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An Aniversary Was Overlooked

M

MegoMan

Guest
October 11 marked the 30th aniversary of the premiere of "SNL" on NBC. Back then, it was simply known as "NBC's Saturday Night". George Carlin was the host of the first broadcast. <P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
> October 11 marked the 30th aniversary of the premiere of
> "SNL" on NBC. Back then, it was simply known as "NBC's
> Saturday Night". George Carlin was the host of the first
> broadcast.
>

Didn't they celebrate it earlier this year?
 
> October 11 marked the 30th aniversary of the premiere of
> "SNL" on NBC. Back then, it was simply known as "NBC's
> Saturday Night". George Carlin was the host of the first
> broadcast.
>
I know I've mentioned this before, but the reason NBC's
show wasn't called "Saturday Night Live" in the beginning
was because ABC had "Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell"
in primetime in the fall of '75. Cosell's show was an ill-
conceived attempt to revive the Ed Sullivan format of a
nonperforming host introducing a succession of different acts.
Few people bothered to watch Cosell's show and it was canceled
in January 1976. NBC's show was, of course, a hit from day one.
But since both shows aired live from New York on Saturday nights,
and because of the similarity in the titles, everyone began
calling NBC's show "Saturday Night Live," and by 1977 the name
was official.
 
> I know I've mentioned this before, but the reason NBC's
> show wasn't called "Saturday Night Live" in the beginning
> was because ABC had "Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell"
>
> in primetime in the fall of '75.

> But since both shows aired live from New York on Saturday
> nights,
> and because of the similarity in the titles, everyone began
> calling NBC's show "Saturday Night Live," and by 1977 the
> name
> was official.
>
Furthermore, NBC ended up having the last laugh in general -- the comedy troupe on NBC's SNL was called "The Not Ready For Prime-Time Players", which aped ABC's SNL's "Prime-Time Players". Also, one of the regulars on ABC's SNL was Bill Murray, who later replaced Chevy Chase on NBC's SNL in 1976 (prior to joining ABC, Bill auditioned for the NBC show, but failed).
 
> > I know I've mentioned this before, but the reason NBC's
> > show wasn't called "Saturday Night Live" in the beginning
> > was because ABC had "Saturday Night Live With Howard
> Cosell"
> >
> > in primetime in the fall of '75.
>
> > But since both shows aired live from New York on Saturday
> > nights,
> > and because of the similarity in the titles, everyone
> began
> > calling NBC's show "Saturday Night Live," and by 1977 the
> > name
> > was official.
> >
> Furthermore, NBC ended up having the last laugh in general
> -- the comedy troupe on NBC's SNL was called "The Not Ready
> For Prime-Time Players", which aped ABC's SNL's "Prime-Time
> Players". Also, one of the regulars on ABC's SNL was Bill
> Murray, who later replaced Chevy Chase on NBC's SNL in 1976
> (prior to joining ABC, Bill auditioned for the NBC show, but
> failed).
>
Two sets of siblings were regulars on SNL, John Belushi(1975-79) & Jim Belushi(1983-85) and Bill Murray(1977-80) & Brian Doyle Murray(1981-82).<P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
Some Thoughts On Early "Saturday Night Live" Episodes (Was: Re: An Aniversary Was Overlooked)

Years later, I got to see a rerun of the very first "SNL".

It was very different from the show we all know and love. For one thing, the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" only appeared in a few brief skits.

I believe there were a lengthy filmed segment by Albert Brooks which was so long, a commercial had to be put midway through it. There was also a Muppets segment (which would be dumped by season's end when Jim Henson headed to England to start work on "The Muppet Show" which premiered in 1976), and segments with three stand-up comedians, one of which, Andy Kaufman's, would be fondly remembered. There were also multiple musical guests. But they did have a short "Weekend Update" bit with Chevy Chase.

The second "SNL" featured Paul Simon as musical guest (and I believe also as guest host). With a reunion performance alongside Art Garfunkle and several other musical guests, I believe week two had just one or two skits, "Weekend Update", and was mostly music.

In time, producer Lorne Michaels adjusted the "mix" of the program's elements. Within about five or six weeks, the musical acts and guest comedians were cut back, with "Weekend Update" being lengthened and the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" given more and longer skits. By the end of November, "SNL" had more or less adopted the format it has had to this day. And ratings were moderate (not great, but not terrible either) at first, but began to climb throughout that first season. By the time the first season ended, "SNL" not only dominated it's time period, but was drawing more viewers than even Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" was during the week (but to be fair, it should be noted that more people can stay up late on a Saturday night than during the week).

Michaels would soon lose the Muppets to Lew Grade's British showbiz empire and Brooks to Hollywood, but did bring-in Gary Weis to do film segments of much shorter duration than those of Brooks. Another filmmaker, Walter Williams, got his short film "Mr. Bill" broadcast on "SNL" in 1976, and he was soon making aditional "Mr. Bill" shorts for the show. The rest is history.

Incidentally, "SNL" today usually attracts more viewers than any Saturday prime-time show. This isn't just testimony to it becoming "part of the American fabric", but also to the fact that more people are going out on Saturday nights and fewer people are home during prime-tine hours on a Saturday night. Many people get home from whatever they do on Saturday nights in-time for "SNL"'s start at 11:30 P.M. ET/PT.
 
Re: Some Thoughts On Early "Saturday Night Live" Episodes (Was: Re: An Aniversary Was Overlooked)

I had just started my undergraduate engineering studies, and remember watching that first show. I agree completely with your assessment. I watched specifically because George arlin was the host and the muppets were a feature. I didn't care at all for the muppet bits, finding them darker and less humorous. As the show evolved in the next couple of months, it got much better.


> Years later, I got to see a rerun of the very first "SNL".
>
> It was very different from the show we all know and love.
> For one thing, the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" only
> appeared in a few brief skits.
>
> I believe there were a lengthy filmed segment by Albert
> Brooks which was so long, a commercial had to be put midway
> through it. There was also a Muppets segment (which would be
> dumped by season's end when Jim Henson headed to England to
> start work on "The Muppet Show" which premiered in 1976),
> and segments with three stand-up comedians, one of which,
> Andy Kaufman's, would be fondly remembered. There were also
> multiple musical guests. But they did have a short "Weekend
> Update" bit with Chevy Chase.
>
> The second "SNL" featured Paul Simon as musical guest (and I
> believe also as guest host). With a reunion performance
> alongside Art Garfunkle and several other musical guests, I
> believe week two had just one or two skits, "Weekend
> Update", and was mostly music.
>
> In time, producer Lorne Michaels adjusted the "mix" of the
> program's elements. Within about five or six weeks, the
> musical acts and guest comedians were cut back, with
> "Weekend Update" being lengthened and the "Not Ready For
> Prime Time Players" given more and longer skits. By the end
> of November, "SNL" had more or less adopted the format it
> has had to this day. And ratings were moderate (not great,
> but not terrible either) at first, but began to climb
> throughout that first season. By the time the first season
> ended, "SNL" not only dominated it's time period, but was
> drawing more viewers than even Johnny Carson's "Tonight
> Show" was during the week (but to be fair, it should be
> noted that more people can stay up late on a Saturday night
> than during the week).
>
> Michaels would soon lose the Muppets to Lew Grade's British
> showbiz empire and Brooks to Hollywood, but did bring-in
> Gary Weis to do film segments of much shorter duration than
> those of Brooks. Another filmmaker, Walter Williams, got his
> short film "Mr. Bill" broadcast on "SNL" in 1976, and he was
> soon making aditional "Mr. Bill" shorts for the show. The
> rest is history.
>
> Incidentally, "SNL" today usually attracts more viewers than
> any Saturday prime-time show. This isn't just testimony to
> it becoming "part of the American fabric", but also to the
> fact that more people are going out on Saturday nights and
> fewer people are home during prime-tine hours on a Saturday
> night. Many people get home from whatever they do on
> Saturday nights in-time for "SNL"'s start at 11:30 P.M.
> ET/PT.
>
 
one of the regulars on ABC's SNL was Bill
> Murray, who later replaced Chevy Chase on NBC's SNL in 1976
> (prior to joining ABC, Bill auditioned for the NBC show, but
> failed).


According to a story I heard, Bill Murray was passed on the first time

because Loren and Chevy thought that His Acne scars were too bad.

If He had made the first cut maybe We never would have seen Danny Aykroyd,

And The Blues Brothers never would have happened.

All things happen for a reason I guess.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by MCNDRWS on 10/20/05 02:42 PM.</FONT></P>
 
>
> If [Bill Murray] had made the first cut maybe We never would have
> seen Danny Aykroyd,
>
> And The Blues Brothers never would have happened.
>
Of course, Bill could've been Jake.

On the other hand, Dan and John could've still been The Blues Brothers, if Bill made the first cut and Dan replaced Chevy.
 
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