Network disclaimer:
Don Pardo announces that James At 16 Marries Roman Polanski will not be seen tonight so that NBC may present the following special program."
Cold opening: Gilda Radner reads and answers questions submitted by the audience. The first question, from a man named Kevin asks “Do you ever have trouble coming up with an opening for the show?” Gilda says they had trouble this week, hence her reading audience questions.
Gilda reads more questions, all submitted by members of the audience named "Kevin." The final inquiry asks “Gilda, settle a bet – my wife, Kevin, says you always start the show with the words ‘Give me all your hot monkey love,’ and I say she’s wrong.” Radner says that "Kevin's wife" Kevin is incorrect, the show always opens with "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!," and the credits roll.
Monologue:"O.J.’s life story"
Host O.J. Simpson (wearing a “Conehead” cone) tells the story of how he became a football star. He says he wanted to host SNL ever since he saw Richard Pryor host. O.J. says that if he fails tonight, he'll have to go back to being a football player, commercial pitchman and movie star.
“Samurai Night Fever”
A Brooklyn Samurai named Tony (John Belushi) who lives to dance at the disco faces pressure to conform from his parents. They wish Tony was more like his older brother Joe (Simpson).
However, when Joe returns home, he fears he will disappoint the parents when he tells them he no longer wants to be Black. Tony invites Joe to join him for a night of disco dancing.
Tony puts on an amazing display of dancing at the disco.
“Great Moments In Sports”
O.J. introduces and narrates a show that tells the story about Babe Ruth’s (Belushi) visit to a dying young boy (Garrett Morris). The Babe promises to hit a home run to honor the boy in his next game. Unfortunately, Ruth may be unable to fulfill his promise.
Asford & Simpson:"So So Satisfied"
Ashford & Simpson perform "So So Satisfied," the title track to their 1977 album.
This song reached #27 the Billboard R&B chart.
Commercial:”Mohawk Master”
A pitchman (Dan Aykroyd) promotes the Mowhawk Master, an electric razor specifically designed to give mohawk haircuts.
Commercial For NBC’s Big Event:"The Raid On Nicosia"
A promo for a TV movie, based on the Lanarca Airport raid, features an all-star cast, including Sherman Hemsley (Morris) as Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
“Weekend Update”
Anchors Jane Curtin and Day Aykroyd report on the events of the day.
Stargazer Bill Murray discusses the recent Oscar nominations and how Woody Allen was nominated for 3 Oscars, just like Orson Welles in 1940. Murray tells Allen not to let his nominations give him a "swell head."
Correspondent Laraine Newman makes history as the first woman to report from an NFL locker room, where she interviews O.J. Simpson.
Consumer Reporter Roseanne Roseannadanna receives a letter that asks how to prevent dental diseases.
Her "report" devolves into observations about pieces of food getting caught in her teeth and removing them with matchbook covers, much to Curtin's chagrin.
“O.J.’s rushing record”
O.J. and a few friends watch a football game, where Walter Payton is threatening to break Simpson’s single-season rushing record. As Payton gets closer to the record, O.J. uses a “Walton Payton voodoo doll” to prevent his record from being broken.
“The Franken and Davis Show”
Tom Davis says that his partner Al Franken has a malignant brain tumor. However, Al wants to perform one last time before the tumor kills him. Unfortunately, due to his ill health, Franken struggles to get through his stand-up routine.
Movie trailer:"Mandingo II"
This sequel to Mandingo presents a world of "violence, cruelty, greed, and lust." The trailer emphasizes the film's sex scenes.
“E. Buzz Miller’s Animal Kingdom”
Pornographer E. Buzz Miller (Aykroyd) shows films of animals mating. Miller and his girlfriend Christy Christina (Newman) comment on the films.
Commercial:"Hertz Rent-A-Car"
O.J. rushes through an airport to the Hertz Rent-A-Car counter. Unfortunately, he finds that his car has already been rented to someone else.
Ashford & Simpson:"Don't Cost You Nothing"
This song appeared on Ashford & Simpson's 1977 album Send It. "Don't Cost You Nothing" peaked at #10 on the R&B chart.
“Celebrity Battle of the Sexes & Races”
In an inter-racial and inter-gender athletic competition, Black men, represented by O.J. and Leon Spinks (Morris)...
...face off against Sandy Duncan (Newman) and Marie Osmond (Radner). The Black men’s team dominates every event.
Goodnights:
Simpson, flanked by Radner and Newman, still in costume, says “well, that’s all for tonight, thanks for joining us,” and the credits roll.
Notes about this episode:
I approached this episode with a bit of trepidation, considering that today O.J. Simpson is best known for being a murder suspect and a convicted criminal. However, part of this blog is transporting myself back to the 1970s, when Simpson was known as a superstar athlete, pitchman and occasional actor. So I will review the episode on that basis.
I found two promos for this episode. The first features Simpson:"Samurai Night Fever"-John Belushi is amazing in this sketch, dancing and cartwheeling all over the stage. He also does a nice job combining his "Samurai" voice with a John Travolta imitation. This sketch is one of Belushi's greatest moments on SNL.
Gilda Radner's cold opening-This "audience questions" sketch shows how charming Radner could be while simultaneously being very funny.
This a very good episode in spite of Simpson's presence. The aforementioned sketches make it worth watching.
