Last month’s post dedicated to Saturday night TV failed to mention one title that some may remember or, in this author’s case, at least remember the send-ups that followed several years later.
The Saturday Show was a weekly variety show on ABC in the late-’70s and early-’80s with a cast of regular performers, including Michael Cole, Darryl Stewart, former Young Talent Time member Jane Scali, and the dance troupe The Natural Seven. The Saturday Show was produced in a different vein to variety shows on commercial television in that featured traditional musical variety rather than more contemporary acts.
Although the legacy of The Saturday Show is that it ended up providing fodder for later comedy shows. The D-Generation‘s The Late Show (1992-93) regularly featured forgettable performances from The Saturday Show archives as part of its “Toilet Break” segment.
The Saturday Show also gave inspiration to the Seven Network‘s Fast Forward (1989-92) who parodied the program as a mix of inappropriately performed songs with cheesy backing tracks and gawdy backdrops.
The Fast Forward version of The Saturday Show was hosted by Eleanor LaGore (Gina Riley). This clip on YouTube shows a collection of Ms LaGore’s performances and who could forget Barry Crocker‘s rendition of I Am Woman?
Another clip found on YouTube features LaGore performing a somewhat different adaptation of the ’80s anti-war song I Was Only 19, complete with toe-tapping dance break:
