October 23, 1982

October 23, 1982 Season 8 episode


Episode	143
Season Episode	4
Host	Howard Hesseman
Musical Guest(s)	Men at Work
Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s)	"Who Can It Be Now?" "Down Under"

Previous Episode
October 9, 1982

Next Episode
October 30, 1982

The 4th episode of Season 8 and the 143rd episode of Saturday Night Live premiered on October 23, 1982, hosted by actor Howard Hesseman, star of the CBS two comedy series WKRP in Cincinnati and One Day at a Time, and the ABC's hit comedy series Head of the Class, with musical guests Men at Work, an Australian rock band. This is Howard Hesseman's 2nd hosting stint and his first appearance in 11 years, and 14 days, as well as his first out of two appearances in the Ebersol-era. Hesseman last hosted SNL was on December 8, 1979, the sixth episode of SNL's 5th season, with musical guest Randy Newman.

This is also the first musical guest stint for Men at Work on SNL.

Cast[]

Repertory Players[]

Sketches and Musical Performances[]

Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other

Title	Image	Summary
Backstage Cold Opening: Robin Kills Time		Robin explains why they're running a little late. She is killing time before the show starts.
Monologue by Howard Hessman		Howard Hesseman sobers up as he emerges from the home base stage door. He mentions he's the first host from the original show to do the "new" SNL, and discusses criticism about the show's lack of edge. Invoking the spirit of the old show and paying tribute to the recently-deceased John Belushi, Hesseman tells some "dead Belushi" jokes before segueing into a Belushi-style rant about Ronald Reagan.
The Girls of Saturday Night Live		Playboy profiles Robin Duke, Mary Gross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus with a suggestive photo montage (shot by Playboy photographer David Chan) featuring the female cast in lingerie.
DeLorean Home		John DeLorean (Brad Hall) prepares for his upcoming fundraising trip by packing his suitcases full of "special flour", "Bisquick" and "sugar".
Good Morning America		David Hartman (Joe Piscopo) greets viewers, a dummy Joan Lunden, and correspondent Steve Bell (Gary Kroeger) before showing a clip of his acting work.
Met at Work Performs "Who Can It Be Now?"
The Confession		A father (Howard Hesseman) is stunned by his son's (Gary Kroeger) admission when he visits home from college: he's straight.
Caribbean Vacation		On vacation in Stanley Key, nerdy Marvin's (Tim Kazurinsky) secret past life as "The Iguana" hasn't been forgotten by the locals.
Saturday Night News with Brad Hall		The usual mix of silly pictures and jokes; nothing really came across as particularly strong, although the Tylenol Pollution Alert (in reference to a recent string of deaths from cyanide-laced Extra Strength Tylenol in Chicago) and Liberace/Scott Thorson jokes had groan-worthy punchlines. Small tech issue: at the beginning, the screen fades to black to remove the segment title before fading back in on Brad Hall. Tim Kazurinsky does his first "Salute To Journalism", a sarcastic salutre to Rupert Murdoch and the sensationalized screaming headlines on the New York Post. It's a smart piece and Kazurinsky has some good lines ("Wow, three days of dead gays!" in regard to one story that plays out over several days, a store owner saying he didn't stock the Post because "their readers are our shoplifters"). With the expansion of Rupert Murdoch's empire over the last few decades, as well as the current state of the news media in general, Kazurinsky's examples almost seem quaint. Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes her newsdesk debut (introduced by Brad Hall as his "favorite correspondent") by plugging a ficticious "Save The World Contest", where the viewer who sends a workable solution to the Middle East Crisis on a postcard can win big prizes (including dinner "at the Chinese restaurant of your choice" and SNL tickets). She holds her own, and I thought the smiling delivery of "governments are stupid" and "for big prizes, silly!" made the piece work. Andy Kaufman is listed on the tickets for tonight's show, which also show that they are for the Studio 3A audience. Joe Piscopo is back as the Sports Guy, discussing the St. Louis Cardinals' Game 7 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers the past Wednesday. He blaming the Brewers' loss on their being slobs, which is an excuse to show tape of players spitting chewing tobacco and scratching their crotch; Piscopo declares them his kind of team before spitting chaw himself and holding the wad in front of Hall's face. The interaction at the end (which reminded me of Piscopo upstaging Charles Rocket two years before) made this more fun.
Naked Wake		A funeral director (Brad Hall) is forced to explain Mr. Maracondia's last request to his family during his wake.
Guest Performance: Bill Irwin		Wearing a curly black wig and black-framed glasses, Irwin emerges from a trunk and dances convulsively to "Shake Your Groove Thing" until he breaks the spell with a sledgehammer to the boombox.
Uncle Teddy's Little Theatre		A strange janitor (Joe Piscopo) presents "Grandpa's Watch", the tale of how young Ricky (Gary Kroeger) deals with his overly-critical family.
Men at Work Performs "Down Under"
The Amazing Ronco Answer Book		Every rhetorical question asked in commercials is answered in Ronco's new book.
Goodnights and Closing Credits		Hesseman addresses John Belushi again by saying they would have loved to have him there "but you were always such a physical comedian!". The dwarf extras are in front; Brad Hall is visibly hyperactive.

Preceded by: October 9, 1982	Saturday Night Live episode	Followed by: October 30, 1982