Saturday Night Live (season 7)

The seventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 3, 1981, and May 22, 1982.

Saturday Night Live
Season 7
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes20
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseOctober 3, 1981 (1981-10-03) –
May 22, 1982 (1982-05-22)
Season chronology

Background

Following the dismissal of producer Jean Doumanian during the show's sixth season, Dick Ebersol, the program's developer, was hired as Doumanian's replacement. In March 1981, Dick Ebersol dismissed several of her cast members (repertory players Gilbert Gottfried, Ann Risley and Charles Rocket and featured players Yvonne Hudson, Matthew Laurance and Patrick Weathers). After one episode on April 11, 1981, the show was shut down for the rest of the season because of the 1981 Writers Guild of America strike. In the break, Dick Ebersol would also dismiss repertory players Denny Dillon and Gail Matthius, and featured players Laurie Metcalf and Emily Prager were not asked back as cast members.

The new cast of Saturday Night Live for season 7 included most of the repertory players from the final Dick Ebersol-produced episode of season 6: Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky and Tony Rosato along with the sole surviving cast members from Jean Doumanian's era, Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo. Adding two new cast members Mary Gross and Christine Ebersole. Brian Doyle-Murray, who had been a writer for season 6, joined Dick Ebersol's new cast as a featured player (he was also a featured player during season 5).

Michael O'Donoghue, who Dick Ebersol brought back to the show in March, remained as head writer for the first half of season 7. Some sketches, as well as the appearances of artists like Fear and William S. Burroughs, reflected the increasingly bizarre ideas O'Donoghue had for the show. However, after developing a tense relationship with Ebersol and berating the cast in a meeting following the December 12 episode, O'Donoghue was fired, with Bob Tischler taking the role of head writer.[1]

A new logo was introduced for this season, and was used until season 10: It consisted of the words SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE in the form of a square, with each word after it increasing in size; a modernized version of this logo was used from 2006-2014.

Format changes

Wanting to distance the show from its first five seasons, Ebersol cut the popular opening line Live from New York, It's Saturday Night! from the cold openings. In fact, sometimes cold openings were not even shown and the monologues were skipped over almost entirely. These changes were not permanent, as Ebersol decided to reverse them for the eighth season. Each episode began with the announcement "And now from New York, the most dangerous city in America, it's Saturday Night Live!" After the opening credits, the cast would enter together and pose with the show's host before running to their places for the first sketch.

Ebersol also revamped Weekend Update. The segment went through its first name change (aside from the temporary change to "Saturday Night Newsline" in the final Doumanian episode from March 1981) and became "SNL Newsbreak". At the newsdesk was featured player Brian Doyle-Murray with Christine Ebersole and Mary Gross alternating as co-anchor. Brian Doyle-Murray also became the first Weekend Update anchor to be a featured player while serving as anchor. The only other anchors to do this were Michael Che, Tina Fey and Colin Jost.

Additionally, this was the first season without Don Pardo (season 40 would become the next due to Don Pardo's death in 2014) as the show announcer. Instead the voice-overs were done by Mel Brandt, except for two episodes that aired in December 1981 when veteran NBC News announcer Bill Hanrahan handled such duties.

Cast

During the season, original cast member John Belushi died from an overdose of cocaine and heroin. The original airing of the episode hosted by Robert Urich had a tribute to Belushi.

Cast roster

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers
Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers § season 7

This season's writers were Barry W. Blaustein, Joe Bodolai, Brian Doyle-Murray, Nate Herman, Tim Kazurinsky, Nelson Lyon, Maryilyn Suzanne Miller, Pamela Norris, Mark O'Donnell, Michael O'Donoghue, Margaret Olberman, Tony Rosato, David Sheffield, Rosie Shuster, Andrew Smith, Terry Southern, Bob Tischler and Eliot Wald. The head writers were Michael O'Donoghue (episodes 1-8) and Bob Tischler (episodes 9-20).

Episodes
Main article: List of Saturday Night Live episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		Host(s)Musical guest(s)Original air date
1201NoneRod StewartOctober 3, 1981 (1981-10-03)

1212Susan Saint JamesThe KinksOctober 10, 1981 (1981-10-10)

1223George KennedyMiles DavisOctober 17, 1981 (1981-10-17)

1234Donald PleasenceFearOctober 31, 1981 (1981-10-31)

  • Fear performs "I Don't Care About You", "Beef Bologna", "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones" and "Let's Have a War".[2] Shortly after beginning "Let's Have a War," the group was cut off by a repeat of the filmed piece "Prose and Cons" previously shown on October 3.
  • In the cold opening, Eddie Murphy suggests to Donald Pleasence to vomit for luck. As Eddie Murphy leaves the bathroom, John Belushi appears from the other stall, stares into the camera, and says nothing.
  • Guest appearance by Michael Davis.
  • Neil Levy plays the corpse in the "I'm So Miserable" sketch.
1245Lauren HuttonRick JamesNovember 7, 1981 (1981-11-07)

1256Bernadette PetersThe Go-Go's
Billy Joel		November 14, 1981 (1981-11-14)

1267Tim CurryMeat LoafDecember 5, 1981 (1981-12-05)

1278Bill MurrayThe Spinners
The Whiffenpoofs		December 12, 1981 (1981-12-12)

1289Robert ConradThe Allman Brothers BandJanuary 23, 1982 (1982-01-23)

12910John MaddenJennifer HollidayJanuary 30, 1982 (1982-01-30)

13011James CoburnLindsey BuckinghamFebruary 6, 1982 (1982-02-06)

13112Bruce DernLuther VandrossFebruary 20, 1982 (1982-02-20)

  • Luther Vandross performs "Never Too Much" and "A House Is Not a Home".[2]
  • Bruce Dern appears in a surreal and dark parody of The Wild One called "The Mild One".
13213Elizabeth AshleyHall & OatesFebruary 27, 1982 (1982-02-27)

13314Robert UrichMink DeVilleMarch 20, 1982 (1982-03-20)

  • Mink DeVille performs "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Love & Emotion".[2]
  • Brian Doyle-Murray gives tribute to John Belushi, who died two weeks before this show aired, at the episode's conclusion.
13415Blythe DannerRickie Lee JonesMarch 27, 1982 (1982-03-27)

  • Rickie Lee Jones performs "Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue)", "Lush Life" and "Woody and Dutch On the Slow Train to Peking".[2]
  • Guest appearance by Michael Davis.
  • First appearance of Eddie Murphy as Gumby.[5]
13516Daniel J. TravantiJohn Cougar MellencampApril 10, 1982 (1982-04-10)

  • John Cougar Mellencamp performs "Hurts So Good" and "Ain't Even Done with the Night".[2]
  • Daniel J. Travanti's Hill Street Blues co-star Bruce Weitz appeared in a Hill Street parody.
  • There's a recurring sketch throughout the episode in which viewers at home can phone-in to decide whether Larry the Lobster lives or is killed.[6]
  • First appearance of The Whiners.[7]
13617Johnny CashElton JohnApril 17, 1982 (1982-04-17)

13718Robert CulpThe Charlie Daniels BandApril 24, 1982 (1982-04-24)

13819Danny DeVitoSparksMay 15, 1982 (1982-05-15)

  • Sparks performs "I Predict" and "Mickey Mouse",[2] the latter with an introductory monologue by Ron Mael, from its album Angst in My Pants.
  • During his monologue, Danny DeVito brings his castmates from Taxi for a farewell bow after ABC canceled the show (NBC later picked up the sitcom).
  • Danny DeVito appeared in a film where he blew up the ABC corporate headquarters.
  • Andy Kaufman appeared to apologize for wrestling women.
13920Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-JohnMay 22, 1982 (1982-05-22)

gollark: To the IQ test? I think I still have it around. I was trying to move it from Microsoft Forms to my broken JS-based quiz thing.
gollark: I'm very intelligent. I made my own IQ test and it said I had an IQ of 600.
gollark: I mean, *somewhat* opening it, but not *too* much.
gollark: You mean, what, "stop filtering sensory data according to your preconceptions" or something, I'm guessing?
gollark: You can't "empty your mind of concepts". What does that even *mean*?

References
  1. Hill and Weingrad, p. 453-7.
  2. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  3. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 138–140. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  4. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 141–143. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  5. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 144–146. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  6. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 147. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
  7. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
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