This season featured a new opening credits sequence, with the cast members walking through Times Square, and their names illuminated on the electronic marquee behind them.
There were no featured cast members during the third season.
Episode
Number |
Date |
Host(s) |
Musical Guest(s) |
Remarks |
| 47 |
September 24, 1977 |
Steve Martin |
Jackson Browne |
- First appearance of the Festrunk Brothers (a.k.a The Wild and Crazy Guys or The Czech Brothers).
- Franken and Davis are listed as special guests in the opening credits.
|
|
| 48 |
October 8, 1977 |
Madeline Kahn† |
Taj Mahal |
|
| 49 |
October 15, 1977 |
Hugh Hefner |
Libby Titus |
|
| 50 |
October 29, 1977 |
Charles Grodin |
Paul Simon |
- Although Simon performed musically in each of his two prior hosting stints, this is his first appearance as the official musical guest.
- One of the more notable moments in this episode was the sketch in which Paul Simon and Charles Grodin attempted to sing "The Sounds of Silence" (with Grodin wearing an Art Garfunkel wig). After several aborted starts (with Grodin singing off-key and forgetting the lyrics), Simon walked off the stage. Grodin then proceeded to sing a verse of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", after which Art Garfunkel (himself) walked on the stage and asked Grodin to take off the wig.
- Two of the sketches break the fourth wall when Grodin addresses the cast members by their real names and players discuss the nature of the characters and situations in "Samurai Dry Cleaners" and "Killer Bees Trick-or-Treat".
- Roseanne Roseannadanna makes her debut in this episode's "Hire the Incompetent" sketch. This is the character's only appearance in a sketch other than Weekend Update.
- It's been written that Grodin was never asked back to host after he gave a clumsy performance, missed rehearsal, stumbled his way through the show, and ad-libbed many of his lines. However, as this was a running gag throughout the show, this is up for debate.
|
| 51 |
November 12, 1977 |
Ray Charles† |
|
| 52 |
November 19, 1977 |
Buck Henry |
Leon Redbone |
- Henry uses his monologue to introduce the five finalists in the "Anyone Can Host" contest. The five finalists are then featured sporadically throughout the episode, including in a film by Gary Weis.
- In this episode, John Belushi plays himself as a retired athlete, endorsing "Little Chocolate Donuts", a parody of Bruce Jenner's Wheaties ad.
- Al Franken and Tom Davis are listed as special guests in the opening credits.
- A film by Tom Schiller
|
| 53 |
December 10, 1977 |
Mary Kay Place |
Willie Nelson |
- Andy Kaufman makes his sixth appearance
- Willie Nelson and Mary Kay Place sang their current duet, Something to Brag About
- Don Pardo mentions during the closing credits that Sex Pistols would be the musical guest for the following episode. However, they were unable to obtain passports, and so Elvis Costello and the Attractions performed as a last-minute replacement.
|
| 54 |
December 17, 1977 |
Miskel Spillman† |
Elvis Costello |
- Miskel Spillman was the winner of SNL's first and only "Anyone Can Host" contest and is the only non-celebrity to host an SNL episode.
- Buck Henry serves as a surrogate to Miskel Spillman in many instances throughout the episode.
- Elvis Costello halted his band the Attractions seven seconds into the song "Less Than Zero", launching into "Radio Radio", an as-yet unreleased song critical of mainstream broadcasting. He did not appear on the show again until the 1989 episode hosted by Mary Tyler Moore.
- Franken and Davis, and Michael O'Donoghue ("Mr. Mike") are listed as special guests in the opening credits.
- The elderly couple that appeared in the "Franken & Davis Show" sketch really were Al Franken's parents, Joseph and Phoebe Franken.
|
| 55 |
January 21, 1978 |
Steve Martin |
Randy Newman
The Dirt Band |
- Members of The Dirt Band perform backing vocals during Randy Newman's performance of "Short People."
|
| 56 |
January 28, 1978 |
Robert Klein |
Bonnie Raitt |
|
| 57 |
February 18, 1978 |
Chevy Chase |
Billy Joel |
- Chase is the first former cast member to host.
- Opening credits are reverted to those of season 1 and 2 for this episode only.
- Chevy Chase returns to Weekend Update, as a "senior anchorperson".
|
| 58 |
February 25, 1978 |
O. J. Simpson |
Ashford and Simpson |
- Every cast member, as well as Don Novello and O.J. Simpson, are featured in Samauri Night Fever, a parody of Saturday Night Fever. John Belushi dances to The Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive.
- Simpson was the only former guest host not to be invited to the 25th anniversary special in 1999, mostly due to his highly publicized murder trial.
- Simpson is also the second football player to host SNL and the first black athlete to host.
- Franken and Davis are listed as special guests in the opening credits.
|
| 59 |
March 11, 1978 |
Art Garfunkel |
Stephen Bishop |
- The short film, Don't Look Back in Anger shows Belushi playing himself as an elder man, as the only survivor of the "Not Ready for Primetime Players". Ironically, Belushi died four years later.
|
| 60 |
March 18, 1978 |
Jill Clayburgh |
Eddie Money |
|
| 61 |
March 25, 1978 |
Christopher Lee |
Meat Loaf |
|
| 62 |
April 8, 1978 |
Michael Palin |
Eugene Record† |
|
| 63 |
April 15, 1978 |
Michael Sarrazin |
Keith Jarrett |
|
| 64 |
April 22, 1978 |
Steve Martin |
The Blues Brothers |
|
| 65 |
May 13, 1978 |
Richard Dreyfuss |
Jimmy Buffett |
|
| 66 |
May 20, 1978 |
Buck Henry |
Sun Ra† |
- Franken and Davis, and Michael O'Donoghue ("Mr. Mike") are listed as special guests in the opening credits.
|
DVD Release: May 13, 2008. All 20 episodes of season 3 are on the dvds.
United States
