Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change

by Beth Comstock

In mid-December of 2005, Saturday Night Live cast members Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell, and two new SNL writers, gave birth to the modern Internet when they filmed a zero-budget rap video parody called “Lazy Sunday.” Samberg and Parnell played two not-quite-gangster rappers singing the praises of Google Maps and Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, and mixing Pibb soda and Red Vines candy (“Crazy delicious!”) as they head to a matinee showing of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (“We love The Chronic—What?—les of Narnia!”). The video was anything but what was considered professional at the time: they recorded the song on a used computer they bought on Craigslist and filmed the video with a borrowed camera. The fast-cut short just screams, “Anybody can do this.” The creators doubted that it would ever see the light of day. But an hour before SNL broadcast on December 17, 2005, show creator Lorne Michaels gave the thumbs-up, and “Lazy Sunday” went on the air. Within the week, “Lazy Sunday” broke the Internet.