As I mentioned in the first intermission post, there was a lot of turmoil near the end of Season 1 that carried over into the beginning of the second season. In May of 1976, Chevy Chase told Lorne Michaels that he planned to leave the show. Chase returned for the beginning of Season 2 and fulfilled his contractual obligations. His last show as cast member was Episode 6. Bill Murray didn't join until Episode 11, so he wouldn't be seen as Chase's replacement. This meant the cast was shorthanded for several episodes. By the end of the season, Murray found his footing and solidified his place in the cast.
Unlike the transition between its first and second seasons, their would be no major changes in the cast or writer's room.
In between Seasons 2 and 3, the Not Ready For Prime Time Players began to receive more individual recognition. The magazine Crawdaddy, which usually focused on rock and pop music, featured a cover story on John Belushi in its June 1977 issue.
New Times, a bi-weekly news magazine, put Gilda Radner on the cover of their August 19 issue.
The 29th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony was held on September 11, 1977 about two weeks before the premier of Season 3. Season 1 of Saturday Night received four Emmy nominations and won all four of them. Season 2 got seven total nominations in the following categories:
Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series.
Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music: Gilda Radner.
Two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy, Variety/Music Series: John Belushi and Chevy Chase
Outstanding Directing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series: Dave Wilson, for directing Season 2, Episode 8, hosted by Paul Simon.
Two nominations for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series: For the episode hosted by Sissy Spacek and another episode hosted by Elliott Gould.
The episode hosted by Spacek won the Outstanding Writing Emmy, Saturday Night's only win that night. A far cry from the previous season's sweep, but winning Emmys in its first two seasons proved SNL was no flash in the pan.
SNL's writers celebrate their 2nd Emmy win on September 11, 1977.
Perhaps more importantly, from the perspective of NBC's network executives, SNL's ratings kept improving. During Season 1, it averaged a 6.4 Nielsen rating. For 1976-77, the number rose to 7.9. During Season 3, Saturday Night averaged a 9.8 Nielsen rating.
SNL's ratings increased every season. [1]
It was Season 3 when Saturday Night truly became a nationwide cultural phenomenon. Lots of new characters and recurring sketches debuted that season. Each introduced a new catchphrase:
John Belushi's "Weekend Update commentaries:"But NOOOOO!"
Roseanne Roseannadanna:"It just goes to show you, it's always something."
The Olympia Cafe:" CHEEBURGER, CHEEBURGER CHEEBURGER!"
Lisa Loopner:"That's so funny, I forgot to laugh!"
The Festrunk Brothers:"We are, two wild and crazy guys!"
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi also made their first TV appearance as the Blues Brothers during Season 3.
Steve Martin hosted three times during the 3rd season, which cemented him as the definitive host of the original cast era. In fact, Martin hosted so often that I still encounter people who think he was part of the cast. Martin's frequent appearances on SNL were mutually beneficial. His album Let's Get Small sold a million copies and reached #10 on Billboard's Hot 100. Episodes he hosted resulted in about a million extra households tuning in to Saturday Night.[2]
Buck Henry continued to host and became the first member of SNL's mythical "Five Timers Club." Saturday NightLive also held its first (and so far, only) Anyone Can Host Contest, which allowed viewers to vote for their choice of a non-celebrity to host the 1977 Christmas episode.
SNL's most frequent host Buck Henry, flanked by Anyone Can Host contestants.
Speaking of hosts, Chevy Chase returned to host during Season 3.
As Saturday Night grew in popularity, the press coverage increased. In December of Season 3, Gilda Radner was the subject of a People magazine cover story.
The following April, Bill Murray was profiled in Rolling Stone, a publication that had been one of SNL's early champions going back to Season 1.
Coverage in rock publications like Crawdaddy and Rolling Stone added a "coolness" factor that other movie and TV actors didn't have at the time. This elevated the Not Ready For Prime Time Players to the comedy equivalent of rock stars.
In March of Season 3, the film American Hot Wax was released. The film's cast included Laraine Newman.
Laraine Newman as "Teenage Louise" in American Hot Wax.
After being a "cult" show on the verge of cancellation in 1976, Saturday Night Live and its cast became part of the mainstream of American popular culture in '78.
In addition to being SNL's most popular season (so far), Season 3 would be the final season that the entire cast saw the show as their primary creative outlet. By Season 4, movies and other side projects would take precedence for some of the cast.
Season 3 is also when I discovered Saturday Night Live. When I began this project, SNL's third season was easily my favorite. I enjoyed Season 2 more than I expected, so we'll see if I still feel the same after this look at the third season.
Check back tomorrow for my annotated review of SNL's 3rd season premier.
Cold opening:"The director is dead!" Written by Tom Schiller. Announcer Don Pardo opens the show and informs viewers that Saturday Night director Dave Wilson has just suddenly dropped dead! Wilson lies dead on the control board as Dan Aykroyd walks onscreen and says that "show must go on," but that it can't go on without its director. Aykroyd hails Wilson as the last of a dying breed of directors who worked in live television.
One by one, the cast enters the control room and Aykroyd asks them to say something about the late director. It turns out that none of them knew Wilson well, nor did they know very much about him
They're joined in the control room by this week's host Sissy Spacek. She says she usually works in movies, not television, and mentions that if someone dies during a film shoot, production is shut down. That can't happen on a live TV show.
Since no one seems to know much about Wilson, Aykroyd grabs the director's wallet, hoping it will reveal something. Dan finds a medic alert card which says:“In the event of loss of consciousness, say "Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night.'” So the cast shouts "Live, from New York..." at Wilson. The director suddenly comes back to life and says "tape roll," then the show cuts to the opening credits.
Monologue:"Sissy's Oscar speech" Sissy Spacek talks about her recent Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in Carrie. Since she doesn't expect to win, Sissy decides to give her Oscar speech on SNL in order to thank everyone who helped her achieve her success.
Spacek then performs a baton twirling scene that she says was cut from Carrie.
Commercial:"Burger Master" Written by Michael O'Donoghue. Burger Master will make your burger anyway you want it, including topping it with Colombian Cocoa Frog blood, cold water detergent or the entire contents of a lava lamp.
Talk show:"Ask President Carter" Written by Dan Aykroyd, Al Franken and Tom Davis. In a radio call-in show moderated by CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite (Bill Murray), Pres. Jimmy Carter (Aykroyd) answers complicated questions from callers.
No matter how specific or obscure the question is, Carter has an answer. He also talks down a caller who is tripping on LSD and gets a call from a man (also voiced by Aykroyd) who sounds a lot like Former Pres. Nixon.
"Amy's bedtime story" As the call-in show ends, Carter's daughter Amy (Spacek) comes out to meet Cronkite. The President exits and leaves her in the care of her nanny Mary Fitzpatrick (Garrett Morris). When Amy asks for a bedtime story, Mary tells Amy a unique version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, where Goldilocks gets paroled from prison and visits the home of the three bears...with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Talk show:"How Our Children Grow" Host Jane Curtin interviews learning disabilities expert Dr. Alan Ross (Murray), who suffers from Quintlexia. This condition means that Ross can only speak these five words:"That's true, you're absolutely right."
"John Belushi's Olympic Dream" John Belushi announces that he's retiring from show business so he can train to compete as a Decathlete in the 1980 Olympic games. He hasn't saved any money, so he'll be selling Olympic gold coins to fund his training.
"Weekend Update" Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt has hired the New York Yankees for a centerfold spread.
Pres. Carter's mother Lillian announces that she will marry wrestler Gorilla Kowalski after she wrestles him.
Correspondent Laraine Newman interviews Muhammad Ali (Morris). The boxing champ says that after watching Sylvester Stallone play a boxer in Rocky, he will "beat" Stallone by starring in a remake of On The Waterfront.
And Correspondent Emily Litella (Gilda Radner) wants to know why everyone is talking about "endangered feces." Curtin in not amused about Emily's "topic" and she accuses Litella of ruining Update's journalistic credibility.
Richard Baskin:"One, I Love You" Musical guest Richard Baskin performs "One, I Love You." Baskin wrote this song for the 1975 movie Nashville, where it was performed by Henry Gibson and Ronee Blakely. Their version appeared on the Nashville soundtrack album.
Spacek joins Baskin onstage during the song and harmonizes with him on the song's last chorus.
"Franken and Davis perform improv" The comedy team of Al Franken and Tom Davis performs a sketch that imagines how the network news would cover World War III.
Public Service Announcement:"Gidget's Disease" Written by Anne Beatts and Rosie Shuster. Three women (Newman, Radner, Spacek) talk, behave and dress like little girls.
A spokeswoman (Curtin) then appears onscreen and tells viewers that these grown women are suffering from Gidget's Disease, which makes them "terminally cute, too cute for theirown good." She pleads for donations to help them.
"Young newlyweds" A young, recently married couple (Belushi and Spacek) argues due to the man's inability to summon his "manly powers" ever since their marriage.
Film by Gary Weis:"Baton Twirl" SNL's resident filmmaker Gary Weis' film shows Spacek twirling her baton in slow motion. Sissy's twirls are accompanied by the David Bowie song "Fame," which was written by Bowie, John Lennon and Carlos Alomar.
"Fame" appeared on Bowie's Young Americans album. It was released as a single on July 25, 1975 and it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Bad Playhouse" Written by Tom Schiller. Host Leonard Pinth-Garnell (Aykroyd) introduces a performance of a play called The Millkeeper.
The play was written by Jan Voorstraat, who Pinth-Garnell calls "one of the worst of the new breed of bad Dutch playwrights." Pinth-Garnell says the play "deals with the torment of the young bride alone in a windmill with her husband and his sister, who is caught in the clutches of death."
Richard Baskin:"City Of One Night Stands" Baskin performs "City Of One Night Stands," which he wrote for the film Welcome To L.A. Baskin's recording of the song appeared on the movie's soundtrack album.
Home movie:"Sissy's Roles" This week's home movie was created by filmmaker Robert Altman. It features scenes of Spacek from the film 3 Women intercut with clips of her in the movie Welcome To L.A. Altman wrote and directed 3 Women and produced Welcome To L.A.
"Goodnights" Spacek says she had a great time and tells the viewers "y'all come back, you hear?" She's joined by the cast, who walk onstage carrying bags that look like potato sacks and Garrett hands his bag to Sissy.
Notes about this episode: This episode was submitted to the Television Academy for the 1976-77 Emmy Awards. It won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series.
As she mentions in her monologue, Sissy Spacek received an Academy Award nomination for Carrie. The Oscar ceremony was held on March 28, 1977, 16 days after this episode. The Best Actress award went to Faye Dunaway for Network. Spacek would win her Oscar four years later for Coal Miner's Daughter.
Live TV can be unpredictable sometimes. There were two instances during this episode where things didn't go according to plan. When Spacek takes off her dress to reveal her baton twirling outfit, the top button of the dress gets stuck for a few seconds.
Another slipup occurs during "How Our Children Grow." Bill Murray plays a character who can't say anything except "That's true, you're absolutely right." At one point in the sketch, Murray adds "about that" to the end of the sentence before catching himself. This doesn't ruin the sketch, I didn't notice this mistake until the second time I watched it.
"Ask President Carter" was based on a real radio show of the same name that aired on CBS Radio on March 5, 1977 (a week before this episode aired). At the time, Carter's television advisor Barry Jagoda said their goal was to break down "the isolation of the President than anything else. The volume of calls that we receive is not as significant as the fact that millions of people will be able to hear those calls that actually do get into the Oval Office."[1] Longtime CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite served as moderator of the radio show. This turned out to be a one-off radio show and Carter never tried this again. Here's a clip from the real Ask President Carter:
In "Amy's Bedtime Story," Garrett Morris plays Mary Fitzpatrick, Amy Carter's nanny. The real Fitzpatrick was wrongly convicted of murder in 1970. She was later released from prison, received a full pardon and served as Amy's nanny. Today, Fitzpatrick is still alive and now goes by the name as Mary Prince. Here's a photo of the real Fitzpatrick with Amy Carter:
Musical guest Richard Baskin is the brother of photographer Edie Baskin, who created the color-tinted photos used on SNL's opening credits and bumpers.
The music played at the beginning of "Bad Playhouse" is "March Of The Lunatics," which was composed by Leonard Pennario, you can listen to it here:
The "Weekend Update" report about Lillian Carter marrying a wrestler is a reference to her avid wrestling fandom. While her son was President, Lillian was the one of the most prominent wrestling fans in the country. Here's a photo of her with several wrestlers from Georgia Championship Wrestling:
"Gidget's Disease" is a reference to Gidget, a character who first appeared in books written by Frederick Kohner. Gidget was a teenage "girl nextdoor" who was obsessed with California's surfer culture. The character was featured in a series of films and a TV sitcom.
Classic moment:
"Bad Playhouse"-This brilliant sketch features the debut of Leonard Pinth-Garnell and it led to 9 more "Bad" sketches over the next 3 seasons.
What stands out: "Young newlyweds"-This sketch is more dramatic than comedic and that's fine. Spacek and John Belushi are excellent playing off each other and it shows Belushi could've acted in more serious roles in films had he lived. These characters could've come off as stereotypical southerners, but these actors (and their words, written by Marilyn Suzanne Miller) make them feel like authentic human beings.
"Ask President Carter"-Aykroyd's Carter impression is great as usual, made more entertaining by the answers Carter provides to complicated questions. Bill Murray also provides nice support as Walter Cronkite.
"Gidget's Disease"-Spacek, Gilder Radner and Laraine Newman are hilarious as the women who suffer from Gidget's Disease. Jane Curtin is equally great as the PSA spokeswoman.
"One, I Love You"-I'm a big fan of the movie Nashville and I've always felt the songs written for the film deserve more attention. I also like it when the host or cast joins the musical guest on stage, it makes the musical performances feel more connected to the rest of the show.
"How Our Children Grow"-Murray is great in this sketch. The phrase "That's true, you're absolutely right," gets funnier every time he says it. On a personal note, I remember watching this sketch with my father when I was 9 in a rerun. He and I quoted it for years.
J.A. Morris' rating:
This episode features great sketches, good music, the debut of a recurring character, lots of stand-out moments and the entire cast gets time to display their talents. Spacek has great chemistry with the cast and I'm sorry she never hosted again. It's a strong episode from start-to-finish and it gets my highest rating.
