Aired July 31, 1976.
Cold opening:"Help Me Make It Through The Night"
Host Kris Kristofferson performs "Help Me Make It Through The Night." This song was written by Kristofferson and it appeared on Kristofferson, his 1970 debut album.
"Help Me Make It Through The Night" achieved it's greatest commercial success with Sammi Smith's version. Smith's recording of the song reached #8 on the Billboard Pop chart and #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart in February of 1971.
While Kristofferson, sings, the camera cuts to a bedroom where a man (Chevy Chase) and a woman (musical guest Rita Coolidge) are preparing to get "romantic." The song opens with the lyrics "Take that ribbon from your hair," but the woman in the bedroom has trouble removing her hair ribbon. The man tries several times to remove it, but it doesn't budge.
Finally, he pulls at the ribbon with all his might, the ribbon comes out, but his momentum sends him backwards, falling offstage. He looks into the camera and announces "Live, from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
Monologue:
Kristofferson says that he won't deliver the customary opening monologue and introduces the next segment.
"Sherry Norwalk":
Valley girl Sherry Norwalk, a secretary for Saturday Night, discusses the sexual harassment she's had to endure from SNL's writers and promotes her new book, I Was Not A Sucker For Saturday Night.
"Samurai General Practitioner":
When he needs a physical, Kris Kristofferson pays a visit to a doctor who happens to be a samurai (John Belushi)
Rita Coolidge:"Hula Hoop"
Rita Coolidge performs "Hula Hoop," which was written by John Fleming, Roscoe West, T. Bone Burnett. Coolidge recorded "Hoola Hoop" as a duet with Kristofferson for their 1978 album Natural Act.
Near the end of the song, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner join Coolidge onstage and the three of them twirl hula hoops!
Commercial:"Jesse Owens' Great White Athletes Collection"
4-time Olympic Gold Medalist Jesse Owens (Garrett Morris) promotes a collection of medallions that commemorate "the last of a dying breed":The Great White Athlete.
"Uncommitted Republican Delegate":
Pres. Gerald Ford (Chase) meets with Frank Wade (Kristofferson), an undecided delegate to the Republican National Convention with the intent of gaining his support. Since Wade is from Mississippi, Ford serves him a "Mint Tulip" cocktail to make him feel more comfortable.
"Police State":
Written by Michael O'Donoghue.
A cop show that features two officers named Kevin Brut (Dan Aykroyd) and Aramis McCord (Chase). They represent "a new breed" of cops who routinely shoot people for no reason.
"Weekend Update":
Anchor Chevy Chase reports on the day's headlines, which include:
NASA's Viking lander has sent back more photos from Mars scoop, which indicate "that life cannot and has never existed on Mars."
Plus, Laraine Newman provides a live update on the Viking lander from NASA. Or is it Nassau?
Commercial:"Talk Country"
Kristofferson promotes his new book Talk Country, which will enable his fans to become successful country singer/songwriters. Talk Country includes "a whole chapter devoted to nothing but droppin' your Gs at the end of words, like believin', feelin', comin."
Kris Kristofferson:"Me And Bobby McGee"
The host sings "Me And Bobby McGee," a song he wrote and recorded for his 1970 album Kristofferson. "Me And Bobby McGee" was first recorded by Roger Miller in 1969. The highest-charting version was recorded by Janis Joplin, whose version reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Kristofferson stops singing so he can introduce the woman who inspired the song, whose name is now Bobbi Farber (Radner). Bobbi's husband Larry (Belushi) gets a bit uncomfortable when Kristofferson sings about his wife in front of him.
"Blind Date":
Judy (Jane Curtin) is uncomfortable when she learns that her blind date (Kristofferson) turns out to be her gynecologist.
Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge:"Eddie The Eunuch"
The duo performs "Eddie The Eunuch," which appeared on Kristofferson's July 1976 album Surreal Thing.
"Andrew Young and Jimmy Carter":
Civil Rights activist Rev. Andrew Young (Morris) endorses Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter (Aykroyd) and hopes his endorsement will lead to his appointment to Carter's cabinet.
"Waiting For Pardo":
Two men named Bill (Kristofferson) and Bob (Chase) wait for Don Pardo to arrive.
Kris Kristofferson:"I've Got A Life Of My Own"
Kristofferson performs "I've Got A Life Of My Own," another song from his album Surreal Thing.
Goodnights:
Kristofferson praises his band, the SNL Band and others who work on the show. He says it’s "a pleasure to work any place where you got any real imagination working," takes a bow and says goodnight. Rita Coolidge and the cast then join him onstage.
Notes about this episode:
There's no mention of it during the episode, but this is the season finale of Season 1. No one says "see you in September" and no one mentions that Lily Tomlin will be hosting the premier episode of Season 2.
If anyone isn't aware, Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge were married from 1973 to 1980. In addition to their respective solo recordings, they recorded three albums as a duo during their marriage.
During goodnights, announcer Don Pardo usually talks over the closing credits. However, at the end of this episode, Dan Aykroyd subs for Pardo and promotes the then-upcoming special The Beach Boys:It's OK, which aired on August 5, 1976. This special was produced by Lorne Michaels and its cast included Aykroyd and John Belushi Here's a clip of their appearance on the Beach Boys special, where they play surf police who force Brian Wilson to go surfing:
Classic moment:
"Me and Bobby Mcgee"-This sketch introduces Larry and Bobbi Farber. They might not be as well remembered as characters like the Coneheads or Roseanne Roseannadanna, but the Farbers were very funny recurring characters who made a total of seven appearances on SNL. Gilda Radner made one additional appearance as Bobbi Farber without Larry after John Belushi's departure.
What stands out:
"Samurai General Practitioner"-Another solid, funny Samurai sketch, Kris Kristofferson is a good straight man for John Belushi. On a personal note, this was the first Samurai sketch I ever saw when I caught a 1980 rerun of this episode.
"Blind Date"-The premise of this sketch, a women being set up on a blind date with her gynecologist, sounds silly, but this felt more like a "slice of life/one-act play" sketch that SNL frequently staged during its early seasons. It features good acting from Kristofferson and Jane Curtin.
"Sherry Norwalk"-Newman was always hilarious as Sherry the valley girl. Sherry's story about being sexually harassed in the workplace was very funny and it could also be written today, since, sadly, such harassment in the workplace is something we still hear about in the news every day.
"Police State"-Like the "Sherry" sketch, this sketch could be written about the United States of 2020, since we are currently seeing non-white people being shot to death by police all over the country.
What doesn't work:
I generally enjoyed the musical performances, but this episode featured four songs. I would've preferred another sketch, but I imagine the writers were pretty fried after a full season, plus two extra Summertime episodes. They were probably happy to surrender more time than usual for music.
J.A. Morris' rating:
This isn't one of the best episodes of the season, but it's a good one and SNL's first season concludes on a positive note. Kristofferson was a good host and he had nice chemistry with the cast.
3 stars.
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