Walker, Slipnutz, and baseball: 11 essential Late Night With Conan O’Brien clips

Combining the irrepressible amateurism of a lower-tier Muppet Show act and the “fool me once, shame on you—fool me twice, shame on me” schtick of Nick Wiger’s Halloween-time appearances on Comedy Bang! Bang!, the comedy trio of Jon Glaser, Andy Blitz, and Brian Stack slipped on nuts, clowned around, and slipped on nuts. And as O’Brien liked to say, “That was basically their entire act.” Of course, Late Night kept finding ways to bring back the guys and their brown paper bags of peanuts, sometimes in close proximity to appearances from similarly named heavy metal act Slipknot, which should not be confused for The Slipnutz, who slip on nuts, clown around, and slip on nuts. To compensate for one such “mistake,” Glaser, Blitz, and Stack were dispatched to New Jersey to warm up the crowd at a Slipknot concert, a remote segment that doubles as a backstage mockumentary starring Glaser, Blitz, and Stack as their self-serious Slipnutz alter egos. They were destined for greater heights and earlier time slots (Parks And Recreation, Review, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, to name a few), but in my eye, they’ll always have those red sweater vests on, prompting a crowd of new metal fans to act not unlike the rabble in the Muppet Theater cheap seats—if that rabble could raise its middle fingers. (This clip receives bonus points thanks to a background cameo from the Walker, Texas Ranger lever.) [Erik Adams]