Saturday Night Live season 4#Special

The entire cast from the previous season returned. The only change was Bill Murray's joining Jane Curtin as co-anchor for Weekend Update, replacing Dan Aykroyd. This would be the final season for Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as cast members (who both left to work on SNL's first film, The Blues Brothers).

• Dan Aykroyd
• John Belushi
• Jane Curtin
• Garrett Morris
• Bill Murray
• Laraine Newman
• Gilda Radner

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

{{main|List of Saturday Night Live writers#Season 4}}

Walter Williams, creator of the Mr. Bill shorts, joined the writing staff.

This season's writers were Dan Aykroyd, Anne Beatts, Tom Davis, Jim Downey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Al Franken, Brian McConnachie, Lorne Michaels, Don Novello, Herb Sargent, Tom Schiller, Rosie Shuster, Walter Williams and Alan Zweibel.

Members of the writing staff were credited as "special guests" in the opening montage in episodes where they performed a segment of their own material. Al Franken and Tom Davis, usually billed as "the comedy team of Franken and Davis", and Don Novello, credited as "and a special report from Father Guido Sarducci," appeared throughout the season, with former/original writer Michael O'Donoghue returning for the finale as a special guest, credited as "impressionist Michael O'Donoghue." Novello did seven appearances as Sarducci, while Franken and Davis did four appearances.

{{main|List of Saturday Night Live episodes}}

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{{#invoke:Episode list|sublist|Saturday Night Live season 4

|EpisodeNumber=67

|EpisodeNumber2=1

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1978|10|7}}

|RTitle=The Rolling Stones

|Aux1=The Rolling Stones

|ShortSummary=

• The Rolling Stones perform "Beast of Burden", "Respectable" and "Shattered".{{cite book|title=Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/saturdaynightliv00cade/page/124 124–127]|isbn=0-395-70895-8|url=https://archive.org/details/saturdaynightliv00cade/page/124}} All were from the June 1978 album Some Girls.
• Two sketches feature Rolling Stones members: the Tomorrow Show parody, in which Tom Snyder (Dan Aykroyd) interviews Mick Jagger; and the Olympia Cafe sketch, which features Charlie Watts and Ron Wood.
• The monologue is delivered by the then-Mayor of New York City Ed Koch.
• Bill Murray's first episode as Weekend Update co-anchor, alongside Jane Curtin.
• A "Schiller's Reel" film called "Sushi by the Pool", features Desi Arnaz Jr., Carrie Fisher and Steven Keats with special guest Hal Holbrook.
• Starting with this episode, the cast is no longer referred to as "The Not Ready for Primetime Players".

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|EpisodeNumber=68

|EpisodeNumber2=2

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1978|10|14}}

|RTitle=Fred Willard

|Aux1=Devo

|ShortSummary=

• Devo performs two songs from its July 1978 debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!: a cover of the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Jocko Homo"; the performance of the latter is preceded by an excerpt from the band's short film, The Truth About De-Evolution.
• Mr. Bill goes to New York.
• NBC re-aired the episode on May 23, 2020 as a tribute to Willard, who had died the week before.

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|EpisodeNumber=69

|EpisodeNumber2=3

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1978|10|21}}

|RTitle=Frank Zappa

|Aux1=Frank Zappa

|ShortSummary=

• Frank Zappa and his band perform "Dancin' Fool" from the 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti, "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing" from the 1981 album You Are What You Is and "Rollo", which was cut from the 1974 album Apostrophe (') and would remain unreleased until 2006's Imaginary Diseases.
• Special Guests: Father Guido Sarducci, Franken and Davis
• During Zappa's performance of "Rollo", John Belushi, in character as Samurai Futaba, briefly appears on stage with the group. Singing into a microphone duct taped to the body of an electric guitar, Belushi carries out a call and response bit with the band.
• Zappa was unpopular with the cast and crew, possibly in part because their lax views on drug and alcohol consumption did not mesh with his anti-drug stance.{{#invoke:cite web|| publisher = TV.com | url = http://www.tv.com/saturday-night-live/frank-zappa/episode/113459/summary.html | title = Saturday Night Live > Season 4 > Episode 3 : Frank Zappa | date = October 21, 1978}} This is highlighted in the sketch "Night on Freak Mountain", which also features Paul Shaffer as Don Kirshner. Throughout the episode, Zappa regularly mugs for the camera and frequently notes to the audience that he is reading from cue cards.
• Mr. Bill Moves In.

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|EpisodeNumber=70

|EpisodeNumber2=4

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1978|11|4}}

|RTitle=Steve Martin

|Aux1=Van Morrison

|ShortSummary=

• Van Morrison performs two songs from his September 1978 release Wavelength: the title track and "Kingdom Hall".{{#invoke:cite web|| publisher = TV.com | title = Saturday Night Live > Season 4 > Episode 4 : Steve Martin/Van Morrison | date = November 4, 1978}}
• Final appearance of the Festrunk Brothers.
• The last sketch was cut short. When the show closes, Steve Martin announces there were technical problems and that the sketch would resume the next time he hosted.
• This is Martin's sixth time as host.

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|EpisodeNumber=71

|EpisodeNumber2=5

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1978|11|11}}

|RTitle=Buck Henry

|Aux1=Grateful Dead

|ShortSummary=

• The Grateful Dead performs "Casey Jones" and "I Need a Miracle/Good Lovin'" medley.
• John Belushi as Elizabeth Taylor chokes on chicken.
• First appearance of "Uncle Roy" sketch.
• "Samurai Optometrist" sketch.
• First appearance of "Chico Escuela".
• Buck Henry's seventh time as host.
• Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann makes a non-verbal cameo appearance during the "Nick Sands, the Lounge Singer" skit.

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|EpisodeNumber=72

|EpisodeNumber2=6

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1978|11|18}}

|RTitle=Carrie Fisher

|Aux1=The Blues Brothers

|ShortSummary=

• The Blues Brothers open the show with "Soul Man", and perform a medley of "Got Everything I Need, Almost" and "'B' Movie Box Car Blues".
• Special Guest: Father Guido Sarducci
• Writers Al Franken, Tom Davis, Alan Zweibel, Brian Doyle-Murray, and future cast member Harry Shearer appear in the Beach Blanket sketch.
• Mr. Bill Goes Fishing.

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|EpisodeNumber=73

|EpisodeNumber2=7

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1978|12|2}}

|RTitle=Walter Matthau

|Aux1=Garrett Morris

|ShortSummary=

• There is no billed musical guest for this episode. At host Walter Matthau's request, Garrett Morris performs Mozart's "Dalla sua pace" ("On her peace"), an aria from Don Giovanni.
• George Coe appears in the Epoxy-Dent commercial parody.
• Pepsi is replaced with Coke in the Olympia Cafe sketch.
• Mr. Bill Is Late.
• This episode features the last appearance of the Bees in a sketch called the Bad News Bees. In the skit, Coach Buttermaker (Matthau reprising his role from the 1976 film The Bad News Bears, albeit in a bee costume) tries to get his team to stop "buzzing off"

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|EpisodeNumber=74

|EpisodeNumber2=8

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1978|12|9}}|RTitle=Eric Idle

|Aux1=Kate Bush

|ShortSummary=

• Kate Bush (in her only US appearance to date) performs "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" and "Them Heavy People".
• Special Guest: Father Guido Sarducci
• The sketch "What Do You?", written by Idle, originally appeared on Monty Python's Previous Record.
• Dan Aykroyd portrays Julia Child cutting her finger and bleeding uncontrollably.{{cite book|title=Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/saturdaynightliv00cade/page/91 91]|isbn=0-395-70895-8|url=https://archive.org/details/saturdaynightliv00cade/page/91}}
• Candy Slice performs "If You Look Close".{{cite book|title=Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/saturdaynightliv00cade/page/119 119]|isbn=0-395-70895-8|url=https://archive.org/details/saturdaynightliv00cade/page/119}}
• Idle's third time as host.

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|EpisodeNumber=75

|EpisodeNumber2=9

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1978|12|16}}

|RTitle=Elliott Gould

|Aux1=Peter Tosh
Mick Jagger

|ShortSummary=

• Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger perform "(You Gotta Walk And) Don't Look Back", and Tosh performs "Bush Doctor".
• Special Guests: Bob and Ray
• "Mommie Dearest" sketch.
• "Point/Counterpoint" regarding relations with China.
• Elliott Gould (his 4th time hosting) and Garrett Morris sing "It's Christmas Time in Harlem" during the opening monologue, accompanied by Paul Shaffer.

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|EpisodeNumber=76

|EpisodeNumber2=10

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|1|27}}

|RTitle=Michael Palin

|Aux1=The Doobie Brothers

|ShortSummary=

• The Doobie Brothers perform "What a Fool Believes" and "Takin' It to the Streets".
• Special Guests: Father Guido Sarducci, Franken and Davis
• Michael Palin (2nd time hosting) reprises his sleazy music teacher character Mr. Brighton for another sketch with The Nerds.
• Dickens' "Miles Cowperthwaite", Part 1.
• Mr Bill Goes to Court.

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|EpisodeNumber=77

|EpisodeNumber2=11

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|2|10}}

|RTitle=Cicely Tyson

|Aux1=Talking Heads

|ShortSummary=

• Garrett Morris, dressed as Cicely Tyson, opens the monologue, then is interrupted by the real Tyson; together they then discuss Morris' contract under which he supposedly plays all character parts "darker than Tony Orlando."
• Talking Heads perform "Take Me to the River" and "Artists Only" from their album More Songs About Buildings and Food.{{#invoke:cite web|| work = Saturday Night Live Transcripts | title = Season 4: Episode 11 | url = http://snltranscripts.jt.org/78/78k.phtml | date = February 10, 1979}}
• Final appearance of Emily Litella

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|EpisodeNumber=78

|EpisodeNumber2=12

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|2|17}}

|RTitle=Ricky Nelson

|Aux1=Judy Collins

|ShortSummary=

• Judy Collins performs "Hard Times for Lovers".
• Ricky Nelson performs a medley of his classic hits from the 1950s, "Hello Mary Lou", "Travelin' Man" and "Fools Rush In" for the monologue; he later performs his version of "Dream Lover".
• Twilight Zone sketch features classic TV shows Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Make Room for Daddy and I Love Lucy.
• Candy Slice performs in Rock Against Yeast with Paul Shaffer playing Don Kirshner and the drummer of her band.

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|EpisodeNumber=79

|EpisodeNumber2=13

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|2|24}}

|RTitle=Kate Jackson

|Aux1=Delbert McClinton

|ShortSummary=

• McClinton performs "B Movie Boxcar Blues" and "I'm Talking About You".
• Special Guests: Andy Kaufman, Father Guido Sarducci
• A running gag throughout the show is Fred Silverman trying to sabotage NBC's line-up.
• Brian Doyle-Murray is one of the people taking a tour during the opening monologue.
• Kate Jackson plays a nurse who Bill Murray falls for in a sketch involving the Nerds.
• Final appearance of The Coneheads sketch.
• "Bad Cabarat for Children" with Leonard Pinth-Garnell.
• Mr. Bill Goes on a Diet.

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|EpisodeNumber=80

|EpisodeNumber2=14

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|3|10}}

|RTitle=Gary Busey

|Aux1=Eubie Blake & Gregory Hines
Gary Busey with Rick Danko & Paul Butterfield

|ShortSummary=

• Eubie Blake and Gregory Hines performs a medley of "Low-down Blues", "I'm Just Simply Full of Jazz" and "I'm Just Wild about Harry".
• Gary Busey's band performs "Stay All Night".
• Brian Doyle-Murray is one of John Belushi's sycophants during the cold open and also appears as an audience member with a question in "Women's Problems".
• Paul Shaffer plays the bass in Busey's rock-n-roll band in the 1950s sketch.
• Bill Murray stars in the Tom Schiller short, "Perchance to Dream".

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|EpisodeNumber=81

|EpisodeNumber2=15

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|3|17}}

|RTitle=Margot Kidder

|Aux1=The Chieftains

|ShortSummary=

• The Chieftains performs "If I Had Maggie in the Woods" and "Morning Dew"
• Special Guests: Franken and Davis, Father Guido Sarducci
• Lorne Michaels and the production staff appear with Margot Kidder and Gilda Radner in the opening monologue.
• "Point/Counterpoint" regarding Lee Marvin's palimony case.
• Mr Bill hides from Mr Hand.

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|EpisodeNumber=82

|EpisodeNumber2=16

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|4|7}}

|RTitle=Richard Benjamin

|Aux1=Rickie Lee Jones

|ShortSummary=

• Rickie Lee Jones performed "Chuck E.'s In Love" and "Coolsville".
• In the cold open, John Belushi is sick and is replaced by an actor from NBC's replacement pool.
• Rodney Dangerfield, Tom Davis, Brian Doyle-Murray and Al Franken make cameo appearances in The China Syndrome parody ("The Pepsi Syndrome").
• One of the most popular sketches involving the Nerds where Todd and Lisa finally kiss.
• Chico Escuela tries for a comeback with the Mets with cameos from several Mets players.

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|EpisodeNumber=83

|EpisodeNumber2=17

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|4|14}}

|RTitle=Milton Berle

|Aux1=Ornette Coleman

|ShortSummary=

• Ornette Coleman performed "Times Square".
• Milton Berle's opening monologue featured bits from his nightclub stand-up routine, some of which were met with scant laughter. After about five minutes, Bill Murray dropped a large pipe offstage, making a loud noise and disrupting Berle's routine. When Berle was told by a producer at the foot of the stage that his monologue segment was complete, Berle responded incredulously. During the audience's applause while transitioning to a commercial, he can be seen angrily yelling, although it is unclear whether he is serious.{{#invoke:cite web|| work = Saturday Night Live Transcripts | title = Season 4: Episode 17, 78q: Milton Berle / Ornette Coleman | date = 8 October 2018 | url = http://snltranscripts.jt.org/78/78qmono.phtml }}
• While on-air, Berle frequently mugged for the audience, did spit-takes, and ad-libbed straight to the camera.{{#invoke:cite web|| work = Mental Floss | url = http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/16355 | title = 5 Awful Saturday Night Live Hosts of the '70s | date = July 9, 2008 | first = Kara | last = Kovalchik | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090917205613/http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/16355 | archive-date = September 17, 2009 }}
• At the end of the show, Berle broke into a "dreary version" of the 1950s standard "September Song" and, according to Lorne Michaels, loaded the audience with friends and family members who gave it a standing ovation. Michaels told director Dave Wilson immediately afterwards that this show was the worst ever; he kept it from appearing in syndicated reruns later.{{cite book|last1=Hill|first1=Doug|last2=Weingrad|first2=Jeff|title=Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rkUn4S_OlngC|date=2011|publisher=Untreed Reads|isbn=9781611872187|access-date=May 1, 2015|chapter=33: Off the Air}}

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|EpisodeNumber=84

|EpisodeNumber2=18

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|5|12}}

|RTitle=Michael Palin

|Aux1=James Taylor

|ShortSummary=

• The opening monologue featured James Taylor performing "Johnnie Comes Back", his first of three songs in the show. Taylor later performs, "Up on the Roof" and "Millworker", all from his then recently released album, Flag.
• Special Guest: Father Guido Sarducci
• Dickens's "Miles Cowperthwaite", Part 2.
• Final appearance of Dan Aykroyd's Jimmy Carter impersonation.
• Mr Bill Runs Away From Home.

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|EpisodeNumber=85

|EpisodeNumber2=19

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|5|19}}

|RTitle=Maureen Stapleton

|Aux1=Linda Ronstadt & Phoebe Snow

|ShortSummary=

• Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow performs duets of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" and "The Married Men", which also included King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp on Frippertronics, visible behind the duo along with his reel-to-reel tape decks to create the Frippertronics loop. Ronstadt also appears in the Nick the Lounge Singer sketch.
• "Point/Counterpoint" regarding nuclear energy.
• Mr Bill Goes to the Movies.

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|EpisodeNumber=86

|EpisodeNumber2=20

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1979|5|26}}

|RTitle=Buck Henry

|Aux1=Bette Midler

|ShortSummary=

• Mr Bill opens the show with "Live from New York{{nbsp}}...", then Jane Curtin interrupts the opening credits, but John Belushi then opens the show, much to Jane's displeasure.
• Bette Midler performed "Married Men" and "Martha", from her Thighs and Whispers album, with The Harlettes (Katey Sagal and Jocelyn Brown) and Luther Vandross as backup singers.
• Special Guests: Mr. Mike, Franken and Davis
• "Schiller's Reel" film called "Clones Exist Now".
• The final appearance of Samurai Futaba and Olympia Cafe sketches.
• Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi's final episode as cast members.

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|Title=Things We Did Last Summer

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1978|10|28}}

|ShortSummary=On October 28, 1978, a special episode entitled "Things We Did Last Summer" aired, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd performing 2 songs as The Blues Brothers, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray (playing baseball for the Grays Harbor Loggers), Lariane Newman and Gilda Radner.

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• Recurring SNL characters and sketches introduced in season 4
• History of Saturday Night Live

{{Saturday Night Live}}

04

Category:Saturday Night Live in the 1970s

Category:1978 American television seasons

Category:1979 American television seasons