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SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE {CHEVY CHASE, JUNIOR WALKER} (TV)

Summary

One in this series of live, late-night comedy/variety programs featuring topical satire. Former cast member Chevy Chase hosts this program, with musical guest Junior Walker and the All-Stars. In the opening sequence, Chase revisits some old sets and costumes and runs across his friend, the luckless Mr. Bill, trapped in a trash can ever since a wild end-of-season party. They chat and wonder if people are still amused by Chase's slapstick antics, and he ends up destroying Mr. Bill yet again along with the dressing room. Sketches include the following: Frank Sinatra's plea for people to buy American cars, citing the flimsy construction of foreign vehicles and the dangers of supporting the "Japs"; an evening with Bill Cosby as he plies a group of young children with light beer, encouraging them to start drinking early in life; an installment of "I Married A Monkey" in which a man begs to know if his simian wife is cheating on him and struggles to connect with his daughter; and "Weekend Update," with Chase delivering the latest news on politics and celebrity antics, an unfavorable review of the latest Gene Wilder-Richard Pryor film "Stir Crazy," a comment from actor Jimmy Stewart that he would've liked to have taken the bullet for President Reagan, and a subsequent series of street interviews with Laurie Metcalf asking New Yorkers if they would do the same with varying results, furthers delays for the Columbia space shuttle, and commentary from former correspondent Al Franken on the show's recent changes and decline in quality, highlighting its specific problems and encouraging viewers to write in with a request to "put SNL to sleep." Junior Walker also performs "Roadrunner" and "Shotgun."

Other highlights include the following: singer Irene Cara's performance of "I Sing the Same Songs Forever" about her similar-sounding hits; an installment of "The Self-Righteous," featuring a number of civil servants who think very highly of themselves; a conversation between a nervous young groom and his boisterous Italian father, who offers unwanted advice about his son's life and his new bride; an ad for the "Famous Broadcasters School of Cue-Card Reading"; a look at a gun-loving family who discusses their favorite models and then accidentally blows away a "burglar"; a short film about a misunderstood bag lady; and brief appearances by Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve. The show concludes with a reprisal of Cara's song and good nights from the cast. Includes commercials and promos.

Details

  • NETWORK: NBC
  • DATE: April 11, 1981 11:35 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:18:08
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:47553
  • GENRE: Comedy/Variety
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy/Variety
  • SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1975-
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV - Commercials - Bic razors
    • TV - Commercials - Budweiser beer
    • TV - Commercials - Denny's restaurants
    • TV - Commercials - Denorex dandruff shampoo
    • TV - Commercials - Dr. Pepper soft drinks
    • TV - Commercials - Dristan allergy medication
    • TV - Commercials - Giacobazzi wines
    • TV - Commercials - Lowenbrau beer
    • TV - Commercials - Miller beer
    • TV - Commercials - Pentax cameras
    • TV - Commercials - Playtex tampons
    • TV - Commercials - Summer's Eve feminine products
    • TV - Commercials - Wrangler jeans
    • TV - Promos - "Bob Hope's Spring Fling"
    • TV - Promos - "Excalibur" motion picture
    • TV - Promos - "Johnny Cash at Spandau Prison" special
    • TV - Promos - "Nighthawks" motion picture
    • TV - Promos - "Stir Crazy" motion picture

CREDITS

  • Dick Ebersol … Executive Producer
  • Michael O'Donoghue … Supervising Producer
  • Bob Tischler … Producer, Writer
  • Audrey Peart Dickman … Associate Producer
  • Judy Jacklin … Writer
  • Barry W. Blaustein … Writer
  • Brian Doyle-Murray … Writer
  • Mitch Glazer … Writer
  • Marilyn Suzanne Miller … Writer
  • Matt Neuman … Writer
  • Pamela Norris … Writer
  • Emily Prager … Writer
  • David Sheffield … Writer
  • Dirk Wittenborn … Writer
  • Dave Wilson … Director
  • Chevy Chase … Host
  • Don Pardo … Announcer
  • Denny Dillon … Cast
  • Robin Duke … Cast
  • Tim Kazurinsky … Cast
  • Gail Matthius … Cast
  • Eddie Murphy … Cast
  • Joe Piscopo … Cast
  • Tony Rosato … Cast
  • Laurie Metcalf … Cast
  • Emily Prager … Cast
  • Al Franken … Cast
  • Robin Williams … Guest
  • Christopher Reeve … Guest
  • Junior Walker … Guest, Music Group
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