SNL Digital Short

The opening title that appears before most shorts.

SNL Digital Shorts are short comedic and musical video segments created for airing on NBC's Saturday Night Live. Most are produced by The Lonely Island and written by Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg in collaboration with SNL hosts and cast members. The segments are recorded with consumer grade digital video cameras and edited on personal computers. It is usual for the episode's hosts and musical guests (the latter on rarer occasions) to take part in the episode's short, and several shorts have included celebrity cameos.

The shorts generally take fewer than five days to complete. Schaffer has directed all the shorts and Taccone along with his brother, Asa, have produced music as necessary. So far SNL has aired 46 digital shorts, eight of which are performed by The Lonely Island and eleven of which are the multiple part MacGruber sketches.

With the exception of Iran So Far, Mother Lover and other non-musical shorts, they were remastered and released in The Lonely Island's album, Incredibad.

List of shorts

Note: Some of the external links below are only accessible to those who reside in the United States.

2005-2006: Season 31

A total of 11 shorts were created for 2005-2006.

Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate	Description
Lettuce	Will Forte Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone	Akiva Schaffer	December 3, 2005	In what is revealed to be a commercial for the vegetable, two friends (Will Forte, Andy Samberg) discuss the death of an unnamed friend while taking large bites out of heads of lettuce.
Lazy Sunday	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone Chris Parnell	Akiva Schaffer	December 17, 2005	Chris Parnell and Samberg rhyme about The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, cupcakes, Mr. Pibb, Red Vines, Matthew Perry, and a host of other products. Music produced by Jorma Taccone.
Young Chuck Norris	Andrew Steele	Unknown	January 21, 2006	A Chuck Norris fan (Jason Sudeikis) sings a ballad for him with an accompanying music video. In this video, Chuck Norris is played by Andy Samberg
The Tangent	Bill Hader	Akiva Schaffer	February 4, 2006	Joel (Fred Armisen) rambles endlessly about a restaurant he visited, and becomes so involved in the story, he fails to notice that he is discovered by talent scouts (Bill Hader, Parnell), stars in a movie with Scarlett Johansson, becomes a national phenomenon and then loses it all when his movie flops at the box office. Brian Williams and Conan O'Brien also make cameos.
Close Talkers	Will Forte	Akiva Schaffer	February 4, 2006	Two old friends from school (Forte, Steve Martin) meet up after years apart, greeting each other loudly while standing with their faces only an inch apart.
Natalie Rap	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone Asa Taccone	Akiva Schaffer	March 4, 2006	Natalie Portman is interviewed about her life and responds with a rap proving she is a "badass bitch", poking fun at her clean and intellectual image. She slaps Seth Meyers and throws a chair at Parnell. Samberg appears as Flavor Flav. Music produced by Jorma Taccone and Asa Taccone, and mixed by Ben Lovett.
Dopple Ganger	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone	Akiva Schaffer	March 11, 2006	Meyers, Forte, and Samberg are on a lunch break and start to notice that each one has a doppelgänger nearby. After Meyers and Forte say that a large bum (Horatio Sanz) is Samberg's doppelgänger, they kill the real Samberg in an evil twin scenario.
Laser Cats!	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone	Akiva Schaffer	April 15, 2006	Hader and Samberg pitch to SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels their new ultra low-budget Digital Short, Laser Cats! The short within the short features the fallout of a nuclear war, in which cats can shoot lasers from their mouths and thus be used as weapons. Hader and Samberg, shooting the short in the SNL offices and playing the heroes, Nitro and Admiral Spaceship, have to rescue a princess (Lindsay Lohan, who is not in on the joke and gets replaced by Rachel Dratch).
My Testicles	Unknown	Unknown	May 6, 2006	Friends in the early 1990s (Kenan Thompson, Forte, and Parnell) discuss the music video by pop stars Ariel (Andy Samberg) and Efrim (Tom Hanks), where we see the lyrics consist of constantly begging for their testicles not to be harmed, in a parody of Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" and C+C Music Factory's "Everybody Dance Now". Jorma Taccone appears as a backup dancer.
Peyote	Unknown	Unknown	May 13, 2006	An apparent suicide jumper (Samberg) is negotiated with by a man on a bullhorn (Forte). After a bit of dialogue, it is revealed that the "jumper" is safely on the ground and the man with the bullhorn is mere inches away from him. This is revealed to be a commercial in the same vein as Lettuce, this time for peyote.
Andy Walking	Unknown	Unknown	May 20, 2006	Samberg asks factual questions of passers-by outside NBC Studios in the style of the Jay Leno bit Jaywalking, instead laughing off correct answers as false.

2006-2007: Season 32

A total of 12 shorts were created for 2006-2007.

Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate	Description
Cubicle Fight	Unknown	Unknown	September 30, 2006	New office employee Gary (Hader) gets into a fight to the death with incumbent cubicle holder Steve (host Dane Cook).
Harpoon Man	Unknown	Unknown	October 21, 2006	Harpoon Man (John C. Reilly), a suave action hero and parody of Shaft, tracks down an insulting announcer dressed as a whale (Samberg), who is narrating his life in a theme song.
Pep Talk	Fred Armisen John Lutz	Unknown	December 9, 2006	A fast food boss (Armisen) gives his employees (Forte, Matthew Fox, Amy Poehler, Samberg, Thompson) a pep talk and has trouble controlling his anger until one of his employees (Forte) comes in late. It originally was scheduled to air on the episode hosted by Matthew Fox (which explains his appearance), but ended up airing on the following episode hosted by Annette Bening.
Dick in a Box	Justin Timberlake Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone Asa Taccone Katreese Barnes	Unknown	December 16, 2006	A Christmas song about two men (Justin Timberlake and Samberg) giving their lovers (Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph) a box with their genitalia inside as presents, in a style reminiscent of early 1990s R&B sex ballads made popular by acts such as Bel Biv Devoe, Color Me Badd, and R. Kelly. Won a 2007 Creative Arts Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Music and Lyrics. Music created in part by Asa Taccone and Katresse Barnes.
Laser Cats! 2	Unknown	Unknown	January 13, 2007	Hader and Samberg apologize to Lorne Michaels for the original Laser Cats! claiming to understand where they went wrong: not enough politics. They then introduce Laser Cats! 2, based on the same premise, but now it was the Iraq War that had gone nuclear and caused the feline mutations. This time, Dr. Scientist (Jake Gyllenhaal) has stolen the cure that turns Laser Cats back into regular cats.
Nurse Nancy	Unknown	Unknown	January 20, 2007	Scott Garbaciak (Samberg) is the multi-role star of the fictional film Nurse Nancy, in parody of Eddie Murphy films such as Norbit and The Nutty Professor.
Body Fuzion	Amy Poehler Maya Rudolph Kristen Wiig	Unknown	February 3, 2007	Drew Barrymore is Desiree, host of a 1986 sexually suggestive, low-impact, high-result exercise video Body Fuzion, with "her friends" Donna, Michelle, and Donna M. (Rudolph, Wiig, and Poehler respectively).
Andy Popping Into Frame	Unknown	Unknown	February 10, 2007	Samberg quietly pops into view as the camera routinely cuts to different locations and landmarks. Forte soon begins doing the same a few times, before being forced out at gunpoint.
Business Meeting	Unknown	Unknown	February 24, 2007	A corporate executive (Rainn Wilson) leads a meeting to take ideas on how to save his failing company, and hears suggestions from an increasingly bizarre set of employees, including a gigantic turkey sub and Arcade Fire. Upon reaching the end of the meeting, Wilson receives a phone call informing him that the office building is about to be blown up.
The Shooting	Unknown	Unknown	April 14, 2007	In a spoof of The O.C. episode "The Dearly Beloved", a man (Hader) writes a letter to his sister, he is shot by his friend (Samberg), leading to a series of overly-dramatic, slow-motion shootings set to "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap, including their roommate (Shia LaBeouf), the sister (Wiig), and two police officers (Sudeikis, Armisen).
Roy Rules!	Unknown	Jorma Taccone	April 21, 2007	Samberg performs a rhyme about how much he likes his brother in-law named Roy (SNL writer Brian Tucker).
Talking Dog	Unknown	Unknown	May 19, 2007	While meeting the owner of an apartment he's about to rent (Zach Braff), a man (Samberg) is shocked to find out that the owner's dog can not only talk (with the voice of SNL writer Jorma Taccone), but has fallen in love with him.

2007-2008: Season 33

A total of 11 shorts were created for 2007-2008.

Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate	Description
Iran So Far	Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer	Akiva Schaffer	September 29, 2007	Samberg sings a love song for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Armisen), along with Adam Levine from Maroon 5, sampling "Avril 14th" by Aphex Twin. Jake Gyllenhaal has a cameo.
Andy Punches	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone	Akiva Schaffer	October 13, 2007	Samberg punches people before they get to eat then gleefully dances afterwards; victims include Forte, Armisen, Sudeikis, host Jon Bon Jovi, and Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. The short shares the style of Andy Popping Into Frame.
Brian Diaries	Unknown	Unknown	November 3, 2007	Brian Williams describes a day in his life, including watching footage of himself, meditating while the disembodied head of Bono praises him, and dropping pennies on Al Roker and Matt Lauer from the NBC building.
Andy Samberg & Bill Hader	Akiva Schaffer	February 23, 2008	An old man presents films which have his grandsons (Hader and Samberg) digitally inserted in order to help old people be more comfortable with today's films.
The Mirror	Unknown	Unknown	March 1, 2008	A girl (Ellen Page) wakes up from a nightmare and begins seeing a zombie (Samberg) in her bathroom mirror, which turns out to be the nightmare of the zombie, a wolf man (Forte), and a woman named Debbie (Wiig) married to Dracula (Sudeikis).
Hero Song	Unknown	Unknown	March 8, 2008	An apparently wealthy man (Samberg) sings about crime infecting the city, then turns into a superhero (a la Batman) and tries to save a woman (Amy Adams) from being mugged, only to have the mugger (Sudeikis) beat up the superhero.
Andy's Dad	Jonah Hill, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer	Akiva Schaffer	March 15, 2008	Jonah Hill confesses to Samberg about how he has fallen in love with his father, Ben Samberg (played by longtime SNL writer Jim Downey). Hader also confesses the same thing.
Laser Cats! 3D	Unknown	Unknown	April 5, 2008	Samberg and Hader attempt to pitch Laser Cats to Lorne again, this time with a scene enhanced by 3D glasses. The plot revolves around a ban on all laser cats and a battle against the corrupt Mayor Top-Hat (Thompson). Christopher Walken appears as the general and Senator Christopher Dodd cameos as himself (watching the short while having dinner with Lorne).
Daiquiri Girl	Unknown	Unknown	April 12, 2008	Samberg appears in an amateur, early-90s music video about a girl who loves to drink daiquiris. Meanwhile, text scrolls up the screen explaining that the producers apologize for airing the video because a certain musical guest (Gnarls Barkley) failed to appear for the shooting of a digital short, despite an agreement to do otherwise.
The Best Look in the World	Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer	Akiva Schaffer	May 10, 2008	Samberg and host Shia LaBeouf sing a high-energy country song about Samberg's new dress shirt, black socks, no pants look (the best look in the world).
Japanese Office	John Lutz Marika Sawyer	Akiva Schaffer	May 17, 2008	Ricky Gervais presents a clip from a Japanese show that was his inspiration for The Office, featuring Japanese versions of Michael (Steve Carell), Dwight (Hader), Jim (Sudeikis), Pam (Wiig), and Stanley (Thompson). Also, Darrell Hammond plays Regis Philbin in a tampon commercial. At the end of the episode, Gervais comments "It's funny 'cause it's racist".

2008-2009: Season 34

A total of 16 shorts were created for 2008-2009, as of May 9, 2009.

Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate	Description
Space Olympics	Andy Samberg Jorma Taccone Akiva Schaffer	Unknown	September 13, 2008	Samberg sings through an autotuner, while wearing a white pompadour wig and spangled jumpsuit. His song promotes a low budget, ill-planned, ultimately doomed athletic competition held in space in the year 3022. Athletes are portrayed by Sudeikis, Casey Wilson, Hader, and real-life Olympian and episode host Michael Phelps.
Hey! (Murray Hill)	Unknown	Unknown	September 20, 2008	In this spoof of teen dramas, a young man (James Franco) is talked to by a girl (Kristen Wiig). Some small talk is made, until the subject of his small "ding-dong" comes up. Then another girl (an uncredited cameo by Blake Lively) comes up to him and tells him she has a small "ding-dong", too.
Extreme Challenge	Unknown	Unknown	October 4, 2008	Samberg and Wiig compete in nonsensical activities, from arm wrestling to human ATM. Forte is the pathetic referee, Thompson is an ATM customer, and Anne Hathaway appears when Andy turns into Jane Austen.
Ras Trent	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone D. Carey Sly Dunbar Robbie Shakespeare	Unknown	October 25, 2008	Samberg plays a college student who has converted to Rastafari, who sings boastfully (and stereotypically) about the culture, while being aware that he's not fit for it when he walks by a group of actual Rastas. Wiig and Wilson appear as backup singers. (The real backup is actually provided by J. Newsom and Maya Rudolph). In the Incredibad version, the song ends with a fade. Music produced by Sly & Robbie.
Everyone's A Critic	Unknown	Unknown	November 15, 2008	In a clip from Paul Rudd's new movie, Samberg romantically paints him nude and then Rudd returns the favor. While selling the painting at an auction, it is shown to be so graphic that everyone who sees it begins convulsing violently, vomiting, bleeding from the eyes, and committing violent acts of suicide. Armisen appears as the auctioneer, Wilson as the interviewer, Hader and Wiig as Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood respectively (they appear tied to a post with their eyes closed while everyone else is dying after seeing the painting, parodying the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark).
Virgania Horsen's Pony Express	Unknown	Jorma Taccone	December 6, 2008	Wiig reprises her role as Virgania Horsen in a crudely-made commercial for her new business, which consists of mail delivery by horse. *Note the original Virginia Horsen short did have the Digital Short title in front of it. According the credits, these shorts were all directed by Jorma.
Jizz in My Pants	Andy Samberg Jorma Taccone Akiva Schaffer Michael Forno	Unknown	December 6, 2008	The Lonely Island sings about premature ejaculation, often at the slightest provocation. Fellow Lonely Island member and director, Akiva Schaffer shows up in the video as a DJ(Schaffer rarely shows up on-screen). Molly Sims, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Justin Timberlake make cameo appearances (Timberlake appears as a janitor). The music video is for their first single of their debut album, Incredibad.
Cookies	James Anderson Fred Armisen	Unknown	December 13, 2008	An executive (Hugh Laurie) announces to the department heads that things are not going well and drastic steps may need to be taken. During this, Marcus (Armisen) begins outstretching himself to eat cookies on the table. At the end of the skit, another executive (Thompson) reveals that the "cookies" are really laxatives.
Doogie Howser Theme	Unknown	Unknown	January 10, 2009	Neil Patrick Harris and the entire cast perform the theme to Doogie Howser, M.D.. While Harris wears a tuxedo, the SNL cast dresses as Doogie Howser, wearing lab coats, a picture ID of Doogie, dress shirts, blond wigs, colorful ties, acid washed jeans, and Nike hi-tops (Armisen and Samberg wear green sunglasses as well). Harris plays keyboard; Wilson, Abby Elliott, and Michaela Watkins play violin; Bobby Moynihan plays tuba; Thompson plays harp; Hader plays saxophone; Hammond plays trumpet; Wiig plays electric guitar; Sudeikis plays double bass; Forte plays drum kit; Armisen plays synthesizer; and Samberg plays an Akai MPC 2000XL drum machine. At the end of the performance, Harris sheds a tear.
A Couple of Homies	Unknown	Unknown	January 17, 2009	Samberg and Armisen casually talk in a break room while Forte sings about every little thing that they're doing (giving each other a high five, reading a magazine, drinking soda, and wearing dresses). At the end, it's revealed to actually be a commercial for D.A.R.E.. It was originally cut from the Ben Affleck dress rehearsal.
Laser Cats 4-Ever!	Unknown	Unknown	January 31, 2009	Steve Martin walks into the office of Lorne Michaels with yet another half baked Laser Cats episode. It is evident that Samberg and Hader have put Martin up to it, as well as crediting him as "Executive Producer" of Laser Cats 4. A robot Cyber-Face (Thompson) goes haywire, but it is revealed to be Admiral Spaceship's father (Martin), who reveals that Spaceship and Nitro are brothers. At the end of the skit Lorne Michaels orders them all out of his office.
I'm on a Boat (Uncensored)	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone Adam Cherrington	Unknown	February 7, 2009	From The Lonely Island's album Incredibad. Samberg wins a prize from a cereal for a boat trip for three and selects himself, Akiva Schaffer and surprisingly, T-Pain while Jorma Taccone stays out of the excitement. Then the group proceeds into a highly aggressive, profane rap song about sailing on a boat. The second single from the Lonely Island's debut album 'Incredibad'.
Property of the Queen	Unknown	Unknown	February 14, 2009	Samberg blackmails the Jonas Brothers with a videotape of them as an 80s band called Property of the Queen. Samberg ultimately wants to know how they stayed young for 25 years and it is revealed that the wizard (Hader) featured in one of their music videos kept them young. Thompson, Forte and Moynihan appear as band members.
Party Guys	Unknown	Unknown	March 14, 2009	Samberg and Hader are at a party where everyone and everything is a literal representation of a slang term (i.e., a "serial rapist" (Forte) is shown having sex with a box of cereal, a group of "motherfuckers" are men with their mothers, a group of "sons of bitches" are a litter of puppies, a "numbnuts" is a man (John Lutz) shown sitting on a block of ice with his pants around his ankles, a group of "jokers" are dressed as different incarnations of The Joker from The Dark Knight, a knucklehead is a hand with plastic eyes glued on it, etc). When Samberg and Hader discover "two douchebags", however, it's revealed that they're looking at themselves in a mirror.
Like a Boss (Uncensored)	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone Aleric Banks	Unknown	April 4, 2009	The Lonely Island rap about what it's like for the boss of a big company. Samberg describes his average day, which initially features plausible activities such as approving memos and sending faxes; however, his actions become increasingly erratic, and eventually, overtly surreal (for example, having sex with a giant fish in a dark alley). From their Incredibad album. Seth Rogen replaces Akiva as the company evaluator in the music video, though Akiva does appear in the video as a hooded gun dealer.
Motherlover	Andy Samberg Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone Justin Timberlake	Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone	May 9, 2009	Five months after the events of "Dick in a Box," Samberg and Timberlake's characters (who have just been released from prison) sing about special gifts for Mother's Day, with Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson appearing as their mothers. They decide the best present for them would be for them to have sex with the other's mother. They proclaim it is the second best idea they have ever had. Music originally left off of sessions for the album Incredibad, as produced by Asa Taccone and Drew Campbell.

Dress rehearsal shorts

These shorts were filmed and shown to the studio audience during the weekly SNL dress rehearsal, but were not included in the live show and have yet to appear on air.

Title	Date Intended to Air	Description
Lobster Cop	April 8, 2006	A police officer (Samberg) with lobster claws struggles to eat his meal in a diner. First shown during the Antonio Banderas dress rehearsal. It was shown again during the remaining rehearsals of the 2005-2006 season.
Gawker Hopefuls	October 28, 2006	Samberg and Armisen attempt to get noticed by Gawker.com, paparazzi, and UsWeekly. They even go to the UsWeekly and Gawker offices. It was only shown during the Hugh Laurie Dress Rehearsal.
The Sun's Day Off	September 27, 2008	Samberg plays a sun who tries to brighten up Anna Faris, Bill Hader, and Will Forte's days. Only shown in the Faris Dress Rehearsal.

Other Lonely Island shorts on SNL

Produced by The Lonely Island, and/or labeled Digital Shorts on official YouTube postings, these shorts aired on an SNL episode but not with the official SNL Digital Short title card. As with the Digital Shorts, these are directed by Akiva Schaffer. However, according to the official LonelyIsland website, the MacGruber shorts are directed by Jorma Taccone

Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate	Description
An SNL Movie Trailer Recut: Apocalypto	Matt Murray	Unknown	December 9, 2006	The trailer for Mel Gibson's film Apocalypto is newly subtitled, implying that the Jews destroyed the Maya civilization, in reference to Gibson's anti-semitic remarks in 2006.
MacGruber (Parts 1, 2, and 3)	Unknown	Jorma Taccone	January 20, 2007	In three parodies of MacGyver, the titular hero (Forte) demands odd objects of his disgusted sidekicks (Jeremy Piven, Rudolph) in his attempts to stop catastrophic events that are mere seconds away. The episodes invariably end with his failure to stop the event.
Sloths	Unknown	Unknown	February 10, 2007	A Staten Island Zoo worker (Wiig) introduces Staten Island Tech High School student's crude and vile documentary on sloths before previewing it herself.
United Way	Seth Meyers	Akiva Schaffer	March 24, 2007	Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning takes time out to be a mentor to kids, but ends up being physically, mentally, and verbally abusive to them (a parody of his public service announcements for the United Way during 2001–2005).
MacGruber 2	Unknown	Jorma Taccone	May 12, 2007	In three more segments, the titular hero (Forte), after 15 years of sobriety, begins drinking just as his sidekicks (Molly Shannon, Rudolph) need his bomb-defusing skills most. MacGruber's behavior evolves into a parody of David Hasselhoff's hangover video.
MacGruber 3	Unknown	Jorma Taccone	October 6, 2007	In three more segments, the titular hero (Forte) becomes obsessed with his recent plastic surgeries just as his sidekicks (Seth Rogen, Rudolph) need his bomb-defusing skills most.
Virgania Horsen's Hot Air Balloon Rides	Unknown	Unknown	February 23, 2008; February 14, 2009	A fake commercial about a woman (Kristen Wiig) offering free hot air balloon rides to combat the long lines and intrusive searches at airports. There was a 2nd part to this commercial, in which Horsen flies over New York and Montreal, that was cut for time from the original airing. Both parts aired during Alec Baldwin's 2008-2009 appearance.
MacGruber 4	Unknown	Unknown	March 15, 2008	MacGruber (Forte) feels insecure when his assistant (Jonah Hill) says that he cannot do his job when he and Vicky (Wiig) need his bomb-defusing skills the most. Only two segments aired. In the third segment (which is available on some video websites), Hader appears as MacGruber's life coach.
MacGruber 5	Unknown	Unknown	May 10, 2008	MacGruber and his son, Merrill (Shia LaBeouf), team up together. However, in the process of escaping, Merrill inadvertently confesses that he's gay (by showing anal lubricant, a vibrating dildo, and his boyfriend Scott (Samberg) showing up) leaving MacGruber to make him straight again by reciting Bible verses and forcing him to kiss Vicky (Wiig).
MacGruber 6	Unknown	Unknown	October 18, 2008	MacGruber discovers he lost all his money in the stock market and seeks desperate ways for cash just as his sidekicks (Josh Brolin, Wiig) need his bomb-defusing skills most.
Jam the Vote	Unknown	Unknown	October 23, 2008	Samberg walks around New York City asking people if they're registered to vote, which Wiig's character points out ended 2 weeks prior. Meanwhile, Samberg also fights back vomiting a spicy hot dog he stole.
GIRAFFES!	Unknown	Unknown	November 1, 2008	A sequel to the "Sloths" video, only with Jason Sudeikis as the head of the Staten Island Zoo instead of Kristen Wiig. The same students create a video that proclaims giraffes are from outer space and will destroy mankind.
MacGruber 7 (Parts 1, 2 and 3)	Unknown	Jorma Taccone	January 31, 2009	MacGruber is helped by MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) and keeps trying to promote Pepsi, changing his name to "Pepsuber" and eventually replaces every word in his sentences with the word "Pepsi". These shorts were paid for by Pepsi as advertisements; as a result they aired during commercial breaks, not as part of the show itself, and did not air at all on the Canadian simsub on Global. The second of the three shorts was replayed as an ad during Super Bowl XLIII the next day.
MacGruber 8	Unknown	Jorma Taccone	March 7, 2009	MacGruber is once again joined by MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson), who reveals that he's MacGruber's long-lost father (MacGruber's full name is actually "MacGruber MacGyver"), who left MacGruber's mother (Abby Elliot) for a stripper.
The Fast & the Bi-Curious	Unknown	Unknown	April 4, 2009	In this parody trailer to The Fast and the Furious, two macho rival street racers (Samberg, Seth Rogen) get unusually close while trash talking.

Views

The short "Lazy Sunday," which aired December 17, 2005, was viewed more than five million times on YouTube alone before it was removed due to copyright infringement. In late 2006, however, NBC began uploading SNL shorts on YouTube themselves. The short "Dick in a Box" which aired in December 2006, was viewed more than 28 million times on YouTube. It was available uncut on YouTube with a special warning, stating that the sketch contained explicit language that was censored from the television version. The short also won an Emmy Award.

The Shooting

Samberg in "The Shooting"

The Shooting, also known as Dear Sister, was broadcast during an episode aired April 14, 2007. The short satirizes the final scene of The O.C.'s second-season finale.

Expanded plot

Keith (Bill Hader) writes a letter to his sister, as Dave (Andy Samberg) asks what he is doing. As Keith responds, explaining he hasn't seen his sister in a long time, Dave suddenly and inexplicably shoots him. In the following overly-dramatic, slow-motion death overdubbed by a cue of "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap, Dave is seen visibly shaken as Keith, in shock, collapses. As Dave gathers his bearings, Keith suddenly shoots him in return, having recovered from his injury long enough to exact his revenge to the same music cue.

After both men have fallen to the ground from their separate shootings, another man, Eric (Shia LaBeouf), enters looking for them (saying he's "just thought of the funniest thing"). Dave comes back to life to shoot Eric in the stomach, who collapses, once again to the same music. The sister herself (Kristen Wiig) enters the scene, and begins to read the letter until she too is shot several times by each of the three men on the ground, with the music cue restarting with every shot, until she collapses too. She ends up being shot 17 times, total.

The short ends as two police officers (Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen) are observing the crime scene. One finds the letter, left on the table near the brother's body, and begins to read. The letter is revealed to be a prediction of each shooting, in detail, and ends claiming that two police officers will come across the letter and then shoot each other after reading it. Laughing it off, the reading officer turns to his partner, and they immediately shoot each other to overlapping "Hide & Seek" cues.

The letter

The "Dear Sister" letter itself, as transcribed from the short. It is read towards the end of the video, by one of the two police officers.

Dear Sister,

By the time you read this, I'll be dead. This is how I think it's gonna happen: Dave will shoot me, then I'll shoot Dave, then Eric will enter and get shot by Dave. Then you'll come in and get shot by Eric, Dave and I multiple times.

Love, Your Brother Keith

P.S - Then two cops will read this letter and shoot each other.

Controversy

Virginia Tech shootings

Due to music clearance issues, the NBC network, which broadcasts Saturday Night Live and distributes clips, did not release The Shooting on its official site or YouTube immediately following broadcast. On April 16, 2007, two days following the initial air date of the sketch, the Virginia Tech shootings occurred. The massacre, which took place on the Virginia Tech campus of Blacksburg, Virginia, saw 32 people killed and 25 more wounded by the actions of Seung-Hui Cho before he himself committed suicide, making it the deadliest school shooting in modern U.S. history. The sketch, viewed under this new context, was considered to be in bad taste and suffer from poor timing following the shootings, and perhaps as a result, NBC never uploaded the clip to YouTube or its official site. The short finally reappeared four months later, in a repeat of the LaBeouf episode, aired August 4, 2007

Spin-offs

Despite the initial attempts of NBC to enforce copyright protection and remove access to the sketch on YouTube and similar viral video sites, viewers uploaded the short even after the videos were removed several times at NBC's request. Despite these obstacles, the short became popular enough to beget a wave of re-enactments and parodies using the same use of "Hide and Seek" and slow-motion to violent scenes.

External links

• SNL Digital Shorts on NBC.com