As a kid, I think I remember watching some of this Sunday primetime special ep of "SNL", specifically the part where John Belushi as trumpeter Al Hirt was hit with prop bricks. I have no idea if my family and I watched the rest of it but probably not since having just watched this online, I don't remember much else. Many pretty funny sketches abounded and it was pretty entertaining watching Paul Shaffer singing and Michael O'Donohue performing "The Antler Dance". But the part with Buck Henry and Jane Curtin trying to cover the New Orleans Mardi Gras parade was a disaster because of a drunken reveler being accidentally hit during it meaning it had to be halted during the entire length of this program and Jane and Buck ended up saying Mardi Gras means "No Parade"! N.O. native son Garrett Morris had a nice scene with then-mayor Moon Landrieu and Baba Wawa (Gilda Radner) interviewed Henry Winkler who was going to be in the aforementioned parade. Also, Randy Newman performed four songs of which two of them-"Louisiana 1927" and "Sail Away"-sound similar and another one was about legendary Governor Huey Long of the Pelican State. Oh, and Eric Idle also had an amusing sketch that seemed mostly improvised. Despite many missed cues, this was quite an entertaining "SNL" special. One more thing, filmmaker Gary Weis had a couple of interesting short films taking place in The Big Easy. Update-1/9/20: I just found out Buck Henry passed on the day I wrote this. R.I.P.
3 Reviews
Mardi Gras and Saturday Night: Not a good mix
redtornado-6384128 November 2022
The idea of having the cast go to Mardi Gras every year was a great idea on paper. However, the execution of the show would prove to be quite troublesome. Technical problems abound and the obnoxious drunk crowds didn't help.
There are several guests including Randy Newman who sings several songs. Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams and Henry Winkler also appear in a few skits.
The skits themselves don't work well out on the street. Most of the lines are hardly audible because of the background crowd noise. The stars have to deal with outside benches as their stage as well.
Nothing seems to work and Lorne Michaels decided to pull the plug on this idea for future shows.
I do give this show a five as they did try something different. It isn't a total loss as there are a few entertaining parts such as Belushi yelling 'Stella' at an apartment building.
Garrett Morris is from New Orleans and the episode might have worked a bit better with him being a sort of host to the cast and other guests.
This episode was rarely shown after the first airing. It is part of the second season DVD set as part of the extras.
There are several guests including Randy Newman who sings several songs. Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams and Henry Winkler also appear in a few skits.
The skits themselves don't work well out on the street. Most of the lines are hardly audible because of the background crowd noise. The stars have to deal with outside benches as their stage as well.
Nothing seems to work and Lorne Michaels decided to pull the plug on this idea for future shows.
I do give this show a five as they did try something different. It isn't a total loss as there are a few entertaining parts such as Belushi yelling 'Stella' at an apartment building.
Garrett Morris is from New Orleans and the episode might have worked a bit better with him being a sort of host to the cast and other guests.
This episode was rarely shown after the first airing. It is part of the second season DVD set as part of the extras.
First time I saw SNL
jswatson9 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Had seen advertisements for this new show called Saturday Night Live for many months before this, but I had not heard of anyone who had ever stayed up that late to watch it (in California it came on at 11:30 p.m.), so I had not ever stayed up that late to watch it.
Since this "special" was in prime time, I for some reason happened to tune it in.
In Feb. 20, 1977 I was 17 years old (seem to feel like this was on a Saturday, night, but my calendar is showing it was a Sunday).
I was enchanted by what I saw: John Belushi taping mice to his eyes was crazy!
Maybe it wasn't that great, but to me at 17, it was like nothing I had ever seen.
I've been watching SNL ever since.
Since this "special" was in prime time, I for some reason happened to tune it in.
In Feb. 20, 1977 I was 17 years old (seem to feel like this was on a Saturday, night, but my calendar is showing it was a Sunday).
I was enchanted by what I saw: John Belushi taping mice to his eyes was crazy!
Maybe it wasn't that great, but to me at 17, it was like nothing I had ever seen.
I've been watching SNL ever since.
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