"Saturday Night Live" - The 2000s Quiz

Answer: Paul Simon

On September 29, 2001, "Saturday Night Live" opened its 27th season, soon after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Reese Witherspoon was the host and Alicia Keys was the musical guest. During the opening Paul Simon sang "The Boxer" on stage with New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani members of the New York City Fire Department.

Answer: "More Cowbell!"

On the April 8, 2000 episode of "Saturday Night Live," a sketch parodied an episode of "VH1's Behind the Music" documenting the recording of the Blue Öyster Cult song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." The song featured a cowbell as one of the musical instruments.
Christopher Walken played the song's producer "The Bruce Dickinson". He felt that the song needed "more cowbell". He freely encouraged Will Ferrell's character "Gene Frenkle" to put more cowbell on the record.

Answer: Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond

During the 2000 Presidential Election, Will Ferrell played then-Texas Governor George W. Bush and Darrell Hammond played then Vice President Al Gore on "Saturday Night Live". The showed parodied each candidate's campaigns, the Presidential debates and the the Florida election recount.

Answer: no

During the week before the October 13, 2001 episode of "Saturday Night Live" hosted by Drew Barrymore, an NBC employee tested positive for anthrax in the General Electric Building where "Saturday Night Live" is broadcast. Rehearsals for the episode were interrupted but the show aired as planned that Saturday. The anthrax scare was mentioned during Barrymore's monologue.

Answer: Walt Disney World

The family in this sketch were on vacation at Walt Disney World. During breakfast, the family were making small talk and Debbie would make negative comments on current events. The cast members in this sketch would break character and laugh during the sketch.

Answer: Dan Aykroyd

On May 17, 2003, Dan Aykroyd hosted the season finale of the 28th season of "Saturday Night Live". Beyoncé was the musical guest on the episode. Aykroyd made many cameo appearances on "Saturday Night Live" over the years after he left the cast after the fourth season, but never hosted.

Answer: Ashlee Simpson

Ashlee Simpson appeared as a musical guest on the October 23, 2004 episode of "Saturday Night Live" which was hosted by Jude Law. Ashlee performed the song "Pieces of Me" for her first song. She was scheduled to perform the song "Autobiography" for her second song, but the vocals to "Pieces of Me" came on the sound system before Ashlee approached the microphone.

Answer: "The Barry Gibb Talk Show"

"The Barry Gibb Talk Show" starring Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake was a recurring sketch on "Saturday Night Live". The first sketch aired on the October 11, 2003 episode. Jimmy Fallon plays Barry Gibb while Justin Timberlake plays Robin Gibb. The Gibb brothers interview guests and talk about current events.

Answer: "Digital Short"

The "Digital Short" is a pre-filmed comedic and musical video short airing on "Saturday Night Live." The first "Digital Short" titled "Lettuce" aired on the December 3, 2005 episode and the hundreth "Digital Short" aired on the May 12, 2012 episode.

Answer: No

Season 33 of "Saturday Night Live" was affected by the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. "Saturday Night Live" was not able to air any new episodes from November 10, 2007 until February 16, 2008. Reruns of "Saturday Night Live" were aired at that time slot on NBC.