The Top 11 Digital Shorts of All Time (Because Andy Samberg Is Leaving 'SNL')

Well, it's official — Andy Samberg is leaving Saturday Night Live. This development had been rumored for months now, and the SNL season finale all but confirmed it with Samberg's Lazy Sunday 2. The New York Times has the full scoop:

On Friday, Mr. Samberg confirmed that he will not be returning as a cast member on the next season of “Saturday Night Live.” 

“It’s an incredibly emotional and strange moment in my life,” Mr. Samberg said Friday in a telephone interview. “Obviously it’s not a huge shock, but I did officially decide not to come back.”

Samberg and his Digital Shorts will be missed next season. They reinvigorated SNL when Samberg and his Lonely Island partners joined the show back in 2005. In honor of Samberg's time on SNL, The Bill Kuchman Chronicle presents the Top 11 Digital Shorts of All Time.

This list was originally going to be the Top 10 Digital Shorts of All Time, after going through the Digital Shorts library, eleven seemed to be a more suitable number. Two caveats: The final two Digital Shorts, The 100th Digital Short and Lazy Sunday 2, aren't included in this list. Those two installments were the series' goodbye. Laser Cats also weren't included on this list. I got a kick out of Laser Cats over the years, but there are too many of them for consideration for this list.



11. 3-Way (The Golden Rule)
Any time the news got out that Justin Timberlake would be hosting SNL, you knew to expect another installment in Timberlake and Samberg's Dick in a Box series. For now, it appears the series ended with Lady Gaga in the middle.



10. Threw It on the Ground
My friends and I quote Threw It on the Ground probably once a week. At least. It's not hard to. "I'm not part of your system." "Happy birthday to the ground." "My dad is not a phone." Threw It on the Ground is a random quote machine. This one also features former SNL cast member Jenny Slate's biggest Digital Short contribution.



9. Jack Sparrow
Jack Sparrow, with its Michael Bolton lyrics, might be the Digital Short with the highest production values. Take away the ridiculous subject of the song, and Jack Sparrow could be a real song, something you would expect to hear at a club. Turn the bass up really high, and you'd never realize that despite Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer's pleas, Bolton is passionately singing about Pirates of the Caribbean.



8. I Just Had Sex
By the time I Just Had Sex premiered, Samberg and his Lonely Island gang had reached the point where they could get just about any star to show up and sing about whatever they wanted. Akon, Jessica Alba and Blake Lively all make appearances in this absurd song about the joys of having sex.



7. Iran So Far
While we're used to random musicians showing up for Digital Shorts now, Iran So Far was the first Digital Short to feature a musician who wasn't even appearing in that night's SNL. When the camera spun past Samberg to reveal Adam Levine, Iran So Far announced that the Digital Shorts were now playing on a higher level.



6. Natalie Raps
Natalie Portman was the first big star to show up and go all out in a Digital Short, with the Digital Shorts before this one generally making use of the SNL cast members themselves. With Natalie Raps, Portman shredding the good-girl image we all had of her.



5. Motherlover
Motherlover continued the adventures of Timberlake and Samberg's gift-giving duo, introducing Patricia Clarkson and Susan Sarandon as their mothers. A creative pair, that Timberlake and Samberg.



4. I'm on a Boat
Nominated for a Grammy (seriously), I'm on a Boat continued the rise of the Digital Short from a simply shot video to an elaborate production. Thanks to T-Pain, Samberg and Schaffer, who doesn't yell "I'm on a boat!" every time they're actually on a boat now?



3. Jizz in My Pants
After Dick in a Box, Jizz in My Pants was the next Digital Short to go big, bringing in guest stars Molly Sims and Jamie-Lynn Sigler. This Digital Short was also the first time Taccone and Schaffer were featured, with Taccone being Samberg's co-star and Schaffer playing the DJ. Timberlake also makes a cameo appearance as the mop boy.



2. Dick in a Box
Motherlover and 3-Way (The Golden Rule) may have brought Timberlake and Samberg back together, but Dick in a Box was the first time the two grabbed the Internet's attention with a Digital Short. I remember watching this one live and just gasping in amazement when they dropped the hook. If you don't know the Digital Short's three simple steps by now, you haven't been paying attention.



1. Lazy Sunday
Yes, Lettuce was the Digital Short that started it all, but Lazy Sunday was the Digital Short that made everyone realize that a Digital Short was an actual thing. Brilliantly funny and low budget, Lazy Sunday forced NBC to learn what a YouTube was. Of course, in classic NBC fashion, the network pulled the video from the Internet instead of trying to capitalize on its popularity.