Sketches are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
clumsy Gerald Ford (CHC) has a few accidents during a speech
— Ah, our debut of Chevy’s famous Gerald Ford non-impression.
— Wait, now there’s a disclaimer on the bottom of the screen stating “This is not the president of the United States, but he thinks he is”. Huh? So does that mean this DOESN’T count as him playing Ford? Or does it, but that disclaimer was just their way of waving off the fact that there was no attempt to make Chevy look or sound anything like Ford? If this DOESN’T count as him playing Ford, does that mean this and all of his subsequent Ford appearances should technically be counted as a “character”, and we were wrong all these years when we counted it as an impression? Ha, it’s funny how one little disclaimer has me asking so many questions…….
— I’ve just come to the realization that, unless I’m mistaken, we’ve yet to see Chevy wear a wig in any of the four episodes I’ve covered. Actually, come to think of it, have ANY of the cast members wore any wigs yet by this point?
— The overabundance of goofy accidents Chevy keeps having is kinda over-the-top, but pretty damn funny, especially the gag with the glass of water he keeps pouring. Chevy is very skilled at performing a rapid-fire string of blunders; he makes it look effortless.
STARS: ***½
OPENING MONTAGE
— I swear, the cast list in the opening montage has been getting stranger and stranger with each passing episode. Tonight, for some bizarre reason, literally only HALF of the cast is listed: Garrett, Laraine, Gilda, and Michael O’Donoghue. What in the world???!!
— Considering the fact that their names are shown on the lower half of the screen, I have to wonder if the full cast was supposed to be listed, but there was maybe some weird technical error where the names on the upper half of the screen failed to display. I know that theory sounds strange, but it’s possible. After all, this IS a very early episode back when SNL’s technology was kinda shoddy.
MONOLOGUE
allergic host attempts to dissuade CHC from hitting a Bee (JOB)
— Right after the opening montage ended, Candice is already on stage, sitting on a stool as Pardo announces her name. It’s interesting seeing how in these early episodes, SNL experimented with how they had their hosts begin their monologues. The first and third episode had the host (George Carlin and Rob Reiner, respectively) make an entrance after Pardo calls their name, whereas the second and fourth episode (Paul Simon and Candice Bergen, respectively) had the host already there on stage as their name is called. Wonder how long it is until SNL made the permanent decision to stick with the former, where the hosts make an entrance.
— It always feels unusual for me seeing Candice Bergen look so young. Because I grew up in the 90s, most of my exposure to her has been from “Murphy Brown” and onward.
— Did I just see one of The Bees in the background?
— Ah, I was right, although it’s just John as a Bee instead of the whole cast playing them.
— I like how they’re playing this out, treating John as an actual bee and trying to sneak up and kill him the way you would a real insect. This is a change from the last two Bees appearances, where the premise was that they’re recurring characters who nobody likes.
STARS: ***
AMBASSADOR TRAINING INSTITUTE
start your career in diplomacy at Ambassador Training Institute
— Pretty decent premise.
— The ‘multiple choice’ list has been my favorite part so far.
— Overall, not bad.
STARS: ***
CIA DEPARTMENT OF RECORDS
CIA records keeper (DAA) says he can’t find career criminal GAM’s file
— Hmm, I wasn’t expecting the reveal that Garrett’s playing himself. Until then, I had assumed he was just a random character.
— I’m not really sure where this sketch is going, though I’m liking Dan’s performance and the increasing desperation of the crimes Garrett’s claiming he committed.
— The twist/punchline at the end was pretty funny, but I’m not sure if all that set-up was worth it.
STARS: **
JAWS II
a clever Land Shark (CHC) attacks young women in their homes
— The debut of the Landshark!
— All the stuff that Chevy’s saying behind the door in that sheepish voice keeps cracking me up.
— Ah, there’s the classic “Candygram” line.
— I’m liking the short cutaways with John and Dan, especially the egg salad bit just now.
— Another great part of the John/Dan scenes is the “good news/bad news” phone conversation.
— Nice touch having Pardo’s voice as the radio announcer that Candice is listening to.
— Funny ending with Garrett getting mistaken for the Landshark and staggering around after getting conked with the mallet.
— Overall, a very memorable and strong sketch, and I love how they made this feel like an actual movie, with all the various scenery changes.
STARS: ****½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
HAMLET / POLAROID
Hamlet’s (CHC) crib notes scatter when he fractures Yorick’s skull
— The skull breaking and Chevy attempting to read the lines off the small fragmented pieces is pretty funny.
— LOL at the brief “Hello Dolly” part.
— A Polaroid segue? What??? THIS sure came out of left field.
— Oh, I remember hearing about this, where SNL had their performers do an actual non-joke live Polaroid ad in an episode. In fact, I think I heard this was actually done several times in this era of the show, though I might be mistaken.
— I like how Candice is randomly wearing a Bee costume. It’s cute how the whole Bees thing became a big running gag so quickly on SNL in just four episodes.
— Well, this Polaroid bit is just plain odd to see on SNL. I keep expecting some kind of humor, but it’s been played completely straight so far.
— Okay, there was a little humor at the end just now, with Candice and Chevy’s quick insult to each other.
STARS: N/A
LONG DISTANCE
gay son’s long-distance call to mom is “the next best thing to being her”
— Whaaaaaaaat??? That’s all I could say after this commercial ended.
— Wow, I didn’t understand this at all. Was it even intended to be funny? Was the “it’s the next best thing to being her” tagline intended to be an insult to gay men? I get the bad feeling the latter is what SNL was going for here, which is something that wouldn’t fly on the show nowadays in our more gay-friendly world.
— I have no idea what to make of this ad as whole. Man, like I said a few episodes ago, some of these early SNL fake ads are STRANGE.
STARS: *
WEEKEND UPDATE, PART 1
— Ah, we have our very first utterance of Chevy’s famous “I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not” intro!
— Hmm, the president back then was known for making big firings and hirings in his white house staff? Heh, some things never change…
— I loved the joke about vandals attaching arms to the Venus de Milo statue.
TRIOPENIN
— We break in the middle of Update for our very first instance of a repeated fake ad.
WEEKEND UPDATE, PART 2
while CHC makes faces at her, JAC blasts New York’s vote on the ERA
with GAM’s help, CHC repeats the top story for the hard-of-hearing
— Finally, four episodes into SNL’s existence, Weekend Update has its first-ever guest commentary at the desk. Jane Curtin gets the honors. Kinda meaningful in hindsight, considering she would later go on to be Chevy’s successor as Update anchor.
— Oh, this is the well-known recurring bit where Chevy makes faces behind the guest commentator’s back while they’re addressing the camera. Wow, a lot of Chevy trademarks were born in this episode: his Gerald Ford impression/character, his Landshark sketches, “I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not”, and now this.
— After just one episode, they’ve already brought back the “news for the hard of hearing” bit? I can’t complain, because as I said before, it’s always funny.
STARS (FOR BOTH WEEKEND UPDATE HALVES): ***½
CHANEL
Catherine Deneuve (host) lies on a Chanel bottle & talks about fame
— I can tell this must be parodying a specific ad that’s before my time, but I’m still enjoying this so far. Candice’s performance is excellent and her accent is making me laugh.
— Good ending with the bottle still attached to her face when she held her head upright.
STARS: ***
ANDY KAUFMAN
as Foreign Man, Andy Kaufman [real] bombs while attempting stand-up
— Yes! Our first instance of Andy’s “Foreign Man” act on SNL.
— I love the way this is building up so far.
— The very long, painfully-awkward pause when he “forgets” what impression to do next is fucking great. Most of my favorite Andy Kaufman bits over the years are ones that rely on making the audience confused & having no idea how to react to what they’re seeing.
— Oh, I see this is where his sobbing noises are gradually going to turn rhythmic and then segue into him playing on the big bongo drum and then dancing. I saw a clip of that part years ago in an Andy Kaufman documentary.
— Overall, this was such a fascination to watch. It had just about everything I love to see in an Andy Kaufman performance.
STARS: *****
FEMININE TALK
GIR & host chat about their insecurities, femininity, gender equality
— Hmm, Gilda and Candice as themselves on the homebase stage… I can already tell this will be interesting.
— So far, this hasn’t been too laugh-out-loud funny, but is very charming.
— Overall, this was really good. While there were some jokes scattered in there, there’s something I enjoy about seeing a realistic, slice-of-life, laid-back conversation between these two charismatic female performers.
STARS: ****
A FILM BY ALBERT BROOKS
NBC series Medical Season, The Three Of Us, Black Vet
— Previewing various fictional mid-season replacement shows seems like a premise I’ll enjoy, and is a bit of a change of pace from the other shorts we’ve seen from Albert Brooks so far.
— This medical show preview is strange, but kinda funny.
— The guy with the sunglasses in the “you could get hit by a car driving home today” bit looks familiar.
— This “The Three of Us” preview is cracking me up with the intentional bad jokes and typical sitcom laughtrack.
— Is that the same little girl from the ‘age of consent lowered to seven’ scene in Albert Brooks’ short from the first episode?
STARS: ***
MIDNIGHT PROBE
host interviews kiwi trappers (DAA) & (JOB)
— Feels like the first time we’re seeing Belushi in quite a while.
— Unusual sketch so far, but I’m enjoying how the silliness of what Dan and John are saying is being played so straight.
— Wow, this turned crazy all of sudden with the demonstration of kiwi-bagging. This is hilarious, especially Dan and John’s goofy high-pitched chanting during it.
— This HAD to have been written (or at least co-written) by Dan. Watching & reviewing these SNL episodes in order, I’m starting to notice in the four episodes I’ve covered that he’s the one in this cast who seems to star in the particularly bizarre, inventive, out-there material (e.g. the Square Dance and Home Security sketches), which is starting to make him my new favorite of this cast.
STARS: ***½
CRANK CALL
airline ticket vendor (LAN) calmly takes (MOD)’s sadistic crank call
— Oh, THIS sketch. I’ve never actually seen it before, but I must’ve read the transcript because this is coming off very familiar to me so far.
— I’m always a fan of O’Donoghue’s disturbing, fucked-up humor, so naturally, I’m absolutely loving his psychotic deadpan rant to Laraine in this sketch.
— Great punchline with Laraine. Once again, I really like how these early SNL episodes have so many quick, to-the-point, random little sketches.
STARS: ****½
JIM HENSON’S MUPPETS
Scred & Ploobis consult Mighty Favog about the dwindling Glig population
— Ploobis’ extended eating sequence at beginning is pretty funny.
— Hmm, the food-deliverer’s (I think her name is Vazh) voice is completely different from her voice in the first Muppets sketch. I like this new voice better.
— Ploobis’ wife’s delivery of her lines always amuses me.
— While I’m going on about the Muppet’s voices, I’m getting a pretty good laugh from the yelling Glig’s voice. That character is one I can picture being on The Muppet Show.
— Overall, while none of these SNL Muppet sketches have been anywhere near great so far, I’m surprised to see I haven’t exactly been hating them yet.
STARS: **½
IRK THE TURK
host’s obnoxious practical jokes eventually ire third-world ruler (JOB)
— There seems to be a lot of instances tonight where it’s randomly revealed someone’s playing their self after I assumed they were just playing a character. Like the interviewers Candice played in both this sketch and Midnight Probe. I guess this is yet another unique aspect of 70s SNL. If they did those two sketches nowadays, the host would’ve been given a character name instead of their real name.
— Kinda surprising seeing Candice doing these rude antics to John’s character. Her antics are funny, especially the match-burning bit. I also really like John’s frustrated facial reactions; they’re a lot more subtle than you’d expect from a performer like him.
— I know I keep saying this, but again, I’m loving the randomness of these early sketches. They seem so unconventional by modern-day SNL standards.
STARS: ***½
BLACK PERSPECTIVE
GAM praises lily-white African-American expert JAC
— When they first showed Garrett after the title screen, I almost expected this to be the well-known bit with him interviewing Julian Bond, but I know that doesn’t come until later on in this era.
— “Soul sister Jane Curtin” – haha! And again, this further proves my point that there’s a lot of instances of performers playing themselves in tonight’s sketches. There’s something about that I’m starting to find fun.
— LOL at the ‘jungle bunny’ line, which naturally brings up memories of a certain epic Richard Pryor sketch that’s coming up in a few episodes.
STARS: ***
PONG
Pong-playing college students (ALF) & (TOD) discuss Thanksgiving plans
— Oh, yeah, this. I know this eventually becomes a recurring bit this season. I recall seeing at least one of these before.
— I really admire the unique structure of this sketch. I can see why some would find its format boring, but it’s intriguing to me for some reason.
— Not really any actual laughs so far, but I think Franken & Davis’ conversation is supposed to be going for a ‘slice-of-life’ feel, kinda like the Gilda/Candice conversation earlier.
— Oh, wow, very funny ending just now.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
GOODNIGHTS
— Ah, not only do we thankfully see the goodnights this time unlike the last episode, but finally for the first time ever, the goodnights actually have the cast onstage with the host.
— All Candice says is “goodnight”, and is then bombarded with a rose by each cast member.
— Chevy’s surprisingly coming off sweet in his interaction with his castmates.
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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS:
— What a fun episode. I especially liked the post-Update half, where just about every sketch kept me entertained.
— Now that I’ve finally seen this episode, I can say that yes, the comments I had read over the years about this being the first episode that feels like a typical SNL is correct. This episode introduced the traditions of: 1) the host playing various characters while appearing in sketches with the cast (though, as mentioned earlier, there were some instances of Candice playing herself in certain sketches that usually would give the host a character name), 2) there being only one musical guest and two musical performances, 3) Weekend Update having guest commentaries at the desk, and 4) the cast being present at the goodnights. There are still some aspects of the show that come off foreign to viewers today, however (e.g. the host already being on stage at the beginning of the monologue as Pardo calls their name, a lot of the pre-taped fake ads starring unknown actors instead of cast members, etc.).
— Candice was a great host, easily the best of the four we’ve had so far. She fit into the show perfectly, had great chemistry with the cast, and got several good laughs of her own. It’s no surprise she went on to be a recurring host so quickly; as you’ll see very soon, her second hosting stint is only shortly after this one.
— So far, I’m having a blast discovering these early SNLs. I love how loose, unpredictable, and experimental the sketches have been. We’re seeing interesting things like cast members frequently playing themselves in sketches, a lot of creative and weird sketches, a lot of sketches that are very short and lead to an actual punchline, and, of course, the running gag with The Bees. There were so many fun aspects of the show back then that you unfortunately don’t see in modern-day SNL.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Rob Reiner):
— a slight step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW:
Robert Klein