Land of Gorch skits on a Canadian Network

[Lone Wolf]

I just wanted to give my fellow Canadians a heads up:

Beginning Monday August 2nd, Prime Network will be airing "classic" Saturday Night Live shows. I just caught a promo for it last night, and I saw brief clips of Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd in it so that means it looks like they will be showing the first (1975-76) season which means we can see the "Land Of Gorch" Muppet skits. For some time now, I have wanted to see these but didn't think I would ever have the opportunity. AFAIK, this will be the first time since the original broadcasts that these will be seen in Canada. Though we have a 24 hr comedy network here, it's nowhere near as good as the one in the U.S, and I don't think it (the Canadian comedy network) has ever aired reruns of SNL.

Here in the Vancouver area, the channel # for Prime is 48, but I don't know what it is in other parts of the country. Though you can probably find out by visiting their website:

clicky

 

[Phillip]

Fantastic news for our friends in Canada. Congratulations! You'll have to post and let us know what you think of the Gorch segments after you see them.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Well, suddenly I'm feeling a little less optimistic about this. As it turns out, I was unaware that Global has already been airing reruns of classic SNL for a couple of months now. (Currently they seem to be showing episodes from the fourth season.) They're on every weeknight at 12:05 and unfortunately they're doing the same thing that Comedy Central in the U.S has done with them -- edited them down to an hour from their original length of 90 minutes. And according to the Gorch Anthology on the Tough Pigs site, in these edited shows, the Gorch skit is among the stuff that gets cut. The only exception is the one that features the duet with Scred and Lily Tomlin. But I think I may have read elsewhere that in these edited shows, the Gorch skit doesn't always get cut.

Prime hasn't updated their schedule yet, so I don't know as of yet wether they'll be showing the full 90 minute shows, or shows edited down to an hour. But given what I know so far, I'm going avoid disappointment by assuming that Prime will be showing these edited shows.

But maybe some of you in the U.S who have seen these edited shows can enlighten me: does the Gorch skit always get cut out?

 

[Boober_Gorg]

So maybe some of you in the U.S who have seen these edited shows can enlighten me: does the Gorch skit always get cut out?

I've only seen 2 Gorchless edited episodes on E!: the Madeline Kahn one and the Buck Henry one. I REEEEEALLY wanted to see the sketch in the Buck Henry one.

Hopefully that sketch will air again in Canada, and if anyone has the chance to tape it (and the Gorches in the Paul Simon and Rob Reiner episodes), PLEASE let me know. I'll make it worth your time.

 

[dbarrie]

I've only seen one or two Gorch skits. The one I that have on tape is the first one from the first SNL with George Carlin (he was not in the skit). I presume that the Buck Henry ep. you're referring to is from the first one he hosted in 1976? He hosted SNL 10 times between 1976-80, and occasionally made an unannounced cameo.

OI MuppetFan

 

[dbarrie]

Henson and the Muppets were acrimoniously dropped from SNL towards the end of the 1975-76 season due to apparent tensions between him and Lorne Michaels. Perhaps Lorne decided to cut most of those Gorch sketches for that very reason.

OI MuppetFan

 

[Boober_Gorg]

Henson and the Muppets were acrimoniously dropped from SNL towards the end of the 1975-76 season due to apparent tensions between him and Lorne Michaels. Perhaps Lorne decided to cut most of those Gorch sketches for that very reason.

I beg to differ. I've seen some of them in hour-long syndicated episodes on E!, and even on uncut late-night NBC reruns (the one in the Richard Pryor ep was the first Gorch I ever saw, back in late '98).

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I think that the classic episodes of SNL have been airing on both Global and the Comedy Network here for the past few years off and on. They are edited down to an hour and I have never seen any of the Muppet sketches. Much as I'd love for them to be included I can understand why they were cut out. Many of the short films that were part of SNL's early days have been cut too as well as sketches with drug references that aren't consider PC any more.

Henson and the Muppets were acrimoniously dropped from SNL towards the end of the 1975-76 season due to apparent tensions between him and Lorne Michaels. Perhaps Lorne decided to cut most of those Gorch sketches for that very reason.

The Muppets were originally added to SNL simply because Bernie Brillstein represented both Michaels and Henson and sort of packaged the show for NBC. I've never read anything about tensions between Henson and Michaels; most accounts suggest that it was more a case of the SNL writers hating the puppets (to protest they reportedly kept a Big Bird doll hanging in the writer's room in a noose!) and as SNL developed in to more of a sketch comedy show than a standard variety program (which is what NBC thought SNL would be initially) after it's first few episodes the Muppets didn't really fit the format or the anti-esthablishment culture of the show anymore.

 

[Infinity Sirius]

What about in America? Will any of the Gorch skits be aired here?

 

[Lone Wolf]

Buck Beaver is right. But it wasn't only the writers who hated them. Most of the cast also didn't like them (with the possible exceptions of Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase) particularly John Belushi, who is said to have called them "the mucking fuppets" I read an online interview with Frank Oz where he said that Belushi "hated them with a passion."

According to the book Jim Henson:The Works the writers disliked writing for them because Henson was so protective and that made it difficult to write for them. Though technically the Muppets were dropped from the show because The Muppet Show began production in England, they say it would have happened anyway.