Christopher Reeve talks about how it took a while to work up the nerve to do the show, which was a “complete kick in the butt”. Anne Beatts is onstage with Reeve, Santana and the cast.

Final Thoughts:

The strongest show since Harry Shearer’s firing, with a very strong first half (largely owing to the classic Jackie Rogers Jr. sketch), and even the (relatively) weaker segments worked well for what they were. What’s astonishing is that this show did not have any pre-taped segments at all, not even a commercial parody or repeated segment to bridge sketches; the number of longer pieces tonight likely had a lot to do with this. Surprisingly, Christopher Reeve actually didn’t really stand out too much as a host; aside from the monologue and Superman Auditions, he seemed a little too reserved, if not a bit stiff. This show belongs more to the cast and writers anyway.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad

Superman Auditions

Talk Back

Escaping The Germans

Guest Performance

A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

(none)

MVP:

(tie) Billy Crystal / Christopher Guest / Rich Hall / Gary Kroeger

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

Jim Belushi : 5 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Superman Auditions, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad, Escaping the Germans]

5 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Superman Auditions, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad, Escaping the Germans] Billy Crystal : 5 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad, Escaping the Germans, Saturday Night News, Palisades Nursing Home]

5 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad, Escaping the Germans, Saturday Night News, Palisades Nursing Home] Mary Gross : 2 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad]

2 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad] Christopher Guest : 4 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad, Saturday Night News, Talk Back]

4 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad, Saturday Night News, Talk Back] Rich Hall : 5 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Superman Auditions, Escaping the Germans, Saturday Night News, Talk Back]

5 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Superman Auditions, Escaping the Germans, Saturday Night News, Talk Back] Gary Kroeger : 4 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Superman Auditions, Escaping the Germans, Talk Back]

4 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Superman Auditions, Escaping the Germans, Talk Back] Julia Louis-Dreyfus : 3 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Superman Auditions, Palisades Nursing Home]

3 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Superman Auditions, Palisades Nursing Home] Martin Short : 2 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad]

2 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad] Pamela Stephenson: 2 appearances [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning, Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad]

crew and extras

Anne Beatts : 1 appearance [Palisades Nursing Home]

1 appearance [Palisades Nursing Home] Don Pardo : 1 voice-over [Saturday Night News]

1 voice-over [Saturday Night News] Rob Riley: 1 appearance [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning]

guests

Christopher Reeve : 4 appearances [Monologue, Superman Auditions, Escaping the Germans, Palisades Nursing Home]

4 appearances [Monologue, Superman Auditions, Escaping the Germans, Palisades Nursing Home] Santana : 2 appearances [“Say It Again”, “Right Now”]

2 appearances [“Say It Again”, “Right Now”] Steven Wright : 1 appearance [Guest Performance]

1 appearance [Guest Performance] Calvert Deforest : 1 appearance [Saturday Night News]

1 appearance [Saturday Night News] Dan Ingram: 1 voice-over [A.D. 13: Part V: A New Beginning]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

August 10, 1985

Known alterations:

A 2004 airing on NBC All Night replaces a bumper of Reeve standing in front of the World Trade Center with another bumper that appears later in the show.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.