Almost Live!
Seattle sketch comedy that delayed Saturday Night Live.
From 1984 to 1999, Seattle's KING-TV produced the sketch comedy series Almost Live!, which aired locally on Saturday nights at 11:30, bumping Saturday Night Live to midnight. A repackaged version ran on Comedy Central from 1992 to 1993, and during the late 1990s, episodes appeared on WGRZ-TV and other Gannett stations, where they typically aired after Saturday Night Live.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 60 minutes (1984–1989), 30 minutes (1989–1999)
- Company
- King Broadcasting Company
- Country
- United States
- Network
- KING-TV
- First aired
- 23 September 1984
- Last aired
- 22 May 1999
- Related
- The (206)
- The John Report with Bob
- Up Late NW
- Bill Nye the Science Guy
Facts from the source article.
History
Almost Live! began as a weekly half-hour talk and comedy sketch show created by then VP of Programming Bob Jones, hosted by Ross Shafer and patterned after Late Night with David Letterman, airing at 6:00 p.m. on Sundays. It featured spoofs of local and national television, series such as Star Trek, and Seattle-area locales including Ballard, Green Lake, Lynnwood, and Kent. The show expanded to one hour and aired twice a week. After four years and nearly 40 local Emmy Awards and several national awards, Shafer left to host Fox's The Late Show. The show had featured early local musicians in what would later be called grunge, following the local music program Rev, which had John Keister as a frequent contributor. Keister became the permanent replacement host for one season (1988–89) in the one-hour, 6 p.m. Sunday talk show format. After a "Greatest Hits" special aired at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, the show moved into that slot, dropping guest interviews and live band segments to focus on sketch comedy in a half-hour format. KING-TV received NBC permission for a six-month trial to air Almost Live! at 11:30 p.m., delaying Saturday Night Live locally. Host John Keister stated that Saturday Night Live tanked in local ratings and the show won a big award, so the trial continued indefinitely.
Segments
Recurring segments on Almost Live! included "Bill Nye the Science Guy," created by Ross Shafer, who encouraged Boeing aircraft engineer Bill Nye to demonstrate science experiments on the show; Nye later developed the segment into the Bill Nye the Science Guy TV series that debuted on PBS in 1994 after airing in first-run syndication. "Uncle Buzz" was a parody of radio call-in shows with Pat Cashman as the chain-smoking, slick-haired Uncle Buzz giving terrible advice. The show convinced local billionaire Bill Gates to go on a blind date with a lucky contestant in "Win a Date with Bill Gates"; a second version had it as "Win a Date with Bill Nye" before he was nationally famous. "The Beat Goes On" was an attempt by Ross Shafer to reunite Sonny & Cher, but the duo chose to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman instead. Other segments included "Capable Woman," a superheroine who rescues men too manly to admit they cannot do everything; "Jet Guy," a parody of Republic Pictures' 1950s serial character Commando Cody played by the show's Director of Photography/Editor Ralph Bevins; "Me," a talk show hosted by an obnoxiously egotistical woman; "Mind Your Manners, with Billy Quan," a parody of Bruce Lee's martial arts films starring staff cameraman Darrell Suto, which later appeared on Bill Nye the Science Guy; "Nature Walk, with Chuck," featuring a reckless, alcoholic outdoorsman and his naïve young assistant "JIMMIE!"; "Cops In...," a parody of Cops set in various Seattle neighborhoods, also seen on Bill Nye the Science Guy; "Speed Walker," a superhero played by Nye who fights crime while adhering to competitive speed-walking standards; and the "High-Fivin' White Guys," a group of excessively exuberant young middle-class Caucasian males who go out on the town across greater Seattle and once in Vancouver, BC.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Almost Live! first air?
Almost Live! first aired on 23 September 1984.
When did Almost Live! end?
Almost Live! last aired on 22 May 1999.
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