Aired October 15, 1977.
Cold opening:"Playboy's Party Jokes"
A Playboy Femlin (Laraine Newman) keeps attempting to tell jokes, but can't remember the punchlines.
She eventually tells this joke:
A sailor named Rick, grew so fond of flicking his Bic. He said to his date, ‘I could guess at her weight. If your nose was a plum, I would pluck it!”
Written by Anne Beatts.
In the year 3000 in a "distant mirror universe," Captain Macho (Hefner) leads his all-male crew (Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Garrett Morris)
Neither crew will ever be the same after the spaceships collide.
Libby Titus:"Fool That I Am"
Libby Titus sings "Fool That I Am," which was the leadoff track on her 1977 self-titled album.
"Anyone Can Host Contest"
Garrett Morris reminds viewers about Saturday Night's Anyone Can Host contest. Viewers can mail postcards to NBC to enter the contest, the winner will host the December 17 Christmas episode.
TV show:"X-Police"
When a couple (Belushi and Curtin) decides to smoke a joint before bedtime, they are interrupted by two men who call themselves the X-Police. They were "kicked off the force a couple of months ago," presumably for excessive use of force.
The X-Police inadvertently kill the man and frame his girlfriend for the crime.
"Circular Bed Research"
Hefner helps a college student (Curtin) who is writing a thesis about "male performance territory and their geometric variant."
Their "research" is interrupted by an expected visit by Pres. Jimmy Carter (Aykroyd).
"Listening To Great Music"
John Belushi hosts a TV program dedicated to musical appreciation. He's driven insane by a recording of Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries."
John gets so swept up in the music that he trashes the furniture and the entire set!
"Weekend Update"
Anchors Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd report on the news of the day.
Their top story: "Professor John Van Vleck, of Harvard University, won the Nobel Prize for Physics this week. He is shown here with his invention: a party doll for older men."
Plus, Olympic Gold Medal-winning Gymnast Nadia Comaneci has embarked on a 60-city tour of the United States. Comaneci tells viewers "I have to make all the money I can, because I won’t be cute forever!"
"Sex In Cinema"
Hefner hosts a show that examines sex in movies. He tells viewers "there was a time when American entertainment was censored by puritanical morality."
Hefner states that Hollywood's old production code "stated that if a man and a woman appeared on a bed together, at least one of their four feet must remain on the floor." He shows the final scene from The First Mrs. Kimble, a screwball comedy starring Cary Grant (Murray) and Katherine Hepburn (Newman).
It features a romantic scene where one of Grant's feet remains on the floor the whole time.
This chat show examines aspects of the educational system. Guest Michael Mykonos has filed a lawsuit against the board of education. Mykonos claims his daughter Colleen has graduated from high school, but cannot go to college because tests show she is illiterate. For proof of Colleen's illiteracy, Michael shows off a book that she wrote titled My Experiences As An Illiterate.
Film:"The Story of H"
This documentary short chronicles Hefner's life and rise to prominence.
Hef narrates the piece and says he was "duped" into giving "hippies" and "libertines" a forum in his magazine, which led to his multi-million dollar empire. Hefner hopes that "The Story Of H" will save viewers from suffering the way he's suffered. This short film is filled with montages and jumpcuts that display photos of Hefner throughout his life.
"The Playboy Philosophy"
In Athens, circa 400 B.C., a philosopher named Hef (Hefner) introduces Socrates (Belushi) and Plato (Morris) to the Playboy Philosophy.
"Magical Funeral"
When Hartley Raymond (Murray) is called upon to eulogize his friend Jonathan Gilsrack, he turns the funeral service into a full-fledged magic show, pulling flowers out of his sleeve, performing card tricks...
...and sawing the coffin in half.
At the end of the funeral, Hartley leads the mourners in a performance of "Put On A Happy Face." This song was written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse for their musical Bye Bye Birdie.
Andy Kaufman:"Oklahoma,"That's The Way It Goes," "I Need Your Love Tonight."
Guest comedian Andy Kaufman sings the title song from the musical Oklahoma!, which was written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.
Kaufman then sits down at a piano and performs his original song "That's The Way It Goes." The song deals with noises made by cows, dogs, cats, birds, pigs and lions. Kaufman gets the audience to sing, moo, meow and tweet along with him.
Lastly, Kaufman dons a jacket similar to the one worn by Elvis Presley in his later years so he can imitate "The King." He closes his set by performing "I Need Your Love Tonight," which was written by Sid Wayne and Bix Reichner. Presley's recording of the song was issued on June 10, 1958 and it peaked at #4 on Billboard's Hot 100.
"The Farbers go to the Playboy Club"
Larry Farber (Belushi) and his wife Bobbi (Radner) visit the Playboy club where they meet Hugh Hefner.
Goodnights:
Hefner, flanked by the cast and Libby Titus, says "Thank you all for making this such a wonderful adventure. Thank you! Good night!"
Notes about this episode:
The cold opening is a parody of "Playboy's Party Jokes," a long-running feature in Hefner's magazine. "Party Jokes" featured Leroy Neman sketches of a woman called a Femlin, Newman plays a Femlin in the sketch.
What stands out:
Andy Kaufman-His performance brought a lot of energy to an episode that dragged at times.
"Planet Of Men vs. Planet Of Women"-This sketch is filled with ridiculous, over-the-top double entendres and the costumes are great too.
"Magical Funeral"-Bill Murray is great as the magician. The closing song and the presence of Paul Shaffer on organ makes this feel a bit like a "Nick the lounge singer" sketch.
What doesn't work:
Hugh Hefner-He's worst SNL host so far. Hefner plays "himself" in almost every sketch and he's boring. To make matters worse, the bulk of the episode is built around Hefner playing himself. In his monologue, Hefner says his friends think he's "almost as funny as Ralph Nader." When Nader hosted, he was surprisingly funny and entertaining (Julian Bond was another "non-entertainer" who turned out to be good in sketches). Hefner is neither funny nor entertaining.
J.A. Morris' rating:
This episode features too many sketches that feature Hugh Hefner playing "himself." This gets old fast since Hefner's presence drags down every sketch that's built around him. One of the weakest episodes so far.
2 stars.
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