Aired January 24, 1976.
Cold opening:"Bomb squad."
A policeman attempts to deactivate a bomb. When he picks up the box holding a bomb, he sees a hand holding a cream pie emerges and aims the pie at the cops face...and drops it (an unscripted mistake!)!
The policeman then looks into the camera and announces "Live, from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
Monologue:
The comedy team of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore discusses differences between English and American comedy and perform a sketch that features a one-legged man (Moore) auditioning to play Tarzan.
"Lifer Follies":
Written by "Everybody." [1]
A theatrical director (Cook) visits a Utah prison where he auditions several inmates Dan Aykroyd, Chase, Garrett Morris and John Belushi) to perform in his production of Gigi.
Neil Sedaka:"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"
Neil Sedaka performs the slow-ballad version of his old hit. This arrangement of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" was released in December 1975 and peaked at #8 on the Billboard pop chart.
"Don Pardo's Holiday In An Elevator":
When a couple (Gilda Radner and Aykroyd) long to go on vacation but can't afford to, Don Pardo suggests they take his elevator and go "around the world in 80 floors!"
"Weekend Update":
Chevy Chase's top story:"Generalisimo Francisco Franco has been critically dead now for eleven weeks."
Plus, Emily Litella delivers a commentary about saving "Soviet Jewelry."
And Alan Zweibel presents news for the wet.
Commercial:"Middle American Van Lines"
Repeat from Episode 3.
"Table Talk":
Moore interviews Sir Arthur Streeb-Geebling (Cook), owner of The Frog and Peach restaurant.
Film by Gary Weis:"Paramount Novelty Store"
Weis turns his camera on the proprietor of a New York shop that specializes in comedy novelties like whoopie cushions, black soap and fake severed hands.
"Sonny & Cher of the British Isles":
Sonny & Cher (Moore and Cook, respectively) sing "I Got You Babe" and stop the song periodically to tell jokes.
"Scred and Gilda":
Muppet Scred (Jerry Nelson) appears onstage wearing a Bee costume, but Radner informs him that neither the Muppets nor the Bees are appearing in this episode. Scred says he should be anchoring Weekend Update and tries out some of Chevy's material.
Neil Sedaka:"Lonely Night (Angel Face)"
This song appeared on Sedaka's 1975 album The Hungry Years. Captain & Tennille's version reached #3 on the charts in March of '76.
"Backstage Banter":
Jane Curtin interviews male impersonator Sheila Ellington (Belushi).
Commercial:"No commercial products"
While footage of a happy couple (Chase and Jacqueline Carlin) is shown, a narrator tells us that neither of them used commercial products to attract each other.
"Organ harvesting":
Dr. Collins (Moore) is operating on a man who seems to have lost all life functions for seven minutes. When he asks the surgical staff is they think it's time to remove his heart for transplant, the doctor gets a surprising answer.
"Gospel Truth":
In ancient Judea, a shepherd named Arthur Shepherd (Cook) who witnessed the birth of Jesus is interviewed by a Matthew, a reporter for the Bethlehem Star as part of a profile of the Messiah.
Goodnights:
Cook, Moore, Chase and Belushi assemble at home base to show how the opening "bomb squad" sketch was supposed to end. Moore hits chase in the face with the pie and they all throw whipped cream at each other.
Notes about this episode:
Like the episodes hosted by Richard Pryor and George Carlin, this episode is built around the hosts and feels more like a "Peter Cook & Dudley Moore Variety Special" than an episode of SNL. This would be the last time, with very few exceptions, that an episode served as a showcase for the host (or in this case hosts) rather than the cast.
Cook & Moore's comedy routines are old sketches they previously performed on series like Not Only...But Also. Since it was the third show in a stretch of four without a week off, I'm guessing Lorne Michaels and the writers were glad to have bit of a break and let the hosts perform their "greatest hits."
Trivia note:This episode is one of four times SNL was hosted by a group or duo during the first five years.
What stands out:
The blooper during the cold opening-This is a great reminder that live TV means that not everything always goes according to plan. It's a credit to Chevy Chase that he doesn't waste any time worrying about it and just goes right into "Live, from New York..."
"Lifer Follies"-It's a great sketch that gives Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris and John Belushi a chance to show off their unique talents.
What doesn't work:
Neil Sedaka. I'm generally not a fan of his music and neither of his performances aren't very interesting. While I respect his contributions to the American Song Book, Sedaka seems more like the sort of "showbiz" schlock that SNL was more likely to parody than celebrate.
J.A. Morris' rating:
I'm not the biggest Cook and Moore fan and I generally prefer episodes that feature the cast more than this one did. However, I respect the hosts' talents and their importance in the history of comedy. The "Lifer Follies" sketch makes it worth watching all by itself.
Footnotes:
[1] Saturday Night Live, edited by Anne Beatts and John Head, p.31.
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