Ep 8. Eric Idle/Kate Bush

The fourth season of the long-running sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live continued its tradition of bringing in big names from the worlds of music, comedy, and entertainment to host each week. Episode eight of the season featured a pair of British icons: Monty Python star Eric Idle and singer-songwriter Kate Bush.

The episode began with a sketch that skewered the popular game show The Price is Right, with cast member Bill Murray playing a manic and hallucinatory version of host Bob Barker. The night's first musical performance came from Bush, who performed her hit single "Them Heavy People" accompanied by a group of dancers.

Next up was a classic sketch featuring Gilda Radner playing a disorganized and chaotic schoolteacher who is visited by a group of parents concerned about their children's education. The sketch is an early example of the recurring character Ms. Emily Litella, who became a fan favorite on the show.

The middle of the episode featured a number of sketches poking fun at various cultural institutions and trends of the time. In one sketch, Idle played a rich and oblivious British aristocrat pretending to be interested in African culture, while in another John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd played mobsters running a subpar beauty salon.

Another standout sketch from this portion of the show was a parody of the classic fairy tale "Rapunzel," with Radner playing the titular character and Steve Martin making a special guest appearance as her would-be rescuer. The sketch is a standout because it showed off Martin's comedic timing and acting abilities in a different light from his usual stand-up routines.

Bush returned to the stage for her second musical performance of the night, this time singing "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" accompanied by just a piano. The stripped-down performance highlighted Bush's powerful vocals and emotional delivery.

The final stretch of the episode included several sketches that played with format and structure, pushing the boundaries of what viewers had come to expect from the show. One of the most memorable of these was a skit called "Point/Counterpoint" in which Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd played political commentators debating Soviet-Finnish relations. The sketch is notable for its sharp writing and pointed criticism of the media's tendency to present both sides of an issue as equally valid, even when one of those sides is based on falsehoods.

The episode closed out with a final performance from Bush, this time singing "The Kick Inside" accompanied by a full band. The song's complex rhythms and unusual structure showed off Bush's songwriting skills and cemented her status as one of the most innovative musicians of her generation.

Overall, the Eric Idle/Kate Bush episode of Saturday Night Live season four was a standout example of the show's ability to blend cutting-edge humor with musical performances from some of the era's most important artists. With its mix of classic characters, biting satire, and boundary-pushing experimentalism, this episode remains a high-water mark for the show and a must-watch for fans of comedy and music alike.