Cold opening:"Gilda is worried"
Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner are awaiting the arrival of this week's host, consumer safety advocate Ralph Nader. Gilda is worried because Nader hasn't rehearsed all week and that he's too straight and serious to host the show. Their fears are proven incorrect when he arrives dressed as a cowboy.
As soon as Nader visits the makeup chair, he goes into advocate mode and points out that makeup is full of cancerous chemicals. Nader then notices Garrett Morris eating a hotdog and tells Garrett that hotdogs contain rodent excrement and rodent hairs.
Laraine Newman tells Nader how much she admires him then tries to hug him, but the host says he needs to activate his airbag first. The airbag fails to work, which prompts Nader to say "Oh well, live, from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
Monologue:"Nader in enemy territory"
Nader says he feels "a slight loss of innocence" being inside NBC's RCA Building, the center of corporate America. .
When Nader mentions that his research groups are currently investigating RCA for a number of corporate abuses, Nader disappears from the screen and viewers are shown this image:
Commercial:"Long Distance"
A grandfather (Bill Murray) gets frustrated when his ungrateful grandson doesn't call him to play chess over the phone.
"Televised Execution Rehearsal"
A TV director (Murray) drives everyone crazy during a rehearsal of a televised execution.
Baba Wawa (Radner) has finally found the perfect guest to interview:
Herself!
George Benson:"This Masquerade"
Musical guest George Benson performs "This Masquerade." This song was written by Leon Russell, who first recorded it in 1972. Benson's version appeared on his May 1976 album Breezin'.
"This Masquerade" was released as a single and reached #3 on Billboard's R&B chart and #10 on the Hot 100.
"Nader Meets Carter"
Nader meets with President-elect Jimmy Carter (Aykroyd) and presses him about some of the things he said during the presidential campaign. Carter shocks Nader when he dons a confederate Civil War uniform and says he's taking DC for the confederate states of America!
"Weekend Update":
At the beginning of the newscast, anchor Jane Curtin receives a call from John Belushi, who is injured and not appearing on the show. Belushi is upset that no one announced his injury on air.
Outgoing Pres. Gerald Ford made a last-ditch effort to beautify America by strangling former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.
The Flying Nun resorts to more conservative means of transportation.
Correspondent Emily Litella delivers a commentary in opposition to Pres. Ford's desire to make Puerto Rico "a steak."
Guest comedian Andy Kaufman, in his "Foreign Man" persona, performs terrible impressions of Archie Bunker and Jimmy Carter and tells a joke about penguins.
Foreign Man then surprises the audience by changing into a black Elvis Pressley jumpsuit and performs the following songs:
"Love Me" was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willy and Ruth in 1954. "Love Me" became a hit when Elvis Presley's version was released on October 19 on his second album Elvis. It reached #2 on the Billboard Pop chart and #7 on the R&B chart.
"Blue Suede Shoes" was first recorded by Carl Perkins (who also wrote the song) in February 1955. Elvis' recording was issued September 8, 1956 and peaked at #20 on the Pop chart.
"Party Dolls"
When reporter Burt Ingersoll (Morris) visits Nader's apartment to interview him, he's surprised to see Nader performing "experiments" on inflatable party dolls.
Film by Gary Weis:"Garbage"
Repeat from Season 1, Episode 17.
"The Coneheads At Home"
Written by Dan Aykroyd and Tom Davis.
Alien visitors Beldar Conehead (Aykroyd) and his wife Prymaat (Curtin) are forced to tell their daughter Connie (Newman) the truth about their extraterrestrial origins.
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| Connie Conehead doesn't believe her father when he tells her they came from France! |
George Benson:"Gonna Love You More"
Benson sings "Gonna Love You More," which was written by Morris Albert on appeared on Benson's 1977 album In Flight. The song was released as a single and reached #71 on the Pop chart and #41 on the R&B chart.
Talk show:"Youth Asks The Questions"
Nader receives some not-very-intelligent questions from high school students.
Commercial:"Ambassador Training Institute"
Repeat from Season 1, Episode 4.
Goodnights:
Nader says goodnight and sends well-wishes to the injured John Belushi.
In honor of peanut farmer Jimmy Carter's impending Presidency, Nader and the cast throw peanuts into the audience.
Notes about this episode:
This episode features Bill Murray's debut on SNL. He's not included in cast's introduction photos and his name isn't mentioned until "Weekend Update." During the closing credits, Don Pardo announces that Murray has joined the cast.
When this episode aired, Ralph Nader's consumer protection activism had made him a household name and the scourge of corporate criminals. This was the only time Nader hosted Saturday Night, but, he made guest cameos in Season 5 (appearing on the 100th episode) and Season 16.
The "Weekend Update" report about Pres. Ford strangling Lady Bird Johnson in order to "beautify America" is a reference to the former First Lady's promotion of the Highway Beautification Act, which was enacted by Congress in 1965.
Bill Murray's first episode-His first season would be a bit rocky, but he would go on to be a major presence on the show and remains a star of films today. Murray is excellent in the execution sketch, his "Weekend Update" appearance and as Jerry Eldini in "Youth Asks The Questions."
"The Coneheads At Home"-Beldar, Primaat and Connie make their first appearance in this great sketch. The Coneheads would become one of SNL's most popular recurring characters.
What stands out:
Andy Kaufman-His foreign-man-into-Elvis is a classic routine. Kaufman did a pretty good Elvis impersonation and it's worth noting that Elvis impersonators weren't omnipresent in popular culture when this episode aired. One of Kaufman's best SNL performances.
Ralph Nader-The host does a great job for someone who has no experience as an actor or comedian.
The reruns of "Ambassador Training Institute" and "Garbage" film-I can understand reusing one prerecorded bit, but two during the same show is one too many. This is a minor nitpick for an otherwise solid episode, but I would've rather seen something new in one of the rerun slots. Maybe Belushi's absence forced them to cut a new sketch?
J.A. Morris' rating:
This is another very good episode. Murray makes a strong debut, Nader is a better-than-expected host, the Coneheads first appearance and Kaufman's Elvis impression make this is a very memorable edition of Saturday Night.
Footnote:
