bosses in different professions. Bateman is Nick, a dedicated and loyal executive to his boss, Dave Harken (Spacey), despite Harken's frequent bullying towards him--tricking him into drinking at 8 a.m. and later accusing him of alcoholism, lecturing him for being two minutes late, forcing him to work so late that he misses saying goodbye (forever) to his grandmother, nicknamed Gam Gam (a nickname Harken mockingly finds hysterical), and despite hinting to him that he will be vice president of the company, he instead takes the role himself, even though he is already president. Nick hates his boss.

Jason Sudeikis is Kurt Buckman, an accountant who actually loves his job and his boss (Donald Sutherland). The only part of his job he dislikes is his boss's son, Bobby Pellitt (Farrill), a cocaine addict more obsessed with sex, bypassing environmental regulations and either firing the overweight girl (to "trim the fat" of the company) or "Professor Xavier," an employee in a wheelchair, than he is with matching the work ethic of his father. With the death of Kurt's boss, Bobby takes over and makes Kurt's job and life miserable. Kurt hates his boss.

Charlie Day is Dale Arbus, a dental assistant hopelessly in love with his fiancee but not his boss, the dentist, Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston). Despite his love and hard work, Julia is not necessarily madly in love with Dale but mad about having sex with him, however much Dale refuses. As Jon Stewart said, it is Aniston's raunchiest role since "Marlee and Me." Julia constantly makes crude jokes at the office, sprays his crotch with her dental squirt gun, summons him into her office where she waits topless, and blackmails him into having sex with her. Dale's two friends (and probably the majority of the males in the audience) have difficulty finding what is so difficult about his job, but nonetheless, Dale hates his boss just as much as the other two do.

Not being able to tolerate the abuse anymore and confusing "Strangers on a Train" with "Throw Momma From the Train" as the "Hitchcock movie with Danny DeVito," the three hire a hitman (Jaime Foxx; his character's name probably shouldn't be mentioned here but it's quite funny) to kill their bosses. Their plan goes awry, as expected.

"Horrible Bosses" is hysterical. It's probably as raunchy as "The Hangover" but not as stupid or overrated. The three main characters have an immediate chemistry that seems neither faked nor forced. They all have their own quirks and characteristics, with Day being the outrageous character and Bateman more subdued but just as funny; Sudeikis seems to have added the most to his character with his oneliners. Day gets a bit annoying, but while he's a bit drugged up and singing to the the Ting Tings, it makes up for it. But the bosses are really the ones who are the most entertaining to watch. Farrell is the most unrecognizable--he twitches and awkwardly struts with malice towards many. Aniston has done sexy before, but in the movies has never been allowed to be funny like this. And Spacey, who last played a jerk boss in "Glengarry Glen Ross," is the funniest, perfectly cruel, despotic and self-centered, the boss that you really, really want to see get punched. The cast, with cameos by Julie Bowen, Ioan Gruffudd, Ron White, Wendell Pierce, Isaiah Mustafa, and a certain famous TV star from the 1970s (as another unethical boss), really elevates the humor of this film, without relying on a gratuity of bathroom jokes (but there is a really funny and pretty gross scene involving a bathroom). They all work quite well together, and, as production designer Stepherd Frankel noted, play as if it's a team of three against another team of three, with Jamie Foxx as the referee.

I would not recommend resorting to what these three characters do to get rid of their bosses. They feel stuck and helpless. Regardless, movies alleviate miseries better than bullets do, so I instead propose viewing a film like this one. It's one of the very funniest movies of the year.

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The Best of SNL--Part 1

In honor of the 35th anniversary of "Saturday Night Live," one of the two greatest television shows in history, here is a comprehensive list of the greatest moments in SNL history.

25. Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood (1982)

Credited with making SNL popular again in the early 1980s and for a time carrying the show on his back, Eddie Murphy provided some of the show's best characters--Gumby, Buckwheat and his singalongs, and a black man attempting to expose racism in the workplace by disguising himself as a white man. Some of his best moments involved his turn as a "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" spoof. Instead of a peaceful, WASPy suburban house, Mr. Robinson appears to be in the projects. The jolly, serene and inviting presence of Mr. Robinson succumbs to a loud, angry, and a bit stereotypical anger as he is disrupted. "Who is it?" he shouts. Mr. T once appeared as his neighbor, and Mr. Robinson was not able to put up as forceful a resistance.

24. Betty White--"Thank you for being a friend" (2010)

With all due respect to the other famous SNL Digital Shorts--"Dick in a Box, "Jizz in My Pants," "Natalie Portman Rap," etc. it was the quasi-tribute to Betty White with her iconic "Thank you for being a friend" song from "Golden Girls" that made me laugh the hardest. Starting very conventionally and cheerfully, host Betty White (who was brought to the show to satisfy the request of a large Facebook fan club) was guided to a chair by Adam Samberg, the creator of the digital shorts. Wishing to express their thanks to her for all she's given, the cast sang "Thank You for Being a Friend," and White chuckled wholeheartedly...until she insisted that she preferred her version better. Pulling a ski mask over her face, she began a rather harsh heavy medal version of the song, with serious hints at BDSM and blood everywhere. "Happy Mother's Day," she said, "mother fuckers."

23. Lord and Lady Douchebag (1979)

Set in the Salisbury Manor in 1730, Lord Salisbury (played by Harry Shearer, a writer for the show who later became a contributor to Christopher Guest's comedic films as well as providing multiple voice characters for "The Simpsons") was hosting a dinner party, with guests including Lord Worcestershire (Jim Downey) and Earl of Sandwich (Bill Murray). The butler (Garrett Morris) announced the newest guests--"Lord and Lady Douchebag!" with host Buck Henry and Gilda Radner as the the lord and lady respectively. Shearer went to great them. "Well, well, well," he says. "I was just asking Sandwich, where the devil are those Douchebags?" Lord Douchebag would be happy to explain what kind of a project he had been working on, but perhaps after his host had finished eating. Murray's character Sandwich was happy to see the couple as well, as he greated him in a buddy fashion of "Douchebagggg!"

"Don't tell me for the first time in memory we're going to have a House of Parliament for the first time without a Douchebag," he says. The puns just kept continuing. This was the last skit of the last episode of the last season featuring members of the original cast.

22. "Star Wars" auditions (1997)

With impersonations of Barbara Streisand from Anna Gasteyer and Richard Dreyfuss from Darrell Hammond, it was really host Kevin Spacey carrying the skit on his back, with hysterical impersonations of Christopher Walken auditioning for Han Solo, Walter Matthau for Obi-Wan Kenobi, and an irritated Jack Lemmon for Chewbacca. Spacey has a talent for a rare amount of impersonations, as evidenced by his interview on "Inside the Actor's Studio" and this terrific skit.

21. Oops! I Crapped My Pants (1998)

The fake commercials have long-been a staple sketch for SNL, among the best being the hyperbolic cereal commercial featuring Phil Hartman and the calm but ridiculous fashion in which a bank promises to provide whatever change amount a customer wishes. One of the best is "Oops! I Crapped My Pants." Starting as expected with happy characters in normal yet complicated everyday situations, a grandmother decided her bowel movements had prohibited her from playing tennis with her family. An older man, presumably the grandfather, insisted that the younger ones go and play while he talks with the grandma. "You're still having control problems, aren't ya?" he asked. He introduced her to a little secret--Opps! I Crapped My Pants: diapers for older adults. "Oops! I Crapped My Pants,"

"I've heard of those," she says. "Do they really work?" Of course they do, and to prove it, the older gentleman demonstrated by pouring a pitcher of ice tea, representing a gallon of feces, into the diapers. It concluded with a thankful Grandma saying, "Thanks, Oops! I Crapped My Pants!"

20. Stay the Course--the Great Debate of 88 (1988)

Perhaps SNL's best employments of humor has been through its political satire, cementing in American pop-culture the public's perception of Gerald Ford (Chevy Chase) as a clumsy fool; Ronald Reagan (Phil Hartman) as a kind, sweet, harmless old man in public and yet a fierce hawk in private meetings; Bill Clinton (Darrell Hammond) as a horndog; and George W. Bush (Will Farell) as America's number one idiot (until Sarah Palin via Tina Fey came along). In 1988, an election year that moments like the Pledge of Allegiance debate and Michael Dukakis's ridiculous ride in a tank. SNL nonetheless had fun. Dana Carvey, in one of his thousands of impersonations, was George Bush, running for election after two terms of Reagan, and Jon Lovitz as Dukakis, the "inspiring" candidate from Massachusetss. Carvey portrayed Bush as seriously lacking the Hollywood acting of his boss, and desperate in his Peggy Noonan lines of "staying the course" and a "thousand lights." The length of time it took to utter these lines did not completely fill the amount of time the moderators had given him, so he repeated them, further stressing each word, further motioning his hands, as if he really, really wanted a thousand points of life. Finally satisfied, the moderators turned to his opponent. "I can't believe I'm losing to this guy," was Dukakis's response.

19. The Chris Farley Show (1993)

I hate to cheat and clump skits together, but I will with this one. "The Chris Farley Show" featured Chris Farley as the antithesis of himself, in this case a shy, speechless young interviewer terribly nervous in the presence of his interviewees, such as Jeff Daniels, Martin Scorsese, and Paul McCartney. After listing his guest's accomplishments, he would stumble, ask them if they recalled certain moments (like when McCartney was in the Beatles), or other stupid questions (like if the scene in "The Last Temptation of Christ" where Jesus gets angry at the money collectors in the synagogue was Scorsese's idea). He further digressed, and then stuttered that whatever moment, relevant or not, "was awesome."

18. Bass O-Matic (1976)

Dan Aykroyd was the salesman, in rapid, lightening-speed, of the Super Bass O-Matic 76. Finally, through this salesman, we were offered a means of consuming the whole fish, from head to tail and with all the bones still intact. Laraine Newman took a sip (of hopefully something besides liquid bass) and exclaims, "Wow! That's terrific bass!"

17. Happy Fun Ball (1990)

The king, in my opinion, of SNL's fake commercials, Happy Fun Ball was the most fun little ball sweeping the nation, and with a price of only $14.95! But what appeared to be only a harmless little ball was also described by narrator Phil Hartman as containing a number of warnings--that pregnant women, the elderly, and children should avoid exposure to the Happy Fun Ball, that it contains a dangerous liquid that should not be looked at, the toy should not be bounced on concrete, and a whole host of others. Incidentally, it is also "being dropped by our warplanes on Iraq." Finally, do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

16. The Blues Brothers "Soul Man" (1978)


Admittedly not a funny moment, it was still priceless. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were the Blues Brothers, not only one of the best musical guests but also spawning the only exceptional SNL movie two years later. This film's only competition, however, from SNL material has been movies such as "It's Pat," "Coneheads," and "Night at the Roxbury."

15. "Jane, you ignorant slut!" (1978)

Many will probably place Chevy Chase, with his sardonic tone and iconic "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not" line, or Norm Macdonald (who Chase said was the only one who replicated the humor of the original) at the top of the list for the "Weekend Update" sketches. My favorite moment, though, was when Chase had left the show, he was replaced by two co-anchors, Jane Curtain and Dan Aykroyd. The sketch would usually end or climax with a heated, but not over the top, debate between the two regarding a variety of current issues. Curtain usually provided a rational opinion and argument, though she at least once described her opponent as a disgusting pig. Aykroyd, in turn, in a line that has come to be a legendary one, harshly replied, "Jane, you ignorant slut!"


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