Bob & Ray, Jane, Laraine & Gilda

I probably haven't seen this since the night it was aired. i remember it as being as funny as some of the better SNLs. It was always great to see the underused SNL women used properly. Bob and Ray held up their end brilliantly, and THE GIRLS are wonderful. The real reason I'm posting a comment on this is to ask the other poster who commented on 'Bob, Ray & The Girls' what kind of maniac describes Gilda in such a manner. She was obviously head and shoulders above the other girls, and on par with Belushi, Ackroyd and Murray in comedic performing talent. I find your disrespect and non-appreciation of a Comedy Genius upsetting and disturbing.

For those who appreciate the somewhat offbeat and irreverent humor of the seminal seasons of SNL, this is a consistent hoot. Take the SNL set, band and staff of writers, include the three female components of the cast; then add two comic geniuses -- in the form of Bob & Ray -- and the results are simply incredible.

I was on a business trip in Dallas the night this first aired; TV was not what I would have considered to be prime Saturday evening entertainment when I was 23 years old, single and on the road. But circumstances being what they were, I settled back for what would become one of the most memorable hours in the history of the medium.

The ladies performed at their peak (it has been stated in another persons' pathetic evaluation that Gilda was 'grossly undertalented' -- one would have to be a senseless robot to make such a judgment) and took their cues and immaculate timing from the seasoned masters, Misters Elliott and Goulding. Having worked with the latter pair some during the 1970s, my elevated expectations for this event were more than exceeded.

All the sketches were of that deadpan-sarcastic take on the everyday world that had become a trademark for Bob & Ray; this, mixed with the fresh irreverence and downright sexiness of Gilda, Laraine and Jane, made for a sensory alchemy that had never been before, nor has been replicated since. Nuances such as brief cutaways to 'live promos' ("contestants are served unlimited quantities of toast") stick in my mind and clearly demonstrate that no stone was left unturned for an entire hour.

I don't know if this episode -- which was promoted and aired as a 'special' -- has been packaged for retail, but I'm ready to buy it as soon as I see it on a shelf.

This show has been available on videotape. Unfortunately it was released in a very poorly done transfer in EP speed. Even more unfortunately it is no longer available. Hopefully it will be released on DVD some day. I remember seeing this in 1979. I was both a SNL fan and a Bob and Ray fan, so I was in hog heaven. Since this was on in the SNL time slot, featured the "girls" of SNL and was done on the SNL stage, the question is why didn't Bob and Ray simply host a regular edition of SNL with the male stars as well. In 30 years of SNL I can't recall any other time anything like this was done. Did B and R insist on it, was it Lorne Michaels' idea or is there some other reason? Any information would be appreciated.

'Saturday Night Live Presents Bob and Ray Meet Jane, Laraine & Gilda' was (as breathlessly announced by Don Pardo) the unwieldy title of a one-off special that was for all practical purposes a fairly typical third-season episode of 'Saturday Night Live'. SNL was pre-empted for one Saturday, so that this special could be broadcast in SNL's usual late-night slot. The show was staged in front of a live audience on SNL's soundstage at Rockefeller Centre, featuring SNL's house musicians and tech crew in their usual capacities. The male contingent of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players took the night off (except for announcer Pardo), leaving the stage clear for the three resident female performers: delicious Laraine Newman, underrated and underused Jane Curtin, and someone whose appeal utterly baffles me: the raucous and grossly untalented Gilda Radner.

The three ladies were joined by two guests whose comedic style was very much sympatico with SNL's home brand of humour: the veteran comedy team of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding. Back in the 1950s, from a radio station in Massachusetts, Bob and Ray were doing the sort of anarchically skewed humour that 'Saturday Night Live' allegedly invented in the 1970s ... and doing it hilariously.

Assisted by the three SNL mesdames, Bob and Ray offered some of their typical (self-scripted) comedy routines. One sequence filmed in advance was an extended commercial for a shoelace-repair shop. Walking down the street, Ray discovers that his shoelaces are wearing out. He hies himself to the shoelace-repair shop, where Bob (wearing an eyeshade and a jeweller's loupe) carefully removes the laces from Ray's shoes, painstakingly restores them to mint condition, reinserts them in Ray's shoes (using special forceps) and sends Ray on his way happily ... all of this done with hilariously surrealistic narration. It doesn't sound funny as I'm describing it, but fans of Bob and Ray's humour will recognise how brilliant this skit is.

The funniest sequence in this special was a musical turn featuring the three SNL ladies in sexy punk-disco outfits, strutting across the stage while snarling the lyric to a well-known Rod Stewart song. Just when we expect them to sing the chorus, the camera cuts to Bob and Ray intoning: 'Do ya want my body? Do ya think I'm sexy?' The sight of these two old fat guys singing a Rod Stewart song is hilarious.

All in all, this is a well-produced special, which could also be considered an above-average episode of 'Saturday Night Live' for one of that programme's better seasons. Even Gilda Radner is less annoying than usual. As a Bob and Ray fan, it gives me pleasure to rate this showcase for their talents 10 points out of 10.

I remember watching this one back when it originally aired in 1979 and I was all of 16 years old! Hilarious! Bob and Ray were brilliant and Jane, Lorraine and Gilda were equally brilliant. I'd give anything to see the whole show once again 27 years later. It was worth it alone just to see Bob and Ray sing a duet to the chorus of Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?". The Girls do the setup and Bob & Ray pick up with "If you want my body, and you think I'm sexy, come on sugar let me know" all the while lounging in overstuffed armchairs. Just about the funniest thing I've ever seen! At least that's how I remember it. Definitely funnier than anything SNL toils through these days. If only there was a video available on DVD.