>> loren michaels, this canadian comedy producer, was given free rein. >> hi. i'm loren michaels. >> he hires improv comics. >> rehearsal and warmup, let's do 28 face slaps. come on. slap. come on. pick a hand. >> george carlin was the first host. wanted to be permanent host. >> nice to see you. welcome and thanks for joining us live. >> there were a lot of names bandied about in terms of permanent hosts. >> that's one of those tv rules you mustn't break, until you do. then you realize, why don't you have a different host every week? but it was the cast that finally won people's hearts. >> come on, who is this? >> andy-gram. >> you cut your own steaks. we give you the sauce. >> i'm barbara wawa. >> thank you, thank you very much. you're beautiful. you're beautiful. thank you. >> you were drawn to the tv set, because you knew something insane might happen. >> live, live. >> live from new york! >> partly because it was live. partly because you knew television was now in the hands of the television generation. ♪ >> and these were kids in quotes who just might do anything. >> yes, having sex with women, the president within these very walls.