Sprockets (Saturday Night Live)

Sprockets (Saturday Night Live)

Sprockets was a recurring, fictional West German television talk show sketch created by actor, writer and comedian Mike Myers with Canadian actor Dana Andersen for Second City Theatre. The show parodied German stereotypes, especially those pertaining to German seriousness, efficiency, and precision. Myers later ported the character to television for the Canadian sketch comedy show It's Only Rock & Roll and the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.

Myers played "Dieter", a character based on a waiter Myers encountered in Toronto, a bored, disaffected West German expressionist and minimalist who would interview celebrities in whom he was demonstrably barely interested, and then invariably sought to bring the discussion around to his "limited" monkey, Klaus, seated on a platform atop a miniature column.

The sketch made fun of German art culture in the 1980s. Appearing asexual or effeminate, and rotating his shoulders (he occasionally described becoming so excited that his genitals were sucked up into his body cavity), Myers' costume in the character of Dieter consisted of tight black leotards, black turtleneck sweater, round, wire-rimmed glasses, and slicked-back hair. The skit itself featured, most notably, a section entitled Germany's Most Disturbing Home Videos, which showcased scenes of old men's heads spinning around, dying cats, ants, and other disturbing sights.

The theme song for the sketch is Kraftwerk's 1986 song "Electric Café", sped up by playing the 33⅓ rpm album at 45 rpm, then looped.

Recurring and memorable quotes from the sketches include:

• "You have disturbed me almost to the point of insanity...There. I am insane now."
• "Touch my monkey!" and "Liebe meine Apschminki!" ("Love my monkey!"), a recurring reference to Dieter’s pet monkey, Klaus. Dieter told his guests that being allowed to touch Klaus was a privilege, but Klaus would often bite them when they tried to do so.
• "Your story (questions, setup) has become tiresome," whenever Dieter became - invariably - bored with a guest.
• "I am filled with anticipation (remorse), and it is most delicious."
• "Your presence intimidates me to the point of humiliation."
• "Now is ze time on Sprockets vhen ve dance!" This was always uttered frantically at the end of the sketch, after which several Sprockets crew members dressed identically to Dieter joined him onstage to dance jerkily to techno music.

Some later sketches featured Dieter outside of his talk show environment starring in parodies of game shows, TV dance parties, and art films.