The Steve Martin special, unsurprisingly, is the more successful of the two. Broadcast live from Studio 8H on November 25, 1981 during a three-week break for SNL (halfway between the sixth and seventh shows of Dick Ebersol’s first season as producer), Best Show Ever was essentially a mini-SNL reunion: former regulars Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Laraine Newman and Bill Murray appear, as does SNL band member and featured player Paul Shaffer; early regular host Eric Idle also shows in a pre-taped segment, while Gregory Hines (a musical guest on the show in 1979), Lauren Hutton (who hosted the Ebersol incarnation of the show a few weeks before), Lynn Redgrave and the American String Quartet make guest appearances. Apart from Martin and Idle, the writers, crew and production staff were pretty much all SNL alumni: besides, Michaels and Aykroyd, the writing credits include Al Franken, Tom Davis, Jim Downey, Alan Zweibel, Tom Gammill, Max Pross and Sarah Paley.

A lot of why Best Show Ever works is the whole one-off aspect of the production; apparently this special was written and cast at the last minute, and aired with minimal promotion. Despite the title of the special there were no built-up expectations around it, so the whole thing comes off as a pleasant lark. A few familiar SNL characters turn up: Martin and Aykroyd reprise their swinging Festrunk Brothers for a sketch (die-hard SNL fans take note: short-lived featured player Emily Prager has a few lines in that sketch) and Aykroyd’s sleazy Irwin Mainway hosts a game show. The length of some of the sketches (particularly “The Elephant Guy”) makes this reminiscent of a 1979-80 SNL, but with Aykroyd and Belushi still around and without the sense of burnout that plagued that season.