#but if y'all want me to write a jessay on tammy i 1000% will. i mean i'll probably cover a lot of her stuff in the buddy documentary

[magentagalaxies]

Kids in the Archive: Episode 7

currently procrastinating on writing my own comedy sketch for my college class that's due tomorrow which means it's time for another episode of kids in the archive! the show where i highlight iconic kids in the hall sketches that i have procured the original scripts for and break down a behind-the-scenes comparison of script and screen

Previous Episodes: Episode 1 - armada finale ("do we make it?") Episode 2 - fran & gordon: the vacation Episode 3 - comfortable Episode 4 - cathy & kathi: is he? Episode 5 - danny husk: kidnapped! Episode 6 - Trappers

on today's escapade, i take you to the s2e5 sketch Sizzlers and the Bank!

imo sizzler and sizzler embody the best things about kids in the hall's recurring characters that you don't get in any other show. despite only appearing in 3 main sketches, none of their appearances were formulaic and they were given genuine depth and character arcs while still hitting all the beats of great sketch comedy. i truly hope i get a copy of "treatment" someday so i can go even deeper into what makes them some of my favorites

Bruce's Character

The first notable change in this draft version of the sketch is that Bruce's character is present from the very beginning. Now, in the first Sizzler and Sizzler sketch, Bruce's character of the nightclub owner provides some of my favorite lines (I still quote "the pre-show part of the show", "the show part of the show", and "the describing the show to the police part of the show" all the times, or some variation like when i tell a rambly anecdote and refer to "the story part of the story"). however, there aren't really any notable bruce lines in the first half of this sketch, so it's unsurprising his character was cut until the second half.

The Love Triangle

as the sizzlers are playing with their hostages, in the sketch that aired their antics are limited to making people put their hands up, mixing up the shoes, and choosing two people to fall in love. in the original draft, their antics are more drawn out, including setting up a love triangle

The Ending

the ending of the script is largely similar to the version that aired, albeit with some extra dialogue upon leaving the bank. the most major addition is that both jerry sizzlers shoot each other prior to proclaiming the city a "madhouse" (which happens on the following page, it's the only line on that last page so i didn't include it)

out of the three sizzler and sizzler sketches, i'd probably give sizzlers and the bank the bronze medal. this isn't because the sketch is bad, it just doesn't hook me as much as the first and last of their trilogy. i always found the turn of jerry shooting jerry a bit abrupt (that is slightly lessened in the script with the stage direction but not by much) - and while i know the justification for every sizzler and sizzler action is "he's crazy," it just typically doesn't manifest in explicitly violent ways so the turn feels jarring. still, i appreciate its place in the sizzler trilogy and the fact that it managed to build continuity (you can still see the bloodstain on the robe in "treatment," and it could be argued that jerry got put back in custody after the shooting leading to the final sketch)

the sizzler sisters are a bit similar to tammy in how, despite being common character archetypes, they are dealt with so differently in the course of their 3 sketch runs that they would never fit on a more formulaic show like snl. both the sizzlers and tammy go through full arcs in their trilogies (god i hope i find an excuse to do one of these about tammy), cross between live sketches and prerecorded media, and are given satisfactory endings. snl will occasionally do a sendoff for their characters when the actor leaves the show, but those tend to be the only break in their pattern. vs kith, where the pattern is fully realized characters who can still make you laugh in under 5 minutes.