Isaac watches every episode of Saturday Night Live

[Mysterious Dude]

October 11, 1975 - George Carlin



George Carlin does not act in any sketches. He only appears occasionally to do a stand-up routine (my favorite is the one about God). Some other stand-up comedians make appearances as well (Andy Kaufman and Valri Bromfield). The sketches seem almost like an afterthought. I'm accustomed to SNL having a very rigid structure (a certain numbers of sketches with the host, two musical numbers, etc.), and this episode felt much more loose, more like an actual variety show.

My favorite sketch: in a court room, a witness is too embarrassed to say what the man in the alley said to her, so she writes it down, and it is passed to the jury members. It's a long way to go for one joke! And it's a different kind of comedy than I'm used to, but I liked it.

Note: At this point, the show is called "NBC's Saturday Night."

[number8]

This reminds me.

RAIDERS! Twilight Zone!

[Russ]

Is this your first time viewing the 1st season? Curious to hear your take on some of the misfires (such as the Muppets sketches) as the show was developing its identity.

Good luck with this ambitious enterprise (you realize you've bitten off more than you can chew, right?)

[EyesWideOpen]

The level of shit to good runs about 80/20 in almost every SNL episode I've ever seen so I can't imagine taking this on.

[megladon8]

Yeah, this is one hell of an undertaking.

Good luck, and I'm glad I'm not you!!

[Mysterious Dude]

October 18, 1975 - Paul Simon



This episode features eleven musical numbers, a record which still stands today, thank God, because it means I will never have to sit through an episode like this again. I don't have a high tolerance for music. Whereas I will sit through a boring play and will finish a boring book, I have a hard time sitting through three minutes of music I don't really like. So a full hour of almost nothing but dull music was a chore. There was very little comedy. The Weekend Update sketch included a segment in which Paul Simon played basketball with Harlem Globetrotter Connie Hawkins. That bit was kind of funny.

The Bees

The "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" (i.e. the cast) only appear briefly in this episode as the Bees, just so Paul Simon can tell them that their sketch has been cut. During the goodnight, Paul Simon thanks almost everybody who was in the show, then says, "Have I forgotten anybody?" And someone in the audience reminds him, "the bees." "Oh, the bees! I forgot the bees." At this point, the bees are the only recurring sketch (aside from Weekend Update) and man, are they unfunny.

[Russ]

The Weekend Update sketch included a segment in which Paul Simon played basketball with Harlem Globetrotter Connie Hawkins. That bit was kind of funny.

Really hate to find Hawkins' name still associated with the Globetrotters (no offense intended towards the entertainment entity), due to the trumped-up charges of point-shaving during his college years (of which he was never charged or convicted). Dude was one of the most amazing basketball players to ever hit the court -- but a combination of injuries and blacklisting kept him from being recognized with the true greats. I'd just rather remember him for his Hall of Fame career (mainly based on ABL and ABA stats) than as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Good read so far. Continue.

[Spun Lepton]

Wonder how many episodes of the crappy early-80s cast it's going to take for Isaac to regret his decision to watch the entire run. :lol:

[MadMan]

Wonder how many episodes of the crappy early-80s cast it's going to take for Isaac to regret his decision to watch the entire run. :lol:

Oh I donno, the human body and mind can sure take a lot, heh.

Good luck with this Issac. It reminds me of my quest to go through all of the seasons of The Simpsons, although I guess SNL has been on the air longer.

This reminds me.

RAIDERS! Twilight Zone!

I thought he covered the show on his blog. But if he posts a thread here, I'll be a willing reader.

[Mysterious Dude]

October 25, 1975 - Rob Reiner



This is a pretty boring episode, but you can start to see the show entering the more familiar format. Rob Reiner appears in sketches, though I've already forgotten all of them. The highlight of the show was John Belushi's impersonation of Joe Cocker.

A film by Albert Brooks

The first season of SNL had some short films by Albert Brooks. They are mostly forgettable. But it's interesting to me because I've always thought Andy Sandberg was kind of "cheating" with his digital shorts, but now I realize that there was not-live content in the show from the very beginning. And Sandberg's films are way better.

p.s.

I apologize to the fans and loved ones of Connie Hawkins. I'm rather uninformed when it comes to basketball. I didn't even know the Harlem Globetrotters were a joke team until a few months ago.

[Mysterious Dude]

November 8, 1975 - Candice Bergen



Here we can really see the show beginning to hit its stride. Candice Bergen is a terrific host, the first, I would say, to actually have good chemistry with the cast. This is a must! This is also the first episode to feature two popular recurring sketches: Chevy Chase's impression of President Ford, and the Land Shark. Somehow, I didn't realize the Land Shark was actually a parody of Jaws until now. John Belushi does an excellent impression of Richard Dreyfuss. The only time I'd seen Belushi before this was in Animal House, which didn't do much for me, but he's now becoming one of my favorite actors of the season.

[Sycophant]

You're doing a wonderful thing. I've never had that much of a taste for SNL, but I can't imagine this project not being somewhat enlightening. Will continue reading with interest.

[MadMan]

Land Shark is really hilarious. Belushi and Akroyd as Hooper and Brody was the highlight of that sketch.

I liked that they featured Andy Kaufman on the show quite a bit. Its odd that back in the 70s they had a guest comedian who would do a small amount of stand up on a popular sketch show, if only because that's not done at all these days.

[Mysterious Dude]

November 15, 1975 - Robert Klein



Ever heard of Robert Klein? Me neither. He is neither a funny comedian nor a good host. I sense he would have been better suited to 1950's styles of variety shows, like Ed Sullivan. ABBA is one of the two musical guests, and Klein appears during their musical numbers, which take place on the Titanic. Klein plays the ship's captain who is trying to stop a leaky pipe while ABBA performs. This is not funny. My favorite sketch has John Belushi playing Sam Peckinpah, who casually abuses his lead actress. I'm surprised Peckinpah had enough name recognition for anyone to get that sketch.

Jim Henson's Muppets



SNL's muppet sketches are generally considered to be terrible, but I actually kind of like them. The characters used in them are completely unfamiliar to me and considering how famous some of Henson's other creations still are (Kermit, Miss Piggy, etc.), I guess that should say something about how memorable his SNL characters are. I'm not sure why they only used the same few characters in every sketch, and didn't rotate characters instead (Sesame Street offers such variety by comparison). So our principal characters are Ploobis, the king of some barren, cratered wasteland (whose voice sounds an awful lot like Rowlf), and his assistant Scred. They routinely have problems they cannot solve, and must consult the Mighty Favog, a giant, talking Pagan idol with the voice of Bert (of Bert and Ernie). Today's sketch is my favorite, in which Ploobis tries to cure his headache using acupuncture.

[Mysterious Dude]

November 22, 1975 - Lily Tomlin



A somewhat disappointing episode, because I like Tomlin, but most of her sketches (Edith Ann Film [the "that's the truth" girl], Patty Hearst's sorority sister) fall flat for me, and Howard Shore's band in nurse outfits is just weird. John Belushi's mildly amusing Beethoven joke is repeated three times for some reason, and becomes less funny each time. I like the opening Gerald Ford sketch, though.

[Mysterious Dude]

December 13, 1975 - Richard Pryor



Now this is a good episode. Pryor is hilarious and the "word association" sketch is classic. Pryor apparently insisted that Gil-Scott Heron, Thalmus Rasulala and Shelley Pryor must also appear on the show if he was to host. Kind of strange how much power the host seemed to have over the show at the time, compared to today.

Interesting note: this is the first episode in which someone other than Chevy Chase says the opening "live from New York" line. I'm not sure why it always had to be Chevy (he will continue to do the line regularly until he leaves the show next season). Also the first appearance of John Belushi's Samurai character, Futaba (I didn't know he had a name).

[Kurosawa Fan]

This is a very cool thread, as I'm reading Live From New York when I take breaks from my school stuff. I just finished reading about the first season.

[Raiders]

This reminds me.

RAIDERS! Twilight Zone!

:lol:

Just saw this post. I didn't realize you were still even interested. I got so sidetracked I figured I shouldn't even continue.

[Russ]

December 13, 1975 - Richard Pryor

the "word association" sketch is classic.

Top 3 SNL sketch ever, for sure.

Isn't this the one that also had Pryor in the Exorcist sketch? Another def classic.

[Spun Lepton]

The only time I'd seen Belushi before this was in Animal House, which didn't do much for me, but he's now becoming one of my favorite actors of the season.

But, but, Animal House is one of the greatest comedies of all time.

OF ALL TIME

[Mysterious Dude]

December 20, 1975 - Candice Bergen



Candice Bergen returns for a sadly forgettable Christmas episode. The most interesting segment, which occurs almost at the end of the show, is a short film by Gary Weis (in lieu of Albert Brooks) called "Homeward Bound," which shows silent footage of families reuniting at an airport. It's a sweet film (and not at all comedic).

[Mysterious Dude]

January 10, 1976 - Elliot Gould



It's 1976, folks! I didn't think Elliot Gould was a very good host, but the episode has a few things going for it. The Albert Brooks film is actually pretty funny, for one thing, and this episode marks the first on-screen appearance of Lorne Michaels ("...right now he's probably in there firing his own father"). He sure had a lot more hair back then, but not nearly as much hair as Al Franken had in his first appearance on the show, with co-writer Tom Davis. I've found it curious to see Franken and Davis always being paired in the end credits (Al Franken & Tom Davis). I guess they were writing partners. So far, they've been responsible for the boring "Pong" sketches, in which they provide the voices of two guys playing Pong. I don't know what other sketches they have written. Their sketch in this episode is a strange bit of speculation about what the America would be like if the Indians had won instead of the white man (and white people are reduced to tribal life). I don't really understand why they didn't bother with costumes or sets for this bit. It's Saturday Night Live, after all; they have costumes. Probably wouldn't make it a good sketch, anyway.

[Mysterious Dude]

January 17, 1976 - Buck Henry



I was nervous about Buck Henry, because I hadn't really heard of him; he seemed kind of old and I wondered if his type of humor would be old-fashioned (he was actually only 45 or so). In retrospect, it was foolish to worry about someone who was invited back to host nine more times. Somebody as SNL must have liked him! (I found out that I've actually seen Buck Henry before, on The Daily Show in his segment "The Henry Stops Here"). He has a dry sense of humor and plays an excellent straight man to John Belushi's Samurai sandwich vendor and Chevy Chase's President Ford. I also enjoyed Citizen Kane II and Michael O'Donoghue's impression of Mike Douglas with a needle in his eye. This is a great episode.

The Commercials



Apparently, the fake television commercials go back to the very beginning. Some of them I find a little hard to understand, and I think the audience for them needs to be more familiar with television of the 70's than I am. This episode includes a commercial that makes fun of two-blade razors, which I guess were a new thing back then, and wouldn't it be ridiculous if there were such a thing as a three-blade razor? As a user of a three-blade razor, I found the commercial kind of insulting ("you'll believe anything").