A Blockbuster Swan Song: SNL Mourns the End of an Era

RIP cardboard character cutouts, VHS tapes and those tubs of Blockbuster popcorn

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This week, SNL paid tribute to Blockbuster — which recently announced it would be closing its remaining brick-and-mortar stores — with a three-minute short film. Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam and newbie Mike O’Brien star as three employees who go on a bizarre Blockbuster-mourning bender until they happen upon an even stranger, mystical replica of their beloved store, deep in the woods. Lady Gaga (the episode’s host and musical guest) plays the oracular overlord who feeds them sugary movie theater treats in a VHS-lined sex lair.

Totally weird, yes, but definitely worth a watch. It’s a strangely touching tribute to what is truly the end of an era. Or maybe it’s just the 1990s imagery and all the gauged-eared Blockbuster employees named Mike that make us long for those simpler days. RIP, Blockbuster. You have served us well.