October 20, 1984

October 20, 1984 Season 10 episode


Episode	181
Season Episode	3
Host	Jesse Jackson
Musical Guest(s)	Andrae Crouch Wintley Phipps
Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s)	"Right Now" "Tell Me Again"

Previous Episode
October 13, 1984

Next Episode
November 3, 1984

The 3rd episode of Season 10 and the 181st episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by the political activist, Baptist minister, and politician: Rev. Jesse Jackson with musical guests Andrae Crouch and Wintley Phipps. It premiered on October 20, 1984. The political activist, Baptist minister, and politician: Rev. Jesse Jackson made his only hosting stint on SNL.

This is also Andrae Crouch and Wintley Phipps' second and only time respective musical guest stints on SNL, as well as Crouch's only appearance in the Ebersol-era.

Cast[]

Repertory Players[]

Sketches and Music Performances[]

Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other

Title	Image	Summary
Advice Cold Open		Sammy Davis Jr. (Billy Crystal) counsels Rev. Jesse Jackson on how to successfully host Saturday Night Live.
Monologue by Rev. Jesse Jackson		Making his only hosting stint, Rev. Jesse Jackson discusses the successes of his campaign, tells a joke about the press, and praises SNL for hiring so many black people. When technical difficulties force Jesse to make a trip backstage, the all-white crew flees, and a black one takes its place.
Do You Know What I Hate?		When their elevator breaks down, messengers Willie (Billy Crystal) and Frankie (Christopher Guest) discuss the many ways they masochistically injure themselves.
The Question is Moot!		Rev. Jesse Jackson declares that his game show’s questions are ultimately irrelevant because of the political issues facing America today.
Refrigerator Magnet Safety Advisory Board		Be aware of the three warning signs that your child has been eating refrigerator magnets.
Just Kidding		Kurt (Billy Crystal) repeatedly alternates between telling his co-worker’s parents (Jim Belushi and Pamela Stephenson) that their son is dead and saying he’s kidding.
Ed Grimley: First Class		Talkative Ed Grimley (Martin Short) thwarts Rev. Jesse Jackson’s nap, then panics when he sees a demon on the airplane’s wing. Rev. Jackson walks off the sketch and visits the control room again.
Tippi Turtle		Tippi Turtle (voice of Christopher Guest) shows how to use a musical greeting card’s electronic chip to annoy people.
Wrong Voice, Right Face		Singing an “Eyes Without A Face” variant, Billy Idol’s (Pamela Stephenson) new album highlights the disconnect between his rocker image and crooner voice.
Funny Black People		Rev. Jesse Jackson points out that SNL doesn’t currently have any black performers, and invites minorities to contact Dick Ebersol for the chance to demonstrate how funny they are.
Saturday Night News with Rev. Jesse Jackson		Instead of reading joke news stories, Rev. Jesse Jackson injects wit and commentary into items about the Battleship Iowa and Desmond Tutu winning the Nobel Peace Prize, before getting into the meat of tonight’s segments, where he dissects Reagan’s answers in the debate. This was a wise move; not only is Rev. Jackson better served by getting his viewpoint across, but his debate analysis has some of his funniest moments all night. Because of the Equal Time Rule (which is sorely missed in 2017), Young Republicans representative Bob James (Martin Short) tries to give a rebuttal criticizing Rev. Jackson for “hijacking the show”, but Jackson quickly intimidates him to the point of tears. Short performs this well, but I thought Rev. Jackson was the funnier of the two here. Jim Belushi returns as Rappin’ Jimmy B, whose poor attempt at rap prompts Rev. Jackson to come up with his own rhymes calling him out. The initial Belushi rap is as cringeworthy as one would expect, but having Rev. Jackson does not enjoy it gave this an extra level of humor compared to the earlier Rappin’ Jimmy B pieces. Nate Herman co-wrote this piece with Eliot Wald at Belushi’s behest; according to Herman, Rev. Jackson nixed a line about Belushi making words “sound like they’re picking cotton”.
Andrae Crouch performed "Right Now" with Rose Stone and Táta Vega
Jeane Kirkpatrick		Rev. Jesse Jackson reveals that his presidential campaign was driven by a love jones for UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Rich Hall's Election Report		Rich Hall meets with the president of the Undecided Voters league (Christopher Guest), whose indecisiveness extends beyond politics.
Fashion Report		Mr. Blackwell (Harry Shearer) has choice words about the fashion disasters at the Soap Opera Awards.
Rainbow Coalition		Rev. Jesse Jackson lists the few people not welcome in the Rainbow Coalition, like Dick Cavett.
Wintley Phipps performed "Tell Me Again"
Goodnights		Rev. Jesse Jackson presents Dick Ebersol with a copy of the album of his DNC speech (Our Time Has Come, released on MCA/Constellation records) and gives the address for viewers to contact the Rainbow Coalition before Andrae Crouch and Wintley Phipps lead a version of Crouch’s “Soon and Very Soon” instead of the regular closing theme.

Preceded by: October 13, 1984	Saturday Night Live episode	Followed by: November 3, 1984