What is the catchphrase of Dana Carvey's Church Lady character?
Answer
Isn't that special?
Dana Carvey’s Church Lady character is famous for saying, “Well, isn’t that special?” The smug, judgmental phrase became one of Saturday Night Live’s most recognizable catchphrases.
Carvey played the character, whose fictional name is Enid Strict, as the host of the religious talk show Church Chat. The Church Lady treated celebrity guests as opportunities to expose their supposed sins, mixing pious language with exaggerated suspicion. Carvey developed the character from an earlier stand-up persona inspired partly by women he remembered from church communities.
The character first appeared during SNL’s 12th season in 1986 and became especially popular after a sketch featuring country singer Willie Nelson. Another recurring line was “How con-VEEN-ient!”, but that is distinct from the catchphrase asked about here. The wording is also sometimes shortened in casual references, but the familiar full version begins with “Well.”