Saturday Night Live/Steve Martin/Prince

Steve Martin/Prince is the twelfth episode of the thirty-first season of Saturday Night Live, and the six hundredth episode overall. It is the fourteenth appearance by host Steve Martin and the first appearance by Prince as a musical guest.

Guest Stars: Steve Martin (Host), Prince (Musical Guest)

Special Guests: Alec Baldwin (Himself), Jimmy Fallon (Himself), Támar (Herself)

Plot Overview

• The Sabotage of Baldwin: At a fancy restaurant, Martin and Kelly Ripa are having a secret rendezvous and planning to have sex that night. Martin takes a Viagra pill, and a clock appears to count down how long it'll take to affect him, but when Ripa tells him Baldwin is hosting SNL and is going to tie his record, Martin catches a limo and speeds over to NBC studios. Wearing a fake beard, he sneaks into Baldwin's dressing room and strangles Baldwin with measuring tape. He rolls up Baldwin in a carpet and heads down the hall as if nothing were unusual, even chatting with Samberg for a bit and punching Michaels when he suggests they call Tom Hanks to fill in for Baldwin. Martin tosses the unconscious Baldwin out a window, allowing him to land on the Rockefeller Plaza ice skating rink.
• Steve Martin's Monologue: Martin recounts his memories of one of the first shows he did, but can't get any of the dates right. He eventually gives up on telling the story in favor of showing pictures of himself and former cast members, but all of them have the cast members cropped out. He also shares his appreciation for the new cast—even though he can't remember any of their names—and his love for the women of the cast. When welcoming Rudolph back to the show, Martin's Viagra clock from earlier kicks back in and activates while she's talking.
• A Teddy Bear Holding a Heart: After a great deal of build-up towards a man (Hader) giving his girlfriend (Poehler) a diamond ring, he actually gives her a teddy bear holding a heart. The voice over suggests although he knew Valentine's Day was coming, he didn't get her a gift until the last minute.
• Oprah - Stone Freeman: Oprah Winfrey (Rudolph) admits her book club has been facing some troubles because of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces fabrications, and her March selection, Skating at the Bottom of the Ocean, may also be "riddled with untruths." She brings on Stone Freeman (Martin), author of the book, to try and defend himself while she "rips him a new one." He admits he wasn't addicted to crack-cocaine nor trapped in a cage with a monkey and every page of the book is a lie. He distracts her and runs off stage while she gets a crossbow to hunt him in the next segment.
• Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford: A husband (Martin) and wife (Poehler) seek help in paying their bills but can't seem to figure it out. A spokesperson (Parnell) tells them how to manage their debt with a book called Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford. As straight forward as the book is, the two keep asking whether or not they should buy stuff if they don't have money. The spokesperson offers the book for free along with a sequel called Seriously, Stop Buying Stuff You Can't Afford and a subscription to Stop Buying Stuff Magazine.
• Hamas Party: Martin is being paid to do a corporate gig where he does ten minutes of old material and takes some pictures before flying home, but the usual standard gig changes when he's told he's doing an appearance for Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist movement known for employing terrorist activities. He's greeted by several representatives (Armisen, Hader, Meyers) and told they're happy to have him there because he's funny and has a deep hatred for the state of Israel. Martin tries to backpedal but stops when they mention they paid an additional $500,000 so he would be live on Al Jazeera. They also give him an extra $20,000 to do some personalized material and leave. Martin weighs the decision on whether or not it's worth it to be known as an anti-Semite to promote his new movie and ultimately decides to go for it.
• SNL Digital Short - Two Inches: Gary (Martin) and Ben (Forte) catch each other's eyes at a table and look like they're moving in for a kiss but wind up having a pleasant chat two inches away from each other. Gary is accused of standing a little close, and they storm off until Ben calls him back to apologize (again at two inches away).
• Quick Zoom Theater: The host (Parnell) for a program about stories that prominently feature quick zooms introduces the episode's story: "The Check Up." A patient, Mr. Billings Stevens (Armisen), is in for a check-up at his doctor's (Martin) office. Although he's fine, the two share dramatic pauses while the camera quickly zooms in on them. This format continues throughout the story, including when Nurse Veronica (Rudolph) tells Dr. Perkins his appointment is here and during a conversation about fish. Another doctor (Thompson) comes in to dramatically tell Dr. Perkins something, but misses his cue. This sets off a series of events with more missed cues and one time where Perkins is forced to run towards the camera and back to simulate a zoom.
• Fury: Prince song.
• Weekend Update:
  • After the confirmation of Samuel Alito to be a Supreme Court judge, Fey warns everyone to get their abortions now before it's too late. She attempts to throw to Poehler, but Poehler has fled the studio, gotten into her car and sped off.
• Super Bowl XL National Anthem: Out of respect for New Orleans, Aaron Neville (Sanz), Aretha Franklin (Thompson) and Dr. John (Martin) are singing the National Anthem before Super Bowl XL, but the three are unhelpful and keep making demands from the production assistants (Poehler and Meyers). Eventually, the three are gathered to sing an off key, lengthy version of the anthem until the other PA comes back with some chicken from Popeyes, and they abort the rehearsal.
• Backstage: Martin excitedly tells Lorne Michaels how high the ratings are and tries to renegotiate his contract to get more money. Michaels says he can't set a bad precedent, even though Martin is only getting $5,000. Parnell tries to bring Martin back down to the set, but he refuses to go on. Michaels warns him he has options in the form of a semi-coherent Baldwin and Fallon, and Martin decides to go on after all.
• Prince Show - Drew Barrymore: Prince (Armisen) and Beyonce Knowles (Rudolph) introduce Prince's personal chef, Dekonig Deparlier (Martin), who has never met his employer although he's been working for him for 15 years. While Deparlier is presenting Prince with tofu sloppy joes, Prince disappears to make a sculpture and tells Deparlier to sit on the moon. Drew Barrymore (Wiig) is Prince's second guest, but she won't shut up, so Prince goes to the "mirror of reflection" to make a bunch of bizarre comments about riding on dolphins.
• State of the Galaxy 2145: Brian Williams 3000 (Meyers), a robotic news anchor, introduces hologram Chris Matthews (Hammond) to comment on Galactic president George Q. Bush before his state of the galaxy address. Bush (Forte) claims the state of the galaxy is strong, although Jupiter elected a radical party which plans to destroy Earth within the year. Additionally, the administration may finally catch Osama bin Laden, will solve social security by launching every American over 50 deep into space and is finally building levies in New Orleans. After Bush's speech, Williams 3000 teases a reaction from Hilary Clintron (Dratch and Poehler).
• SNL Digital Short - The Tangent: Joel (Armisen) has a long, meandering conversation with a friend (Wiig). He keeps talking incessantly, even though his friend has already left. He eventually attracts the attention of an agent (Hader) who bring him to his boss, Jerry (Parnell). They put him in front of an open mic audience before putting him into a movie with Scarlett Johansson. This leads to him doing press with Gideon Yago, Brian Williams and Conan O'Brien, but the movie does poorly in the box-office. They throw him out of the office and put him right where they found him. He finally finishes talking and he walks off without realizing what happened.
• The Surfers: A group of surfers led by Brody (Samberg) has called together a group of surfing friends to discuss one of them who clearly doesn't belong there. While he's talking, Ted (Martin), who is clearly the one who doesn't belong there, keeps interrupting to steer the conversation away. Dragonfly (Sudeikis), Slapshot (Meyers), Colossus (Armisen), Wienerman (Hader), Buttfish (Forte) and an unnamed surfer (Wiig) all agree they don't want Ted around anymore. He tries to change their minds but fails.
• Beautiful, Loved and Blessed: Prince song.
• Naturally Crafting: On a public television series about crafting, Midge Hartsinger (Dratch) introduces her guest Jack Patrick (Martin) to show the audience how to make a Valentine's Day heart wreath. Hartsinger distracts him and tries to slyly push him into crashing at her house to avoid the coming snowstorm. As Patrick steers the show back towards his craft, Hartsinger keeps trying to get him to stay. She goes off stage to "get into something more comfortable" which isn't as revealing as one might assume. Patrick is nearly swayed, but they're entirely snowed in, and he gives in.

Notes

"Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!"

• Steve Martin as himself, after disposing of Alec Baldwin.

Music

• Fury, performed by Prince: "Fury" is the first song performed by Prince in the episode. It is the third single off his 2006 album 3121, but it was actually debuted on the show that night, as the album wouldn't come out until three months after this episode was broadcast.

• Beautiful, Loved and Blessed, performed by Prince: The second song performed by Prince is "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed," also from 3121. Prince was accompanied on the song in both the live and recorded versions by Támar, who recorded her debut solo album with Prince before it was cancelled and ultimately shelved. That album was originally meant to be titled Beautiful, Loved and Blessed before the title was taken for the Prince song.

Trivia

The Show

• Digital Short Shuffle: The "Tangent" digital short was originally produced for the episode hosted by Scarlett Johansson, as indicated by her appearance.

Behind the Scenes

• Ratings: This episode received 9.3 million viewers, making it the highest rated episode in the season.

• Rescheduling: Although this is the first time Prince has appeared on Saturday Night Live, he has been scheduled for appearances in the past. In the first episode of season 21, Prince (then known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince) was booked as the musical guest but backed out. He was also sought, along with Steve Martin, for an appearance in the first episode of season 30, but he declined.