Paul Simon/Randy Newman/Phoebe Snow

I wonder about this episode. I loved the first five seasons of this show , but this episode had to be the worst episode ever. It seemed to me that Lorne Michaels lost a bet to Paul Simon and had to feature him for most of this episode. Basically this episode had few comic moments and even the one funny skit with Paul Simon playing basketball with an NBAer, had Pauls music blasting. This was basically a Paul Simon concert with a number from Randy Newman and Phoebe Snow as well as Art Garfunkle doing duets with Paul. This was an atrocious episode and the only time the cast did not bow out at the end. My guess is that even they were upset at the direction of the show and refused to be a part of the final curtain. I can not say I blame them. What were they thinking or maybe not thinking at all? I do not know . Maybe Paul Simons label paid for the production of the episode to promote Pauls latest concert or record.

I've been watching the amazing box set they put out of the first season of Saturday Night Live and this episode totally confused me. I still can't really understand it.

To summarize, while this was technically the second ever episode of Saturdy Night Live (known then as "NBC's Saturday Night" to avoid conflict with another sketch comedy program run on ABC called "Saturday Night Live" and starring, of all people, Howard Cosell), the cast members barely appear in the program at all apart from two brief cameos. This episode features, almost entirely, the music of Paul Simon and his guests -- one of whom is Art Garfunkel.

Now you have to wonder what the network executives were thinking when they planned this show, because it doesn't really make sense in any way.

First of all, you have what is ostensibly a sketch comedy show. The producer of the show, Lorne Michaels, has proved himself in a variety of different venues already. You have a talented cast which has also proved itself (Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Dan Ackroyd in particular were well known from Second City and the National Lampoon Radio Hour). Additionally, you have a well-known talent like Michael O'Donahue as the head writer. You basically have a really strong team, and on their second show, instead of giving them a chance to spread their wings and show what they are capable of, you basically ignore them all in favor of an musical show which contains almost no comedy.

This is not to belittle Paul Simon either. He picked some great acts to perform with on the show. His public reconciliation with Art Garfunkel was also pretty amazing to watch (I believe that this was their first performance together since their break-up). So, you basically have a strong musical show planned by one of the top talents of the day, and instead of giving it a prime-time spot, you air it late at night in a spot you had previously reserved for a sketch comedy show which you didn't think was going to make it.

This was an episode which was unfair to both the comedians and the musicians. The musicians should have had a venue better suited to their talent, and the comedians should have been given the chance to perform.

I give it a five because I was wanting comedy, and I got nothing but music.

The actual comedic sketches were few and far between but all were actually hilarious, so at least it wasn't a compete Paul Simon worshipping service. Despite that, it is a stretch on what the show was supposed to be: a series of comedic sketches. Regardless, it's a decent second episode with a lot of great music...if you don't mind sitting through basically an hour-long concert.

Growing up with Saturday Night Live, the Eddie Murphy years, I watched this original classic series even more since they would show reruns that were, in California, on Channel 5 from 11pm to 12am (which cut the fat to only 60 minutes, which is actually better than 90 minutes)...

And it was very wonderful being able to grow up on two generations of what's still considered the two best generations of the show, the original cast under Lorne Michaels and the comeback-cast under Dick Ebersol: who both launched the show originally...

But this was always the one that you wish to god wasn't on, or that wouldn't be on, ever, since the entire thing is basically a Paul Simon concert... (Michaels should have tossed this one along with the infamous Milton Berle show)...

The craziest thing is, they not only have a Musical Guest as the Primary Guest, but they add two additional Musical Guests, so you have THREE MUSICAL GUESTS and hardly any skits, and the weird thing is, this was the second episode...

There must have been reasoning behind this, probably covered in one of many books about the show's history... maybe Michaels was showing the still-shaky network "what else" they can do for the timeslot if the sketch-comedy wasn't strong enough...

Which of course, as we now know, it was... so watching this episode in retrospect it's like driving an Edsel when you purchased a Mustang.

The second episode of SNL seems to show that the guys in charge weren't quite sure yet of what the program was all about. We start out with a Paul Simon song; then Chevy shows up briefly to fall down and say "Live from NY..." The bees arrive on stage at one point, only to be told by Paul that there's no time for their sketch. There is a brief Weekend Update with a couple of Gerald Ford jokes by Chevy; then it turns into about the only sustained funny piece of the evening: Marv Albert (!) serves as commentator for a one-on-one b'ball tournament between Paul Simon and an NBA player, which of course Simon wins. The other comedy segments (a weak commercial parody, a dreadful Muppet episode, and a sub-par Albert Brooks short) don't feature the regular cast at all. It's funny to see how nervous Simon looks when he's not singing, compared to his more "in control" attitude after he did the show a few times.

But here's what makes this one of the best first-season episodes: the music! Who could complain about this? Several Paul Simon solos, an extended duet segment with Garfunkel, SOLOS by Garfunkel, plus additional musical guests Randy Newman, Phoebe Snow, and the Jessy Dixon Singers. And the BAND! Richard Tee on keyboards, a very young David Sanborn (I'm pretty sure here) playing sax, Steve Gadd drumming, and on and on. And Howard ("Lord of the Rings") Shore directing the group.

Who cares if there weren't any sketches? This was an amazing night of 70s music, a conjunction of creative stars worth staying up late to see. And speaking of music, just read the list of musical guests for the entire first season of SNL and compare it to the weekly dose of musical garbage the show CURRENTLY airs. Almost all of the guests are still household words after over 30 years, unlike the forgettable parade of rappers, alternative whiners, etc. who clog the air today.

This was the first SNL episode I ever saw (the night it first aired) and it's an unforgettable one. A definite download for those who love the best of the 70s.