The S1E1 Podcast

S1E1: Are You Being Served?

"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
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S1E1: New Girl

"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
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S1E1: Coach

"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
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S1E1: Lucky Louie

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.
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Starring: Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon, Mike Hagerty, Laura Kightlinger, Jim Norton, Rick Shapiro, Kim Hawthorne, & Jerry Minor

S1E1: That ’90s Show

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".
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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

S1E1: Curb Your Enthusiasm

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".
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Starring: Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines, Richard Lewis, Kathy Griffin, Sofia Milos, Susie Essman, Robin Ruzan

S1E1: Mike & Molly

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".
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Starring: Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy, Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi, David Anthony Higgins, & Swoosie Kurtz

S1E1: The Golden Girls

From its debut in in 1985 all the way to modern day "The Golden Girls" has remained a staple in modern television. Despite the fact that the series finale first aired over 20 years ago the show manages to remain just as relevant in pop culture now than it was then. All this despite being a show about a group of older women. The show centered around a 4 women who all ended up living together in Miami after finding themselves either divorced or widowed, a concept that may not initially leap out at you as comedic gold. But the real core of the show is the bond these women had created and their strong friendship which in turn is relatable to viewers all ages.
The show had an interesting origin. One year prior to its debut NBC held a presentation to help promote the network’s programming to potential advertisers. At this presentation actresses Doris Roberts and Selma Diamond performed a sketch in which they parodied the network's hit show "Miami Vice" where they played two retirees playing cards in a Florida community and named it "Miami Nice". The sketch was a hit among its audience and as result the execs at NBC decided to take the concept and develop it into the show we know how as The Golden Girls.
Despite the show's popularity and fan base was the show an instant hit right from episode one? Listen as the S1E1 guys do a deep dive on the show's pilot episode, "The Engagement".
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Starring: Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, & Estelle Getty

S1E1: The Single Guy

The Single Guy was a sitcom starring Jonathan Silverman as a struggling New York writer attempting to manage his way through the dating scene. The show premiered in 1995 on NBC and was immediately thrown into its Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup. The show was given the opportunity of a lifetime when thrown in the 8:30 timeslot placing it right in between the networks two biggest hits, "Friends" & "Seinfeld". The show however was written-off as one in a long line of "singles in the city" sitcoms that emerged in the mid-1990s. After only two seasons The Single Guy was dropped by its network, leaving it as one of the most highly rated shows to ever be canceled.
Was the show just a product of "right place, right time" or did it have enough substance to survive on its own? Find out as we do a deep dive into the show's pilot episode. 
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Starring: Jonathan Silverman, Jessica Hecht, Mark Moses, Joey Slotnick, Ming-Na Wen, Ernest Borgnine, Jeff Bornstein, Olivia d'Abo and Larry Miller

S1E1: Merry Happy Whatever

You would never be able to have an entire sitcom focused around a holiday like Christmas with weekly episodic television. A show celebrating the same holiday for 4 to 6 months doesn't make much sense. Fortunately, due to the Netflix format where an entire season drops at once it's a lot easier to make something like that happen. Unfortunately, the result of that is this weeks show, "Merry Happy Whatever". For whatever reason Netflix still hasn't been able to knock a sitcom out of the park. The show follows Don (Played by Dennis Quaid) The head of the Quinn household as all his children return home to follow their annual Christmas traditions. Routine becomes a little complicated when his youngest child Emily brings home her boyfriend Matt from California for the holiday.
Will Merry Happy Whatever follow the same fate as the past Netflix original sitcoms S1E1 has covered or will the holiday spirt take over for the five this week? Listen as they do a deep dive review of the show's pilot episode, "Welcome, Matt"
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Starring: Dennis Quaid, Bridgit Mendler, Brent Morin, Ashley Tisdale, Siobhan Murphy, Adam Rose, Elizabeth Ho, Hayes MacArthur, Garcelle Beauvais, & Tyler Ritter