Francis, Philip Glass, the Update Dancers and the cast wave goodnight from home base as George Wendt tries to hail a cab. The SNL Band plays a slower, more mellow version of the closing theme.

Rerun alterations: About six seconds of footage are removed to cut the shot of home base from the other angle with the performers still coming on stage. Closing theme slightly remixed.

Final thoughts:

This is one of those shows where the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts; while most of the individual sketches were entertaining in their own right, the conceptual nature of this show and throughline of the plot make this whole show essential viewing. Not only does tonight’s show take a bigger creative risk than the standard SNL episode, this also works as a self-deprecation on the show’s rough season and uncertain future, as well as a bit of a love letter to the work involved in creating a 90-minute live broadcast. Francis Ford Coppola’s willingness to poke fun at himself and involvement in the creative process this week certainly helped, but George Wendt also deserves kudos for essentially serving as a straightman all night.

I also think this show could only have worked at this specific time in the show’s history. As much as I would like to see the current show (which sometimes feels ossified) take a risk like this, SNL has become too much of an institution by now and the show’s process is so much more widely known that it would just feel too self-congratulatory. As well, the show’s beginnings are now further away from present day than the Golden Age of live television was from this show’s broadcast; Saturday Night Live is no longer the upstart that followed the long tradition before it, but now a cornerstone of the network in its own right with its own history.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

Finale

That Black Girl

Monologue

Vietnam Sketch

Whale

Mystery Playhouse

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

The Honeymooners: The Lost Episodes

MVP:

Francis Ford Coppola

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

Joan Cusack : 4 appearances [Pep Talk, Weekend Update, Suitcase Boy, Finale]

Robert Downey Jr. : 5 appearances [Pep Talk, Actors, Vietnam Sketch, Suitcase Boy, Finale]

Nora Dunn : 7 appearances [Pep Talk, The Honeymooners: The Lost Episodes, Mystery Playhouse, That Black Girl, Whale, Actors, Finale]

Anthony Michael Hall : 5 appearances [Pep Talk, The Honeymooners: The Lost Episodes, Whale, Vietnam Sketch, Finale]

Jon Lovitz : 7 appearances [Pep Talk, Commercials. Mystery Playhouse, That Black Girl, Ghost of Thespians Past, Vietnam Sketch, Finale]

Dennis Miller : 3 appearances [Pep Talk (live show only), Weekend Update, Finale]

Randy Quaid : 6 appearances [Pep Talk, Mystery Playhouse, Whale, Vietnam Sketch, Suitcase Boy, Finale]

Terry Sweeney : 7 appearances [Pep Talk, Monologue, Commercials, Mystery Playhouse, That Black Girl, Vietnam Sketch, Finale]

Danitra Vance: 5 appearances [Pep Talk, Mystery Playhouse, That Black Girl, Whale, Finale]

unbilled crew, extras and bit players

Bob Caminiti : 1 appearance [Mystery Playhouse]

Al Camoin : 1 appearance [Monologue]

Tom Davis : 1 appearance [Finale]

Al Franken : 1 appearance [Finale]

Jeannine Kerwin Tree : 1 appearance [Mystery Playhouse]

Eugene Lee : 1 appearance [That Black Girl]

Lorne Michaels : 3 appearances [Pep Talk, Commercials, Vietnam Sketch]

Terry Rohnke : 1 appearance [Mystery Playhouse]

The SNL Band : 1 appearance [Finale]

Dave Wilson : 1 appearance [Mystery Playhouse]

Akira Yoshimura: 1 appearance [Whale]

guests

George Wendt : 6 appearances [Monologue, The Honeymooners: The Lost Episodes, Mystery Playhouse, Whale, Vietnam Sketch, Finale]

Francis Ford Coppola : 8 appearances [Monologue, Commercials, Mystery Playhouse, Weekend Update, That Black Girl, Ghost of Thespians Past, Vietnam Sketch, Finale]

Philip Glass : 3 appearances [“Lightning”, “Rubric”, Finale]

Janice Pendarvis: 1 appearance [“Lightning”]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

September 6, 1986

Known alterations:

Audience sweetening: None to mild: Monologue, Commercials, That Black Girl, Actors, Ghost of Thespians Past, Finale Moderate: The Honeymooners: The Lost Episodes, Mystery Playhouse, Whale, Suitcase Boy Heavy: Weekend Update, Vietnam Sketch

Edits: The Honeymooners: The Lost Episodes, Goodnights

Dress substitutions: Pep Talk (full), Monologue (first segment), Weekend Update (Francis Ford Coppola’s appearance), That Black Girl (first segment after titles)

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.