George McGovern asks Clara Peller her thoughts on the candidates, which of course is another chance for her to say her catchphrase. George introduces his wife Eleanor. Joe Piscopo seems a little upset.

Don Pardo addresses his "fellow countrymen" to announce next week's rerun of the Robin Williams episode.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Despite having a recent political candidate as host, this was a fairly forgettable show, with not much standing out as especially good or bad. There are a few sketches that distinctly felt like they could have been better (60 Minutes, Trampoline), and McGovern's limitations as a performer were somewhat obvious (though he often made up for it with his likability), but unlike last week, nothing seemed especially bad (though maybe it was overkill to have three "Where's the beef" variants tonight). Even the last Eddie Murphy pretape underwhelmed. There was a slight boost in quality after the news, but on the whole, this show just came off as a tad disappointing.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

Cosmos

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

(none)

MVP:

(tie) Jim Belushi / Gary Kroeger / Mary Gross

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

Jim Belushi : 3 appearances [Midtown Open, Circus People, I Didn't Realize]

: 3 appearances [Midtown Open, Circus People, I Didn't Realize] Robin Duke : 1 appearance [Brother-In-Law]

: 1 appearance [Brother-In-Law] Mary Gross : 4 appearances [White House Foods, Circus People, I Didn't Realize, Cosmos]

: 4 appearances [White House Foods, Circus People, I Didn't Realize, Cosmos] Brad Hall : 2 appearances [Cosmos, Book Beat]

: 2 appearances [Cosmos, Book Beat] Tim Kazurinsky : 5 appearances [60 Minutes, Circus People, I Didn't Realize, Saturday Night News, Cosmos]

: 5 appearances [60 Minutes, Circus People, I Didn't Realize, Saturday Night News, Cosmos] Gary Kroeger : 4 appearances [White House Foods, Saturday Night News, Cosmos, Brother-In-Law]

: 4 appearances [White House Foods, Saturday Night News, Cosmos, Brother-In-Law] Julia Louis-Dreyfus : 3 appearances [White House Foods, I Didn't Realize, Cosmos]

: 3 appearances [White House Foods, I Didn't Realize, Cosmos] Eddie Murphy : 1 appearance [I Didn't Realize]

: 1 appearance [I Didn't Realize] Joe Piscopo: 5 appearances [60 Minutes, Midtown Open, White House Foods, Saturday Night News, Book Beat]

crew and extras

Nate Herman : 1 voice-over [Direct Hits]

: 1 voice-over [Direct Hits] Tom Malone: 1 appearance [Cosmos]

guests

George McGovern : 8 appearances [Monologue, Midtown Open, White House Foods, Direct Hits, Saturday Night News, Cosmos, Book Beat, Brother-In-Law]

: 8 appearances [Monologue, Midtown Open, White House Foods, Direct Hits, Saturday Night News, Cosmos, Book Beat, Brother-In-Law] Madness : 2 appearances ["Our House", "Keep Moving"]

: 2 appearances ["Our House", "Keep Moving"] Eleanor McGovern : 1 appearance [Monologue]

: 1 appearance [Monologue] Frankie Pace : 1 appearance [Guest Performance]

: 1 appearance [Guest Performance] Clara Peller: 2 appearances [White House Foods, Madness intro]

REBROADCAST HISTORY

August 18, 1984

Known alterations:

60 Minutes and Saturday Night News edited.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.