Amazon.com: Saturday Night Live: Season 3, Episode 11 "Saturday Night Live (SNL) February 18, 1978 - Chevy Chase / Billy Joel": Amazon Instant Video

Saturday Night Live Season 3, Ep. 11 "Saturday Night Live (SNL) February 18, 1978 - Chevy Chase / Billy Joel"

Chevy Chase returns for his first time hosting with musical guest Billy Joel ("Only The Good Die Young" and "Just The Way You Are").

Runtime: 1 hour 7 minutes
Original air date: February 18, 1978
Network: NBC

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Episode 11, "Saturday Night Live (SNL) February 18, 1978 - Chevy Chase / Billy Joel"

Synopsis: Chevy Chase returns for his first time hosting with musical guest Billy Joel ("Only The Good Die Young" and "Just The Way You Are").

Original air date: February 18, 1978

Runtime: 1 hour 7 minutes

ASIN: B001ACOQI4

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,802 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Saturday Night Live Season 3

Synopsis: Saturday Night Live

Starring: Chevy Chase, Billy Joel

Supporting actors: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, Don Pardo, Gilda Radner, Valri Bromfield, Tom Davis, Al Franken, Yvonne Hudson, Marilyn Suzanne Miller, Andy Murphy, Don Novello, Tom Schiller

Season year: 1978

Genre: Comedy, Music

Executive producer: Audrey Peart Dickman

Network: NBC

ASIN: B0019RSQ4K

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Purchase rights: Stream instantly and download to 2 locations. Details

Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)

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90 of 94 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars NBC SNL starring The Not Ready for Primetime Players (plus Bill Murray) February 18, 2008

By Movie Mania VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This season still features the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players - John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris,Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman. Plus newcomer Bill Murray.

When SNL (at this time it was NBC's Saturday Night Live) first came on it changed the variety format from skits and musical numbers to what is now called sketch comedy with music from popular and upcoming rock groups. Each episode was "hosted" by an actor who was usually promoting their new film.

Each show had an opening skit that end with "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night", the credits followed, then the guest host would come out do some sort of monologue. This would fade into either an original SNL cast commercial (remember The Taste Bud's for Budweiser) or a parody of a commercial. Skit, musical guest, skit, Weekend Update, skit, second musical number, skit and closing.

The show had a number of reoccuring skits, which were rotated to keep them fresh (unlike today when they get an idea they flog it to death!). The best were Two Wild and Crazy Guys (Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd), the coneheads (Aykroyd, Jane Curtin and Lorraine Newman), Samuari "Whatever" (John Belushi), the Killer Bees (cast).

If you have not seen the original episodes uncut then you will understand why this show was so revolutionary. And remember that at this time people had to stay up to watch the show "Live" as most people did not own VCR's in 1977. So it became a fashionable for groups of young people to have parties and watch the show.... Read more ›

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49 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than you remember May 13, 2008

By Julie Neal TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Many reviewers say these early Saturday Night Live seasons are products of their times, that they aren't nearly as funny today as we all thought they were back then. To that I say dude, what have you been smokin'? Yes, I was one of those who watched these shows in college, usually at a party where everyone was, shall we say, already in a purple haze. But thinking that's what made these shows great is simply revisionist history.

Sure there are some dated cultural jokes, a few lame musical guests and an occasional skit that falls flat. However, each episode is still, for the most part, solidly entertaining. As I sat down with these discs today partaking of nothing stronger than a few Diet Cokes, what I noticed is just how watchable these shows still are. Even when not at their best, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin and the others each did at least interesting work, and always in their own personal style. What resulted was a true comedy variety show, a witty take on middlebrow culture that though edgy at times, rarely takes a cheap shot or wallows in the gutter.

Originally 90 minutes long with commercial breaks, each commercial-free episode here runs between 66 and 68 minutes.

This third season may be the best in Saturday Night's history. Most every show includes at least one of SNL's most famous recurring skits as well as some hilarious forgotten moments. For example, the first show includes Lorne Michaels upping his offer to the Beatles from $3,000 to $3,200 and a commercial parody for the Kromega III, "a watch so complex it takes two people to make it work.... Read more ›

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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SNL Gang Hits It's Stride April 29, 2008

By billymac72

Format:DVD

This third season, along with the fourth, represent the height of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. For the first time, we are introduced to The Blues Brothers, The Festrunk Brothers, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Point Counterpoint, The Olympia Restaurant and many others. Favorites such as the Coneheads and the Samurai return in force as well.

I taped most of this season in its entirety over the years, and am quite familiar with the strength of these episodes. I especially like the Steve Martin/Blues Brothers appearance, as well as the season-ender with Buck Henry/Sun Ra.

I've shared my thoughts on the value of the original SNL before, so instead, I'd like to point out a few highlights to look forward to:

1. Chevy Chase returns for first time hosting duties on 02/18/78. There was quite a bit of backstage animosity/tension towards him, and one particular spat ensued over the Weekend Update anchoring duties. Bill Murray, still the "new kid," was out to hold his ground against Chase, and became defensive of Jane Curtin. Apparently, Belushi - who was the clearest Chase rival - delighted in stirring up the situation to the point that Murray punched Chase right before air time. The fight was broken up, with Murray walking away calling Chase a "medium talent." If Chase seems nervous, this was why. Still, Chase does a superb job performing under these circumstances. More trivia: this is the only time Belushi, Aykroyd, Murray and Chase ever share screen time together (for a military-themed skit). Even more trivia: Billy Joel, as Chase tells us, missed his 10th high school reunion to appear.

2. Steve Martin/The Dirt Band (aka Nitty Gritty......) - Martin explains that he went to high school with the Dirt Band members and that they were the most "talented musicians" he knew. Martin himself shows off some considerable musical chops (on banjo, natch) when he accompanies the group on an instrumental called "White Russia." Randy Newman also addresses the flak he had taken for "Short People," to which he responds with a giant raspberry.

3. While many of us are familiar with the clip of Elvis Costello stopping his song mid-intro to play "Radio Radio" instead, some may not know that this show was hosted by an old woman named Miskel Spillman who was the winner of the "Anyone Can Host" contest held throughout the first half of the season.

4. Attack of the Atomic Lobsters - the Robert Klein episode has an unusual "wrap around" or through-story that ends with everyone in the studio getting killed by giant lobsters. Still strange today, it shows how experimental the show was willing to be. This show also featured the demented brilliance of "X Police."

5. The experimentation is also prevalent in the integrity of musical choices, which was always a real treat. Instead of teen pop junk, we may be unexpectedly greeted with a rousing tuba ensemble (yes, that was Gravity, one of the house band member's pet projects), raw country (Willie Nelson), old school R&B (Chi-Lites founder Eugene Record), a personal friend of the cast or guest host (Gary Tigerman), or the guest host themselves (Madeline Kahn, Richard Dreyfuss, Mary Kay Place). Your personal tastes weren't always met, so much as your perspective expanded. The cast were obvious music aficionados themselves, as clearly evidenced by their spirited enthusiasm (Belushi, especially) towards Ray Charles, in a largely music-oriented episode.

6. Curious to see if a little bit cut from syndication will appear here: I remember there being a little tag to the Dreyfuss episode (this resulted from the show being under time). Belushi tells the audience that he loves Dreyfuss despite him being "a Jew." Now, Belushi is clearly improvising here and not being antisemitic, but of course this reads much different in our PC-sensitive times. Anyway, I haven't seen that since the original airing.

Many more to note, but I hope that gives you a taste of what's to come! Read more ›

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5.0 out of 5 stars Dan the man as Nixon.

The major feature of this season is the Vampire Nixon skit, Steve Martin, Coneheads and the Blues Brothers. All that and Point/Counterpoint with mix of Meatloaf. Good times.

Published 15 days ago by Philip Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars How can you beat it?

First off, all 5 of the SNL collections from the original Not Ready for Primetime Players era (w/Lorne Michaels at the helm) together stand as one of the greatest bodies of work in... Read more

Published 1 month ago by William L. Farmer