Sprockets (Saturday Night Live)

Sprockets was a recurring comedy sketch created by comedians Mike Myers and actor Dana Andersen, portraying a fictional West German television talk show. The sketch was created for the Second City Theatre, and became more widely known when Myers brought it to Saturday Night Live. The show parodied German art culture in the 1980s.

The sketch 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 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. Myers has stated he based the character on a waiter he encountered in Toronto as well as German musician Klaus Nomi.

Appearing effeminate (he'd later introduce his lover Helmut, played by Will Ferrell), 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 black tights, black turtleneck sweater, round, wire-rimmed glasses, and slicked back hair. On several occasions, the skit featured 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.

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