Aired April 24, 1976.
Cold opening:"Award Ceremony"
Chevy Chase reads a list of nominees for "Best Performance By An Actor In A Political Campaign." When it's time to reveal the winner, Chase opens an envelope that reads "get to the fall, Chevy." Chase takes offense at this and says he's tired of being the guy who falls down every week, that it's beneath his dignity as a political satirist. Chevy decides to walk off the stage.
However, he doesn't get far before, he trips over a chair, falls off the stage and announces "Live, from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
Monologue:"Superstar"
Host Raquel Welch sings "Superstar." This song was originally titled "Groupie Superstar" and was written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett and first recorded by Delaney & Bonnie. The Carpenters recorded the best-know version of "Superstar," which reached #2 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1971.
Welch's performance turns into a duet when she's joined by Joe Cocker (John Belushi) during the second verse.
Commercial:"Purina Rat Chow"
The Pied Piper (Chase) promotes Rat Chow to a couple (Gilda Radner and Garrett Morris) whose house rats aren't getting the nutrients they need.
Public Service Announcement:"The Decabet"
Written by Tom Schiller.
Mr. Joseph Franklin (Dan Aykroyd) of the U.S. Council of Standards and Measures presents the new 10-letter "metric" alphabet called the Decabet.
Muppets Part 1:
Plubis (Jim Henson) and Scred (Jerry Nelson) flirt with Welch. Chevy shows up and informs the Muppets that they've been cut from this week's episode. When the Muppets have left, Chase tries to Welch to get Welch to relax and take off her shirt off.
Welch declines his request and introduces the first musical guest.
Phoebe Snow:"All Over"
This song appeared on Phoebe Snow's album Second Childhood, which was released in January of 1976.
Sporting event:"The Claudine Longet Invitational"
Written by Michael O'Donoghue.
Spotscasters Tom Tryman (Chase) and Jessica Antlerdance (Jane Curtin) present a ski tournament that features competitors who get "accidentally" shot by singer Claudine Longet.
Commercial:"Polaroid cameras"
In a real (live) commercial, Belushi and Jane Curtin promote Polaroid cameras.
Great Moments In Herstory:"The Outlaw"
On the set of the 1943 movie The Outlaw, the film's director Howard Hughes (Aykroyd) asks Jane Russell (Welch) to test his new propeller bra. When Russell refuses, Hughes decides to test it himself.
"Next Week":
Curtin announces that next week's show will feature host Madeline Kahn, with musical guest Carly Simon.
"Weekend Update":
Chevy Chase reports that Pres. Ford has been criticized by his supporters for his appearance on Saturday Night the previous week.
Laraine Newman analyzes the lasted Presidential polling data. The polls say a majority of voters don't know who they'll vote for.
Plus, correspondent Garrett Morris interviews Barbara Walters (Radner) about her impending departure from NBC.
And meteorologist John Belushi discusses songs written about weather and the dangerous messages about weather they promote.
"Bisexual Minute":
Author Gore Vidal (Welch) discusses his family's history and its connections to historical figures like Aaron Burr.
John Sebastian:"Welcome Back"
This theme song for the TV series Welcome Back, Kotter was a number one hit single in May of 1976.
When it's time for a harmonica solo, Joe Cocker (Belushi) holds the harmonica for Sebastian.
Beatles Offer:
Lorne Michaels, SNL's producer, addresses the Beatles directly, tells them how much they mean to him and his generation and asks them to reunite and perform three songs on Saturday Night.
Michaels says money is no problem because NBC has authorized him to pay the Beatles the exorbitant sum of...$3000!
Movie:"One Flew Over The Hornet's Nest"
At a mental hospital, a bee named McMurtry (Belushi) wants Nurse Ratched (Welch) to change the TV to the Academy Awards ceremony. The nurse thinks the change of routine would be bad for the other patients. When McMurtry threatens Ratched's rule, she threatens to "fry his antennae!"
"Gilda's Equal Time":
Gilda Radner says that after working with Welch, she's discovered how difficult it is for Raquel to be an international sex symbol.
Film by Gary Weis:
A short film of Raquel Welch dancing.
Phoebe Snow:"Two Fisted Love"
Snow performs another song from Second Childhood.
Raquel Welch:"It Ain't Necessarily So"
The host performs a song from the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess, written by George and Ira Gershwin.
Muppets part 2:
Ploobis and Scred find the Mighty Favog (Frank Oz) and seek his advice about how to deal with being kicked off the show. Favog tells Ploobis to "get in the trunk" with the rest of the Muppets.
Goodnights:
Chase tells Welch SNL has received a telegram from a veteran who's hospitalized with a terminal illness who loved the hosts performance...and wants her to take her shirt off.
She agrees to take it off, which reveals chroma-keyed footage of a rocket crashing upon takeoff!
Notes about this episode:
This episode contains some pop culture references that might be unfamiliar to people who weren't around in 1976:
Re:"The Claudine Longet Invitational":
Claudine Longet is a singer/actress best known for her collaborations with her ex-husband Andy Williams. On March 21, 1976 (a month before this episode aired), Longet shot and killed her boyfriend "Spider" Sabich, who was an Olympic skier. Longet claimed the gun went off accidentally while Sabich was showing her how to use it. Her lawyers sent SNL a cease-and-desist letter and Don Pardo read an apology on the next episode. The apology isn't included on the DVD for the next episode, but here's the script Pardo read on the air:
The song "Superstar" appears on Joe Cocker's live album Mad Dogs And Englishmen, with Rita Cooledge performing the lead vocal. This was likely the inspiration for Welch's duet with Belushi-as-Cocker.
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| Louise Fletcher signing to her parents at the 1976 Oscars. |
That's why Welch performs fake sign language in "Hornet's Nest" when her character wins an Oscar.
John Sebastian stops his performance of "Welcome Back" when a microphone feeds back. He then resumes the song, with the lyrics from the 2nd verse and asks if he can start again. Sebastian gets the song right on the third attempt.
There's also mic feedback during "Hornets Nest."
Raquel Welch plays Gore Vidal in the "Great Moments In Herstory" sketch. This is a reference to the film Myra Breckinridge, which was based on Vidal's novel of the same name and featured Welch as the title character. Vidal disowned and disparaged Myra Breckinridge and the movie was a critical and financial flop. Welch's costume in this sketch is also similar to one she wore in Myra Breckinridge.
A bit of trivia:Phoebe Snow made her second appearance on SNL in this episode. This makes Snow the series' first musical guest to make two appearances. She previously appeared in the second episode of season 1.
While the Beatles never did not reunite on SNL, it's worth nothing that three of them later appeared on the show separately. George Harrison appeared on the show in season 2. Paul McCartney was musical guest in seasons 5, 18, 36 and 38 and made cameo appearances in season 32 and 39. During Lorne Michaels' absence from the series (1980-85), Ringo Starr hosted a season 10 episode.
Classic Moments:
The Claudine Longet Invitational-this sketch was very controversial and edgy for its time. This was a loud demonstration to viewers that SNL was NOT your typical comed/variety show. It's one of Michael O'Donoghue's best sketches and Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin do a nice job as the announcers.
Beatles Offer-The joke here is, of course, that $3000 was a minuscule amount of money compared to what others offered the Fab Four to reunite. Michaels does a great job here staying mock-serious. It's also an important moment for the "identity" of Saturday Night and its cast and crew. Michaels says he "grew up" with the Beatles, no other TV producer could say that in 1976. His love for the Beatles and their music is sincere and that helps sell the bit.
First appearance of Baba Wawa-Gilda Radner's exaggerated impersonation of Barbara Walters makes its debut in this episode. "Baba" would become one of Radner's signature impressions, she would portray Baba Wawa fifteen more times during her time on SNL.
What stands out:
"Superstar"-A great duet between the host and Belushi-as-Joe Cocker. Welch could've been blown off the stage by Belushi's energy, but she holds her own.
"Great Moments In Herstory"-Dan Aykroyd gives a great performance as Howard Hughes and I laugh every time I watch him wrestle with the propeller bra! Welch is also funny here as Jane Russell.
Belushi's commentary about "weather" songs-Another hilarious commentary from Belushi, especially the part about Toto not receiving any reward from The Wizard of Oz.
John Sebastian-When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of the series Welcome Back Kotter, so Sebastian's live performance of the series' great theme song brought back a lot of good memories.
What doesn't work:
Welch sings a song, we get two songs performed by Phoebe Snow and one song from Sebastian. That's about one too many songs for me. None of them were particularly bad performances, but I would've preferred another sketch in place of one of the songs.
J.A. Morris rating:
This is a great episode that features performances from the cast and great sketches from the writers. Welch is a good host and she interacted nicely with the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.
4 stars!
