SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE {JACK BURNS; SANTANA} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of live, late-night comedy/variety programs featuring topical satire. Actor Jack Burns hosts this program, with musical group Santana. In the opening sequence, John Belushi explains that his "troublemaker" reputation has prevented him from being allowed to deliver the classic "live from New York, it's Saturday night!" line, and though he refuses to utter the phrase until his "list of demands" is met, he is quickly tricked into starting the show. During his opening monologue, Burns comments on his guilt-heavy Catholic upbringing, explaining that he was trained by several "sexually misinformed" priests, teachers and coaches. Sketches include the following: "The Farbers Meet the Coneheads," in which a suburban family hosts the socially-awkward aliens for an evening of drinks and Scrabble; a wedding between two Marines officiated by an overly-strict drill sergeant; a reluctant Indira Gandhi's final day in office, from which she is removed by American Prohibition agent Eliot Ness; and "Weekend Update," with Jane Curtin and Harry Reasoner – in cardboard cutout form – discussing the first David Frost/Richard Nixon interview; the John F. Kennedy/Martin Luther King "assassination committee"; the latest project from Karl Malden and Ernest Borgnine; and a sneak preview of the upcoming Academy Award winners. Santana also performs "Black Magic Woman."
Other highlights include the following: an advertisement for "Leech-Tab 100," an old-fashioned headache cure; the historical tale of "The Squatters," the "rugged pioneers" who settled America and defended their rights to "squat" on new land; a scene in which a despondent corporate boss attempts to end his life and is repeatedly distracted by his ditzy secretary, after which the cast members break character and chastise Burns for bungling the "leaping from a window" stunt, prompting him to describe his "Rocky"-like attempts to train for the scene; "Ask Big Daddy," a call-in show for Ugandan citizens to chat with their ruthless leader Idi Amin about their various complaints and questions; a short film, "Mirage," in which a man stranded in the desert comes across a Coca-Cola machine; Ricardo Montalban's ad for "Pantygrams," an unusual new messenger service; and a scene in which Curtin and Radner's evening out is ruined by a drunken comedy writer who protests that his work is "ahead of his time," though his jokes prove oddly outdated, and begs the women for a chance to write for "SNL." Santana also performs "Gypsy Woman." Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: March 26, 1977 11:35 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:15:28
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:46744
- GENRE: Comedy/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy/Variety
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1975-
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "10" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Starting Over" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - Bic razors
- TV - Commercials - Budweiser beers
- TV - Commercials - Clairol beauty products
- TV - Commercials - English Leather Racquet Club cologne
- TV - Commercials - Excedrin Extra Strength pain reliever
- TV - Commercials - Levi's jeans
- TV - Commercials - Listermint mouth wash
- TV - Commercials - Memorex tapes
- TV - Commercials - Nice n' Easy hair color
- TV - Commercials - Polariod SX70 Sonar cameras
- TV - Commercials - Schlitz beer
- TV - Commercials - United States Army
- TV - Commercials - Volkswagen automobiles
CREDITS
- Lorne Michaels … Producer, Writer
- Jean Doumanian … Associate Producer
- Patricia O'Keefe … Associate Producer
- Dave Wilson … Director
- Dan Aykroyd … Writer
- Anne Beatts … Writer
- John Belushi … Writer
- Bill Murray … Writer
- Al Franken … Writer
- Tom Davis … Writer
- James Downey … Writer
- Marilyn Suzanne Miller … Writer
- Michael O'Donoghue … Writer
- Herb Sargent … Writer
- Tom Schiller … Writer
- Rosie Shuster … Writer
- Alan Zweibel … Writer
- Jack Burns … Host, Performer
- Santana (see also: Carlos Santana) … Guest, Music Group
- Dan Aykroyd … Cast
- John Belushi … Cast
- Jane Curtin … Cast
- Garrett Morris … Cast
- Bill Murray … Cast
- Laraine Newman … Cast
- Gilda Radner … Cast
- Idi Amin
- David Frost
- Ernest Borgnine
- Indira Gandhi
- John F. Kennedy
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Karl Malden
- Ricardo Montalban
- Richard Nixon
- Eliot Ness
- Harry Reasoner