Cold opening:"Steve has changed."
Backstage, Gilda Radner approaches this week's host, Steve Martin. She says she hasn't seen nearly as much of him as the last time he hosted. When he tries to kiss Gilda, she stops Steve and says something has changed in him since he recently guest-hosted The Tonight Show. Steve gives Gilda the kiss-off and says he'll be at her place at 3:30 AM.
Morris' song is accompanied by onscreen text, which says he's wearing clam diggers because after the recent Saturday Night Mardi Gras special, he went to Jamaica, came back right before this episode began and didn't have time to change.
...pits his strength against socialite and former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis (Radner).
The Kinks:Medley:“You Really Got Me”/“All Day And All Of The Night”/“Well-Respected Man”/“Lola”
Musical guests the Kinks perform a medley of some of the biggest hit singles, all of which were written by their lead singer Ray Davieis. "You Really Got Me" was released as a single on August 4, 1964, it reached #1 on the UK chart and peaked at #7 in the US. The song also appeared on their self-titled debut album which came out in October '64.
"All Day And All Of The Night" was issued on October 24, 1964. It reached #2 in the UK, #7 in the US and was later included on the Kinksize Hits EP.
"Well-Respected Man" appeared on an EP called Kwyet Kinks. The song was released as a single in the United States on October 1965 and reached #13.
"Weekend Update"
Anchor Jane Curtin's top story is that singer and anti-gay bigot Anita Bryant plans to undergo a sex-change. The exact date of her operation will not be set until Bryant decides which sex to change to.
Plus, correspondent Laraine Newman interviews Maj. General Robert Lazette about Pres. Carter's new flying command post.
Commercial:"Dr. Breadloaf's Quick-Loss Diet Book"
Dr. Ruth Breadloaf (Radner) says that if viewers want to eat healthier and lose weight, they should buy her book...
...and eat its pages.
Martin sits down at a diner counter and introduces his special guest Lily Tomlin. Steve tells her she's going to be great on Broadway. Tomlin says her show will open in March. She then jumps on the counter and breaks into a performance of the song "Broadway Baby".
She's joined by Jane, Laraine and Gilda. "Broadway Baby" was written by Stephen Sondheim for the stage musical Follies, which opened on April 4, 1971
"Pull The Plug"
When a boy named Buddy (Belushi) is comatose and appears to be braindead, his doctor tells Buddy's parents that it may be time to pull the plug on the machines that keep their boy alive. The parents agree, but since that's not legal, the doctor tries to "accidentally" pull the plug.
Film by Gary Weis:"Buster Holmes"
SNL filmmaker Gary Weis turns his cameras on Buster Holmes' New Orleans soul food restaurant.
Game show:"Hollywood Bingo"
Gern Blanston (Martin) hosts a game show that features dozens of celebrity guests. Unfortunately, by the Gern has introduced all the celebrities, there's no time left for the game to be played.
Film by Lily Tomlin:"From The Big Orange To The Big Apple"
Tomlin drives from Los Angeles to New York City "accompanied" by the many characters she created, including Earnestine the telephone operator...
and housewife Mrs. Judith Beasley.
"Roots II"
Alex Haley (Morris) author of Roots, which was the basis of a hugely popular miniseries of the same name, says that NBC has asked him to write a sequel for another miniseries. Haley then Roots II.
"Sleepwalker" was issued a single on March 18, 1977 and it was the title track of the Kinks album that was released in February of that year. This song peaked at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Singles Bar"
A woman (Radner) and a man (Martin) meet in a singles bar. They hit it off immediately when they realize they have a lot of odd things in common. For example, both have jobs where they calibrate the pressure ratios for hydraulic valve systems and they both play "Old McDonald Had A Farm" on touchtone phones.
Martin thanks Lily Tomlin and the Kinks. He's joined by the cast and the credits roll.
Notes about this episode:
Special guest Lily Tomlin was promoting her Broadway show Appearing Nitely, which opened about a month after this episode. Tomlin's short film was shown at the beginning of performances of Appearing Nitely.
Speaking of Tomlin, this episode is her third appearance on the show in less 16 months. However, Tomlin wouldn't appear on SNL again until Season 8, three years after Lorne Michaels and the original cast had departed.
The "Weekend Update" joke about Anita Bryant getting a sex change operation is a reference to the anti-gay bigotry Bryant was promoting around the U.S. when this episode aired.
During his stand-up act in the 1970s, Steve Martin would tell audiences that his real name was "Gern Blanston." That's why he plays a gameshow host with that name in "Hollywood Bingo."
“Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt”-Garrett Morris gets a chance to show off his amazing singing voice and the scrolling text adds some comedy to his performance.
"Broadway Baby"-I'm not a huge fan of Broadway musicals, but Tomlin, Curtin, Newman and Radner seem to be having a great time during their performance of "Broadway Baby" and that makes it fun to watch. I don't talk about directing very often here, but director Dave Wilson also did a great job during "Broadway Baby," cutting to each performer exactly when their part of the song begins. That's not such an easy thing to do during the broadcast of a live TV show.
The Kinks-Their medley of greatest hits was one of the best performances of any musical guest of the first two seasons. Their performance of "Sleepwalker," the Kinks' then-current single, is also enjoyable.
"Singles Bar"-This sketch shows that Steve Martin and Gilda Radner had great chemistry, which they show off even more in future episodes Martin hosted.
J.A. Morris' rating:
This is another good episode. The sketches aren't quite as great as what we saw the first time Martin hosted, but they're mostly good and the contributions of Lily Tomlin and the Kinks are enough for me to give it my highest rating.
4 stars!
