Top 10: The Better List Of SNL Dream Hosts

In yesterday’s Saturday Shenanigans I mentioned a list over on Entertainment Weekly about 15 SNL dream hosts. Well, like I said yesterday, their list is… well, it was crap. Half of their list have hosted in the last 3-4 years, a handful are former stars on the show, and the rest are A-level stars that just don’t need to do things like SNL to promote their movies.

Now, I’ll admit, some of the people they suggested that have hosted recently deserve to stay on the list, they always do a great job, so every season would be improved with their inclusion, and I’ve included them on this list, but come on EW, that’s shoddy work, at least make an effort. And did you actually watch the shows last season, they were terrible! Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a terrific actor, I’m really hoping he ends up as the villain in the next Batman movie, but on SNL? He sang in practically every skit (kudos for trying, but every skit?) and just didn’t bring that many laughs. The best parts of his show were from actual cast members.

Rather than nitpicking every selection they made, I’ll summarize… most were not good. So here’s the better list of SNL Dream Hosts, after the jump.

1. Recent Hosts/Former SNL-ers: Let’s just get this one out of the way, rather than taking the easy way out and making these guys take up half the list. Will Ferrell and Steve Carell are great, and EW included both guys on their list. But seriously, what about the obvious misses, Christopher Walken, Tom Hanks, and Justin Timberlake just off the top of my head! And some of the other recent hosts that have proved their worth? Jon Hamm, Scarlett Johannson, Tina Fey, Betty White… all of these people did a great job recently and I’d love to see more from them!
2. Jane Lynch: EW got this one right, and we get to see how it turns out this year! She’s hosting October 9th. Should be great, she’s always funny.
3. Nathan Fillion: With this selection, I have to point out that EW righted some of their wrongs and released a new list with the recommendations from the comments. Nathan Fillion is the one I came up with and would just love to see, but there were plenty of other great selections as well, some I also came up with, some that I embarrassingly missed: Jim Parsons (interesting), Joel McHale (can’t believe I didn’t think of this one!), Robert Downey Jr. (was on the show in the 80s but is at the top of his game now), Stephen Colbert (I could see it), Lauren Graham (very underrated comedienne), Ricky Gervais (always crazy!), Ed Helms (good choice), and Alyson Hannigan (another interesting pick).
4. Bruce Campbell: I wasn’t sure he’d ever do anything mainstream, but he’s great on Burn Notice and would be fun to see what he did with a stint on SNL.
5. Old People: Carol Burnett, Adam West, Cloris Leachman, Tim Conway, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, the Monty Python guys… it would be great to see all of these older stars on SNL either again or for the first time.
6. Will Arnett: Always over the top and always a scene stealer, Mr. Arnett already has an in… he’s married to Amy Poehler. Maybe she’d give Lorne Michaels a call to get this one set up?
7. Kevin James: He was recently in Grown Ups with pretty much everybody from SNL during the 90s, why not give the actual show a try?
8. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost: To be fair, very few of the cast would be able to keep up with these two, so maybe another show of their own is more in order.
9. Elizabeth Banks: I love her in everything she’s been in and I think she’d do quite well in the SNL format, can we ever get enough of Elizabeth Banks?
10. One Time Hosts: This isn’t so much a recurring host as it is someone who has hosted a single time recently, it was decent but not great, and I’d like to see them get another shot. Neil Patrick Harris, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Charles Barkley, Peyton Manning… I’m sure there’s plenty more that I’m missing.

+1. It wouldn’t be a dream list unless it had parts that could never happen. It would be great to see the likes of Chris Farley, John Belushi, Madeline Kahn, John Wayne (yeah, he was pretty funny when given the chance!)… all of these hilarious actors were great up until they passed away, it’s a shame we’ll never get to see more of them.

See Entertainment Weekly, that’s how you put together a list. I apologize my list isn’t in a fancy slideshow like yours, but I make do with what I’m given.