George Carlin/Billy Preston/Janis Ian (11 Oct. 1975)

The host for the episode is George Carlin, and the musical guests are Billy Preston and Janis Ian. The skits for this episode are as follows: an ESL teacher steadily loses his temper when a... See full summary »

Directors:

Dave Wilson, Albert Brooks

Writers:

Anne Beatts, Chevy Chase,

Stars:

George Carlin, Janis Ian, Billy Preston

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
George Carlin	...	Himself - Host
Janis Ian	...	Herself - Musical Guest
Billy Preston	...	Himself - Musical Guest
Albert Brooks	...	Reporter (voice)
Rhonda Hansome	...	Vazh (voice) (as Jim Henson's Muppets)
Jim Henson	...	King Ploobis (voice) (as Jim Henson's Muppets)
Jerry Nelson	...	Scred (voice) (as Jim Henson's Muppets)
Frank Oz	...	The Mighty Favog (voice) (as Jim Henson's Muppets)
Alice Tweedy	...	Queen Peuta (voice) (as Jim Henson's Muppets)
Jane Curtin	...	Various
Garrett Morris	...	Various
Laraine Newman	...	Various
Gilda Radner	...	Various
Dan Aykroyd	...	Various
John Belushi	...	Various

Storyline

The host for the episode is George Carlin, and the musical guests are Billy Preston and Janis Ian. The skits for this episode are as follows: an ESL teacher steadily loses his temper when a student repeats his every word. New Dad Insurance offers bereaved families a new father to take the place of their deceased one. A distraught rape victim in a courtroom describes the attacker's words in writing, which then confuses an inattentive jurist. Andy Kaufman sings along with a Mighty Mouse record. A reporter interviews the victim of a shark bite who, despite his claims to the contrary, obviously still has all his limbs. Two men, claiming to be a married couple, discuss the benefits of a new vitamin product called Jamitol. A mock ad for pain-reliever Triopenin plays up the product's child-proof caps. Albert Brooks presents a documentary titled "The Impossible Truth," in which he presents several shocking news stories. In the maternity ward of a hospital for bees, father bees anxiously wait ...

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Plot Keywords:

pilot episode

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1975 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Studio 8H, NBC Studios - 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

NBC Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Each of the five ad spoofs that appear in this broadcast would be repeated several times throughout the first season.

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Goofs

Don Pardo accidentally announces the cast as The Not For Ready Prime Time Players.

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Quotes

[talking about the phrase "jumbo shrimp"]
Himself - Host: It's like "military intelligence." The two words don't go together.

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Crazy Credits

In the closing credits, nearly every name contains the nickname "Bud", (Lorne "Bud" Michaels, Gilda "Bud" Radner, etc.) a nod to the crazy closing credits of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

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Connections

Edited into Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Mighty Mouse Theme"
(1955)
Written by Marshall Barer, Jimmy Carroll and Philip A. Scheib (as Philip Scheib)
Lipsyncing by Andy Kaufman

User Reviews

like finding an odd, surreal relic that still retains lots of its original awesomeness

Saturday Night Live first aired as, simply, "Saturday Night", with its cast (including quintessential members Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Lorraine Newman and Chevy Chase) called the "Not Yet Ready for Prime-Time Players. It was a rough and sometimes crude and disorganized skit show, and it hasn't aired much over the years save for the obscure VHS title and if and when ever on repeat screenings on NBC (that and the newly released first season DVD). With the untimely passing of George Carlin- now among a number of others, Jim Henson, Belushi, Andy Kaufman, Gilda Radner, Billy Preston, who have died- Lorne Michaels made the wise choice to replay the first episode in its unedited glory.

It's not a perfect program by any stretch, but its messiness is half the fun. One might like one skit over the other, or prefer one musical guest to the other (frankly, I prefer the funky beats of Preston over the melancholy Janis Ian tunes), or wonder what is up with these strange looking Muppets from Henson, or how outrageous Albert Brooks could get for better or worse (there's both great Jewish jokes and crazy pedophile jokes in one-minute of time). But one thing that it can't be called is ingenuous. This is the real-deal in sketch comedy, and the writing is irreverence squared. Adding on to tis is the wonderful, classic presence of Carlin (who originally would've been in skits had it not been for his cocaine habit at the time), who goes through Baseball and Football and his first thoughts on God to the New York audience. Even in this coked-up state he's on fire, in a laid-back sort of way.

Featuring the first Weekend Update segment (Hirohito Watch!), skits ranging from Bee Hospital to a cheerful gun expo, and Kaufman's masterwork of awkwardness in "singing" Mighty Mouse, it's the seed of something rather special in television, and it's very enjoyable in its imperfection (and, for some, a sweet nostalgia trip).