Michael McKean explains that Jim Belushi was in California this week and will be back for the next show. Billy Crystal says that Barry Manilow did cancel and introduces Bobby Fraraccio. For some reason Gary Kroeger is on his knees.

Final Thoughts:

A very strong show; perhaps a little lower key than one would expect with one of the stars of Spinal Tap hosting and his bandmates in the cast, but there’s a run of mostly good-to-great pieces throughout the night, with the weaker pieces mainly being short throwaways. The cast is mostly balanced tonight (though the women are slightly underrepresented as usual), and aside from Fernando, there isn’t a whole lot of recurring material dominating the show tonight. McKean was a solid host, though not standing out so much as blending in seamlessly with the cast, which leads one to wonder how this season would have worked with him as a regular. It would have been interesting to see how Sheila E. would have worked in the cramped space of studio 8G and mono mix, but Chaka Khan was a worthy replacement.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

The Folksmen

Fernando’s Hideaway

First Draft Theatre

The Chosen Pray

Rabbi

SNL Fashion Report

Mondale Headquarters

PBS Pledgebration

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

(none)

MVP:

(tie) Billy Crystal / Christopher Guest / Harry Shearer

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

Jim Belushi : absent

: absent Billy Crystal : 4 appearances [Fernando’s Hideaway, Buddy Young Jr. is Back!, First Draft Theatre, Rabbi]

: 4 appearances [Fernando’s Hideaway, Buddy Young Jr. is Back!, First Draft Theatre, Rabbi] Mary Gross : 2 appearances [Gerry and the Mon-Dells, Saturday Night News]

: 2 appearances [Gerry and the Mon-Dells, Saturday Night News] Christopher Guest : 3 appearances [The Folksmen, “Old Joe’s Place”, First Draft Theatre]; 1 voice-over [First Draft Theatre]

: 3 appearances [The Folksmen, “Old Joe’s Place”, First Draft Theatre]; 1 voice-over [First Draft Theatre] Rich Hall : 5 appearances [Baby Double, First Draft Theatre, Saturday Night News, Mondale Headquarters, SNL Fashion Report]

: 5 appearances [Baby Double, First Draft Theatre, Saturday Night News, Mondale Headquarters, SNL Fashion Report] Gary Kroeger : 3 appearances [Baby Double, First Draft Theatre, Mondale Headquarters]

: 3 appearances [Baby Double, First Draft Theatre, Mondale Headquarters] Julia Louis-Dreyfus : 2 appearances [Saturday Night News, Mondale Headquarters]

: 2 appearances [Saturday Night News, Mondale Headquarters] Harry Shearer : 4 appearances [The Chosen Pray, The Folksmen, “Old Joe’s Place”, PBS Pledgebration]; 2 voice-overs [Buddy Young Jr. is Back!, First Draft Theatre]

: 4 appearances [The Chosen Pray, The Folksmen, “Old Joe’s Place”, PBS Pledgebration]; 2 voice-overs [Buddy Young Jr. is Back!, First Draft Theatre] Martin Short : 3 appearances [First Draft Theatre, Rabbi, Mondale Headquarters]

: 3 appearances [First Draft Theatre, Rabbi, Mondale Headquarters] Pamela Stephenson: 2 appearances [Madonna Navel Accessories, Mondale Headquarters]

crew and extras:

Andy Breckman : 1 appearance [Mondale Headquarters]

: 1 appearance [Mondale Headquarters] Larry David : 1 voice-over [Monologue]

: 1 voice-over [Monologue] Jim Downey : 1 appearance [First Draft Theatre]

: 1 appearance [First Draft Theatre] Bobby Fraraccio : 1 appearance [Fernando’s Hideaway]

: 1 appearance [Fernando’s Hideaway] Nate Herman : 2 appearances [First Draft Theatre, PBS Pledgebration]

: 2 appearances [First Draft Theatre, PBS Pledgebration] Andy Murphy : 1 appearance [First Draft Theatre]

: 1 appearance [First Draft Theatre] Rob Riley: 1 appearance [First Draft Theatre]

guests:

Michael McKean : 6 appearances [Monologue, The Folksmen, “Old Joe’s Place”, First Draft Theatre, PBS Pledgebration, Mondale Headquarters]

: 6 appearances [Monologue, The Folksmen, “Old Joe’s Place”, First Draft Theatre, PBS Pledgebration, Mondale Headquarters] Chaka Khan : 2 appearances [“I Feel For You”, “This Is My Night”]

: 2 appearances [“I Feel For You”, “This Is My Night”] Edwin Newman: 1 appearance [Saturday Night News]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

March 23, 1985

Known alterations:

Gerry and the Mon-Dells, Baby Double, Mondale Headquarters and “This Is My Night” removed

Michael’s Message (01/14/84), James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub Party (11/05/83), Speaking Freely (02/25/84), What Famous Person Do You Look Like (11/19/83), Return of the Torch (10/06/84) and The Web (09/25/82) added.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.