Season 2, Episode 12; Host:Ruth Gordon, with Chuck Berry and Ricky Jay

Aired January 22, 1977.

Cold opening:"John Belushi is still injured"

After missing the previous episode, John Belushi is still nursing injuries and is using a wheelchair.  Producer Lorne Michaels says Belushi is not ready to return to the air.  Belushi's doctor pleads with Michaels, saying John will be crushed if he isn't allowed to perform. 
Gilda Radner wheels Belushi into Lorne's office and he is barely able to speak.  

When Michaels asks why the doctor is so convinced John should appear on Saturday Night, 

the doc says that if Belushi doesn't go on, he won't get paid, and if he doesn't get paid, he'll cut off Belushi's drugs.  

Upon hearing this, John looks into the camera and announces "Live, from New York, it's Saturday Night!"  

Monologue:

Host Ruth Gordon says that after 61 years of acting, she's ready for the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.

Commercial:"The Marines"

Repeat from Season 2, episode 7.

Barbra Streisand:"Me"

Written by Marilyn Suzanne Miller and Cheryl Hardwick.
Barbra Streisand (Laraine Newman) sings a song love song about the person she loves the most:

Herself!

"Litella Sisters"

During lunch, Emily Litella (Radner) tells her sister Essie (Gordon) that she's having trouble coming up with a topic for her latest "Weekend Update" commentary.  Essie suggests she discuss the "burning tissues" of the day, like "transcendental medication" and "flea elections" that people are demanding in China.

"The Tommorrow Show with Tom Snyder"

Written by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
Tom Snyder (Dan Aykroyd) interviews movie producer Dino De Laurentis (Belushi) about his new King Kong movie.  De Laurentis believes his new film will be a huge hit because everyone will cry when Kong dies.

Chuck Berry:"Johnny B. Goode"
Chuck Berry performs "Johnny B. Goode," which was written by Berry and released in 1958.  "Johnny B. Goode" reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

During the song, Berry shows off his patented duckwalk!

"Weekend Update":
Anchor Jane Curtin reports on the day's top stories, which include:
At his inauguration, President Jimmy Carter performed with a ventriloquist dummy that looks ust like his daughter Amy.

Correspondent Laraine Newman interviews the new President's mother Miss Lillian Carter (Gordon).

And correspondent Emily Litella delivers an editorial reply about...nothing!  Curtin is disgusted by this and lectures Litella about the responsibilities of broadcast journalists.

Commercial:"Crazy Frank"
Crazy Frank (Aykroyd) hard-sells his store's stereo equipment, which is available for "crazy" low prices.

Film by Gary Weis:"Night Moves"

Garrett Morris introduces this week's film by Gary Weis and says it's about a woman he used to know 

The film features a woman watching Garrett on TV and posing in for the camera.  

Weis' film features the song "Night Moves" by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band as its soundtrack.  "Night Moves" was written by Seger and was the title track of Seger's album of the same name and released on October 22, 1976.  "Night Moves" was released as a single in December 1976 and reached #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

"Little Old Ladies Of The Night"
Police Captain Joe Palentine (Aykroyd) narrates a story about a geriatric woman (Gordon) who unwittingly falls into prostitution.  

Chuck Berry:"Memphis, Tennessee" and "Carol"

Berry performs "Memphis, Tennessee," which he wrote and originally released in 1959.  "Memphis" later became a hit single in 1963, peaking at #3 on the Irish chart and #6 in the UK.

Berry follows-up with "Carol," another of his compositions.  "Carol" was released in August of 1958 and it peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the R&B chart.

"Babysitter"
When a girl named Penny (Radner) wants to watch an adult-oriented program on TV, her babysitter Mrs. Gillies (Gordon) turns off the television and gives Penny a lesson on sex and relationships, using childish terms.

Home Movie:"The Mr. Bill Show"
Mr. Bill (Walter Williams) is visited by Sluggo the magician, who ends up dismembering Mr. Bill.  

"Ricky Jay"

Magician Ricky Jay invites members of the audience onstage to help him perform card tricks.

"Last Days Of Howard Hughes":

Eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes (Newman) spends his final days on Earth watching movies, eating ice cream and urinating in jars.

"World Of Adventure":

Host E. Buzz Miller (Aykroyd) and his guest anthropologist Dr. Clara Mitdorf (Gordon) watch films Mitdorf made of nude natives of Africa's Kalahari region.

"Mr. Mike's Least Loved Bedtime Tales"
Mr. Mike (Michael O'Donoghue) tells his maid Fifi (Radner) the story of Willie The Worm.

"Goodnights"

Gordon says she loved what she's done on the show and is joined onstage by the cast for goodnights. 

Belushi, who is walking with a cane, is helped onstage by Bill Murray and Radner.  

Notes about this episode:

Ruth Gordon is someone younger readers of this site might not be familiar with.  Her acting credits stretched back to 1915 in silent films and Broadway plays.  She and her husband Garson Kanin were a screenwriting duo and they were nominated for two Best Original Screenplay Oscars.  Gordon gained more fame late in life when she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Rosemary's Baby and appeared in other popular movies like Inside Daisy Clover, Harold And Maude and Every Which Way Loose.  

Gordon was 80 when this episode aired, that made her the oldest person to ever host Saturday Night.  She held that title for 33 years, until Betty White hosted SNL at age 88 on May 8, 2010.

The "Crazy Frank" sketch was a parody of Crazy Eddie commercials from the 1970s.  Crazy Eddie was a Brooklyn-based consumer electronic chain that promised "crazy" low prices on televisions, stereos and other items.  Here's an example of a Crazy Eddie commercial:

Classic moment:

"World Of Adventure" features the first appearance of Dan Aykroyd's sleazeball public access TV host E. Buzz Miller.  The character would go on to appear three times during SNL's third season.  

What stands out:

Laraine Newman as Barbra Streisand and Howard Hughes- Newman does a great Barbra Streisand impression, nailing her voice and her facial expressions.  It's a tribute to her talents that she convincingly plays Howard Hughes and Barbra Streisand in the same episode!  Dan Aykroyd and Garrett Morris also have some great lines in the Hughes sketch.

Dan Aykroyd in "Little Old Ladies Of The Night" and "Crazy Frank"-Aykroyd is hilarious as the narrator of "Little Old Ladies."  He repeats the same line multiple times, but gets angrier every time, which makes this "one-joke sketch" work. 

 Aykroyd is also great as Crazy Frank, his latest rapid-fire commercial pitch-man.  

Chuck Berry-The Rock N Roll legend gives great performances of three of his biggest hits and the Saturday Night Band provides brilliant accompaniment.  

"Litella sisters"-It was nice to see Emily Litella away from the "Weekend Update" desk and Gordon is funny as Emily's sister Essie.   

What doesn't work:
Emily Litella on "Weekend Update"-As much as I enjoy the character, featuring Litella on "Update" after she'd already appeared earlier the same night feels like a case of overexposure.  

J.A. Morris' rating:

This is a solid episode with great music and it features strong performances by the cast, especially the aforementioned Newman and Aykroyd, and Gordon has good chemistry with the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.

.5

3 and a half stars.

Season 2, Episode 11;Host:Ralph Nader, with George Benson and Andy Kaufman

Aired January 15, 1977.

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.

Talk Show:"Baba Wawa Talks To Herself"
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.  

Curtin then reports on the news of the day, which includes:
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.  

New Update contributor Bill Murray profiles incoming First Lady Roslyn Carter.  His "profile" mainly consists of a vivid description of Roslyn's physical appearance.  

Correspondent Laraine Newman reports on a Senate Select committee meeting on solar energy.  Newman interviews Mr. Rigg (Nader), chairman of Texxon Oil, who sat in on the meeting.  Rigg says he'd be in favor of moving towards solar energy if Texxon is allowed to own the sun.

Correspondent Emily Litella delivers a commentary in opposition to Pres. Ford's desire to make Puerto Rico "a steak." 

Andy Kaufman:"Foreign Man"
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.

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 failure of Nader's airbag during the cold opening was not planned.  The bag was supposed to inflate and it worked during the episode's dress rehearsal, but not during the live broadcast.[1]

 
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.

Classic moments:
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.   

"Youth Asks The Questions"-This sketch features the debut of two recurring characters, Rhonda Weiss (Radner) and Jerry Eldini (Murray).  

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.  

What doesn't work:
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. 

4 stars!
Footnote:

[1]Saturday Night, by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingard, p.97.