May 12, 2012 Season 37 episode
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| Episode | 723 |
| Season Episode | 21 |
| Host | Will Ferrell |
| Musical Guest(s) | Usher |
| Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s) |
"Scream" "Climax" |
| Previous Episode May 5, 2012 |
Next Episode May 19, 2012 |
The 723rd episode and 21st (and penultimate) episode, as well as the Mother's Day episode of Saturday Night Live's 37th season which premiered on May 12, 2012, hosted by longtime former SNL cast member Will Ferrell, star of the hit films Old School, Elf, Anchorman and the sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Kicking & Screaming, A Night at the Roxbury, Superstar, Talledega Nights, Blades of Glory, The Producers, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, The Campaign, Get Hard, The House, Holmes & Watson, Daddy's Home and the sequel Daddy's Home 2, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Stranger Than Fiction, Downhill, Spirited, Strays and Quiz Lady, and the animated films Curious George, Megamind, The Lego Movie franchise and Despicable Me 4, with musical guest Usher, a R&B singer and songwriter, who performed "Scream" and "Climax" and appears in the 100th SNL Digital Short and in the "The 2012 Funkytown Debate" skit as Mr. Galactic Fantastic. This is the 3rd time that Will Ferrell hosted, and this is also the 3rd musical guest stint on SNL for Usher.
""Thanks to… my mom… To Usher… Usher: Hey, Mom! Hapy Mother’s Day! Will Forte. Ana Gasteyer. Liam Neeson, The Cast, My Mom, I Love You" is the goodnight speech for Will Ferrell. (Cheers and applause)
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
- Fred Armisen
- Abby Elliott
- Bill Hader
- Seth Meyers
- Bobby Moynihan
- Nasim Pedrad
- Andy Samberg
- Jason Sudeikis
- Kenan Thompson
- Kristen Wiig
Featured Players[]
- Cameos by another longtime former cast members Ana Gasteyer and Will Forte, Betty Kay Ferrell (Will's mother) and Liam Neeson.
- Filmed cameos by Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Justin Bieber, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Jon Hamm, Justin Timberlake, Natalie Portman and Michael Bolton.
Onscreen appearance by creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels.
Sketches and Musical Performances[]
Cold Open Sketch Videotaped Weekend Update Music Performance Other
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Biden's Room Cold Opening | After President Barack Obama (Fred Armisen) takes credit for his stance on gay marriage, Joe Biden (Jason Sudeikis) confides in bosom buddy George W. Bush (Will Ferrell). | |
| Opening Montage | ||
| Mother's Day Tribute Monologue by Will Ferrell | Returned to SNL to host for the third time, longtime former cast-member Will Ferrell struggles to use his own words instead of a script to tell his Mom, Kay Ferrell, he loves her for Mother's Day. | |
| One-A-Day Extra Strength Nasaflu | Woman (Kristen Wiig) tries to promote her family’s preferred cold medicine as her husband (Will Ferrell) yells loudly while sneezing. | |
| The Culps: Alternative Prom | Music teachers Marty (Will Ferrell) and Bobbi Mohan-Culp (Ana Gasteyer) perform a medley at a gay dance. | |
| ESPN Classic: Stay Free Maxi Pads Ladies Long Drive Championship 1994 | Commentators Pete Twinkle (Jason Sudeikis), Greg Stink (Will Forte), and sideline reporter Randy Feather (Will Ferrell) keep the Stay Free Maxi Pad sponsorship coming in lieu of focusing on golf match between Virginia Sacramento (Kristen Wiig) and Greta “Cuckoo Clock” Kukendorf (Vanessa Bayer). | |
| SNL Digital Short: 100th SNL Digital Short | Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone Akiva Schaffer and Justin Bieber honor the 100th "SNL Digital Short" with a star-studded celebration including "SNL Digital Short" favorites and a song about sucking their own d***s. With Fred Armisen, Kenan Thompson and Kristen Wiig. Cameos by Michael Bolton, Julian Casablancas, Jon Hamm as Sergio, Natalie Portman and Justin Timberlake. | |
| Usher performed "Scream" | Dressed in a black leather jacket and sunglasses, Usher performed this up-tempo dance-pop track accompanied by two backup dancers and his live band. | |
| Weekend Update with Seth Meyers | Seth Meyers asks Time Magazine "Really!?!" about their putting a picture of a mother breast feeding a young boy on the cover of an issue released for Mother's Day. With guests, actor Liam Neeson gets in the cage with Nicolas Cage (Andy Samberg) and has to answer some tough questions about his career. | |
| The 2012 Funkytown Debate | The funky candidates running for the mayor of Funkytown have to answer some tough questions from their funky constituents. | |
| Broadway Sizzle | A Cable access show hosted by two Broadway veterans (Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig) showcasing new performers. One singer (Will Ferrell) gets darn upset because he keeps choosing "woman's songs." With Bobby Moynihan and Kenan Thompson. | |
| Usher performed "Climax" | For his second set, Usher delivered a more vocal-focused performance of this R&B ballad, showcasing his falsetto while keeping choreography to a minimum | |
| Anniversary Toast | After a son (Jason Sudeikis) gives a toast at his parents' (Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon) anniversary party, he's followed by a number of strange speakers (Will Ferrell, Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, Will Forte, Taran Killam). | |
| Almost Pizza | Rerun from April 7, 2012. | |
| Goodbyes and Closing Credits | Will's mother, Usher, Will Forte, Ana Gasteyer, Liam Neeson, Lorne Michaels, the cast and crew and everyone are all thanked by Will Ferrell for bringing him back home and wishes everyone "Happy Mother's Day". |
Sketches and Musical Performances[]
Cold Open Sketch Videotaped Weekend Update Music Performance Other
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend Update with Seth Meyers | After the success of the Avengers, Dr. Bruce Banner (Bobby Moynihan) visits "Weekend Update" and is upset when Seth Meyers tries to aggravate him into becoming The Incredible Hulk, but when he transforms it's incredibly disappointing. |
Trivia[]
- Ferrell also reprises his impression of former President George W. Bush in "Biden's Room" cold open and his character Marty Culp in "The Culps: Alternative Prom" sketch.
- The 22nd and final appearances of The Culps.
- Ferrell and Gasteyer reprise their roles during the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special and SNL50: The Homecoming Concert.
- The 7th and final appearance of ESPN Classic, as well as Greg Stink and Peter Twinkle.
- Sudeikis and Forte would reprise their roles during the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special.
- The 3rd and final appearances of Toasts sketch, as well as Hamilton Whiteman, rock and roll shorts guy, microphone guy and Gail.
- Forte, Armisen and Wiig would later reprise their roles on April 6, 2024, the sixteenth episode of Season 49, when Wiig returned to SNL to host for the 5th time and she also becomes the fifth former cast member, as well as the second former female cast member to enter the Five-Timers Club, with musical guest Raye.
Notes/Trivia[]
- This is also Fred Armisen's final episode impersonating President Barack Obama before giving it to his castmate Jay Pharoah.
- The July 21, 2012, rerun of this episode was dedicated to the memory of original (and former) SNL writer and occasional featured player Tom Davis, who died on July 19. A still photo was shown in his memory after the Weekend Update segment.
- Season 37 is among the seasons with the most former cast members returning to host in SNL history.
| Preceded by: May 5, 2012 |
Saturday Night Live episode | Followed by: May 19, 2012 |