Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
Rhonda Weiss & Rhondettes sing “Goodbye Saccharine”; Linda Ronstadt cameo
— Unique use of Gilda’s Rhonda Weiss character.
— It feels almost too soon to be using Rhonda Weiss in this manner; she’s not an established-enough character yet. Also, where’s her sunglasses?
— Are they trying to make Gilda saying “bitch” to Jane a regular thing even outside of Emily Litella bits?
— Hate to say it, but this song is going on far too long, and I’m pretty much completely losing interest.
— Random Linda Ronstadt cameo.
STARS: **
MONOLOGUE
host recalls his firing from NBC thirty-seven years ago
— Interesting set-up of the homebase stage, with a comfy chair, lamp, and table all in the spot where the host always stands while performing their monologue.
— Wow, Broderick Crawford looks NOTHING like how I had pictured him. Yes, I shamefully admit that I’m not familiar with him at all, and this is my first exposure to him.
— Instead of entering from down the stairs like hosts in this era usually do, Broderick was already seen standing on the floor when this began. I guess he wasn’t in any condition to go down the stairs.
— Overall, the story he told was fairly interesting and had a decent ending.
STARS: ***
SAMURAI HIT MAN
Futaba will pose as Benihana chef to carry out contract
— Dan sounds like he’s doing his Irvin Mainway voice.
— For the first time in his SNL tenure, Bill Murray is seen without his mustache. He looks a lot better without it. I’m still waiting for Dan to eventually get rid of his mustache; I’m guessing that doesn’t happen until season 3.
— Futaba! That’s a genuine surprise, as this sketch did not seem like this was leading into another Samurai piece.
— His extended demonstration as a chef is making me laugh.
— Overall, this was fine, but I was left wanting more out of this. Then again, I guess they did everything they could with the concept, short of showing the actual hit take place. Maybe the latter is what I had been wanting to see.
STARS: ***
BRODERICK’S OLD NEIGHBORHOOD
by Gary Weis- host revisits his old neighborhood & Central Park
— In Broderick’s intro to this, he’s still in the same homebase chair he was in during the monologue. Is this how he’s going to be doing the whole show tonight? I guess he wasn’t kidding when he said at the end of the monologue “I’m gonna sit back and enjoy the show”. Will he be our least-involved host since George Carlin?
— Kinda early in the night for a Gary Weis film, isn’t it? These usually always appear after Update.
— This short has a fairly bittersweet feel to it that’s making it a little more tolerable than Weis’ usual work. Broderick’s likability is also carrying this.
STARS: **½
MEL’S HIDE HEAVEN
they supply the cow, you make your own clothes
— Dan’s pitchman performance feels slightly different than usual this time.
— Oh, wait, this is starting to feel like the Mel’s Char Palace ads, as Dan’s saying the same “Select your own cow; you stun it, you skin it, etc.” spiel.
— Yeah, this is definitely intended as a variation of Mel’s Char Palace; it even has basically the same name. Hope there’s not gonna be three of these sketches tonight, like how the Christmas episode from season 1 had three of the Char Palace ads, all of which felt the exact same.
— Why did Laraine play Gilda’s chainsaw-toting “Mrs. Mel” character this time? Gilda was much funnier at working a fake chainsaw than Laraine is in this sketch.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (DR. JOHN, LEVON HELM, PAUL BUTTERFIELD)
NEW KID
new castmember BIM admits to not being funny on SNL, seeks viewer support
— Oh, this is gonna be the legendary “I don’t think I’m making it on the show” piece with Bill addressing his struggles as a new cast member. I’ve never actually seen this sketch for myself before; I’m only familiar with it through reading the transcript.
— I know he’s generally been having an unimpressive and fairly awkward start these last handful of episodes (except for, strangely, his very first episode) and constantly getting stuck in dull non-comedic roles, but I can’t help but wonder if it was specifically his nervous wreck of a performance in the preceding week’s “quintlexia” sketch that was the final straw that led to him doing this sketch right now.
— He’s getting great laughs at the expense of his own lack of funny roles.
— Bill: “That reminds me of something funny…. my father died when I was 17.”
— LOL at him begging the audience to always laugh at him on the show no matter what.
— Overall, this was a wonderful piece, and a very important turning point, as it not only made viewers want to start rooting for Bill, but it would eventually lead to a breakthrough of him developing into a beloved cast member, to say nothing of the greatness he would achieve in his career after his SNL tenure.
— Not only was it unheard of at the time for a cast member to address something like this, it STILL remains a rarity all these decades later for struggling cast members to do something of this sketch’s nature. The only other instance I can think of is Tracy Morgan’s self-deprecating Weekend Update commentary about how his only claim-to-fame on SNL is being known as “the other black guy”.
STARS: *****
LUCY A-BOMB
Lucy (GIR) gets a job putting whipped cream on nuclear warheads
— I liked hearing the audience’s recognition when they came to the realization that this is going to be a parody of an iconic scene from I Love Lucy.
— Funny twist on the I Love Lucy scene by bizarrely replacing the chocolates with nuclear warheads.
— It’s pretty fun to watch Gilda’s reactions to the gradually increasing speed of the conveyor belt.
— Boy, that explosion stock footage sure is drawn out.
— Oh, that’s why the footage was drawn out: they had to give Gilda and Dan enough time to get their tattered post-explosion look ready.
STARS: ***½
WEEKEND UPDATE, PART 1
JAC describes what undergarments she is & isn’t wearing
GAM reports from vacant Black Governor Conference
— Interesting opening bit with Jane sultrily talking about the undergarments she’s wearing. That famous bra-flash she did a few episodes ago has definitely sparked a more sexualized persona from her at the Update desk.
— Garrett annoyedly points out that reporting at an event where nothing’s happening is supposed to be “Laraine Newman’s thing”, which is true, but Garrett seems to have forgotten that he actually did an Update commentary with that “reporting at an inactive event” premise before, in a season 1 episode where he was at the winter Olympics.
— Garrett’s commentary ended awkwardly. His rant was delivered strangely, and the audience sounded VERY quiet and disinterested.
— Jane to Garrett: “Have fun next week when we send you to the conference on black popes!”
PUPPY UPPERS & DOGGIE DOWNERS
— Rerun
WEEKEND UPDATE, PART 2
to explore “the luck of the Irish,” JOB offers a personal anecdote
— The debut of John’s “Luck of the Irish” rants.
— John’s already done the “slowly escalate from calmly professional to insanely angry” bit on Update in his weatherman commentaries, but his stories are usually always funny and it’s fun to watch his mood slowly change as the story he’s telling gets more and more maddening.
— Jane’s open-mouthed horrified facial reaction to John’s flailing at the end was hilarious.
— Jane ends this Update by saying “Good night, Mary Richards.” I remember reading somewhere that Jane was referring to the fact that the Mary Tyler Moore Show aired its final episode around this time.
STARS (FOR BOTH WEEKEND UPDATE HALVES): ***
HIGHWAY PATROL
Jack Kerouac (JOB) DWI, Siamese twin hostage situation
— What was with that long beep sound just now?
— Not really caring for this so far. It also probably doesn’t help that I’m not familiar with the show it’s parodying.
— Okay, I like this sudden premise of someone holding their own Siamese twin hostage.
— John in two different roles in the same sketch???
— John and Bill as Siamese priests is pretty funny.
— Amusing touch with John doing same hand gestures as Bill when Bill is talking.
— Some technical issues at the end, with the ending credits failing to display while the theme music was playing.
STARS: **½
BABA WAWA AT LARGE
an interview with Godzilla (JOB) in his L.A. home
— I’m already liking this idea of Baba Wawa interviewing Godzilla.
— John using a normal, casual voice for Godzilla is pretty funny.
— Overall, I wanted this to be better than it turned out. Despite some laughs, I don’t feel this lived up to its potential. I was a little bored during some parts.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (DR. JOHN, LEVON HELM, PAUL BUTTERFIELD)
HOOVER / NIXON
Richard Nixon (DAA) wants J. Edgar Hoover (host) to support police force
— I always love Dan’s Nixon impression.
— Didn’t Gilda play Julie Nixon last time? So why’s Laraine playing her now? Strangely, this is the second time tonight where Laraine took over a role that was previously played by Gilda.
— What’s with Bill and Garrett as effeminate blond-haired secret service men?
— Love the intended irony of 1970 Nixon saying it would take a real idiot to get himself impeached.
— Couldn’t help but get a cheap laugh from the audio recording of a Chinese hooker repeatedly moaning “Oh, Mr. Plesident” in a stereotypical Asian accent.
— Oh, THAT’S why Bill and Garrett are playing effeminate secret service men.
— I feel like I’m saying this for the 100th time in this review, but I felt this sketch didn’t fully live up to its potential.
STARS: **½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (THE METERS)
GOODNIGHTS
_______________________________
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— I’m not too crazy about what I just watched. This episode had a bit of a bland feeling to me. Thinking back on the show, it wasn’t even particularly bad nor did I give out a large amount of low ratings, but I dunno, the show just left me a little underwhelmed. And nothing in it is standing out as particularly great in my memory, except for Bill Murray’s groundbreaking address to viewers.
— Hard to say anything about Broderick Crawford himself, as he did little during the show. I’ll just say that considering his seeming physical limitations, he did okay with what he was given, and he had a laid-back atmosphere to him that made him quite likable and relatable.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Sissy Spacek):
— a slight step down
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Jack Burns (the second consecutive host I’m completely unfamiliar with)
According to Bill Murray, Crawford was hammered all week. The censors didn’t want him to say the line ‘I’ll see you boys later in the sauna”, but he was told to do it on the broadcast, and everyone was impressed that he remembered in his inebriated state.
Luck of the Irish may be Belushi’s best performance, IMO.
Per Wikipedia: “Throughout his adult life, Crawford was prone to bouts of heavy alcohol consumption . . .”
If I recall correctly, according to Gary Weis (in the “First Five Years” bonus featurette) and I think Neil Levy (in Shales/Miller), they had to frequently fish Crawford out of bars and he would constantly manage to slip away from their watch to go drink — especially Weis when they were doing their film.
Incidentally, Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in “All the King’s Men” (1949), and “Highway Patrol” was a TV series he actually starred on.
Bill’s “New Guy” speech was apparently one of the last sketches Lorne actually “wrote” (or in this case, co-wrote) for the show. Of course, he still is very involved with editing and tightening up the writing of sketches to this very day.
About that “Goodnight Mary Richards, yes, the Mary Tyler Moore show did end around this time, in fact it was on the same day as this episode aired.
This episode is on the “1977 Annual” tape… the monologue is the ONLY time you see Broderick in the material they picked!
The Tuesday before this live episode (March 15 1977), Belushi wore the same Godzilla costume when he hosted the NBC prime time presentation of the 1973 classic sci-fi “Godzilla Vs Megalon” (I’m guessing brief interstitial bumpers of Belushi comedy between the breaks of the film)
(… while on ABC that night. 2 of their long-running shows premiered: Eight is Enough and Three’s Company…)
I will never forget Broderick Crawford’s “Old Neighborhood” sketch. I cannot think of any current film star who could connect with everyday people like Crawford did here. Talk about “Man of the People”! Crawford connected with everyday folk in a way that no one afterwards could even come close to doing. Broderick Crawford was a tremendously-great actor and we will not see his like again.
Great job on the SNL reviews.
There is certainly an old-timey feel to this episode thanks to Crawford, but also the Lucy and Highway Patrol sketches. Despite the show’s shortcomings, Crawford is extremely likable and brings a sweetness to the show (reminds me of the old guys my father might go drinking with). Not sure you caught it, but there is a funny moment when Aykroyd apparently, in an off screen moment, knocked the fire extinguisher off the wall in the HP sketch. His character apologizes, and Crawford remarks, “aw, that’s alright, just pick it up.” Not sure what the story was behind Ronstadt’s cameo as I don’t think she appears as a musical guest for another year or two.
According to Neil Levy, Crawford’s drinking was so bad Lorne Michaels told Levy not to let Crawford out of his sigjt because he kept disappearing. Levy said he did as he was told, but Crawford got away once and sore wnnough ej found him at a bar.