The Killer Bees: Home Invasion

South American Killer Bees, dressed in yellow and black horizontal striped costumes with wings and springy antennae, invade the home of a couple to demand pollen. The sketch takes a meta turn when the camera appears to malfunction and stays on the wrong shot. This leads to the cast breaking character and showing a behind-the-scenes look at the SNL set, including Lorne Michaels appearing on-camera for the first time to confront a drunk director Dave Wilson in the control room. The sketch also includes a running storyline throughout the episode where Gilda Radner's character professes her love for host Elliott Gould, culminating with them getting married at the end of the show. Gilda also introduces Elliott to her mother (played by Paula Kahn) during the sketch.

This was Lorne Michaels' first on-camera appearance on SNL. The Killer Bees were SNL's first recurring characters, appearing 11 times in Season 1. According to Lorne Michaels, NBC's only note on the first episode was "Cut the bees," so he made sure to include them in subsequent shows. This episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series.