It was October 11, 1975. New York City was broke, gritty, and arguably the coolest place on the planet. If you tuned into NBC at 11:30 PM, you didn't see the polished, high-budget comedy machine that exists today. You saw a chaotic, low-fidelity experiment that almost didn't happen. Honestly, the Saturday Night Live 1st episode felt more like a hostage takeover of a television studio than a structured variety show.
George Carlin was the host. He was high. He later admitted he was "doing mountains of cocaine" during that week, which explains why he didn't actually participate in any of the sketches. He just came out and did stand-up sets in a vest and a t-shirt. It was awkward. It was brilliant. It was the birth of late-night counterculture.
The Chaos Behind the Scenes of the Saturday Night Live 1st Episode
Lorne Michaels was only 30 years old. He had a vision that didn't involve the stale, Vegas-style humor of the era. He wanted something that reflected the "Not Ready for Prime Time" energy of the post-Watergate generation. The network was skeptical. In fact, NBC only greenlit the show because Johnny Carson wanted to stop airing Tonight Show reruns on the weekends so he could save them for his vacations.
The budget was tiny. The set looked like a basement. The cast was a group of virtual unknowns from Chicago's Second City and National Lampoon. You had Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin, and Laraine Newman. They weren't stars yet. They were just weird kids trying to make each other laugh in a high-pressure environment where the "Live" part of the title was a literal threat. If they messed up, everyone saw it.
One of the most surprising things about the Saturday Night Live 1st episode is the structure. It wasn't just sketches. It was a weird hybrid. There were two musical guests: Janis Ian and Billy Preston. There was a Muppet segment—yes, Jim Henson’s Muppets were part of the original cast, though the writers hated them. Michael O'Donoghue, the show’s first head writer, famously wanted to "blow them up." It felt like three different shows fighting for space in a 90-minute window.
🔗 Read more: The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads: Why This Live Album Still Beats the Studio Records
The Sketch That Changed Everything
The very first sketch—the cold open—featured Michael O'Donoghue and John Belushi. It’s a simple setup: an English lesson. O'Donoghue plays a tutor, and Belushi is the student. "I would like... to feed your fingertips... to the wolverines." It was absurd. It wasn't a "joke" in the traditional sense with a setup and a punchline. It was a mood.
When Belushi clutched his chest and fell over, and Chevy Chase walked out to scream "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", the audience didn't quite know what to do. But they knew it was different. It felt dangerous. Television in the mid-70s was mostly safe, scripted, and scrubbed clean. This was dirty.
Why We Misremember the First Episode
If you watch the Saturday Night Live 1st episode today, you might be bored. That's the truth. We’re used to the fast-paced, digital short, viral clip style of modern SNL. In 1975, the pacing was glacial. Carlin did four separate stand-up sets. Billy Preston sang twice. Janis Ian sang "At Seventeen." There was a short film by Albert Brooks.
People often think the show was an instant smash that everyone loved. Not true. The reviews were mixed. Some critics thought it was messy. Others thought it was too "New York" for a national audience. But the kids got it. The college students staying up late got it. They saw people on screen who looked like them and talked like them.
💡 You might also like: Wrong Address: Why This Nigerian Drama Is Still Sparking Conversations
- The Muppet Problem: The "Land of Gorch" sketches featured adult-themed Muppets. They were creepy. They didn't fit the vibe. Eventually, they were phased out because the writers refused to write for "felt."
- The Weekend Update Debut: Chevy Chase sat at that desk and changed comedy. He was arrogant, handsome, and biting. His "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" catchphrase defined the smug irony that would dominate the 80s and 90s.
- The Missing Cast Member: Most people think Bill Murray was there from day one. He wasn't. He didn't join until the second season to replace Chevy Chase.
The Cultural Impact of 11:30 PM
The Saturday Night Live 1st episode wasn't just a TV show; it was a pivot point for American culture. Before this, "late night" was for older people. It was talk shows and old movies. Lorne Michaels realized that there was a massive demographic of young people who were home on Saturday nights, likely doing things the FCC wouldn't approve of, who wanted to see something that pushed boundaries.
George Carlin was the perfect choice for this, even if he was too out of it to be in the sketches. He represented the anti-establishment. He was the guy who had been arrested for his "Seven Dirty Words" routine. By putting him front and center, NBC was inadvertently signaling that the rules were changing.
The George Carlin Factor
Carlin’s monologues in the first episode covered everything from religion to the absurdity of language. He was the intellectual anchor. Without his presence, the show might have been dismissed as a silly variety hour. He gave it "street cred."
Interestingly, the show didn't have a "host" in the way we think of it now for several weeks. The role was fluid. But Carlin set the template: the host is the master of ceremonies, even if the cast is doing the heavy lifting.
📖 Related: Who was the voice of Yoda? The real story behind the Jedi Master
Technical Nightmares and Live TV Stakes
The 1st episode was plagued by technical glitches. The sound was off in places. The lighting was harsh. But that’s what made it "Live." In an era of pre-recorded, edited sitcoms, the threat of failure was the secret sauce.
John Belushi was the breakout physical comedian. While Chevy was the face, Belushi was the soul. His energy was explosive. In the 1st episode, you can see the seeds of the characters that would become icons. Even in the smaller roles, like Gilda Radner’s brief appearances, there was a spark of something new. They were playing to the cameras, but they were also playing to the 17th floor of the RCA Building, which was filled with cigarette smoke and frantic writers.
What You Should Look For When Rewatching
If you go back and watch the Saturday Night Live 1st episode on Peacock or DVD, pay attention to the transitions. They are jarring. There is no slick production value.
- Look for the "Show Us Your Guns" bit: It was a bizarre, viewer-submitted photo segment that feels like a precursor to internet memes.
- Watch the commercial parodies: This became an SNL staple. The "New Dad" insurance commercial in the first episode set the tone for the show's ability to mock corporate America.
- The Musical Guests: Billy Preston was a legend, and Janis Ian was the voice of a generation. Having them both on the same night showed that the show wasn't going to be boxed into one genre.
The show was originally called NBC's Saturday Night. There was another show called Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell airing on ABC at the same time. It’s hard to imagine now, but the SNL we know was the underdog. Cosell’s show had the big budget and the "real" stars. It failed miserably. Lorne’s show had the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players." It changed history.
Actionable Next Steps for SNL History Buffs
If you want to truly understand the DNA of comedy, don't just watch the clips. Do these three things:
- Watch the movie "Saturday Night" (2024): Directed by Jason Reitman, it dramatizes the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode. It’s a great way to see the frantic energy of the 17th floor recreated.
- Read "Live From New York": This oral history by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales is the definitive account. It features interviews with everyone from the original cast to the stagehands who were there on night one.
- Compare and Contrast: Watch the Saturday Night Live 1st episode and then watch the first episode of the most recent season. See how much has changed, and more importantly, how much has stayed the same—the "Live from New York" line, the Weekend Update desk, and the frantic, slightly-unhinged energy of a cast trying to survive 90 minutes of live television.
Understanding the first episode is about more than just nostalgia. It’s about seeing the moment when the "counterculture" became the "culture." It was the night the freaks and the outsiders finally got the keys to the kingdom.