This weekend in the overnight slot, NBC is scheduled to rerun the 4/22/78 episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Steve Martin. This is the one often cited as "the best episode ever" of the series. I don't know if it's that or not, but it does include an opening with the Blues Brothers (introduced by Paul Shaffer playing Don Kirschner), Martin singing "King Tut," a sketch with the Czech brothers, the "Dancing in the Dark" dance with Gilda Radner and Mr. Martin, and a few other gems of note.
This early A.M. time slot provides a rare opportunity to see old episodes of SNL in their original, 90-minute lengths. The show's rerun package, currently airing over on the E! Network, trims out the weakest material to bring each program down to an hour. Sometimes, this involved the omission of some real treasures.
And sometimes not. Lately, they've been reaching back to the classic "first five years" and reairing episodes that were nominated for the Emmy Award. Last week, it was one hosted by Candice Bergen; the week before, Eric Idle. Though they were well worth TiVoing and watching at a decent hour, I have to admit that they weren't as wonderful as I'd recalled — not as funny, not as professional. Maybe the one this weekend will be otherwise. It airs some time between Saturday night and Sunday morning…beginning at 3:01 AM on my set, but consult your TV listing to make certain.