October 8, 1983 Season 9 episode
| |
|---|---|
| Episode | 160 |
| Season Episode | 1 |
| Host | Brandon Tartikoff |
| Musical Guest(s) | John Cougar |
| Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s) |
"Pink Houses" "Crumblin' Down" |
| Previous Episode May 14, 1983 (Season 8) |
Next Episode October 15, 1983 |
The season premiere of Season 9 and the 160th episode of Saturday Night Live premiered on October 8, 1983, hosted by television executive who was the then President of NBC from 1981 to 1991, Brandon Tartikoff, with musical guest John Cougar. John Cougar made his 2nd musical guest stint and this was the only time as host on SNL for the then President of NBC, Brandon Tartikoff.
Cast[]
Repertory Players[]
- Robin Duke
- Mary Gross
- Brad Hall
- Tim Kazurinsky
- Gary Kroeger
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Eddie Murphy
- Joe Piscopo
Sketches and Musical Performances[]
Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Breaking Into Brandon Tartikoff's Office Cold Opening | Several SNL cast members (Eddie Murphy, Mary Gross, and Tim Kazurinsky) break into President Brandon Tartikoff's office to try to find the real reason why Tartikoff is hosting the show. They discover a direct line to Mr. T and make a prank call. | |
| Opening Montage | The same montage from last year, although the SNL Band has now been reduced to a six-piece group featuring returning members Tom Malone and Leon Pendarvis and new members Michael Brecker and Tom Barney. For this and next week's show, Late Night band members Steve Jordan and Hiram Bullock fill in for returnees Buddy Williams and Georg Wadenius. | |
| Monologue by Brandon Tartikoff | The former president of NBC Brandon Tartikoff discusses about quality while a "crawl" disputes it, as he hosted Saturday Night Live for the only time. | |
| Calvin Klein Cream Pies | Vain model Martha (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) always gets her way and doesn't like to lose. | |
| James Watt | James Watt's (Joe Piscopo) staff tries to cheer him up following the blowback from his comments on affirmative action. | |
| Jazz Riffs | Art Hammond (Tim Kazurinsky) interviews a disguised saxophone player who admits to "prostituting himself" by playing weddings, bar mitzvahs and sweet 16 parties. | |
| Feln's Discount Food and Counting Warehouse | Herb Feln (Joe Piscopo) has everything you want to wear and eat for cheap. | |
| Show Ideas | Eddie Murphy rejects Brandon Tartikoff's efforts to poach him off SNL and put him on prime time, but The Whiners (Robin Duke and Joe Piscopo) are more receptive. | |
| Gumby & Pokey | Gumby (Eddie Murphy) is cantankerous while rehearsing a reunion special with an achy and flatulent Pokey (Joe Piscopo). | |
| Man on the Street | Brandon Tartikoff tries to get new viewers for NBC's fall line-up on the streets of New York City. | |
| Larry's Corner | Larry Rolans (Brad Hall) dispenses with his talk show's usual serious focus to have his high school buddies (Andy Breckman, Tim Kazurinsky and Gary Kroeger) crack him up. | |
| Saturday Night News | Joe Piscopo returns with Saturday Night Sports to discuss the baseball playoffs. More of the same (some stumbles, though), with jabs at Steve Howe's drug use and Tommy Lasorda's weight. Brandon Tartikoff has a brief cameo handing Hall a bulletin about a new special with Joe Dimaggio and Mr. T ("Mr. Coffee and Mr. T"). The walk-on was funnier than the actual joke. Tim Kazurinsky returns with another Salute to Journalism, with more New York Post headlines: the first few are actually the first references to AIDS that appear on SNL. This one's in the middle of the pack for these segments: he grabs the wrong headline by mistake, but there are a few good ones here. | |
| John Cougar performs "Pink Houses" | ||
| Rent-a-Gun | A sporting goods store clerk (Joe Piscopo) is oblivious to the obvious intentions of a customer (Tim Kazurinsky) looking to rent a firearm. | |
| Siskel & Ebert: Review | In the studio 8H balcony, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert discuss what they liked and didn't like so far in tonight's show. | |
| Joe Cougar performs "Crumblin' Down" | ||
| Be There | Eternal damnation and heart disease await those who watch other networks. | |
| Ethel's Diner | Diner owner Ethel (Mary Gross) remains resilient after getting bad news about her relationship, home, family and health. | |
| Goodnights and Closing Credits | Brandon Tartikoff jokes that when "The Boss" was announced as tonight's host, everyone was disappointed when Bruce Springsteen didn't show up. Joe Piscopo has son Joey with him tonight. |
Trivia[]
- Starting with this season, and for the next, the Saturday Night Live Band would become a sextet, with only six members. 4 returning from the previous season, and 2 new members added this season.
| Preceded by: May 14, 1983 (Season 8) |
Saturday Night Live episode | Followed by: October 15, 1983 |