I will now delve into a bit of speculation on the part of Saturday Night Live. I may be way off base here, but the show’s 34th season finale may have been the last for Darrell Hammond. There’s no official word from either the show or NBC that Hammond is leaving, and a quick look around the Interweb didn’t provide any news stories on his departure. However, there were a few signs from the finale that point to it being the last for the 14-year SNL veteran.
First, since the election ended, Darrell was a featured player in a number of sketches. In two of them — the cold open where he played Dick Cheney and in Celebrity Jeopardy where he played Sir Sean Connery — he was able to utilize his talent for voices. Granted, these were also scenes that featured guest host Will Ferrell as both George Bush and Alex Trebek. So, having Hammond appear in them was a given.
More pointed was his appearance during the show’s last skit of the night — Vietnam. While not part of the all-star cast that sang a rendition of Billy Joel’s ‘Goodnight Saigon’ (aka: “And We Will All Go Down Together”), he was a major player. In addition, according to reviewers like New York Magazine‘s Mark Graham, including Hammond in a sketch with former SNL alumni like Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph seemed like a passing of the torch from one generation of players to the current cast.
The most direct sign that this was Hammond’s last show was the close. With an arm around Darrell’s shoulder, Ferrell loudly introduced him to the audience. This was followed by a longer than usual stretch of applause and a close-up of a smiling Hammond who seemed to be holding back tears of gratitude. While this could have been Will’s way of thanking Darrell for all the work he’s done with him over the years, it seemed more like he was saying good-bye to his partner in crime.
Again, as I said at the beginning, this is only speculation. If this was Darrell’s true departure I’m a little surprised that there wasn’t a ‘good-bye’ sketch featuring Hammond like there was for Jimmy Fallon or Phil Hartman. Then again, I noticed that the SNL season finale was short on sketches this week (not even a Digital Short), which could mean there was a sketch but it was cut due to time constraints. Perhaps it was part of the dress rehearsal instead, which could mean the audience knew something more than viewers did (though, I think the dress rehearsal and broadcast audiences are different, making this a moot point).
I’d be interested in knowing what you think on this. If it was Hammond’s swan song do you think they did him right? Or, do you think Hammond will be there long after everyone else leaves?
Clacked by Richard Keller 
on May 18, 2009 @ 18:00 EST5EDT
Good recap. I think it was Darrell’s swan song. He was barely on at all this season up until this past episode. I say he’s had a good career though, and he’s got a new gig on Damages to keep him busy as well. And if this past season showed us anything, its that guest stars can come back at the drop of a hat, so sure he’s more than welcome to show.
I thought that the closing when Farrell gave him a special thank you signaled the end for Hammond. It immediately struck me as such, but again, it could have been Farrell just thanking Hammond for their work together. I still lean towards it was his last show.
So is this person here
https://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1755136/darrell_hammond_does_famed_snl_voices.html?cat=2
Just guessing?
I mean it IS the Internet. Anybody can write down anything but this Robert guy pretty much speaks in absolutes…
I don’t watch a huge amount of SNL because whenever I do it always sucks, but whenever I’ve seen Hammond he has always seemed rather uncomfortable and for a cast member there primarily for his impressions I never thought they were any good. His Dick Cheney and Sean Connery were weak at best. Luckily the episode was saved by Will Ferrell.
It’s too bad because you missed a really, really amazing season. The most sophisticated ever in my opinion. Never thought his impressions were any good? Hammond is the one that introduced life-like, spot-on impressions to SNL. Before him they were all nonsense with wigs. Hammond is a genius who uses his inner-ear and has been a mentor to many who’ve come through. Not sure what show you’ve been watching. And obviously the Sean Connery impression is just a ridiculous spoof; and for being one its great. The Cheney one captures the creepy iciness of the villainous man. C’mon man–you’re way off base.
You know, seeing Darrell Hammond get to do his thing in this episode reminded me just how much I used to love him on the show. It stinks that he’s been so underutilized lately, so if it was his last show, I’m glad he got to go out on a high note and do some of his most well known and well loved characters, especially Sean Connery as Alex Trebek’s nemesis.
I think it was his last, sadly. I just watched it finally on DVR and it sure seemed like a little tribute to him, even though not heavy enough on skits. But with Ferrell there, their skits together were highlighted, which seems like a tribute. It is a shame if it is his last and there was no mention of it. However, I think he is one of the only current cast memebers to have a “Best of” episode air during a season. He has had a good run, but wasn’t featured much this season which alludes to his departure.
I’m a little late to the party here.
It does seem that Darrell has finally reached the end. I think that if there were a goodbye sketch planned, Lorne and the director would have made a priority of getting it on the air and cut something else if needed. So there are a couple of other possibilities. One is that he decided late and there wasn’t enough time to write anything. He may have also said that he didn’t want any special sketches in his honor. He seems kind of low-profile that way.