Lisa Loopner
Encyclopedia
"The Nerds" was a series of sketches on American
sketch comedy
series Saturday Night Live
. The protagonists of the sketch were Lisa Loopner (played by Gilda Radner
) and Todd DiLaMuca (played by Bill Murray
), whose repartée with one another would be the focus of the sketch, and regular character Mrs Loopner (played by Jane Curtin
) Lisa's mother, in whose home the sketches were set.
Todd would often give Lisa noogies by getting her in a headlock and knocking her on the top of the head, and a regular element of the sketches would be Todd making fun of her flat chest. He'd look down her shirt to see whether there were "any new developments" and then make a disparaging comment such as "Better put some Band-Aids on those mosquito bites.", to which Lisa's weary reply was often "That's so funny I forgot to laugh." or "The last time I heard that I fell of my dinosaur".
Guest stars included Michael Palin
who played Mr. Brighton, Lisa's piano teacher with an uncontrollable libido, in two sketches, Buck Henry
as Todd's father, Marshall, and Steve Martin
as Todd's rival Chas the Spaz.
In 1979, the series producers came up with a sketch in the series entitled "Nerds' Nativity". Intended to be aired three days before Christmas Day, the sketch was a source of friction between the show's producer, Lorne Michaels
, and NBC's standards department. The standards department contended that it was inappropriate to spoof the nativity of Jesus
; the producer countered that in fact the sketch was spoofing nativity play
s. In the end, the sketch was broadcast, although with some of the dialogue cut, resulting in a number of viewers sending letters of complaint to the programme.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
series Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. The protagonists of the sketch were Lisa Loopner (played by Gilda Radner
Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
) and Todd DiLaMuca (played by Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
), whose repartée with one another would be the focus of the sketch, and regular character Mrs Loopner (played by Jane Curtin
Jane Curtin
Jane Therese Curtin is an American actress and comedienne. She is commonly referred to as Queen of the Deadpan.First coming to prominence as an original cast member on Saturday Night Live in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series on the 1980s...
) Lisa's mother, in whose home the sketches were set.
Todd would often give Lisa noogies by getting her in a headlock and knocking her on the top of the head, and a regular element of the sketches would be Todd making fun of her flat chest. He'd look down her shirt to see whether there were "any new developments" and then make a disparaging comment such as "Better put some Band-Aids on those mosquito bites.", to which Lisa's weary reply was often "That's so funny I forgot to laugh." or "The last time I heard that I fell of my dinosaur".
Guest stars included Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
who played Mr. Brighton, Lisa's piano teacher with an uncontrollable libido, in two sketches, Buck Henry
Buck Henry
Henry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...
as Todd's father, Marshall, and Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
as Todd's rival Chas the Spaz.
In 1979, the series producers came up with a sketch in the series entitled "Nerds' Nativity". Intended to be aired three days before Christmas Day, the sketch was a source of friction between the show's producer, Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
, and NBC's standards department. The standards department contended that it was inappropriate to spoof the nativity of Jesus
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
; the producer countered that in fact the sketch was spoofing nativity play
Nativity play
A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity.-Liturgical:...
s. In the end, the sketch was broadcast, although with some of the dialogue cut, resulting in a number of viewers sending letters of complaint to the programme.