Best SNL Cast Member of All Time - Final Four

 

We have made it to the Final Four, and if there is one thing I can say about this bracket, it's that I must have done a pretty good job with the seeding because three 1-seeds made it to the Final Four.  In a tournament where there were true heavyweights up and down the entire bracket, the fact that three top seeds survived to this point is impressive.  But the matchups don't get any easier from here as these four now get to battle it out for the top prize.  And the cool thing, at least I think it's cool, about this Final Four is that they represent almost the full tenure of SNL.  From Eddie Murphy in the early 80s to Dana Carvey in the late 80s and early 90s to Will Ferrell in the mid 90s to early 00s and Tina Fey in the mid 00s.  It is a good representation of the talent that has graced SNL over the past 50 years.  But, alas, there can only be one standing at the end, so let's get to the voting.

Best SNL Cast Member - Elite Eight

 

Well, we finally got some upsets, if you want to call them that.  The last round saw all four 2 seeds and one 1 seed lose.  With that, my personal favorite, Phil Hartman, was eliminated.  I'm sad to see him go, but we are left with an Elite Eight full of star power and tough choices.  There are four men and four women remaining with cast members from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s.  It's a very balanced final eight and I am so excited to see who will advance to the Final Four.  There is so much more I could say, but I will save my thoughts and let you all get down to the difficult business of voting.

Best SNL Cast Member of All Time - Sweet Sixteen

 

Well, the second round was certainly interesting and I got a lot of comments about how difficult some of the matchups were to choose.  That was definitely reflected in the voting as there were three matchups decided by fewer than five votes.  But there were also seven decided by more than 20 votes.  So there still seems to be some clear consensus as to who is the cream of the crop.  With the Sweet Sixteen upon us now, the matchups get even harder and I'm sure I will get even more angry messages about having to pick between two favorites.  I honestly would not be surprised to see any of the remaining cast members in the bracket make the final four.  They could all make a case for being the best, which is probably why they are all still around at this point of the bracket.  But, sadly, eight will be eliminated after this round, and it's up to you to vote!

Best SNL Cast Member of All Time - Second Round

Round One is complete and was, honestly, pretty uneventful.  There were no major upsets and not many close results.  There were only three matchups decided by less than 8 votes.  So it seems like the first round had some pretty obvious choices for voters.  But I have a feeling the second round is when things are going to get a little more difficult.  Just looking at the matchups it feels unfair to have to make some of these choices so early in the tournament.  But this is the embarrassment of comedy riches that is 50 years of Saturday Night Live.  I could go on forever talking about the talent in this bracket, but you didn't come here to hear me wax poetic.  You came here to vote, so here you go!

 

 

Best SNL Character of All Time - First Round

 

It is time once again for my my annual March Madness bracket.  And this year, in honor of Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary, we are looking at the greatest SNL cast members of all time.  There have been 167 cast members in the history of SNL.  I have narrowed it down to a top 64 to duke it out bracket-style.  It was not easy to narrow down the field, and seed it appropriately.  I looked at data points just related to their time on the show.  So if someone has had a successful film or TV career after being on SNL, that didn't factor into the data for this bracket.  It's also important to remember that over the course of 50 years there has been a lot of funny people on the show.  And they can't all be 1 and 2 seeds, which is why you see people like Chris Rock and Adam Sandler as 6 seeds.  What that also means is that there will be tough matchups throughout this bracket, starting in the first round.  But the great thing about these brackets every year is that you all get to vote for your favorites and let your voice be heard.  So with that said, let's get to the voting for the first round!

Best TV Couple of All Time - Champion

 

In the closest championship of any year of my brackets, David and Patrick of Schitt's Creek are declared the winner by one vote!  For a tournament that was devoid of any real drama for the first four rounds, the Final Four did not disappoint.  It's clear that the four entries in the Final Four were the favorites and they battled it out closely.  And while Leslie and Ben were my pick from the beginning because my wife and I are very much the epitome of Leslie and Ben, David and Patrick are a deserving couple from a hilarious show.

For those that like weird but true facts, each of the last four years of the tournament set a record for closest championship vote.  This year was decided by one vote, last year by two, two years by three, and three years ago by four.  We'll have to wait a year to see if next year ends in a tie, but we can already get excited for the theme voted by you, Movie Villains!

Best TV Couple of All Time - Championship

 

This is it, the moment we've all been waiting for, the championship match.  The semifinal matches didn't disappoint with two closely contested matchups.  And I expect the championship to be no different as Leslie and Ben and David and Patrick are two great couples.  Either one will make a deserving winner.  So let's not wax poetic on this match and get right to the vote.  Also, don't forget that you can vote for next year's theme as well.