Aired May 8, 1976.
Cold opening:"Ronald Reagan"
Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan (Chevy Chase) plays the organ and repeatedly calls his saxophone player (Garrett Morris) "boy."
The sax player eventually gets sick of Reagan's racism and punches him, which knocks Reagan off the stage. Reagan then looks into the camera and announces "Live, from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
Monologue:"Mother's Day"
Since Mother's Day is the next day, host Madeline Kahn honors her mother with a performance of the song "M-O-T-H-E-R," which was written by Howard Johnson and first recorded by Eva Tanguay. Kahn makes some interesting changes to the lyrics!
"Wilderness Comedian":
Stand-up comic Shecky Adams (John Belushi) turns his back on civilization to make animals laugh!
Talk show:"Not For Ladies Only"
Written by Rosie Shuster.
Baba Wawa (Gilda Radner) interviews movie star Marlene Deitrich (Kahn) about what it's like to be a living legend (or "wiving wegend," as Wawa pronounces it) and how she keeps up her youthful appearance. Their "unique" pronunciations of the English language prevent them from understanding each other.
"Slumber Party":
Written by Marilyn Suzanne Miller.
At a slumber party, a girl named Madeline (Kahn) tells her friends (Radner, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman) how babies are made.
Her friends get extremely grossed out by this.
Public Service Message:"Fondue Sets for Namibia"
Mark Embutu (Garrett Morris) asks Americans to send fondue sets that they never use to the newly independent nation of Namibia.
"Muppets Beatles Offer":
Scred and the Great Favog are frustrated when Chevy tells them the Muppets' appearance on the show has been cancelled. Favog says he's friends with the Beatles and promises to help Saturday Night recruit them to perform on the show if Lorne Michaels will put the Muppets back on the show.
Howard Shore and his All Monster Band:"I Feel Pretty":
Doctor Frankenstein (Howard Shore) and his assistant Fritz (Paul Shaffer) bring the Bride Of Frakenstein to life.
The Bride then gets up and sings "I Feel Pretty," which was written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story.
"Weekend Update":
Chevy Chase reports on the news of the day, including Jerry Brown dodging the protection of an umbrella "so his suit will look wet and wrinkled," which will help him maintain his "austere" image.
And after a string of primary losses, Pres. Ford announces that from now on he "will campaign to win instead of to lose."
Plus, commentator Emily Litella declares her staunch opposition to "violins" on television.
At the conclusion of his newscast, Chevy presents "News For Cows" for viewers who might be Holsteins.
Commercial:"Super Absorbent Dry Hose"
When a customer at Rosie's Hosiery Shop and Grill has sweaty legs, Rosie (Curtin) recommends that she try on a pair of Super-Absorbent Dry Hose.
Carly Simon:"Half A Chance and"You're So Vain"
Singer/Songwriter Carly Simon performs "Half A Chance," the lead-track on her album Another Passenger, which was released June 5, 1976.
"Half A Chance" was written by Simon and Jacob Brackman and it peaked at #39 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Simon follows that up by singing her #1 hit song "You're So Vain," which appeared on her 1972 album No Secrets.
In the middle of the song, Chevy Chase shows up, plays a cowbell and harmonizes with Simon during the chorus.
"Final Days"
Written by Al Franken and Tom Davis.
Former First Lady Pat Nixon (Kahn) tells the story of her husband Pres. Richard Nixon's (Aykroyd) "stormy final days" in office. She recounts the President's paranoid ratings in the Oval Office...
...his late-night meetings with Sammy Davis Jr. (Morris)...
... and Henry Kissinger (Belushi).
Film by Gary Weis:"New York's My Home"
Ray Charles' recording of "New York's My Home" accompanies footage of New York City and its sports fans.
"New York's My Home" was written by Gordon Jenkins and appeared on Jenkins' 1946 album Manhattan Tower. Ray Charles' version of the song appeared on his 1960 album The Genius Hits the Road.
Evelyn Mulwray (Kahn) asks private investigator Jake Gittes (Belushi) to find her missing husband.
When Mulwray asks Gittes how he'll find her husband, Jake answers "I will follow him" then starts singing the song of the same name. Evelyn joins him and they sing a duet.
"I Will Follow Him" began as an instrumental composed by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat. Lyrics were added later and it was recorded by Little Peggy March in 1963. March's version reached #1 on the pop chart in the U.S. and eight other countries.
"Impressions":
Kahn imitates a baby eating ice cream for the first time. Radner then impersonates a parakeet learning how to talk.
Kahn sings "Lost In The Stars," which was written by Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill in 1949 for the musical of the same name.
Kahn thanks Carly Simon for being part of the show and wishes all the mothers watching a Happy Mothers Day.
Notes about this episode:
"I Will Follow Him" is a parody of the 1974 film Chinatown. Kahn and Belushi play characters that were portrayed by Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson, respectively.
During "Final Days," Garrett Morris-as-Sammy Davis Jr. sings "I've Gotta Be Me." This song was written by Walter Marks for the 1968 Broadway Musical Golden Rainbow. Sammy Davis Jr.'s recording of the song reached #11 on the Billboard Pop chart and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1969.
In "Wilderness Comedian," John Belushi plays Shecky Adams, a reference to the title character of the film and TV series The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams. Its title is likely a reference to 1975 film The Adventures of the Wilderness Family.
"Final Days"-Aykroyd's performance as Nixon is amazing and the rest of the cast provides great support. Aykroyd impersonated Nixon's voice while wearing an ape mask in episode 13, but this is his first "full bodied" impression (for lack of a better description) of the disgraced 37th President. Aykroyd would play Nixon eight more times before he left at the end of SNL's fourth season.
What stands out:
"Slumber party"-This is a great sketch with great performances by Kahn, Curtin, Newman and Radner. I'm sure everyone who watched this show had conversations about sex that are depicted in this sketch, but they'd probably never seen anything like this on network television. Newman's screams of "DISGUSTING!" make me laugh every time I watch it.
"I Feel Pretty"-I've mentioned earlier that I like performances that feature Saturday Night's house band in costumes. This is the best "costumed band" performance yet. Kahn does a great job with the lead vocal, Howard Shore and Paul Shaffer are very funny as Doctor Frankenstein and Fritz.
"Not For Ladies Only"-Kahn and Gilda Radner are both hilarious in this Barbara Walters parody. I'm not going to get in the habit of embedding videos on this site, but it's difficult to describe how great this sketch is. So here it is:
What doesn't work:
"Lost In The Stars"-Madeline Kahn's performance of the song is good, but I would've preferred a more uptempo song or another sketch at the end of the show.
J.A. Morris' rating:
This was an excellent episode with strong sketches from start to finish. Madeline Kahn was a great host who worked well with the cast and this gets my highest rating.
4 stars!
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