Tim Robinson ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketches, Ranked

The best stuff Robinson did at ‘SNL’ before they told him, ‘We think you should leave’
Tim Robinson ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketches, Ranked

Some of the best comedy sketches in recent memory are ideas that Saturday Night Live looked at and went, Nah, thanks. I Think You Should Leaves Tim Robinson was an SNL cast member for exactly one season before they shuffled him off-camera into the writers room — and, eventually, into the street. While many of the SNL sketches he participated in are pretty terrible, others actually show us glimmers of the bizarre and awkward greatness that awaited him. So weve decided to rank them by their overall I Think You Should Leave-ness... 

McDonalds Firing

 

Included because of Robinsons brief but sketch-defining performance as the affable Carl, a role he reprises in the Barnes and Noble Firing sequel (but not the Best Buy Firing one, so dont bother watching it). Not many performers could steal a scene through some good-natured nods and two short phrases, but Robinson is one of them.

Double Date

 

Again, Robinsons contribution here is mostly just looking funny and delivering a few key phrases. Still, he completely nails it as an awkward, dinosaur-obsessed sixth grader who has somehow found himself on a date with a thirsty cougar (shes a cougar from his perspective, anyway).

Real Estate Agents

 

This could have been an I Think You Should Leave sketch if: 1) It was shot like an actual commercial; and 2) it didnt end just when it was getting to the good stuff. What type of wiener was Carm-Carm (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) going to draw on his dads face? Robinsons solo show wouldnt have denied us that important knowledge. 

Love Letters

 

Speaking of wieners, Robinson does a splendid job as the Civil War soldier who invented the dick pic and unsuccessfully tried to get his fiancée (Jennifer Lawrence) to invent the female equivalent. This sketch also includes what has to be Robinsons most dramatic death performance to date (Whelp, this is my last breath… *dies*). 

Z-Shirt

 

Now were undeniably in I Think You Should Leave territory, as confirmed by the fact that someone actually does leave the sketch. The main difference is that, in Robinsons show, the Kevin Hart character would have gone through the entire alphabet in even more annoying ways, possibly following the Z-shirt guy into other places as his frustration turns into existential despair. This is a reminder that Robinson isnt always the insane person in his sketches; sometimes, hes the straight guy who accuses someone else of being a sociopath with nothing behind their eyes.

90s Funeral

 

What starts as a typically SNL-ish premise veers off-course with a meta-twist that foreshadows Robinsons willingness to defy the rules of the sketch comedy format. You will never see that twist coming... unless youve already looked at the thumbnail up there.

First Impression

 

This one manages to be the most Tim Robinson-esque sketch listed so far, even though Robinson doesnt even appear in it. Its got an absurd premise, a little weasely freak as the central character, and for once, it actually goes on for just long enough. This could easily be an I Think You Should Leave sketch as it is if it wasnt for Jason Momoa as the pudgy grampa (something tells us he wont be promoting Aquaman 2 by appearing in ITYSL Season Three).

Roundball Rock

 

Not only is this an early version of a couple of music-based sketches in I Think You Should Leave — it’s arguably the superior version of the idea and an all-time SNL classic. Now thats what we call a slam dunk. NOTE: You will have those lyrics stuck in your head for at least six months after watching this. Apologies.   

Follow Maxwell Yezpitelok's heroic effort to read and comment on every '90s Superman comic at Superman86to99.tumblr.com. 

Tags:

Scroll down for the next article
Forgot Password?