The S1E1 Podcast
Join us every week where we’ll be picking a different sitcom and judging it solely on its very first televised episode. In doing so we’ll be challenging ourselves to erase any knowledge of future episodes so we can deliver an unbiased opinion. At the end of each show we’ll tell you if this is a show we would green light or cancel. Tune in to find out which mega shows wouldn’t make the cut, what forgettable mistakes we give a pass, and who started exactly where they should be.
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
S1E1: Live Bonus Episode (03/09/23)
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
In celebration of the release of our 100th episode, we decided to go live for the first time for a very special bonus episode. Here we go over some of our backstory, the story of how our show came to be, and take questions from you!
(NOTE: This is the audio straight from the live video)
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www.S1E1POD.com
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Thursday Mar 09, 2023
S1E1: Seinfeld
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Seinfeld is without a doubt one of the biggest shows of all time. The show was widely popular throughout its 9 season run and somehow 25 years since its final episode still remains one of the most watched shows through syndication and streaming. Its modern day pop culture relevance is insurmountable. However, "The Show About Nothing" was nearly "The Show That Never Was". When the pilot was originally tested the results were overwhelmingly negative. Somehow the episode still made it to air and viewers seemingly liked it more than the initial test audience. This eventually lead to a four episode season being ordered which was the smallest order in US TV history. The rest is pretty much history.
Will the S1E1 guys side with the test audience or will they be giving it the green-light? Find out as they deep dive Seinfeld's pilot episode, "The Seinfeld Chronicles".
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Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Richards, Lee Garlington, Jason Alexander, & Pamela Brull
Instagram & Twitter: @S1E1POD
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
S1E1: Frasier
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
When you look at some of the greatest sitcoms of all times many either had a spin-off series or there were at least plans to make one. Cheers was no different. Only four months after the bar where everybody knows your name closed for the final time we found ourselves once again catching up with Dr. Frasier Crane. The producers of the new show didn't want the network demanding that his Cheers costars fill the first season with guest spots so they decided to take the character and move him as far from Boston as possible. Now we see Frasier moving back to his hometown of Seattle to work as the host of a call-in psychiatry show on talk radio.
"Frasier" went on to be one of the most critically acclaimed comedy series of all time and one of the most successful spin-off series in television history. Despite the show's pilot episode winning multiple Emmy Awards, can it also successfully earn itself an S1E1 green-light? Listen as we deep dive Episode 1 of Frasier, "The Good Son".
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Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, John Mahoney & Moose The Dog
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Thursday Feb 23, 2023
S1E1: Are You Being Served?
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
"Are You Being Served?" is a British sitcom that first premiered in 1972. The show is about the misadventures between the staff of the women's and men's clothing sections who are now forced to share a floor at a large department store. Inspired by one of the show's co-creators experiences working at a clothing store, this show was originally created as part of the Comedy Playhouse series. After the episode was already filmed the BBC actually chose to not broadcast the program. The pilot eventually got an opportunity to be aired as a filler during the 1972 Summer Olympics when the coverage of the games was interrupted by the Munich massacre on 8 September 1972. The show was well received and actually lead to a full series being produced. This eventually turned into a 10 series run with a movie, spin offs, specials, and international adaptations.
Over 50 years later does the pilot episode still hold up or is it better to leave some things in the past? Find out as we take a deep dive into the original episode of Are You Being Served?
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Starring: Mollie Sugden, Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Arthur Brough, & Nicholas Smith
Instagram and Twitter: @S1E1POD
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
S1E1: New Girl
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
"New Girl" is a show about a bubbly and quirky teacher in her early 30s named Jess who finds herself living in a loft with three men she found in an ad due to abruptly moving out of her old apartment after catching her boyfriend cheating. The show was inspired by its creator, Elizabeth Meriwether's experiences bouncing from Craigslist sublet to Craigslist sublet, for four years in L.A. when she was in her twenties. Originally working under the title "Chicks & Dicks" the show originally was meant to be more of a "Will & Grace" style comedy before evolving into the more socially oriented version that it became.
After an impressive seven season run does revisiting the show's pilot episode help us see why this show was such a huge hit with a loyal following or are we left leaving comments that will force us to feed the Douchebag Jar. Listen and find out.
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Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Damon Wayans Jr., Hannah Simone, & Mary Elizabeth Ellis
Instagram and Twitter: @S1E1POD
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
S1E1: Coach
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
"Coach" stars Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, the head football coach at Minnesota State University. He created a near perfect life for himself at the campus until one day he was stunned to find out that his daughter who he had barely seen over the last 16 years had decided to enroll there. Now Hayden is forced trying to balance leading a NCAA Division I-A school and being a dad.
The show produced 200 episodes over its nine season run. As we find out, the decision was made to push the original pilot back one spot in order to air the episode "Kelly and the Professor" first. Did ABC make the right call swapping the two? Find out as we deep dive the show's first televised episode.
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Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Jerry Van Dyke, Clare Carey, Bill Fagerbakke, Alan Rosenberg, & Travis McKenna
Instagram and Twitter: @S1E1POD
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
S1E1: Lucky Louie
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
A show that the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights called "barbaric". Lucky Louie was an HBO original that was a bit of a departure from most of their other programing. To start, the channel rarely made sitcoms and of the few this was the first that was actually recorded in front of a live studio audience. Lucky Louie was also without the constraints of traditional sitcoms in that it had no language limitations. The show stars Louis C.K. who plays a part time mechanic struggling to get by with a wife and daughter. The show was largely inspired by Norman Lear sitcoms and "The Honeymooners". They even went as far as to use the blueprints for The Honeymooners set to create their own. Despite promising ratings HBO canceled Lucky Louie after only one season with speculation that they just didn't want to associate with a show that didn't fit their high class image.
Does the show take it a little too far or was HBO correct in pulling the plug early? Find out as we deep dive the show's pilot episode.
www.S1E1POD.com
Starring: Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon, Mike Hagerty, Laura Kightlinger, Jim Norton, Rick Shapiro, Kim Hawthorne, & Jerry Minor
Thursday Jan 26, 2023
S1E1: That ’90s Show
Thursday Jan 26, 2023
Thursday Jan 26, 2023
With "That '90s Show" we once again find ourselves hanging out (down the street) in the Foreman's basement. This time however the show focuses around Leia, the daughter of Eric and Donna when she decides to spend the summer with her grandparents in Point Place, Wisconsin. This show brings back all the familiar faces and locations of That '70s Show while also focusing on creating a new batch of characters to follow. This '70s spinoff succeeds where That '80s Show failed in using the source material to set the framework.
But does That '90s Show just use the nostalgia of the original just to bait and switch you into watching something completely different or does it truly capture the essence of the show we all came to know and love. Find out when the boys do a deep dive of the pilot episode, "That '90s Pilot".
www.S1E1POD.com
Starring: Kurtwood Smith, Debra Jo Rupp, Callie Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide, Mace Coronel, Reyn Doi, Sam Morelos, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Ashton Kutcher, & Mila Kunis
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
S1E1: Curb Your Enthusiasm
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Seinfeld is unarguably one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. But on it, the spotlight only shined on one of the show's two creators. With "Curb Your Enthusiasm" we finally get to see Larry David take the lead role on a show of his own. Here, he plays a fictionalized version of himself on this mostly improvised HBO original. The show has been critically acclaimed and been running for over 22 years. Despite that Larry would like you to lower your expectations when first watching it and not go in holding it to the standard of his prior success. A large factor that went into giving the show its name.
Did the pilot episode meet the S1E1 boys standards? Listen as they deep dive Curb's first episode, "The Pants Tent".
www.S1E1POD.com
Starring: Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines, Richard Lewis, Kathy Griffin, Sofia Milos, Susie Essman, Robin Ruzan
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
S1E1: Mike & Molly
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
In the modern television era we've seen couples meet in just about every situation you could dream up. In 2010 however, we were presented with a pretty unique origin story for TV romance when Mike Biggs and Molly Flynn met one another during an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. The series stars Billy Gardell (Bob Hearts Abishola) & Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) as two overweight people who both struggle with portion control all while falling in love with each other.
Will this episode leave us wanting seconds? Find out as we do a deep dive of "Mike & Molly".
www.S1E1POD.com
Starring: Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy, Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi, David Anthony Higgins, & Swoosie Kurtz