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Why Did NBC Cut A Sketch Cut From SNL’s Open And Then Release It Online?

Feb. 10, 2013 5:54pm Mike Opelka

Less than three hours before the show aired, NBC’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) made a dramatic change in this week’s program. Producers swapped out the opening sketch that was seen at the dress rehearsal and replaced it with something completely different.

The dress rehearsal sketch was one that slammed GOP Senators who grilled Obama’s Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel and left Hagel unscathed. The curious issue here — it was generally accepted on both sides of the aisle that Hagel’s performance in the Senate hearings was terrible.

But SNL writers seemed to think that the GOP senators who pressed the nominee on Israel were the problem.

Controversial SNL Sketch was pulled from the show after dress rehearsal but released online

Image: NBC

At one point, the sketch went so far as to have a John McCain character ask the fake Hagel how he would respond if Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu called him with a disgusting request.

“It is vital to Israel’s security that you go on national television, that night, and perform oral sex on a donkey.”

An openly miffed Hagel character repeated the question:

“Oral sex on a donkey?”

The fake McCain reaffirmed and pressed the question:

“That’s right, that’s right… would you do that for Israel?”

After the ersatz Hagel questioned the legitimacy of the question, the hearing further deteriorated with a number of GOP senators volunteering to perform the sex act if Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu asked them to. As if that was not bad enough, the debasement of the program continued with an added discussion about bestiality.

Here is the sketch that was seen by the audience at the dress rehearsal, but for whatever reason did not appear on Saturday night:

TheBlaze reached out to NBC for comment on why the sketch was cut from the live show. Because it was a weekend, no live person was available to speak with us.

However, this writer has had discussions in the past with several SNL alumni about the difference between the dress rehearsals and the real shows. According to both Tracy Morgan and Darrell Hammond, sketches that might be risqué or require too much technical support (fast costume changes, special effects, etc.) are often tested and recorded in the dress rehearsal. After the early show, producers meet and discuss the lineup and make changes as needed. There are times when a recorded sketch from the dress rehearsal is used in the actual show, and then there are times when sketches are replaced altogether.

Judging from the lack of laughter from the audience during the most questionable parts of the Senate hearing sketch, this might have been cut based on lack of laughter as well as bad taste. We have no confirmation from the network on this.

Here is the Super Bowl power outage sketch that was used to open the show:

The question remains: why did NBC decide to release the sketch online? It is available to Hulu members and can now be seen on several news outlet websites. If it was not good enough for the broadcast and they replaced it with the Super Bowl sketch (which obviously got more laughs than the Senate hearing sketch), why release it?

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Comments (97)

Brother Winston Smith
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:56pm
SNL is leftist propaganda, same as the republican media (FOX/Clearchannel/Townhall/Hotair/etc.

If it threatens our leftist democrat/republican (same thing) monopolized government… it gets pulled.

Kinda like the great republican BLACKOUT of Ron Paul in 2008 and 2012.

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- TRUTHandFREEDOM
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:53pm
  If I knew we were going to lose either way, I may have voted for Ron Paul, but I prefer Rand Paul or Alan West. Pulling our troops out of places that they are not engaged to save some money while creating a vacuum for the Chinese and Russians to take advantage of and put us in danger just didn’t seem wise, even though I think Ron Paul is correct on most other things.
  
  Report this comment
- myrwo6
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 8:09pm
  Cmon people. I’m a libertarian first, republican second. I’ve been watching SNL since I was in grade school and I still watch and will always watch it. To read your comments about this issue, you would think none of you have a sense of humor. SNL is to be laughed at, not taken seriously and BTW, they do make fun of dems. Lighten up people!!
  
  Report this comment
- Brother Winston Smith
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 8:33pm
  TRUTHandFREEDOM…
  
  Alan West is a leftist (with a leftist record to prove it).
  Rand Paul is an AMNESTYING, EMBARRASSING SELLOUT who’s been passed around the Establishment circles and used as an adult toy.
  Here is the alternative to American NONINTERVENTIONIST foreign policy:
  A decade+.
  8,500+ DEAD.
  10,000s injured.
  110,000+ ACTIVE DUTY TROOPS on mind-bending meds.
  Amputations.
  SHOCKING levels of suicides.
  Suicides OUTNUMBERING combat deaths in 2012.
  Shattered families.
  2 tours, 3 tours, 4 tours, 5!
  Trillions (that we DON’T HAVE) wasted.
  NOBODY “TRAINED” enough to fight for themselves.
  Americans murdered BY THE PEOPLE THEY ARE “TRAINING.”
  NOBODY “liberated” (for more than an third-world minute).
  Unconstitutional police/surveillance state. TSA, DHS, NDAA, VIPR Teams, swarming drones, “Patriot” act (1770s Writs of Assistance… THAT HELPED IGNITE OUR REVOLUTION).
  A completely SURRENDERED ILLEGAL ALIEN INVASION into our OWN FRONT YARDS that is killing, raping, child-molesting, home-invading and hammered-driving-hit-n-running over THOUSANDS!!!!!!!
  
  Report this comment
- TROONORTH
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:08pm
  Thank you myrwo6. At least there are two of us who don’t take SNL seriously. Those who do only empower them over us. It’s only a comedy show with good days and bad but certainly should have no further importance than that.
  
  Report this comment
- The_Jerk
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:37pm
  They pulled it because it was way too close to the truth. Anything for Israel is American politics. Anything.
  
  Report this comment
- Brother Winston Smith
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:42pm
  Absolutely false, TROONORTH. SNL is the most transparent, overt propaganda out there. It’s goals are to push collectivism, Godlessness, leftism, progressivism, HATRED for traditional America, hatred for family, and deviant sex – to the point of completely collapsing the “humor.”
  
  The basic SNL “skit”:
  
  Male “comedian” A kisses male “comedian” B.
  (LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
  Bash conservatives.
  (LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
  Male “comedian” C straddles and kisses male “comedians” A and B.
  Bash conservatives.
  Bash Christians.
  (LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
  Female “comedian” A (dressed like a man) humps male “comedian” A and B.
  (LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
  Fat male “comedian” D (posing as some obscure 70′s celebrity) strips to his underwear (inevitably women’s panties) and humps female “comedian” A (who’s still dressed like a man)
  (ROARING LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
  
  What, EXACTLY… was funny?
  
  Report this comment
- DarkJello
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 11:46pm
  BWS:
  
  You are correct about SNL. It used to be funny. Too often dems and repubs push for the same stuff. People are still furious with GW Bush for “lying” about Iraq’s DMWs, but Hillary gets a free pass. She voted to invade idiots! So did gobs of other dems. So much hypocrisy, ignorance, and blindness by the average voter!
  
  The Titanic hit a huge iceberg once and sunk. America is ramming the proverbial iceberg over and over, while our wise “leaders” claim we are perfectly safe and nothing bad will happen. Doh!!
  
  Report this comment
- Nlitend1
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 1:54am
  Hey brother…blah blah
  I thought they killed you in that bunker in alabama? I guess they just shot out the last bit of sanity you had left. Maybe you could respond with some links to paranoid sites that feed conspiracy theorists like yourself. Thanks in advance, -NL
  
  Report this comment
- Miami
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 2:12am
  With everything going on in the world that is just plain stupid this is the best they can come up with?
  
  If I where the advertisers, I’d want want my money back, hell they should pay them just to be willing to have their products tied to this program.
  
  Report this comment
- raiderglenn
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 2:14am
  TROONORTH & myrwo6, you guys must be blind… to this day most people think it was Sarh Palin who said she could see Russia from her house and not that dimwit Tina Fey… What they do is part of popular culture and it does make a difference on how people view the events going on.
  
  wake up! the best propaganda is the stuff the uninformed will just write off as not being important!
  
  Report this comment
- Miami
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 2:23am
  Brother Winston Smith
  
  Good Lord man put down the pipe, you’re cooking your mind!
  
  Allen West?
  
  What have you done for this country? I’d bet you’re not man enough to say that to his face.
  
  Ran Paul?
  
  Is a sell out? Are you on drugs?
  
  You sound like one that’s about to go on a shooting spree, did you work for the LA police force and are now hiding out in the mountains. You’re making as much sense as that insane fellow.
  
  Please seek out help before you hurt yourself or others
  
  Report this comment
- Miami
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 2:48am
  Brother Winston Smith
  
  Here’s an idea, CHANG?E the channel or don’t watch it. If you are speaking of squashing speech you are siding with the Progressives. You claim to be a Libertarian?
  
  Yet you have a problem with gay people?
  
  How does that affect you?
  
  Fat people in a dumb skit?
  
  Being offended by stupidity is what Progressives do.
  
  Christian Bashing? Really?
  
  Christian were fed to lions, fore their beliefs and did not break with their beliefs yet you cry for jokes? To be Christian is to be tested, how we respond to those test is your answer.
  
  What is funny is that you allow it to get to you.
  
  Report this comment
- SquidVetOhio
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 8:39am
  SNL is still on?
  
  Report this comment
- JRook
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 11:04am
  Don’t know mike, check with GB as I’m sure he can come up with a media conspiracy to put your mind to rest.
  
  Report this comment
- naughtycal
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 11:11am
  myrw06,
  It’s not comedy if it is always attacking the same target. At that point its a hearts and mind propaganda outfit. You know kind of like how racist always make jokes about the groups in society they hate to get people to think in one dimension about a group.
  
  Report this comment
- Mulder1
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:46pm
  The sketch made no freaking sense and it was offensive to boot. ALso, it wasn’t at all funny.
  
  Report this comment
Advection
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:54pm
SNL was the original cast. This isn’t SNL. This is NBC News’ weekend edition.

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- flrick
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:12pm
  SNL ceased to be relevant, good, or funny around 1982.
  
  Report this comment
- IndyGuy
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:35pm
  SNL=So Not Laughable
  
  Report this comment
- FloraBelleza
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 2:23am
  I think is about time Republicans doing the same thing, and play dirty with Democrats. I guaranty you that are some many things about Liberals to make funny of.
  
  Report this comment
- orkydorky
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 2:12pm
  Such a disgusting cackle of fools, I’m surprised they didn’t air it, oh well I’m sure they’ll find something that they think is funny and try to pass it off as comedy. It’s really not comedy, it’s just disgusting!!!!
  
  Report this comment
JackHelmuth
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:50pm
There’s no conspiracy here. This happens at SNL ALL THE TIME. They do a two hour dress rehearsal to test sketches in front of an audience and then, between 10:00pm and 11:30pm, they cut an entire 30 minutes of material.

Often times you’ll see a sketch that was the cold open, or at least high in the rundown, do poorly and then get shifted down in the lineup or cut entirely. This has happened literally every single week for 37 years.

It was cut by Lorne Michaels and a small group of decision makers based on COMEDY, not by NBC or for any other reason.

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- Clownzilla
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:27pm
  Yeah, comedy was the reason……….yeah………..
  
  Report this comment
- Mike Opelka
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:34pm
  Jack… That’s exactly as Darrell and Tracy explained. Just wondering why release the unfunny stuff? Doesn’t that dilute the brand?
  
  Report this comment
- DonaldH
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:02pm
  It’s past time to start making changes– from the bottom up— It’s TIME
  
  Report this comment
- JQP
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 8:30pm
  Haven’t you guys figured it out yet? Jews own most of the businesses, orgs, banks, investment corps, law firms, insurance companies, pharmaceutical co’s, If they no longer advertise during SNL, then there would be NO advertisers to pay for their immoral, ludicrous, licentious, luciferian, leftwing liberal propaganda anymore. It’s the advertisers that pay these idiots who produce SNL and their actors and actresses.
  
  Report this comment
wordweaver
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:48pm
SNL pushes the limit of appropriateness often. This sketch performed in dress rehearsal was deemed to be over the line by the executive producer. He was right.

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saranda
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:46pm
This infatuation with skits that dont air on snl is just so desperate looking. What is next? Stories that left leaning papers did not publish? or thoughts that talking heads did not voice?

theblaze.com has become closer to gb’s past as a shock jock than to anything resembling a news/entertainment site.

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- nomemymine
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:20pm
  Saranda, I totally support theBlaze trying to make news more interesting to young people. It is unfortunate, but today’s young people flock to Jon Steward, SNL, …. type of interpretation of current news.
  
  Report this comment
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:45pm
.
The better question is why is this crap still on TV…..

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- 48Straights
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:14pm
  Because Glen Beck sends all of his minions over there two times a week so SNL can charge more for advertising in exchange for your pay per click.
  
  Glen Beck is not who you think he is.
  
  Report this comment
- pavepaws
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:16pm
  Getting old and tired.
  
  Report this comment
- CatB
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:25pm
  Indoctrination television .. pandering to the low information voter.
  
  Report this comment
- 48Straights
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 11:51pm
  Do you mean SNL, TheBlaze or both?
  
  Report this comment
RestoreCapitalism
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:39pm
Grossly profane and dishonest. No one even suggested that Hagel should show any undue favor toward Israel, they just asked about his outrageous hateful remarks toward Israel. It’s clear that he hates Israel and yet SNL presents a complete distortion of the reality we know to be true. But the useful idiots who have no clue will believe the lie.

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- DagneyT
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:52pm
  Bottom line; is this sort of machinations the reason their ratings are in the toilet?
  
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- DIR
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:29am
  Now, if someone would just flush it.
  
  Report this comment
AMERICA4EVER
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:38pm
SNL is just another place where young people get their “news”.

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- DREDGE
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 8:20pm
  More specifically, “leftists”!!!
  
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tommyr
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:38pm
Hagel says, “Sure, I perform oral sex on a donkey now and his name is Joe B. who is borderline retarded”

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GoodStuff
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:36pm
People still watch Snl?

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- 48Straights
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:12pm
  Obviously Glen Beck SNL is hared hitting enough news to ram 2-3 links down our throat every week. Just shows you the intelligence level of TheBlaze editors and Glen Beck.
  
  Report this comment
- gyro
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:26pm
  The people with obama phones do ?
  
  Report this comment
tommyr
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:33pm
And then the Hagel character replies, “No I would not perform on the donkey, but I would and regularly do perform ******** on Michelle and *********** on Barry.

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TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:32pm
The first sketch was without comedy overall; kinda juevnile–most SNL viewers wouldn’t know the political characters anyway. The second one, at the end made me laugh.

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denkat56
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:28pm
Who comes up with this crap. If fox had put this on air the left wing liberals would’ve been on a with hunt. Again I ask where is the press and media when crap like this happens. Not a word, nothing, how about from the white house, our boy king Obama doesn’t hesitate to make statement about everything else. Fire the writers, and the actors who think this crap is funny.

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Kathleen3
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:24pm
I am amazed people actually tune in to this show that is nothing more than porn disguised as a comedy skit. Perhaps one skit is worthy of rebroadcast; however, the remainder are crude, crass, and vulgar attempts at comedy more appropriate for a production at a frat house than national TV.

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- Whitrb23
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:41pm
  I don’t think anyone actually watches it anymore, it just fills up a time slot on NBC because they have nothing else to broadcast.
  
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- jteagle
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:19pm
  Kathleen…if you think that’s porn, you’re an idiot. Google porn. Betcha snl is not one of the results. But you may like what you find. Make sure it’s an image search and that you don’t have safe settings on.
  
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Mr_Meaner
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:16pm
I agree. This serves no purpose other than to infuriate me.
I would be happier never having known that this ridiculous skit….or any other recent SNL skit, for that matter, ever existed.
Basically, this story just intensified my hatred for the left by 0.1%

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justasurvivor
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:15pm
What does it take to push this dinosaur into extinction too?

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48Straights
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:10pm
I think a better question is:

Why does Glen Beck and The Blaze post so many links to SNL, but refuses to post hardly any links to real news?

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- GoodStuff
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:35pm
  You think The Blaze is interested in real news? If you want real news, you’ll have to go to Breitbart, which is where I visit 4 or 5 times a day…the Blaze, only once a day.
  
  Report this comment
- 48Straights
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:06pm
  Breitbart is the best, TheBlaze is just a tabloid.
  
  Huff post is fun if you want to talk real issues with real people that dont live in the uniformed echo chamber of TheBlaze. It is fun to post the facts over there and make liberals squirm.
  
  Much like over here where when you post that SNL is not a hard hitting real news story and you get allot of really mad people defending the endless linking to it and other non news stories of the day.
  
  Report this comment
puravida56
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:08pm
the football clip was funnier than the hagel clip. Maybe thats why they switched it.

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SunTzuYou
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:08pm
Sad something once so funny is now so sick. I used to enjoy SNL back in college in the late 70s. It was probably just as sick then, and so maybe I have outgrown potty humor taken to such extremes. Last night I when flipping through the channels I flipped over SNL and continued on. Sick and perverse. I found it hard to read the article. I’m done with SNL for good. No wonder the rest of the world no longer respects the USA. I wish Obama would have apoligized for SNL as well.

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UNALIEN
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:07pm
They also scrubbed the skit critical of Soros,,

Video
http://archive.org/details/PulledSnlBankBailoutSkit

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48Straights
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:06pm
I was waiting for a Saturday Night Live Link LOL. Since this is a semi news story I bet Glen Beck will treat us to three SNL links this week.

Glen Beck, TheBlaze and its readers are the biggest supporters of SNL.

How does it feel for Glen Beck to use you like a switch.

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- ArmedPatriot
  Posted on February 11, 2013 at 2:45pm
  48STRAIGHTS, how does it feel to post idiotic comments?
  
  Report this comment
righthanddrive
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:03pm
If nobody tunes in to a TV station is there still chatter on the airwaves?

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skippy6
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:01pm
Saturday night live sucks today… Here is a short bit back when they were funny…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YfvBbxE1vU

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sta
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:00pm
Why do we care?

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- 48Straights
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:08pm
  You dont care but as stated in an email to a reader months ago TheBlaze said it makes too much money off of the “pay per click” referrals from SNL to quit posting them.
  
  Report this comment
GuruMeditation
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 5:59pm
Lame.

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