Alright, this is the one where Richard Pryor hosts. Pryor was considered a raunchy comedian back then, so many were curious as to how this episode would go. I'm excited to review this one.
Cold Open- We see a couple played by Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin eating dinner at an Italian restaurant. Garrett Morris plays the waiter. Another waiter played by Chevy Chase comes out. They then break the fourth wall by arguing over who was supposed to do the cold open. Garrett Morris does the Chevy pratfall and finally, Chase falls over through the table. This was pretty damn funny. One of the best cold opens so far.
4 out of 5 stars
I couldn't find a picture from the sketch, so here's a photo of Chevy Chase
Richard Pryor Monologue- Richard Pryor does a stand-up routine on drinking, women, and doing acid. Even when he's not being dirty, Pryor is hilarious. The bit about acid reminded me of a Dave Chapelle stand-up bit where he talks about doing drugs with Native Americans. I have a feeling this will be a good episode.
4 out of 5 stars
Samurai Hotel- The debut of John Belushi's Samurai Futaba character. A traveler played by Chevy Chase checks into a hotel, but the desk clerk is Futaba who doesn't seem to understand what the traveler wants and speaks in gibberish. Finally, the traveler asks for the bellboy to take his bags. The bellboy played by Richard Pryor is also a samurai. Futaba and the bellboy duel with their swords until Futaba speaks English and takes the bags. When I first saw this sketch, I didn't get the samurai character. However, seeing it again it's pretty funny. As with most of these sketches, Samurai Futaba has aged poorly. I still thought this one was great and Pryor made it even funnier. Yo mama-san!
5 out of 5 stars
Musical performance by Gil-Scott Heron.
Looks at Books- Jane Curtin hosts a talk show called "Looks at Books" and her guest is Junior Griffin (played by Pryor) who talks about his book "White Like Me", which chronicles his experience going undercover as a white man. This is similar to a sketch from the 80's also called "White Like Me" where Eddie Murphy dons whiteface as a way to experience what being a white man is like. It's hilarious. This sketch may lack the visual comedy of seeing Richard Pryor in whiteface, but Pryor's description of his experience is just as funny as the Murphy sketch.
4 out of 5 stars
I couldn't find a photo, so here's Eddie Murphy as a white man from a similar sketch
There's a repeat of the "New Dad' fake ad from a previous episode. It wasn't funny then and it isn't funny the second time.
Police Line Up Part 1- This sketch comes in three parts, so I'll give my score after the third part. Four guys, all of them white except for a guy in handcuffs played by Pryor are in the police line up. A woman is asked who attacked her and she immediately points out the guy in the handcuffs. I'm pretty sure I know where this sketch is going. It was funny when two of the white guys shake hands after realizing they're not in handcuffs.
***Warning- if you are offended by racial slurs, skip this part of my review. I'm only using the words as they were used in the sketch. I don't condone racist language***
Word Association- This is one of SNL's most controversial sketches. A white interviewer played by Chevy Chase interviews a black man played by Richard Pryor for a janitorial position. They begin to do a word association test. Chase starts off with innocent words like "dog", but then starts saying anti-black racial slurs. "Tar baby", "jungle bunny", and even "spear thrower" are used. Pryor responds to these with anti-white slurs like "cracker" and "honky". Chase finally says "nigger" to which Pryor responds with "Dead honky!". The tension between the two escalates and finally Chase gives Pryor the job with the highest salary. I loved this sketch! It's shocking, but it's funny. Pryor's reaction to the slurs and his "Dead honky!" expression was priceless. It's not making light of racism and racial slurs, but showing the ridiculousness of workplace discrimination and racist attitudes against black people. Racists are ridiculous and that is being shown through Chase's character. Also of note, this sketch was written by Paul Mooney, who based it on a negative experience he had being a scriptwriter for the show. He did not get along with Lorne Michaels or the NBC executives.
5 out of 5 stars
Pong- Like the previous Pong sketches, Al Franken and Tom Davis play Pong while having a conversation. This time, it's about a hockey game. This one wasn't that great.
1 out of 5 stars
I couldn't find a photo of the sketch, so here's a photo of Al Franken (left) and the late Tom Davis (right)
Black Takeover- This sketch features a white family eating dinner. The father (Dan Aykroyd) is ranting. His rants are vague as it seems like he's being racist, but then it sounds as though he's talking about a virus. He starts out complaining about how "they" are taking over and then he starts talking about his co-workers have come down with a virus. The daughter (Gilda Radner) excuses herself to answer a phone call. When she comes back, she's turned into a black person (I don't know the name of the actress). No one notices this and the dad is still ranting. The son (John Belushi) then leaves to go get some milk. He returns as a black person (Richard Pryor) as well. The father still rants and doesn't notice this. Finally, the mother (Jane Curtin) leaves and like the daughter and son, returns as a black woman (I don't know the actress's name). The father is the only white person.
Sorry for the long summary. I normally don't go into too much detail for these, but without explaining the sketch in full, it would be hard to follow. This wasn't as funny as Word Association. It's pretty edgy, even for the time it was aired. It's made obvious towards the end that the "virus" the father is talking about is becoming African-American. I thought this was a weird sketch. The best part was Dan Aykroyd, who played the angry father very well.
3.5 out of 5 stars
I couldn't find a picture of the sketch, so here's a photo of Richard Pryor with the SNL cast.
Weekend Update- Chevy Chase brings us the latest news with WU. A repeat of the "Spud Beer" fake ad is shown and Gilda Radner makes an appearance as Emily Litella. Garrett Morris concludes with "News For the Hard of Hearing". This WU was really good. There were some funny jokes and Radner was witty and delightful as Emily Litella. I didn't care for the "Spud Beer" ad the first time I saw it, but it was funnier seeing it a second time.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Police Line Up II- Part two of the "Police Line Up" sketch. This time, a man in an icebox, the same black man (Richard Pryor) as before, a duck, and a nun (Jane Curtin) are lined up. When asked to identify the attacker, the woman is still unsure. This one wasn't as funny as Part I.
I couldn't find a screencap, so here's a photo from a funnier police line up sketch.
Suicide Pill- An Army major (Richard Pryor) is called in to check out the latest weapons as sown by his superior (Dan Aykroyd). The major sees a pill and blindly takes it. The superior then explains that the pill is a "suicide pill" and kills whoever takes it in minutes. The major is in shock and dies once he realized what he's done. The superior (I'm calling him that because I'm not familiar with military terms) pays no attention and continues explaining the weapons' uses. This was a short sketch. Not the strongest, but Pryor's facial expression after learning about the pill is the best part.
This was the only clear photo from this sketch and the only way I could upload it was by taking a screenshot.