Kenan Thompson once called it the "slowest" sketch in the history of the show. He wasn't lying. If you grew up watching late-night TV in the early 2000s, you probably remember a recurring bit that felt less like a comedy sketch and more like a bizarre fever dream involving a man in a wig, a taxidermied bird, and a lot of dramatic pauses. The Falconer on Saturday Night Live shouldn't have been a hit. On paper, it's a repetitive, one-note joke about a guy named Mortimer Chadwig who leaves civilization to live in the woods, only to find himself in constant, life-threatening peril.
Will Forte is a strange guy. I mean that as a compliment. Before he was MacGruber or the Last Man on Earth, he was the guy who could make a scene about a man eating a handful of coins feel like high art. The Falconer was his brainchild, and it remains one of the most polarizing yet beloved examples of "12:50 AM" humor—those weird sketches that air right before the show ends when the writers have finally lost their minds.
The Anatomy of a Mortimer Chadwig Crisis
The setup was always the same. Mortimer, played by Forte with an intensity that bordered on genuine madness, would get himself into a pickle. Maybe he was trapped under a fallen log. Maybe he was dangling off a cliff. He would then look toward the sky and let out a guttural, desperate cry for his loyal companion: "Donald!"
Donald was a falcon. Well, Donald was a piece of wood and feathers that looked like it had been salvaged from a dusty natural history museum basement.
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What made The Falconer work wasn't the "plot," if you can even call it that. It was the absurdity of the bird’s tasks. Mortimer would send Donald into the "real world" to get help. But Donald wouldn't just bring back a forest ranger. He’d go to a nightclub. He’d get a job in advertising. He’d start a family. In one of the most famous installments, Donald actually goes to a bar, gets drunk, and has a one-night stand, leaving Mortimer to starve while the bird navigates the complexities of modern dating.
Why the pacing drove people crazy (and why it was brilliant)
Comedy usually relies on speed. Most SNL sketches today feel like they’re racing toward a punchline because they’re worried about losing the audience's attention. Forte did the opposite. He stretched the silence. He made the audience sit in the discomfort of a man staring at a fake bird for ten seconds too long.
It’s a specific type of anti-comedy. You either get it or you want to change the channel. Honestly, some of the best moments in the sketch weren't even the written jokes; they were the moments where the puppeteer (usually a stagehand or a writer) would make the falcon "react" with a slight tilt of the head. It was stupid. It was brilliant. It was pure Forte.
The Time Donald Saved the Day (Sort of)
The sketch first appeared in 2002, during a time when SNL was transitioning from the Will Ferrell era into the "Lonely Island" and Bill Hader years. It felt like a bridge between the two. It had the commitment of a Ferrell character but the surrealist edge of the newer writers.
One of the most memorable versions involved Mortimer being trapped in a bear trap. He sends Donald for help, and the bird ends up in a high-stakes poker game. The juxtaposition of Forte’s screaming, sweaty face in the wilderness against the grainy "video" of a taxidermied bird sitting at a poker table with a tiny cigar is the kind of visual comedy you just don't see anymore.
Wait, did the bird actually talk? Nope. That’s the key. Donald never spoke. The humor came from Mortimer's internal monologue and his absolute faith that this bird was a sentient genius capable of complex problem-solving. It’s a classic "straight man" dynamic, except the straight man is a stuffed animal.
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The Evolution of the Sketch
Over the years, the writers—including Forte and the legendary John Solomon—tried to push the boundaries of how far they could take the gag. They knew the audience expected the bird to go on an adventure, so they started making the adventures increasingly mundane or strangely sophisticated.
- The Time-Travel Episode: In one iteration, Donald travels through time. It’s exactly as chaotic as it sounds.
- The Guest Stars: Occasionally, a host would get dragged into the madness. When Alec Baldwin or Christopher Walken were on set, the energy shifted, but the core absurdity remained. They had to play it completely straight. If you wink at the camera during The Falconer, the whole thing falls apart.
- The Puppet Work: There’s an unsung hero here—the person moving the bird. The comedic timing required to make a dead bird look "ashamed" or "ambitious" is a legitimate skill.
Why We Don't See Sketches Like This Anymore
Today, SNL leans heavily into political satire and "relatable" humor. While there’s nothing wrong with that, the era of the "weirdo recurring character" has faded a bit. In 2026, looking back at the 2000s, The Falconer feels like a relic of a time when the show was willing to be deeply, unapologetically strange just for the sake of it.
Critics often complained that the sketch was repetitive. They weren't wrong. Every single time, Mortimer ends up in trouble, Donald leaves, Donald gets distracted by human vices, and Mortimer screams. But the repetition was the joke. It was a test of endurance for the audience.
The Will Forte Factor
You can't talk about this sketch without talking about Forte’s physical commitment. The man would have veins popping out of his neck from screaming "DONALD!" He never phoned it in. Whether he was playing a creepy guy at a bar or a survivalist in the woods, he gave 100%. That’s why his characters, as annoying as they could be to some viewers, were always grounded in a weird kind of reality. You believed that Mortimer Chadwig believed in that bird.
How to Watch It Today
If you’re looking to revisit these, don't just watch one. You have to watch three or four in a row to "get" the rhythm. You can find most of them on Peacock or the SNL YouTube channel. Pay attention to the "Donald" segments—the production value is intentionally low, which makes the bird’s "success" in the human world even funnier.
Actionable Takeaways for Comedy Fans
If you're a student of comedy or just someone who wants to understand why certain things go viral, The Falconer offers a few lessons:
- Commitment is everything. If Will Forte looked like he thought the sketch was dumb, it would have been dumb. Because he played it like a Shakespearean tragedy, it became legendary.
- Visual contrast works. Putting a rustic, rugged man in the woods against a bird wearing a tiny tuxedo in a penthouse is a simple, effective visual gag.
- Don't fear the silence. Some of the biggest laughs in these sketches come from the long pauses where nothing happens.
The next time you're frustrated by a situation and feel like nobody is listening, just remember Mortimer Chadwig. He put his entire life in the hands of a stuffed bird that would rather drink martinis than save him from a ravine. We've all been there, honestly.
To really appreciate the craft, look for the "Behind the Scenes" stories from writers of that era like Seth Meyers or Tina Fey. They often talk about how the "Falconer" scripts were some of the most anticipated in the writers' room because they were so different from the rest of the show. It was a "writer's sketch"—something written to make the staff laugh, which often results in the most enduring comedy.
Go back and watch the 2003 episode with Bernie Mac. It's a prime example of how the sketch used different environments to keep the "Donald" gag fresh. It isn't just about a bird; it’s about the absurdity of hope in the face of certain doom. Or, you know, it’s just a guy screaming at a puppet. Either way, it’s a masterclass in staying weird.