Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell had all sorts of resources NBC’s Saturday Night did not, including a household name in the title and at the show’s core. What it did not have, unfortunately, was a clear vision or a host who was at all adept at comedy or variety shenanigans.
Cosell’s ill-fated, misconceived attempt to extend his brand beyond the world of sports stumbled and sputtered and was ultimately cancelled after just eighteen episodes. It did not last even a single season.
The show’s failure meant that the name Saturday Night Live was no longer in use. NBC’s Saturday Night wasn’t a name so much as it was a channel, a day and a time. NBC’s Saturday Night became Saturday Night Live but its cast remained the Not Ready for Prime Time Players even as the show outlasted its competitor by, oh, I dunno, A HALF CENTURY.
Saturday Night Live has been on the air for forty-nine times as long as Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell and doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon.
