Saturday Night Live (season 3)

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Saturday Night Live
Season 3
The title card for the third season of Saturday Night Live.
Starring
  • Dan Aykroyd
  • John Belushi
  • Jane Curtin
  • Garrett Morris
  • Bill Murray
  • Laraine Newman
  • Gilda Radner
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes20
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 24, 1977 (1977-09-24) –
May 20, 1978 (1978-05-20)
Season chronology
← Previous
season 2
Next →
season 4
List of episodes

The third season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 24, 1977, and May 20, 1978.

The DVD set of the entire season was released on May 13, 2008.

Cast[]

Prior to the start of the season, two new cast members were added as featured cast members which were writers Tom Davis and Al Franken. Meanwhile Dan Aykroyd joined Jane Curtin as an anchor for Weekend Update becoming the first Weekend Update anchor team. This would be the final season that the cast was called "The Not Ready for Primetime Players".

Cast[]

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Behind the scenes[]

In the "Anyone Can Host" episode—for which a contest found a non-celebrity to host the show—the musical guest, Elvis Costello, halted his band, the Attractions, seven seconds into the song "Less Than Zero", launching into "Radio Radio", an as-yet unreleased song critical of mainstream broadcasting. (The Sex Pistols were originally booked to appear on the show, but were denied visas to enter America.) The change angered Lorne Michaels, who banned future appearances on the show for a while. Costello would not be invited back to the show until 1989.[1]

Chevy Chase hosted during the season, making him the first cast member to host after leaving the show. Right before the end-of-the-show onstage goodbyes, a heated argument broke out backstage between Chase and relatively new cast member Bill Murray. After several insults were exchanged (including Chase's referencing Murray's acne-scarred skin and Murray calling Chase a "medium talent"), the two men had a violent fistfight. Although by most accounts the scuffle had been at least partially instigated by John Belushi, he was the one (along with Dan Aykroyd) who pulled apart Murray and Chase only moments before the entire cast regrouped in front of the live cameras. Chase would host the show several times throughout the show's history, though he feuded with the cast and crew.[2]

Writers[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 3

Tom Davis and Al Franken got prominent amounts of screen time.[citation needed] Brian Doyle-Murray and Don Novello joined the writing staff. Michael O'Donoghue temporarily left the show.[citation needed]

This season's writers were Dan Aykroyd, Anne Beatts, Tom Davis, Jim Downey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Al Franken, Neil Levy, Lorne Michaels, Marilyn Suzanne Miller, Don Novello, Michael O'Donoghue, Herb Sargent, Tom Schiller, Rosie Schuster and Alan Zweibel. The head writer, like the previous season, was Michael O'Donoghue.

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		HostMusical guest(s)Original air date
471Steve MartinJackson BrowneSeptember 24, 1977 (1977-09-24)

  • Jackson Browne performs "Running on Empty" and "The Pretender".[3]
  • First appearance of the Festrunk Brothers.[4]
  • John Belushi performs as Roy Orbison.
  • Dan Aykroyd's first episode as Weekend Update co-anchor, alongside Jane Curtin.
  • New Weekend Update set debuts featuring a blue chroma key background with the Update logo.
  • Tom Davis and Al Franken's first episode as cast members.
  • Change to Saturday Night Live becomes permanent beginning with this episode.
482Madeline KahnTaj MahalOctober 8, 1977 (1977-10-08)

  • Taj Mahal performs "Queen Bee".[3]
  • Australian comedian Barry Humphries appeared as Dame Edna Everage.
493Hugh HefnerLibby TitusOctober 15, 1977 (1977-10-15)

  • Libby Titus performs "Fool That I Am".[3]
504Charles GrodinPaul SimonOctober 29, 1977 (1977-10-29)

  • Paul Simon performs "Slip Slidin' Away"[3] and "You're Kind"[3] (a song from Still Crazy After All These Years), accompanied on both songs by harmonica player Toots Thielemans and a backing band.
  • One sketch features Paul Simon and Charles Grodin attempting to sing "The Sound of Silence", with Charles Grodin wearing an Art Garfunkel wig. After several aborted starts (with Charles Grodin singing off-key and forgetting the lyrics), Paul Simon walks off the stage. Charles Grodin then proceeds to sing a verse of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", after which the real Art Garfunkel walks on stage and asked Grodin to take off the wig.
  • Roseanne Roseannadanna made her debut in this episode's "Hire the Incompetent" sketch.
  • New title sequence debuts showing the cast individually standing in front of Times Square jumbotron.
515Ray CharlesRay CharlesNovember 12, 1977 (1977-11-12)

  • Ray Charles performs "I Can See Clearly Now," "What'd I Say," "Oh! What a Beautiful Mornin'" and a medley of "I Got a Woman," "I Believe to My Soul," "Them That Got" and "Hit the Road Jack".
  • Comedian Franklyn Ajaye and Buck Henry made guest appearances.
  • Ray Charles led the band, cast and crew in a jam during the closing credits.
526Buck HenryLeon RedboneNovember 19, 1977 (1977-11-19)

  • Leon Redbone performs "Champagne Charlie" and "Please Don't Talk about Me When I'm Gone".[3]
  • Henry uses his monologue to introduce the five finalists in the "Anyone Can Host" contest. The five finalists are then featured sporadically throughout the episode, including an appearance in a film by Gary Weis.
  • In a sketch, John Belushi plays himself as a retired athlete, endorsing "Little Chocolate Donuts," a parody of Caitlyn Jenner's Wheaties ad. The voice over for the commercial while Belushi is running is done by sportscaster Marv Albert.
  • A film by Tom Schiller was featured.
  • With this episode, Henry becomes the first to host five times.
537Mary Kay PlaceWillie NelsonDecember 10, 1977 (1977-12-10)

  • Willie Nelson performs "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", "Whiskey River" and "Something to Brag About".[3] The last song was performed as a duet with Mary Kay Place.
  • Andy Kaufman made a guest appearance.
548Miskel SpillmanElvis CostelloDecember 17, 1977 (1977-12-17)

  • Elvis Costello performs "Watching the Detectives"[3] and was scheduled to perform "Less Than Zero" but halted his band the Attractions seven seconds into the song, launching into "Radio Radio",[3] an as-yet unreleased song critical of mainstream broadcasting.
  • Miskel Spillman was the winner of SNL's "Anyone Can Host" contest.
  • Al Franken's parents, Joseph and Phoebe Franken, appear in the "Franken & Davis Show" sketch.
  • Emily Litella makes her final regular appearance as Weekend Updates' consumer affairs correspondent.
  • The Sex Pistols were originally scheduled to perform as announced by Don Pardo on the December 10, 1977 show during the closing credits.
559Steve MartinRandy Newman, The Nitty Gritty Dirt BandJanuary 21, 1978 (1978-01-21)

  • Randy Newman performs "Short People" and "Rider in the Rain".[3] Members of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band perform backing vocals during Newman's set. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, in turn, performs "On the Loose with the Blues" and "White Russia".[3] (Martin accompanied them on banjo for the latter song.)
  • Steve Martin announces that a snowstorm the day before caused limited rehearsals.
  • Roseanne Roseannadanna makes her Weekend Update debut in this episode replacing Emily Litella as consumer affairs correspondent.
5610Robert KleinBonnie RaittJanuary 28, 1978 (1978-01-28)

  • Bonnie Raitt performs "Give It Up or Let Me Go" and "Runaway".[3] Klein joined Raitt on harmonica on the former song.
  • The cold open features Paul Shaffer as Don Kirshner and Mr. Mike.
  • Bill Murray's "Nick Winters" lounge singer performs "Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars ...".
  • Paul Shaffer appears as Nick the Lounge Singer's pianist.
  • First appearance of the Olympia Cafe sketch,[5] during which the word "cheeseburger" is said 80 times.[6]
  • First appearance of The Nerds sketch.[7]
5711Chevy ChaseBilly JoelFebruary 18, 1978 (1978-02-18)

  • Billy Joel performs "Only the Good Die Young" and "Just the Way You Are".[3]
  • Chevy Chase becomes the first former cast member to come back and host with this episode.
  • Chevy Chase appeared on Weekend Update, as "senior anchorperson".
  • The season 1 and 2 opening title sequence is used for this episode.
5812O. J. SimpsonAshford and SimpsonFebruary 25, 1978 (1978-02-25)

  • Ashford and Simpson performs "Don't Cost You Nothing" and "So, So Satisfied".[3]
  • Every cast member, as well as Don Novello and O.J. Simpson, are featured in Samurai Night Fever, a parody of Saturday Night Fever. John Belushi dances to The Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive.
5913Art GarfunkelStephen BishopMarch 11, 1978 (1978-03-11)

  • Stephen Bishop performs "On and On" and Art Garfunkel performs "Crying in My Sleep" and a medley of "All I Know"/"Scarborough Fair".[3]
  • This episode features the short film, Don't Look Back in Anger, in which an aged John Belushi visits the graves of the "Not Ready for Primetime Players" cast and claims he's the last living member. (The sketch is now seen as ironic due to Belushi's being the first of the original cast to die.)
  • Andy Kaufman made a guest appearance.
6014Jill ClayburghEddie MoneyMarch 18, 1978 (1978-03-18)

  • Eddie Money performs "Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Baby Hold On".[3]
6115Christopher LeeMeat LoafMarch 25, 1978 (1978-03-25)

  • Meat Loaf performs "All Revved Up with No Place to Go" and "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad".[3]
  • John Belushi was billed as Kevin Scott for this episode.
  • On "Weekend Update", the Writers Guild strikes against Sesame Street ("picket" "scab" "don't, it might get infected") and the"Point/Counterpoint" segment was introduced.
  • A Gary Weis short film, titled "Cold as Ice", features an uncredited Stacy Keach being repeatedly stabbed with scissors and a gun and eventually shot with a shotgun, all in slow-motion, by a unnamed blonde to the tune of the Foreigner song of the same name.
  • Richard Belzer made a stand-up appearance, including Muzak versions of Rolling Stones hits; he does an impersonation of Mick Jagger, with the SNL band as backup.
  • Bill Murray begins his annual Oscar picks.
  • Mr. Bill goes to the circus.
6216Michael PalinEugene RecordApril 8, 1978 (1978-04-08)

  • Eugene Record performed "Have You Seen Her?" and "Trying to Get to You".[3]
  • In the opening monologue, Michael Palin plays his manager, who ends up stuffing live cats down his trousers; one of the cats defecates freely all over his arm. Michael Palin, with only a one-minute costume change afterward, performed the RC Priest and Very Famous Man (Trunk Escape) sketches with feces still on his clothes.[8]
  • Mr. Bill pays his taxes.
6317Michael SarrazinKeith JarrettApril 15, 1978 (1978-04-15)

  • Keith Jarrett performs two instrumentals.[3] Gravity appeared and also performed an instrumental.[3]
  • This episode features a short black and white film, La Dolce Gilda.
6418Steve MartinThe Blues BrothersApril 22, 1978 (1978-04-22)

  • The Blues Brothers performs "I Don't Know".[3]
  • The cold opening features Paul Shaffer as Don Kirshner, introducing The Blues Brothers singing "Hey Bartender".
  • Sketches include the Czech brothers, "Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber,"[9] a Martin and Radner dance sketch, a performance of "King Tut,"[10] a Gary Weis film with ballet dancers and breakdancers, and "Nerds at the Science Fair".
  • This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award and was later selected as TV Guide's #12 Top Episode of all time.[11]
6519Richard DreyfussJimmy Buffett, Gary TigermanMay 13, 1978 (1978-05-13)

  • Jimmy Buffett performed "Son of a Son of a Sailor" and Gary Tigerman performed "White Oaxacan Moon".[3]
  • First appearance of Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello).
  • Paul Shaffer appeared as lounge singer Nick Winter's piano player and as Dreyfuss' piano player, as Dreyfuss sings "Seduced" by Gary Tigerman.
  • John Belushi joins Richard Dreyfuss on stage and, as part of the monologue, attempts to help Richard Dreyfuss with the lines of his Shakespeare soliloquy (suggesting that he use the cue cards since he's not used to being on television) and then angrily mocks and argues with him, saying he didn't deserve the Oscar he had received that year (over Richard Burton).
  • Twice in the episode, Dreyfuss hears the Jaws theme.
  • During the closing credits, Richard Dreyfuss is attacked by the Land Shark.
6620Buck HenrySun RaMay 20, 1978 (1978-05-20)

  • Sun Ra performs "Space Is the Place" and "Space-Loneliness".[3]
  • Final episode where the cast was referred to as "The Not Ready for Primetime Players".
  • Dan Aykroyd's final episode as Weekend Update co-anchor.
  • Final episode with Weekend Updates' blue chroma key set.
  • Final episode to feature audience caption bumpers

Home media[]

Season 3 was released on DVD May 13, 2008.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ Larry David Smith (30 Apr 2004). Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and the Torch Song Tradition. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 139. ISBN 9780275973926.
  2. ^ Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller (19 January 2014). Live from New York An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Little, Brown, and Company. ISBN 9780316045827.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  4. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 104–105. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  5. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 106–108. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  6. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 264. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  7. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 110–113. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  8. ^ Palin, Michael (2007). Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years. St. Martin's Press. pp. 460–1. ISBN 978-0-312-36935-4.
  9. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 96–97. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  10. ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 118. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  11. ^ "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time: #20-11". TV Guide Magazine. June 18, 2009. Archived from the original on March 14, 2010.
  12. ^ Saturday Night Live: season 3, 1977-1978 (DVD). Universal Studios. May 13, 2008.
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