Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Check out SNL this Saturday

SNL To Air First-Ever Episode This Saturday, In Tribute To George Carlin - Media on The Huffington Post: "George Carlin, the comedy legend who died on Sunday at the age of 71, became a part of television history on October 11, 1975, as the host of the first-ever episode of 'Saturday Night Live.' This Saturday, the show, which just completed its 34th season, will pay tribute to Carlin by re-airing that first episode, live from Studio 8H.

Said SNL creator and exec producer Lorne Michaels in a release today: 'You never forget the people who were there at the beginning. George Carlin helped give 'Saturday Night Live' its start as our first host. He was gracious, fearless, and most important of all, funny.'

The musical guests for the debut episode were Janis Ian and Billy Preston, with a special performance from Andy Kaufman. Carlin performed three monologues, and it was the debut of future stars like John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Dan Ackroyd and Gilda Radner. It also featured a short film by Albert Brooks; Five-Timers Club member Paul Simon announcing that he'd be hosting the next week; the Bees, which became the first-ever SNL recurring characters; and, oddly, The Muppets."

11 comments:

Todd Mason said...

Nothing particularly odd about the Muppets being on the show, although the Muppets involved were certainly odd (often more odd than funny). Cold opening with Michael O'Donoghue, aka Mr. Mike, contributor to EVERGREEN REVIEW notably as the scripter of the Phoebe Zeitgeist comics in the early '60s (PZ usually naked and in the temporary clutches of villains patterned after featuring lightly disguised Norman Mailer and such, in those simple, innocent times), and John Belushi, doing what amounted to an old vaudeville routine with a raw, crude, in your face (or literally in your eyes) edge (point) to it.

Pretty funny stuff all around when one was ten. Maybe later, too. Carlin has stated he was coked up pretty heavily throughout the performance, but I remember him doing well.

Unknown said...

I've never seen this show, and we'll be at a convention Saturday, so I'm likely to miss it again.

Fred Blosser said...

I've never been a SNL fan, never watched the first episode. From one of the books about SNL's history (not Tom Shales', an earlier one, title escapes me), I have the impression that the debut episode had a sort of "let's put on a show" approach. Some of the ingredients didn't work (including older character actor George Coe as a cast member), things were dropped (like Coe) or shifted around, and the familiar format evolved over time.

Randy Johnson said...

I don't think I've seen this episode either. The show was a staple for years until the original cast members left. I don't think I've watched an episode since.
I know Chevy Chase wasn't there at the beginning and Bill Murray joined in the second year. But the foundation was there.

Todd Mason said...

Chase was in on the first episode, I'm pretty sure. But Murray was recruited from Second City when Chase left.

It's on disc, and can be Netflixed or otherwise rented or bought...and NBC was feeding the old repeats out at 2am ET, now replaced by more poker.

Todd Mason said...

And the group built around Phil Hartman and including Myers, Julia Sweeney, Carvey, Hooks, Rock, et al. were comparable to the initial cast for a good few years...the last year of Ebersol's producing, with Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Martin Short and Billy Crystal carrying most of the show, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the rest pushed into support roles, might be the only other consistently watchable period.

Anonymous said...

I did see it and Chase was there. It's worth watching but I don't remember specifics, other than Mr. Mike's bizarre "wolverine" routine with Belushi.

The Muppets were on often in early years and, like the Bees, were often tedious IMHO.

For Carlin fans with HBO, tonight HBO2 is broadcasting 5 of Carlin's made-for-HBO specials, from 8 pm to 2 am EDT.

Jeff

James Reasoner said...

I remember seeing that first episode live, because Livia and I were dating at the time and we watched it together at her parents' house. Amazing how vivid those memories are when I don't remember what I had for lunch yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Hulu has the first SNL monolog bits and some other materials grouped together in honor of Carlin:

http://www.hulu.com/collections/88

(also on the hotlink on my initials)

Unknown said...

Thanks, Todd. Probably better than watching the SNL show.

Todd Mason said...

Kaufman and Brooks are often worth seeing. I recall now that we first see Chase at the end of the cold opening, where he pretends to be a floor director, and gets to be the first person to announce, "Live, from New York, It's SATURDAY NIGHT."

Carlin is mostly doing some of his solid stand-up bits of the time, not too much different from what he'd do on PLAYBOY AFTER DARK a few years earlier...