How Al Franken’s rejected SNL sketch turned into a 30 Rock gag

Al Franken and Conan O’Brien reflected on their Saturday Night Live careers on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.

In many ways, Al Franken is the perfect podcast guest for “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.” Like Conan O’Brien, Franken’s attended Harvard, has a career spanning decades, and worked at Saturday Night Live. Throw in a nine year stint as a U.S. Senator and it becomes very clear why Franken was on the latest podcast.

But whether the decision was made by Franken, O’Brien, or both, the episode focused strictly on comedy. No mention was made of Franken’s political career or his resignation in 2018 amid scandal.

Even with politics off the table, there was more than enough to fill an hour long podcast interview. The episode is especially worth listening to for anyone who is a fan of Saturday Night Live‘s early days, where Franken was a writer and performer in the ’70s and ’80s.

The highlight of the episode came when Franken and O’Brien began discussing their favorite sketch ideas that never made it to air. It’s a topic that has come up on Late Night with Seth Meyers, another SNL alumni/historian.

O’Brien, who wrote for Saturday Night Live for three years, shares the story of the idea he had for Phil Hartman’s character “Mace.” Mace was the self-proclaimed toughest guy in the world who was quick to deliver a life-ending threat to anyone.

O’Brien recalls that the sketch he wrote killed at the table read with the other writers and cast. But when it went live at dress rehearsal, the idea of Mace being too shy to use the toilet in front of his cellmate was dead on arrival.

Al Franken proved he was much more persistent in trying to get his failed “Fart Doctor” sketch to air. Conceived ahead of an episode hosted by Vice President Al Gore, Franken knew it needed the right host. So he continued to submit it during the early 2000s when he was no longer a Saturday Night Live writer.

“Fart Doctor” clearly didn’t get the same support at SNL that it got from O’Brien, Sona Movsesian, and Matt Gourley on the podcast. But it did find new life thanks to former SNL head writer Tina Fey and her series 30 Rock. Fey had heard Franken’s pitch enough times and decided it was good enough for a fake sketch show.

Overall, the episode as entertaining of a listen as any this season on “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.” The interview could have easily been split between Franken’s comedy career and political work both in the senate and on his SiriusXM radio program The Al Franken Show. But at the end of the day, if fans get Franken and O’Brien in the same room together then they probably want to hear comedy talk. To no one’s surprise, the two delivered.

Hearing what didn’t work at Saturday Night Live can be just as interesting as hearing what did. And it seems like writers and performers are much more open to talking about the ideas that got shot down than those that made it to air. So whether you wanted to know more about the SNL pitching process or how Al Franken shut down a Beatle’s impromptu performance so he could concentrate, this episode of “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” was for you.