The Best Episodes of Saturday Night Live Season 1
Every episode of Saturday Night Live Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Saturday Night Live Season 1!
A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.
Season 1 Ratings Summary
The best episode of "Saturday Night Live" season 1 is "George Carlin with Janis Ian and Billy Preston", rated 7.4/10 from 581 user votes. It was directed by Dave Wilson and written by Anne Beatts, Lorne Michaels, Tom Schiller, Chevy Chase, Al Franken, Tom Davis, Rosie Shuster, Garrett Morris, Michael O'Donoghue, Herbert Sargent, Alan Zweibel. "George Carlin with Janis Ian and Billy Preston" aired on 10/11/1975 and is rated 1.2 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Paul Simon with Randy Newman, Phoebe Snow, and Art Garfunkel".
7.4/10 581 votes#1 - George Carlin with Janis Ian and Billy Preston
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/11/1975
Live from New York, It's...George Carlin! Sketches Include: Wolverines, New Dad Insurance, The Courtroom, Victims of Shark Bite, Jamitol, Triopenin, Jim Henson's Muppets, Bee Hospital, Academy of Better Careers, Show Us Your Guns, Trojan Horse Home Security, Triple-Trac
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: Anne Beatts, Lorne Michaels, Tom Schiller, Chevy Chase, Al Franken, Tom Davis, Rosie Shuster, Garrett Morris, Michael O'Donoghue, Herbert Sargent, Alan Zweibel
6.2/10 378 votes#2 - Paul Simon with Randy Newman, Phoebe Snow, and Art Garfunkel
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/18/1975
Live from New York, It's...Paul Simon! Sketches Include: The Berkeley Collection, Bees, Jim Henson's Muppets, Try-Hard 1-11
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.9/10 325 votes#3 - Rob Reiner
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/25/1975
Live from New York, it's...Rob Reiner! Sketches Include: National Pancreas Association, Fashion Don'ts, Golden Needles, Dangerous But Inept, Felina Cat Food, Middle American Van Lines, Musical Performance (Joe Cocker), Jim Henson's Muppets, Drooler's Anti-Defamation League, Square Dance, Mark Hampton and Denny Dillon, What Gilda Ate, Bees
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.0/10 304 votes#4 - Candice Bergen with Esther Phillips
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 11/8/1975
Live from New York, It's...Candice Bergen Sketches include: Ambassador Training Institute, CIA Department of Records, Jaws II, Long Distance, Chanel, Feminine Talk, Midnight Probe, Crank Call, Jim Henson's Muppets, Irk The Turk, Black Perspective, Pong
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.5/10 264 votes#5 - Robert Klein with ABBA and Loudon Wainwright III
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/15/1975
Live from New York, It's...Robert Klein Sketches include: Pong, Minute Mystery, Bee Centennial Minute, Greg Allman How's Your Love Life?, Tough Director, Jamitol, Exterminators, Fireman, Jim Henson's Muppets, K-Put Price-Is-Rite Stamp Gun, Looks At Books, I Can't Stop My Leg
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.9/10 258 votes#6 - Lily Tomlin
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/22/1975
Live from New York, it's...Lily Tomlin Sketches Include: Beethoven Part 1, Jaws III, Bell-Hop, Edith Ann Skates, Beethoven Part 2, Spud Beer, Patty, Jim Henson's Muppets, Beethoven Part 3, Hard Hats, Speed, Margo's Dance Palace
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
8.3/10 371 votes#7 - Richard Pryor with Gil Scott-Heron
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 12/13/1975
Live From New York, it's...Richard Pryor! Sketches Include: Samurai Hotel, Looks At Books, Line-Up #1, Word Association, Pong, They're Taking Over, Line-Up #2, L-Pill, Jim Henson's Muppets, Line-Up #3, Exorcist II, Assassination
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.9/10 239 votes#8 - Candice Bergen with Martha Reeves and The Stylistics
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 12/20/1975
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include-- Fireside Chat with Gerald Ford, "Mel's Char Palace", "What Gilda Ate", Billy is guilty of murder, Teddy the Elf, "The Fritzie Kringle Show", "Minute Mystery", Candice and the cast perform 'Winter Wonderland', The Bees Christmas Party, Homeward Bound.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.0/10 212 votes#9 - Elliott Gould with Anne Murray
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 1/10/1976
Live from New York, it's... Chevy Chase Sketches include "The Dead String Quartet," "Interior Demolitionists," "Vito Corleone in Therapy," "The Killer Bees," "Birthright", "Gilda and Elliot," "New Shimmer," The Muppets, "Play Misty for Me" (film), "Jamitol," "Try-Hard 1-11," and "Powwow With the Press" (stand-up). Anne Murray performed "Long Distance Call" and "Boogie With You."
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.6/10 211 votes#10 - Buck Henry with Bill Withers and Toni Basil
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 1/17/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--Suicide Prevention, "Samurai Deli", Operation Stumblebum, "Citizen Kane II", King Bee(the Blues Brothers), Auto mechanic tells bedtime story, "Presidential Foreplay", Chevy misuses a joint, The Constipated Man, The Muppets and the Japanese sex Device.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.3/10 204 votes#11 - Peter Cook & Dudley Moore with Neil Sedaka
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/24/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include-- Bomb Squad, Prisoner Auditions, "Don Pardo's Holiday on A Elevator", "Table Talk", "Backstage Banter", Sonny and Cher, The Baby Jesus, Chevy talks to Angola's roommate, The Muppets.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.4/10 187 votes#12 - Dick Cavett with Jimmy Cliff
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/31/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--Voodoo on Chevy Chase, Alcohol and Firearms, Lowell Brock of H&R Brock, "Looks at Books", Dick Cavett's School of Hydroplane Operation, Dance To The Nation, "The Apple Follies", Our Town.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.9/10 185 votes#13 - Peter Boyle with Al Jarreau
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 2/14/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include "The Valentine's Day Massacre," "Samurai Divorce Court," "Jason and Sunshine," "The Corrida." "All Pro Wrestling," "Remembering of Things Past", "Dueling Brandos," "A Home Movie" (film), and "The Orgy." Al Jarreau performs "We'll Get By."
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.1/10 197 votes#14 - Desi Arnaz with Desi Arnaz Jr.
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2/21/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include-- Gerald Ford gives a word association, Literary Recital, Very White(Chevy Chase)sings unsoulful songs, "The Failed Pilots of I Love Lucy", Cuban accupunture, Lucille Ball talks about Desi's book, Bisexual Minute.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.3/10 174 votes#15 - Jill Clayburgh with Leon Redbone
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/28/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include-- No More Falls, "Great Moments in Herstory", White Guilt Relief Fund, Inquisitive Girlfriend, Grable and Lombard, Car Yummies, Paying the Milkman, Jill Carson Guidance Counselor!, Andy Kaufman sings "Old Macdonald", "The Mr. Bill Show".
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.1/10 190 votes#16 - Anthony Perkins with Betty Carter
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 3/13/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--'SNL is not ad-libbed' says Chevy Chase, A President's View on Marijuana, Dominatrix Cleaning Tips, "Norman Bates School of Hotel Management", Low-budget Movie Trailers, Sherry protest her B(ee), Policemen Dance Party, "Hello Dolly".
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.1/10 179 votes#17 - Ron Nessen with the Patti Smith Group
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 4/17/1976
Live from New York, It's...Gerald Ford Sketches include-- "The Dead String Quartet", Super Bass-O-Matic 76, An Oval Office, David Eisenhower is Anti-Nixon, Thomas Jefferson denies slavery, The New Stoner Volunteer Army, Catherine the Great, Disgusting Jam, Autumm Fizz--The Carbonated Douche, "Tomorrow With Tom Snyder".
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.8/10 183 votes#18 - Raquel Welch with Phoebe Snow and John Sebastian
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 4/24/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include-- "Get to the fall Chevy!", Purina Rat Chow, Joseph Franklin's 10-letter Metric Alphabet, "The Claudine Longet Ski Invitational", "One Flew Over The Hornest Nest", Chevy tries to convince Raquel to take off her shirt, Baba Wawa, Bisexual Moment, The Muppets are finished on SNL.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.7/10 203 votes#19 - Madeline Kahn with Carly Simon
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 5/8/1976
Live from New York, it's Chevy Chase! Sketches are "Ronald Reagan's Jam Session," Not for Ladies Only, Wilderness Comedian, "Slumber Party," Bride of Frankenstein, "Fondue Pots for Namibia," "The Muppets Can Reunite the Beatles," New York's My Home (film), "Super Absordent Dry Hose," and "The Final Days." Carly Simon performs You're So Vain.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.5/10 169 votes#20 - Dyan Cannon with Leon & Mary Russell
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 5/15/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--Chevy has to do the fall again, "Hearing Test," "The Adulterer," "Vacationland Adventure", "Minister with Hiccups," "Dyan Cannon's Dream," "Orange Juice," "The Bathwater of The Stars", "Johnny Angel", "Cresk Toothpaste,"" and "The Hubcap Thief" (film). Leon Russell and Joe Cocker (Belushi) perform "Daylight".
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.2/10 164 votes#21 - Buck Henry with Gordon Lightfoot
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 5/22/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--Emmy winner Chevy tries to get Laraine todo the fall, Samurai Tailor, "Talk Back!", "Dell Stator's Toad Ranch Resturaunt", "Looks at Books", The Crowd Audition, Peter Lemon Moodring, "Not For Ladies Only", Lorne Micheals offer to the Beatles.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
7.6/10 164 votes#22 - Elliott Gould with Leon Redbone and Harlan Collins & Joyce Everson
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 5/29/1976
Sketches include "Wax Museum," "Phone Operator Academy," "European Poker Player," "Babs's Uvula," "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise," "The Bee Honeymooners," "Shirley Temple Black," "Vibramatic," "Uncle Charlie's School," and "Show Us Your Guns." Leon Redbone performed "Shine On Harvest Moon."
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
5.2/10 168 votes#23 - Louise Lasser with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 7/24/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--Belushi thinks Chevy has a big head, Louise Lasser locks herself dressing room, General "V.D" Amin, Sven and Inger, John Belushi tries to sell his clothes, Ode to Television, Louise apologizes to her dog, Jimmy Carter talks about the campagin.
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A
6.7/10 162 votes#24 - Kris Kristofferson with Rita Coolidge
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 7/31/1976
Live from New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--Kristofferson signs "Help Me Make it Through The Night", new SNL employer Sherry, Samurai General Practitioner, the Great White Athelete, Gerald Ford dosent want to talk about local issues, "Talk Country", My Blind Date is My Gynocologist, Andrew Young is a Suckup, Police State, "Waiting For Don Pardo".
Director: Dave Wilson
Writer: N/A