Saturday Night Live Season 1 Episode 1

Saturday Night Live is still going strong after more then 35 years (or still rotting depending on people's opinion), now I'm a big fan of SNL, but the problem being based here in the U.K., TV channels when they've shown it have half arsed it at best. I have decided since I own the entire first season on DVD to start from the very start and decide from myself if the much loved original cast really do stand up to all the hype. I am going to try and do this every week so I don't get burn't out by it.

• The show starts with a cool sketch featuring Michael O'Donaghue and John Belushi, Belushi is trying to learn English from O'Donaughue but is teaching him stuff like "I'd like to feed your fingertips to the wolverines", O'Donaughue as a heart attack, and Belushi mimics him, we then cut to a stagehand played by Chevy Chase looking confused who utters the very famous lines "Live from New York... It's Saturday Night" for the very first time. This sketch was pretty short and sweet (coming in at about a minute and a half) but I think it help the set the standard that the show would be something different.
• wait a minute NBC's Saturday Night?
• Starring George Carlin with Janis Ian and Billy Preston, as well as film by Albert Brooks and also with Jim Henson's Muppets (sounds awesome!)
• The title sheet for The Not Ready For Prime Time Players seems weird, it's not in alphabetical order and George Coe and Michael O'Donaughe's names are also on their.
• Comedy from Valerie Bromfield and Andy Kaufman. One of these is not like the others.
• George Carlin comes out looking snazzy for him. He's doing a monologue, he's talking American Football, being from the UK I don't particularly stand the appeal but I'm sure the differences between that and baseball where very funny to a US watcher. This seems very safe for Carlin, I've seen and heard some of his material that as made me laugh until I hurt, not so much here so far. It ends and sadly it didn't raise any laugh from me.
• Dan Aykroyd's first appearance on the show with funny teeth with a kid and a wife who I don't recognize in a pre taped advert advertising New Dad. Chevy Chase already gets to make his second appearance of the show. I'm audience clap at the end, that's the only part you hear anything from the audience, I'm going to say it was mean't to be like that.
• Billy Preston singing comes Nothing From Nothing FUCK YES!!! I love this song. Cool performance.
• At about 10 minutes it's cool there's been a couple of sketches, a stand up act (Carlin's monologue was pretty much that) and a musical performance. Pretty cool so far.
• A courtroom scene, Jane Curtin is on the stand, Chevy Chase is playing the opposing lawyer (his 3rd appearance on the show so far), Garrett Morris playing her lawyer, it's about somebody saying something disgusting to her. She can't bring herself to say it so she writes it down. The judge is shocked as are Morris and Chase. It passes through the jury of Aykroyd, Belushi and finally the wonderful Gilda Radner who gives the most wonderful reaction. That appears to be Detective Munch himself Richard Belzer sat next her - he says nothing.
• Andy Kaufman!!! he's doing the Mighty Mouse bit, which I feel like I've seen a million times now, which never fails to raise a smile at the very least from me. It's his awkward movements that really make this bit work.
• George Carlin is back - he's not appearing in any sketches - just doing stand up bits. This bit is funnier because of better jokes (crowds in old movies, good underwear etc) just (and not surprisingly) clean and safe for him. Carlin's eyes look a bit glazed, let's just leave it at that...
• He introduces Janis Ian, with cool 70s hair and thankfully she's singing At Seventeen, that's two songs I really like...
• Victims Of Shark Bite up now - Jane Curtin is hosting this talk show with John Belushi doing the one armed man thing. He brought out his right hand to count which was funny stuff, and Curtin points out e as got an arm, Belushi tries to convince it was it's leg where it cut off but it's just the way he's sat
• Chevy Chase and Michael O'Donaughue doing an advert, O'Donaughue is Chase's wife despite not being in any drag so far and sporting a full beard. Funny for just how serious the performances are.
• Paul Simon is telling us he's hosting next week
• Now Weekend Update with Chevy Chase, and shockingly he didn't do "I'm Chevy Chase... and You're Not".
• The first couple of jokes where probably funnier way back in 1975. Plenty of Gerald Ford jokes, seems like one of the jokes was spoiled by the screen on TV. He hits the spot with the first home run joke - "the post office announced today it was going to issue a stamp commemoration prostitution in the United States - it's 10c stamp but if you want to lick it it's a quarter."
• Laraine Newman is on the field reporter which I don't care what the joke is supposed about a murder at the Blaine Hotel.
• Another fake advert, a tablet adverts "Triopenion" which explains the joke for you
• and now the joke makes sense, there's an adverts guests stay at the Blaine hotel from this show, now it's funnier.
• What's this? Look's puppet-y, this is not the Muppets is it?, where the hell is Kermit, Miss Piggy etc?, who are these impostors. This is the Muppets, the king sounds like Rowlf. None of these characters are that familiar, it's seems to be about an ugly king and his ugly wife (monster like) who have trouble conceiving; The audience are laughing at bits of it but it's just missing the spot - I never thought I would say it but Jim Henson AND The Muppets have stopped this show dead in it's tracks. The Mighty Babard (spelling) seems enjoyable (he does sounds like Fozzy though).
• There's not a lot I can say about these (impostor) Muppets, it ends with a (sort of) punchline that's just a bit weak.
• Another George Carlin stand up bit, this is certainly an usual set up from most future hosts in the fact he's had zero interaction with the cast so far. We get a cleaner but a closer to a George Carlin I know and love here.
• Albert Brooks film up now - The Impossible Truth - there is an interview with a blind taxi driver, sounds funnier on paper I guess. Israel and Georgia trade places, can't fault the performances in this bit just nothing hilarious. Oregon lowers the age of consent to 7 is more quaint, something could have been funny here and it sort of stops itself being hilarious. The Impossible Truth wasn't bad there just needed to be a bigger spark.
• Bee Hospital - love me some bees. This features all the faces of the cast for the first time this episode. The women get to play bee nurses, the males get to be expectant fathers, funny but short.
• Advent with Gilda Radner answering the phone to a guy I don't recognise (is it George Coe?) it's about a recruitment to be a phone line operator, not sure of the joke.
• And now Valerie Bromfield, whose pretending to be a teacher I guess. Whatever she is doing is kind of over the top but never truly funny. Now she's been a cheerleader I guess. Not very funny, shockingly she never came back but 
• Show Us Your Guns? Funny bit they go around getting people to show them their guns, a woman clipping their edges, a woman walking her child, gangsters, an old woman, a man mowing the lawn, a married couple (the wife with a tommy gun no less), the police man doesn't have a gun, he lost it... funny, funny stuff.
• George Carlin stand up again, now this is closer to George Carlin, maybe it's because on original airing it was very late. He's talking about Jesus and religion, he's cooking on all cinders here but still remaining clean. His best of his four bits.
• Another song from Billy Preston - "Fancy Lady" not so familiar with this one. I like it from the start though. Preston is actually very underrated for stuff he did.
• Next sketch John Belushi and Gilda Radner are a couple at home who get robbed in their home by Dan Aykroyd who is actually only doing a simulated burglary, he is trying to sell them on his company Trojan Horse, Garrett Morris shows up as his assistant. Aykroyd is doing one of his great fast talking performances, Radner and Belushi sadly mostly get to react in this sketch though the pair are good in this. Best lines "Would you like to be sexually assualted in your kitchen? - Radner's reply "Well it depends who...". I liked this sketch.
• Another advert starting in caveman days about men always wanting the closest shave. Now this bit is really lost on a modern audience, the joke is a third razor on a shaver, you get it because its not necessary.
• Another Janis Ian song, quite downbeat performance to end on.
• George Carlin is back on stage to say the goodnights, sans the cast, the Muppets and the singers. He embarrassingly advertised his brand new album out, and so it ends the first episode of Saturday Night Live, erm, I mean Saturday Night...
• A lot of people have 'Bud' as their middle name on the credits, wonder what that mean't...

Overall Thoughts - Obviously it's a show that was like nothing that came before it so it needed to find it's feet, there's bit that's don't work - Valerie Bromfield, The Muppets - but there's plenty that does - Andy Kaufman, the musical performances, most of Carlin's performance and performances from the NRFPTP already starting to shine.