Albert Brooks was approached by Lorne Michaels in 1975 to be the permanent host of show. He turned it down and suggested to Michaels that he use a different host every week. Brooks instead offered to write and direct a series of short films that he produced from Los Angeles.
NBC reran this episode in its entirety on June 29, 2008 as a tribute to George Carlin, who had died the previous Sunday.
George Carlin wanted to wear a T-shirt, but network executives wanted him to wear a suit. As a compromise, Carlin wore a vest and jacket over his T-shirt.
On the premiere edition of "Weekend Update", Chevy Chase closes with the now-famous ending line, "Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow," which would also go on to be used by Jane Curtin from 1976 to 1980 and by Tina Fey from 2000 to 2006. It is likely that this phrase was loosely based on the closing line, "Good night, and a good tomorrow," as used by John Daly as the sign-off for his ABC nightly newscasts from 1953 to 1960.
The show was originally entitled "Saturday Night" to avoid confusion with ABC's Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell (1975). In an effort to emphasize the live nature of the show, the writers began the tradition of the trademark "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night" line. After ABC's show failed, permission was granted to rename this show, and the first episode to carry the title "Saturday Night Live" was 26 March 1977. The original cast members were known as the Not Ready for Prime-time Players.