NBC 75th Anniversary Special

I wish they would run this again sometime. This was a really good

anniversary special commemorating the best shows -- and the

worst mistakes -- of NBC. All the celebrities were really good too! I

liked when Martin Short sat between the ladies from the Golden

Girls and wouldn't let them sing, and when the cast of Friends

compared their show to Cheers (Matt LeBlanc: Cheers is set in

Boston, Friends is set in Boston..... Courteney Cox Arquette:

Friends is set in NEW YORK. Matt LeBlanc: That's not New York!)

The clips they ran were really good too. If anyone from NBC is

reading, please run this again sometime! It doesn't seem fair to

just let this great show go to waste

This two-hour program originated from NBC studios in New York and featured an amazing list of current and former NBC personalities. The show featured several segments on different shows, genres and moments in NBC's 75 years. Some of the highlights of show included: Mr. T's NBC star pity list (`I pity ALF, you never did get to eat the cat; I pity Screech, because we all pity Screech), Conan O'Brien with a look at late night on NBC, and the cast of Cheers, E.R., the Cosby Show reunited on stage. Well worth a look if you can find it!

Although this is called "NBC 75th Anniversary Special" they almost completely ignored the NBC Radio Network which really made NBC in the pre television era and existed until 1987.

Oh if you are wondering why the clips from old shows seemed to be mostly from the late 70s and the 80s - NBC junked most of their archive in a mis-guided clear-out in the early '70s - not that they would have shown much black and white stuff anyway!

I have all three NBC Anniversary specials on tape (50th in 1976, 60th in 1986 and the 75th in 2002). They are all quite good. My favorite is the 1976 special which was absolutely amazing....lots of rare color videotape clips (Astaire in '58 on color tape!), a COLOR kine scope clip of the Ernie Kovacs silent show from 1957, Mae West on the Oscars, lots of stuff I have not seen since. And a big segment on NBC radio.

The '86 special was good, but not great. Some nice clips.

The 2002 special was very well done. Unlike the other two, this was a live show with a full orchestra doing all the music. Lorne Michaels gave it that Saturday Night Live modern feel, with some NBC alum standing up in the audience with funny bits and questions, and well constructed segments with a good archive selection. But sadly, but understandably, NBC radio was barely covered. By 2002, the audience who would remember that era had diminished greatly. Highlights were a standing ovation for Sid Caesar, and his return later in the show to do a bit remembering Berle, Steve Allen, and Imogene Coca in his hilarious phony foreign accents; Michael J. Fox's standing O.; and a nearly 80 year old Andy Williams coming on at the very end to sing "Moon River" with the orchestra.

I wish that NBC would offer the 2002 special as a DVD, since this is probably the most commercial for today's audience.

Anyway...well done Lorne Michaels and associates!