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Saturday Night Live Season 7 Episode 1

(no host)/Rod Stewart

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5.2

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 10/3/81

Sketches include "NBC: Our Age is Showing," "The Little Richard Simmons Show," "The Clams," "Nuns on the Beach," "A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney," "Prose and Cons" (film), "The Khaddaffi Look," "Ruth Deals With Rod" (two-part sketch), "Andy Warhol's TV" (film), a performance by Michael Davis, and "Season of Glass" (film). Rod Stewart performed "Dance With Me," "Hot Legs" (with Tina Turner), and "Young Turks."moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (1)

The first episode of year 7 and second of the Ebersol era. New changes were happening. For the 1981-82 season, Mel Brand was brought in as the announcer replacing Don Pardo. There's no one shouting "Live from New York, its Saturday Night." No Monologue.moreless

7.1

By bry456, Aug 27, 2006

Interesting show...

After the montage and the cast doing the stage pose, it went immediately into the first sketch, Little Richard Simmons Show, good sketch. Murphy plays a parody of Richard Simmons meets Little Richard with excercise and rock & roll. Murphy did a great performance in this sketch. I am not surprised this would be first sketch. He got the audience involved. They should do that more now. After that was a commercial of spoof of horror movies -- "The Clams", clams are on the rampage after women and children. It was funny. Then came "Nuns on the Beach", with Mary Gross and I think, Robin Duke as nuns relaxing on a beach when Duke finds out that Gross isn't a real nun. She became one through a correspondence course. It was a good sketch overall. Next, was "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", Piscopo's dead on Rooney impression is showcased. This was short and too the point. Good sketch, I;ll say. It was followed by "Prose and Cons" which is a film about convicts who become interested in poetry, it features the first appearance of Murphy's Tyrone Green character.

Next, Rod Stewart performs two back to back songs-- "Dance With Me" and "Hot Legs" with Tina Turner-- both songs enjoyable, unfortunately this was last rocking moment before his transformation into a Adult Comtemporary balladeer. Turner, of course, 3 years later would be back on the charts with huge success. Then, SNL Newsbreak with Brian Doyle-Murray, Doyle-Murray was not very efficient as an anchor, he flubbed lines left and right. Mary Gross was the co-anchor, she was good as usual. Murphy does a commentary as Raheem Mohammad, speaking on the lack of black actors in serious movies. He offer a few suggestions: Shirley Hemphill and JJ Walker. The segment was a little uneven but had good moments. Next, 'Khaddafi Look' is a commercial fashion spoof using the Libyan dictator as fodder. It was a clever spoof.

Next the epic sketch of the night, 'Ruth Deals with Rod', is a two-part sketch (12 minutes total) featuring either Christine Ebersole or Robin Duke, I don't know, anybody know? And my favorite cast member of that era, Tim Kazurinsksy. The sketch begins with the two in bed following a one-night stand. Ruth gets a phone call that there has been a death in the family. The running gag in this entire sketch is Ruth forgetting Rod's name. Rod is in love with Ruth, but Ruth realizes it was just a one night stand and nothing more is now focused on trying to prepare for the funeral of her relative. The first part of the sketch ends with Ruth locking Rod out of her apartment as she prepares to attend the funeral. The second part begins with Ruth at the funeral. As she mourns her lost, Rod shows at the funeral home. She speaks with her aunt played by Mary Gross, I thought she was the funniest in this segment. The second part was more serious than the first but it was sufficient.

Afterward, there was the short film "Andy Warhol TV" with Warhol himself appearing and telling a joke, it was weird. Later after the commercial break was the first of Michael Davis recurring appearance doing his juggler act. It was funny and added a different dimension to the show. Next, the third and final short film in this episode, "Seasons of Love" which is a surreal artsy type segment with Yoko Ono speaking of her love for John Lennon and how she misses him. I like the soft background music for that segment-- lite saxophone playing. Clearly, this wasn't meant to be funny, but I thought it was good nonetheless. Finally, Rod Stewart performs his third song of the show. Before that though, he gets distracted by a conversation and doesn't realize the show is back from commercial. So, the viewer greated by the back of Stewart's head for five seconds. After that, he goes into his eventual hit, "Young Turks".

Overall, it was an interesting show. It looked like it was step in the right direction after the season that preceded it.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Tony Rosato	Himself
Christine Ebersole	Herself
Joe Piscopo	Himself
Mary Gross	Herself
Eddie Murphy	Himself
Tim Kazurinsky	Himself

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Swifty Lazar	Himself	Guest Star
Andy Warhol	Himself	Guest Star
Yvonne Hudson	Dancer	Guest Star
Tina Turner	Herself	Recurring Role
Michael Davis	Himself	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (3)
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- Rod: I know- remember when I told ya about that famous guy that died? What's his name, the big guy! I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry but I couldn't. And that's what I love about you.
  Ruth: What?! Rod: You just don't understand, do you? You're so innocent. (caresses her face)
  Ruth: Rod, you are such a tool.
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- Andy Rooney: Have you ever noticed how annoying my voice is?
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- Little Richard Simmons: That's right! I've been getting my protein. Have you, girls? Anyway, let's go.. and 1, and 2, and 3.. are you ready? Let me hear it!
  Audience: Yeah!
  Little Richard: (singing to the tune of "Long Tall Sally") "Ready, set, go fat go!
  I know a girl who's butt hangs low
  She's flabby
  Yeah, she's flabby
  Ooh, she's flabby!
  Fatty, fatty, fatty
  If she stepped on your foot,
  she'd mash your toe!"
  (music changes to "Good Golly, Miss Molly")
  "Good golly, Miss Molly!
  Looks like a hog.
  Good golly, Miss Molly!
  Looks like a hog.
  Oooohhh!
  Well, you better start a-running
  because it's much too late to jog
  From the early, early morning
  to the early, early night
  You're just a fat disgusting blob of cellulite. Good golly, Miss Molly!
  Looks like a hog.
  Oooohhh!
  Well, you better start a-running
  because it's much too late to jog!"
  Come on, everybody, go!
  (sax player enters, tune changes to "Tutti Frutti")
  "Tutti frutti, ah roody
  Tutti frutti, ah roody
  Tutti frutti, ah roody
  Tutti frutti, ah roody
  Tutti frutti, ah roody
  Wop bom a loo mop, a mop bam boom!
  Know a girl named Daisy
  the girl is fat and lazy
  Know a girl named Daisy
  the girl is fat and lazy
  Blubber to the east
  Blubber to the west
  The b---- got long and flabby breasts.
  Tutti frutti, ah roody
  Tutti frutti, ah roody
  Tutti frutti, ah roody
  Wop bom a loo mop, a mop bam boom!"
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NOTES (12)
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- This is the third broadcast in SNL history with no host.
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- Beginning with this episode, the music in the montage would be used for the next four seasons. The black and white footage in the montage would be used until May 1984.
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- When Rod Stewart returned on May 13, 1995, he became the first musical guest to appear in a season premiere and a season finale.
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- "Ruth Deals With Rod" is the only two-part live sketch the show has done in the same episode ("Operation" in the Rob Reiner show from 1975 is the only other two-part segment, but that was a film). The first part is officially named "Strangers In The Night", the second is "Strangers In The Funeral Parlor." Both sketches were written by Marilyn Suzanne Miller.
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- The short film "Prose & Cons" would be repeated ad nauseum for the next three seasons.
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- James Caan was originally booked to host this episode, but he dropped out for personal reasons.
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- Michael O'Donoghue, hired as SNL's head writer, originally wanted Don Pardo's firing aired live on the show. Ebersol wisely rejected the idea.
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- Throughout Season 7, the opening line is always delivered by new announcer Mel Brandt: "And now, from New York, the most dangerous city in America, it's Saturday Night Live!"
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- With her small role in the "Little Richard Simmons" sketch, Yvonne Hudson becomes the only actress to appear on SNL during the regimes of Lorne Michaels, Jean Doumanian, and Dick Ebersol as a regular and/or sketch extra. Hudson would appear two more times as an extra on the March 17 and October 20, 1984 broadcasts before essentially fading back into obscurity.
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- For this season only, the host's opening monolougue is now optional and on occasion the cast will do a sketch with audience participation in lieu of it.
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- Intended for this show was a 20-minute short film called "The Last Ten Days of Silverman's Bunker." Michael O'Donoghue and new writer Nelson Lyon wanted to savagely attack Fred Silverman, who fired by NBC in June 1981. NBC Standards & Legal blanched on this obvious parallel between Silverman with Hitler, postponed the sketch, and Ebersol finally closed the coffin on November 30th.
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- "Weekend Update" is now retitled "SNL Newsbreak" with Brian Doyle-Murray and Mary Gross as the co-anchors.
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