When Saturday Night Live aired its first episode on Oct. 11, 1975, the show was a far cry from its current format—and far from proving itself as the comedic institution it would later become. Sketches were shorter and the host didn’t appear in them, and even the show’s name was different: It went by Saturday Night for its first 18 months, as Howard Cosell’s soon-to-be-canceled competing ABC program had snatched up the name it would later adopt.
The opening monologue was another feature that had yet to evolve into the one viewers know today. When George Carlin hosted that first episode, his monologue was broken into five parts interspersed throughout the show’s 90 minutes. Rather than delivering a bit shaped for that night’s program, Carlin performed segments of his stand-up routine. Which is perhaps the only way to explain why the very first monologue on Saturday Night Live‘s very first episode—rather than addressing the show’s future or the week’s news or the host’s upcoming film—explored the semantic differences between football and baseball lingo.
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Jane Curtin, left, Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman, in their skit 'The Coneheads' circa 1970s. Warner Bros./Getty ImagesRaquel Welch, Chevy Chase and Lorne Michaels during the "Weekend Update" skit on April 24, 1976.NBC/Getty ImagesDan Aykroyd as Dr. McCoy, John Belushi as Captain Kirk, Chevy Chase as Mr. Spock, Elliott Gould as Herb Goodman and Akira Yoshimura as Mr. Sulu during "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" skit on May 29, 1976.NBC/Getty ImagesDan Aykroyd as Ed and John Belushi as Ralph during "The Honeymooners" skit on May 29, 1976.NBC/Getty ImagesDan Aykroyd as Richard Nixon and John Belushi as Henry Kissinger during the "Final Days" skit on May 8, 1976.NBC/Getty ImagesPaul Simon and Connie Hawkins during the "Paul Simon vs. Connie Hawkins" skit on October 18, 1975.NBC/Getty ImagesSteve Martin during the monologue on November 4, 1978.NBC/Getty ImagesPeter Boyle as Marlon Brando and John Belushi as Marlon Brando during the "Duelling Brandos" skit on February 14, 1976 .NBC/Getty ImagesJohn Belushi as Bugs the Exterminator and Robert Klein as exterminator during the "Exterminators" skit on November 15, 1975.NBC/Getty ImagesGilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna and Jane Curtin during the 'Weekend Update' skit on October 20, 1979 .NBC/Getty ImagesJim Belushi as Moab during the 'Crossroads' skit on October 14, 1978.NBC/Getty ImagesMatthew Laurance and Eddie Murphy as Eddie Atari during the 'Saturday Night Live Sports Central' skit on January 24, 1981.NBC/Getty ImagesKirk Douglas as Colonel Lloyd D. Westman, Laraine Newman as Nicole Westman and Bill Murray as Captain Steve McCleod during the 'The Micro-Dentists' skit on February 23, 1980.NBC/Getty ImagesRobin Williams as William F. Buckley and Eddie Murphy as Dr. Phillip Holder during the 'Firing Line' skit on February 11, 1984.NBC/Getty Images
