May 22, 1976, The Host is Buck Henry and the Musical Guests are Gordon Lightfoot and Garret Morris

Here's some stuff that happened in the past

Like Steve Martin, Buck Henry was so strongly identified with Saturday Night Live that many wrongly assumed that he was a cast member. Henry was the Fifth Beatle of the original incarnation of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.

The show could call him at any time when a more famous guest, such as Truman Capote, had fallen through and he'd come running, enthusiastic, ready to play, and willing, even eager to debase himself for our amusement.

In the episode's funniest sketch, Henry plays a municipal-minded man who sits in front of a bank of phones and invites the public to call him for lively conversations about municipal bonds and other such achingly dull subject matter.

When his words get less than no response he begins to panic. We can see him grow more and more desperate by the moment. We marinate in his flop sweat alongside him.

Finally, he breaks down and begins throwing out topics guaranteed to get a reaction, and not of the positive variety.

These conversation starters include, "Soviet-style Communism: let's give it a chance!", "Killing puppies: it doesn't bother me", "Adolf Hitler, boy do we need him now!", "Incest, I practice it. Why don't you?" and "Suicide, fun for the elderly."

The more deranged the poor man becomes, the funnier things get before his wife comes to collect him before he can humiliate himself any further.

It takes a special kind of degenerate to want to stand up in front of the studio audience and God and all but shout, "Incest: I practice it! Why don't you!"

It's telling that, except at the very end, it's a solo sketch, a hilariously cracked monologue. Henry didn't need other cast members to create something that represents the show at its best as well as most writerly.

Speaking of soloists, Chevy Chase begins the cold open by explaining that he hurt his leg accepting his Emmy and consequently would, sadly, not be able to do his crowd-pleasing opening fall.

Like all hilarious falls, Chase's pratfalls eventually resulted in years and years of painkiller abuse. Oh, but these clowns pay a price with their bodies as well as their minds!

When Chase behaves like a narcissistic, sexist asshole in love with himself it feels like we're seeing his true self. So when he says that women aren't built for physical comedy and no one can top his particular acumen it feels like Chevy as much as "Chevy."

Chase announces that instead of himself, Laraine Newman would do the opening fall and she proceeds to knock away his crutches, leading him to fall hilariously to the floor.

Newman is living out the dreams of her cast members, the crew, and the public in getting to give Chase a big old shove.

Chase was always a bastard but he got meaner as he got more successful. In a particularly ungracious move, he says of The Mary Tyler Moore Show winning multiple Emmys, "The Television Comedy Has Beens Awards were televised this week from Hollywood as hundreds across the nation watched on TV. The big winners were returned by limousines to their rest homes after the ceremony to await next year's repeat."

Chase's remarks are greeted by stony silence (which is much different than stoned laughter) by an audience that likes the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and doesn't want to see them mocked.

It's worth noting that 45 years after Chase made that joke Betty White and Ed Asner were both still working actors who were doing better than Chase himself.

Speaking of writerly bits, Michael O'Donaghue once again trots out the bit where he impersonates different celebrities getting long, sharp needles stabbed through their eyes.

This time it's Tony Orlando and Dawn who are soon screaming and writhing on the floor in mock agony. It's a curious bit that combines an anti-humor set-up with a slapstick pratfall payoff.

O'Donoghue might have been the show's Prince of Darkness but as anyone in the cast would tell you, you just can't beat the timeless appeal of a funny fall, regardless of context

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