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Looking for some quality comedy entertainment to check out?
Who better to turn to for under-the-radar recommendations than comedians?
But YouTube changed the show forever.
Still, there are some sketches that have slipped away from most fans collective memory.
For the longest time, comedianSam Taggartthought the 2010 sketch Riley had been purged from the public record.
It was one of those things where you thought you imagined it, he says.
I was like,Did I make this up, or did it actually air on TV?
His favorite word isbitch, and he uses it with great gusto.
That was the closest we had to gay comedy then, says Taggart.
Now, theres so muchqueer comedythat it has its ownhack conventions.
But so does every subset of culture.
Taggart spoke aboutMillennial Hunters roots as an indie-show character, as well as theSNLcatchphrase character that time forgot.
Riley was a one-off sketch as far as I can tell.
Its so insane that they did that then.
They couldnt get away with a straight guy doing that.
Theyre actually addressing gay people being bad in a way that is fresh.
Its one of those characters thats maybe a flop?
It is a one-off, a stupid character with a jingle.
Im surprised its online.
Do you find yourself repeating words likebitch?
Right now, I cant stop saying tea.
I know its outdated already, but that makes it more fun to say.
Thats not a joke.
But its not like I get better at it.
Ill just replace tea.
Im like,Okay, too many people are saying tea, Ill do spilled.And its likeStop!
As you said, the catchphrase for Riley is just bitch.
But the entire theme song is just Get ready for Riley.
Thats such an interesting direction to give the audience.Its so funny it makes no sense.
Its likeOkay, but no one knows who this is.
But you cant, day one, be, Hit character Riley!
What is your larger relationship toSNL?I was very obsessed with it.
I like this era of it.
Like many people, it was the biggest comedy inspiration growing up.
It was the only comedy you could see weekly.
Same question, but for Fred Armisen specifically.No, I was obsessed with Fred Armisen.
Hes really transforming all the time.
Even doing this character to use another gay catchphrase, he eats.
He is eating, chomp chomp chomp.
I cant believe how much hes eating.
And this isnt even his most broad character.
Look at the art dealers, the Nunis.Nuni is so iconic.
Oh, thats probably true.
So I was like, Maybe theres an action thing about this guy thats hunting and killing millennials?
The studio was like, Okay yeah, we like that.
Lets move forward with that.
And I was like, Huh.
So that was 2016.
It was one of those things where the project kept going away.
Ive had so many things fall through the cracks and you just move on.
I almost felt like,Are millennials over?In a sense, yes; avocado jokes are over.
When we were in our 20s and shaking things up, we were really kind of cool.
And now were fully not cool.
So I was like,Okay, this is fun again.
Can you tell me about the choice to start the film in 2015?
If you could kill any industry single-handedly, which would it be and why?I mean, tech.
I dont think its radical to say it made everything worse.
Im ready to go to the video store to pick up a video.
Im ready to send a letter.
Maybe I keep email.
But no social media, period.
It seems even the millennials want to kill the millennial within.A hundred percent.
Ive been thinking about the idea of aging hipsters a lot recently.
I dont know how to age tastefully.
I consider myself a cool person.
I moved to Brooklyn, New York City because I wanted to be a cool person.
Because I liked indie rock and cool, alt comedy.
But now its sad to give a shot to be young.
Its sad to give up.
And its sad to stay the same.
I think maybe thats it its not making a big deal about it and trying to be casual.
But now they can get drugs anywhere.
Now weed is legal.
Needless to say, life is over.
All my cultural capital, down the drain.
InMillennial Hunter, youre not really supposed to root for this guy slaughtering an entire generation.
It reminds me of something in Riley.
Its such a classic.
Its a running joke now: Oh, youre gay?
Are you funny, or are you mean?
This kind of nailed that.
Because, yeah, gays are the teens of the world.
Doyou care to elaborate on that?No, sentence over!
Period, point blank.
Have you found your personal balance between funny and mean?
Where is that line for you?Its always changing.
I have a podcast calledStraightioLab.My co-host, George, hes more from a family where they rib each other.
You have to stop.
Im a little too sensitive for that.
Thatbrings up the other big issue in the Riley sketch: the vibe at your friends house.
Theres always a power struggle between guest and patriarch.Yeah, we were a cater to guest house.
A cater to Dad household what a scary environment.
I would not feel safe in that environment.
Same.I remember sleeping over at one friends house, and he was like, You did good.
My dad really liked you.
My dad would come into the basement and say Sup, dudes!
while we were playing video games, and that was pretty much it.
Then hed peace out.
I think thats good.
and Id be like Leave us alone!
Youre not allowed to be like that anymore.
The woke mind virus doesnt let me be like that.
You have to seeyour parents as people now.Now were all adults, I guess.
Let me confirm I got all my questions.
I think it can be applied to any gender.
I also think that theres something about that hardBat the top.
People can really put some mustard on that.Theres so much room for play.
TheresB, theres biatch.
If we want to get vintage, we can get vintage.
