The Lovers (or Love-ahs, as pronounced by the couple) are the recurring, and quite eccentric characters played by Will Ferrell (as Professor Roger Klarvin) and Rachel Dratch (as Professor Virginia Klarvin) on the television sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Often making appearances in or near hot tubs, and in particular at the Welshly Arms Hotel, they intrude upon others and ask them questions about their current state of love. Their insight to other people’s matters usually bring them to divulge information about themselves, in which their stories usually end in some sort of extreme orgy. The couple brings about a certain sense of discomfort to most situations. They do this on more than one occasion to Dave, (Jimmy Fallon) a traveling businessman at the Welshly Arms Hotel, annoying him with their bizarre stories and intrusive behavior. Their over-pronunciation (for example, Ferrell's character often pronounces "hot tub" as "hot-TUB"), coupled with an odd desire for certain meats, among other traits, have made them very distinctive characters. This is one of the sketches where the actors traditionally break character and succumb to laughter (unintentionally). The sketch traditionally wraps with Roger Klarvin's breaking character when his wife proposes some type of obvious question relating to the physical discomfort of his back, in where he angrily yells back at her in frustration. The characters occurred many times during the end of Will Ferrell’s career on Saturday Night Live. The characters were quite popular during the 2001 season, where they appeared at least four times.
Episodes featuring The Lovers
- February 24, 2001 - Katie Holmes
- May 19th, 2001 – Christopher Walken
- October 13th, 2001 – Drew Barrymore
- January 19th, 2002 – Jack Black
- April 20th, 2002 – Alec Baldwin
- May 18th, 2002 – Winona Ryder
