SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE {MARY KAY PLACE, WILLIE NELSON, ANDY KAUFMAN} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of live, late-night comedy/variety programs featuring topical satire. Actress Mary Kay Place hosts this program, with musical guest Willie Nelson. In the opening sequence, everyone dresses as cheerleaders and Place chastises the others for not having enough "pep." Belushi, ever the "disciplinary problem," dismisses her overly-cheerful outlook as stupid, but is eventually convinced to join in, and the players all excitedly take the stage, accompanied by a marching band, and form a human pyramid. During her opening monologue, Place talks about the "madcap" week of rehearsal and recalls her former habit of keeping a diary, then producing her journal from eighth grade and reading a few portions in which she pines for a boy in her class and is turned down, noting smugly that he probably now regrets rejecting her.
Sketches include the following: a fake advertisement for a "Pocket Pal," which predicts midair airplane collisions by several crucial seconds; an installment of "More Insects to Worry About" in which a doctor describes the terrifying eye-dwelling "lens beetles" and the annoying "funny ants"; a "Total Womanhood" class in which Southern housewives discuss ways to improve their subservient behavior to their husbands; and "Weekend Update," with Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd discussing the release of Americans in Mexican prisons, the ongoing debate about the truth of President Kennedy's assassination, an updated and more politically-correct version of "Amos 'n' Andy," Larraine Newton's explanation of techniques of unearthing lies through subtle facial expressions, Spain's eradication of film censorship, and CBS news journalist Eric Sevareid's objections to the "mandatory retirement age." Willie Nelson also performs "Whiskey River" and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain."
Other highlights include the following: "Married in a Minute!", in which four girls arrive in New York City and have a rash of improbable good luck, finding a pricey hotel room, securing good jobs and landing wealthy suitors, including a prince or two, as soon as they arrive; a musical interlude from guest Andy Kaufman, in which he dances, plays the bongos and sings in a nonsensical "foreign" language, then bringing a woman up on stage from the crowd and eventually engaging the rest of the audience in a singalong; an installment of "Bad Musical," hosted by Leonard Pinth-Garnell, in which he introduces a terrible musical about the life of 17th-century microbiologist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and his development of the microscope, from which several bad songs are performed; and a Hanukkah-themed evening in which a Jewish couple is forced to explain the history of the holiday to their clueless Gentile friends, with the help of a recreation. Place and Nelson also sing "Something to Brag About" together. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: December 10, 1977 11:35 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:25:50
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:51725
- GENRE: Comedy/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy/Variety
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1975-
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Clairol Nail Works manicure machine
- TV - Commercials - Dentyne chewing gum
- TV - Commercials - Firestone Tires sweepstakes
- TV - Commercials - Flex shampoo
- TV - Commercials - Honda Express mopeds
- TV - Commercials - JCPenney stores
- TV - Commercials - Jovan musk oil fragrance
- TV - Commercials - Kawasaki motorcycles
- TV - Commercials - London Towncars limousine service
- TV - Commercials - Marriott's Essex House hotel
- TV - Commercials - Polaroid cameras
- TV - Commercials - Schlitz beer
- TV - Commercials - Sunbeam Coney Island hot dog steamer
- TV - Commercials - Suzuki motorcycles
- TV - Commercials - U.S. Army
- TV - Commercials - Visa credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Volkswagen automobiles
- TV - PSA - Keep America Beautiful
CREDITS
- Lorne Michaels … Producer, Writer
- Jean Doumanian … Associate Producer
- Audrey Peart Dickman … Associate Producer
- Dave Wilson … Director
- Dan Aykroyd … Writer
- Anne Beatts … Writer
- James Downey … Writer
- Al Franken … Writer
- Tom Davis … Writer
- Neil Levy … Writer
- Marilyn Suzanne Miller … Writer
- Michael O'Donaghue … Writer
- Herb Sargent … Writer
- Tom Schiller … Writer
- Rosie Shuster … Writer
- Alan Zweibel … Writer
- Mary Kay Place … Host
- Willie Nelson … Guest, Music Group
- Andy Kaufman … Guest, Performer
- Dan Aykroyd … Cast
- John Belushi … Cast
- Jane Curtin … Cast
- Garrett Morris … Cast
- Bill Murray … Cast
- Laraine Newman … Cast
- Gilda Radner … Cast
- John F. Kennedy
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
- Eric Sevareid