Season 2 Episode 7; Host:Dick Cavett, with Ry Cooder

Aired November 13, 1976. 

Cold opening:"Gilda Radner Speaks out For Chroma-Trak"
In a commercial for Chroma-Trak televisions, Gilda Radner tells viewers the colors of clothes she's wearing to demonstrate the Chroma-Trak's picture quality.  For example, Gilda says her scarf is yellow, but it appears to be green.

We then pan out to reveal that a man (Garrett Morris) is watching her on his TV and the colors she says she's wearing aren't what he sees.  When he tries to adjust the color, his screen gets distorted and he starts smacking the television.

This hitting eventually causes Gilda to fall down.  She then gets up and announces "Live, from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

Monologue:"Not Elliott Gould"
Host Dick Cavett apologizes to viewers who were expecting Elliott Gould, who had to cancel with short notice.  Cavett then answers prewritten questions from the audience.

The questions include:
Q:"Who do you think has more charisma between Ford and Carter?
Cavett's answer:"Anybody between Ford and Carter!"

Commercial:"Puppy Uppers and Doggy Downers"
Written by Rosie Shuster.
When Sparky acts listless...

...he needs Puppy Uppers to feel pepped up.

However, if Sparky gets too excited up, it's time for Doggy Downers.

"John Dean:Blond Ambition"
Former White House Counsel John Dean (Cavett) recalls the time his former boss Pres. Richard Nixon (Dan Aykroyd) tried to pin the blame for his Watergate crimes on Dean.

During this sketch, Nixon sings part of the song "High Hopes."  The song was first performed by Frank Sinatra in the 1959 film A Hole In The Head and it received the Academy Award for Best Original Song.  Sinatra later re-recorded the song in 1961 with a children's chorus, that version reached #30 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

Ry Cooder:"Tattler"
Musical guest Ry Cooder performs "Tattler," which was written by Cooder, Washington Phillips and Russ Titelman and appeared on Cooder's 1974 album Paradise and Lunch.

Next week:
Gilda Radner announces that next week's host will be Paul Simon and his special guest will be former Beatle George Harrison.  

"Weekend Update":
With Chevy Chase's departure, Jane Curtin is now the permanent "Weekend Update" anchor.  Top news stories of the day include:
"The Post Office announced today, that in honor of the Bicentennial, it is going to reissue a stamp commemorating prostitution in the United States.  It’s a ten-cent stamp, but if you want to lick it, it’s a quarter."

In the aftermath of Pres. Gerald Ford's electoral defeat, students decapitated Ford and paraded his head around Washington, DC as a warning to Jimmy Carter.

Laraine Newman reports live from New Mexico at the funeral of Wildfire Safety icon Smokey The Bear.  Smokey's request to be cremated has disastrous results for the forest.  

In a related story, Curtin reports that Smokey’s job as fire prevention symbol will be taken over by NBC film critic Gene Shalit.

Commercial:"The Marines are looking for a few good men"
Written by Lorne Michaels.
A Marine (Morris) walks down the street and stops every man he meets before finding just the man he's looking for.

Crossroads:
Reverend Dantley (Cavett) hosts a show that examines the crossroads people often reach in life where they must choose the right path.  Dantley looks in on a family dinner conversation where the son wants to drop out of college and get a construction job in order to help pay the family's bills.  

His father disapproves of this plan and makes his feelings very clear.

"Mobile Shrink":
Dr. Robert Liebman (Chevy Chase) gives up his profitable office practice and goes out into the streets and workplaces to fight depression, neuroses, and feelings of inadequacy, no matter where or when they strike.  He provides therapy to patients while they're at work.  

Talk show:"How Things Work"
Guest Merle Tadburney (Cavett) explains how pressure groups work.  

Film by Gary Weis:"Paramount Novelty Store"
Repeat from Season 1, Episode 11.  

"A History Of Bees In America"
Harry Bee (Belushi) tells his grandson Neil (Neil Levy) about all the discrimination bees had to endure from "wasps" who ran America.

Ry Cooder:"He'll Have To Go"
Cooder sings "He'll Have To Go," which was written by Joe Allison and Audrey Allison.  Cooder's recording of the song appeared on his 1976 album Chicken Skin Music.  

The song found its greatest success with Jim Reeves' version, which reached #1 on Billboard's Country chart and #2 on the Hot 100.  

Mr. Mike's Least-Loved Bedtime Tales-"The Blind Chicken"
Mr. Mike (Michael O'Donoghue) tells the story of a blind chicken who lived in a lagoon and led a happy life...until he encountered an alligator.  

Franken and Davis:"Audience Laughter Survey"
Written by Al Franken and Tom Davis.
Semantic Psychologists Dr. Thomas James Davis (Tom Davis) and Dr. Alan S. Franken (Al Franken) conduct a scientific survey that analyzes why certain words make people laugh.  Franken and Davis measure the audience's response to humorous words with a device called the Laugh-O-Graph.

Goodnight:
Cavett says they thought they were running long, but they now have a minute an a half to kill.  He fills time and says the Not Ready For Prime Time Players are one of the wittiest groups of people he's ever worked with.  

When that doesn't kill enough time, he makes some hand shadows.  

While the credits are rolling, announcer Don Pardo says "next Saturday night, our host will be Paul Simon, with a special recorded appearance by George Harrison. Wasn’t he one of The Beatles, or something? I don’t know, they were looooong before my time! I only go back to The Modernaires!" 
Pardo then sings a portion of the song "I'll Never Smile Again."   The Modernaires' recording of the song appeared on their 1962 album We Remember Tommy Dorsey Too.  "I'll Never Smile Again" found it's greatest success 1940, when Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra recorded it.  Frank Sinatra provided lead vocals for Dorsey and it reached #1 on the Billboard chart.  

Notes about this episode:
As Dick Cavett states in his monologue, Elliott Gould was originally scheduled to host this episode.  Cavett says Gould couldn't make it because "his doctor advised him that he could make a great deal more money on the Olivia Newton-John special."  I can't find the details about Gould's absence, but he did indeed appear in a Newton-John special that aired two days prior to this episode.

Gilda Radner's "Chroma-Trak" commercial in the cold opening is a parody of RCA's ColorTrak commercials that featured celebrities talking about the color of clothes they were wearing to promote the Colortrak's color adjusting abilities.  Here's a ColorTrak commercial that features Cicely Tyson:

"Blonde Ambition," which features Cavett playing John Dean, is a parody of the book Blind Ambition, the memoir of the real John Dean.  For those unfamiliar with Dean, he served as White House Counsel and was convicted for his role in Nixon's Watergate crimes.  

Dean was convicted of a felony, lost his law license, and served four months in jail after cooperating with prosecutors.  In recent years, Dean has emerged as a critic of the overreach of executive power and frequently appears on cable news shows.

John Dean testifying in the Watergate hearings in 1973.

The death of Smokey Bear is covered during "Weekend Update."  The real Smokey died four days before this episode aired.  The bear named after Smokey was rescued from a forest fire and lived at the National Zoo in Washington for 26 years where he served as a living symbol of fire prevention.  Here's a photo of the real Smokey shortly after he arrived in Washington, DC:

Smokey the bear being given a fire helmet by Washington Fire Departments’ deputy fire chief, M.H. Sutton in 1950. (Bettmann/CORBIS/Library of Congress)

Ann Risley appears as a patient in the "Mobile Shrink" film.  Risley was later an SNL cast member during its ill-fated Season 6.  

Jane Curtin's top story during "Weekend Update" is the postage stamp commemorating prostitution.  This is a call-back to an "Update" story from Episode 1, Season 1.  

In the Bee sketch, the Bees' grandson Neil is played by Neil Levy, who was SNL's talent coordinator and frequently appeared as an extra in sketches.  

What stands out:
"Blonde Ambition"-Dan Aykroyd is great as Nixon and Cavett plays a perfect foil for Nixon.  Gilda Radner and John Belushi are also excellent in the sketch as Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods and Henry Kissinger, respectively.  

"Puppy Uppers and Doggy Downers"-Another great commercial parody.  It's also kind of prescient, since a lot more dogs are on drugs (like prozac) today than in 1976.

Mr. Mike's Tale of "The Blind Chicken"-I'm surprised SNL put Mr. Mike in back-to-back episodes, but I thought this story was better than O'Donoghue's first "Bedtime Tale."  I like the way they lit him so that frames of his glasses look like devil horns.

J.A. Morris' rating:
This is a decent episode and Dick Cavett was a good host.  I enjoyed it, but this episode is a bit of a step-down from the previous two.  Worth watching for "Blonde Ambition" and "Puppy Uppers" if nothing else.  

3 stars.