Tracing the Lineage of Doctor Leo Spaceman

Exhibit A: Doctor Leo Spaceman


I'm sure we're all familiar with Dr. Spaceman, the resident physician/dentist/drug dealer for the employees of 30 Rock. This was the only YouTube video I could find, which is sad because it misses a lot of his best lines, such as:

(explaining why he can't inject adrenaline into a man's heart)"
"Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing where the heart is.

(explaining why his lab coat is covered in blood)
"Oh, I was at a costume party earlier this evening, and the hostess's dog attacked me, so..... I had to stab it."

(after Tracey asks him if DNA test results will help him remember his Pin Number)"
"Absolutely. Science is whatever we want it to be."

Good stuff. But what creative well did spring such a character? Let's take a look at this 1999 Saturday Night Live sketch, which happens to coincide with Tina Fey's first year as head writer.

Exhibit B: Bad Doctor SNL Sketch



My shocking conclusion after the jump..


I would posit this character is the origin of Doctor Spaceman. HEAR ME OUT. While Bad Doctor is a good bit nastier than the always upbeat Doctor Spaceman, they both share a particularly grandiose way of delivering their extremely absurd lines. It's notable as well that Chris Parnell who portrays Doctor Spaceman plays the patient in the bad doctor sketch, and I'd be really curious to know who came up with the original idea. I'm 99% sure it's Parnell. That man is a genius. You know Lazy Sunday was all him, right? I mean, look at this:



And now look at what Samberg and the other Lonley Island guys came up with with a huge budget, T-Pain, and probably writers.



Not as good. Just not as good.

In conclusion, Chris Parnell is awesome and invented Doctor Spaceman in 1999.