Season 2, Episode 17;Host:Jack Burns, with Santana

 

Aired March 26, 1977.

Cold opening:"Belushi's holds NBC hostage"
John Belushi opens the show in a kitchen setting.  He reminds viewers that Saturday Night can't begin until someone announces "Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night!"  He decides to hold the show hostage and has a list of demands for NBC.  John wants:
1.Separate showers for men and women members of the cast.
2.Free beer for the whole crew on work nights.
3.And for himself, Belushi wants an all-expense-paid trip to the upcoming Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight in Korea, plus ringside seats.

John says he's got the network "right in the palm of my hand."

He's given a note that says his demands will be fulfilled.  John reads the note aloud, it ends by telling him "We enjoy all your characterizations, though our favorites would have to be your Samurai, your Brando, your Bee, your Joe Cocker, your Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.”  

Belushi realizes he's been tricked, but it's too late, the band begins playing the theme music and the opening credits roll!

There is a change to the series' title.  For the first time, it's called Saturday Night Live instead of Saturday Night.

Monologue:"Confessing sins"
This week's host, actor/comedian/writer Jack Burns, talks about confessing his sins in the Catholic church when he was a kid.  He often got in trouble for "touching himself," so Burns decides to touch himself on national television.  

"The Farbers Meet The Coneheads"
Hair dryer salesman Larry Farber (Belushi) and his wife Bobbi (Gilda Radner) invite their new neighbors the Coneheads (Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman) for dinner.  The evening is going okay until Larry shows them some hair dryers, which terrifies the Coneheads!

Santana:"Black Magic Woman"
Musical guest Santana performs "Black Magic Woman."  This song was originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac and was released as a single in 1968.  It was written by their guitarist Peter Green.

Santana's recording of "Black Magic Woman" appeared on their 1970 album Abraxas.  It was released as a single and peaked at #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in January 1971.

Greg Walker sings the lead vocal during this performance.

"Marine Wedding"
A Marine Corps chaplain (Burns) officiates a wedding of two Marines (Curtin and Aykroyd).  He barks orders at the bride and groom as if he's a drill sergeant berating new recruits and calls them maggots. 

"Town Without Pity"
Written by Al Franken and Tom Davis.
Outgoing Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (Newman) and her son Sanjay (Belushi) bemoan their party's recent election loss.  

Sanjay tells his mother that sometimes he thinks India's capital city New Delhi is "a town without pity."  Indira and Sanjay then break into the song "Town Without Pity," which was recorded by Gene Pitney and written by Dmitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for the 1961 movie of the same name.  Pitney's recording reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.  

"Weekend Update"
Jane Curtin opens her newscast with a cardboard cutout of ABC News anchor Harry Reasoner.  She flirts with "Reasoner," and asks him to quit the ABC newscast he co-hosts with Barbara Walters to join her on "Weekend Update." 

Curtin then reports on the day's headlines, which include:
The loser of the Jimmy Carter Look Alike Contest was flown to Washington this week to meet the President. 

Karl Malden and Ernest Borgnine will co-star in a new adventure series next season on NBC TV. The two stars, shown dining in Beverly Hills, said they look forward to working together for a long time.

Curtin closes her newscast by announcing that her news team stole the upcoming Academy Awards results.  She proceeds to read them on the air.  

Commercial:"Leech Tab 100"
A pharmacist named Wiggins (Aykroyd) pitches leeches as a headache remedy.

"The Story of the Squatters"
Squatters settle land in the west during the early 19th century and are forced to fight for "Squatters Rights" when they're threatened by the U.S. Cavalry.

"Suicide Note"
Mr. Ross (Burns) dictates a suicide note to his secretary Sherry (Newman).  When Burns jumps out of the window, he fails to keep his head down and spoils the gag.  

The cast then walks onstage and berates Burns for ruining the sketch.

Film by Gary Weis:"Rocky"
This short film features Burns re-inacting several scenes from the film Rocky.

Talk show:"Ask Big Daddy"
Ugandan dictator Edi Amin (Morris), AKA "Big Daddy," holds news anchor Walter Cronkite hostage and forces him to co-host a call-in radio show.

Home Movie:"Mirage"
A man who is dying of thirst in the desert is relieved when he finds a soda vending machine.

Commercial:"Pantygrams"
Ricardo Montalban (Aykroyd) promotes underwear that delivers messages.

Santana:"Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)"
Santana performs "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)."  This instrumental appeared on their 1976 album Amigos.  It was a major hit in Spain where it reached #1. 

"Comedy Writer"
An aging, alcoholic comedy writer named Gags Beasley (Burns) talks to two women (Curtin and Radner) at a bar.  

"Goodnights"
Burns, surrounded by the cast, says good night and thanks the viewers for watching.

Notes about this episode:
Like previous host Broderick Crawford, Jack Burns is a name that may be unfamiliar to some of you, but he had an impressive career.  In the early 1960s, Burns was 1/2 of the comedic duo Burns & Carlin, with George Carlin (who hosted the first ever episode of SNL).  

Burns later formed another successful duo with Avery Schreiber.  He joined the cast of The Andy Griffith Show, where he had the had the unenviable task of replacing Don Notts.  He was head writer and producer on The Muppet Show and he later served as on-air announcer and script supervisor on Fridays, ABC's answer to SNL.  

In the final sketch of this episode, Burns plays a washed up comedy writer named Gags Beasley.  The name "Gags Beasley" was earlier used on an episode of The Muppet Show. 

Beasley was never seen on that episode, just mentioned.  Since Burns was a writer for that series, I'm guessing he had a hand in writing the last sketch or at least recommending the name.  

During "The Coneheads Meet The Farbers," the Coneheads flee in terror from Larry Farber's hair dryer and jump through a glass window.  Jane Curtin trips on the windowsill and falls down for a second, before recovering and jumping out of the window.  

This causes John Belushi and Gilda Radner to briefly break character and laugh.

"Ask Big Daddy" was a parody of "Ask President Carter," which SNL previously parodied in Episode 15 of its second season.

Classic moment:
NBC's Saturday Night becomes Saturday Night Live-SNL officially becomes SNL with this episode and its kept the name to this day.   

What stands out:
"The Coneheads Meet The Farbers"-this is only the Farbers' second appearance but their interactions with the Coneheads is fun to watch.  

"Marine Wedding"-I particularly enjoyed Jane Curtin's performance in this sketch.  She barks out rapid fire technical dialogue with the same speed and clarity that Dan Aykroyd is famous for.

"Suicide note"-Laraine Newman's Valley Girl character appears in this sketch as a secretary.  I'm a fan of any sketch that features Sherri and the way Burns and the cast break character is also fun.

J.A. Morris' rating:
Saturday Night was on a hot streak of 4-star episodes during the latter half of Season 2.  This episode isn't as good as the episodes that preceded it, but it's not bad either.  Every episode can't be "a classic."  

2 and a half stars.