The Dana Carvey Show

Robert Smigel on how The Dana Carvey Show came about on ABC; on putting together the writing staff for that show; on writers Charlie Kaufman, Jon Glaser, and Steve Carrell; on Carrell’s contribution to the sketch “Germans Who Say Nice Things”; on the “Idiot Pranksters” sketches written by Louis C.K.; on the individuality of comedy ideas; on writer Stephen Colbert; on a sketch with Colbert and Carrell that wound up getting them both hired on The Daily Show; on Dana Carvey's signature characters from SNL and why they did not transfer over to own new show

Robert Smigel on the controversial opening sketch for the pilot episode of The Dana Carvey Showwhere a fictionalized President Bill Clinton breastfeeds a baby; on not realizing the show that preceded Carvey’s (which was Home Improvement) was a show that kids watched since Smigel himself had never watched it before; on the inevitable backlash to the first episode which Smigel had called resulting in a “cruel prank” on the unsuspecting audience; on the show's sponsor, Taco Bell, and its reaction to the pilot; on how the show was initially received (by getting thousands of complaints); on producer George Schlatter being an early supporter of the show

Robert Smigel on what he learned from producing The Dana Carvey Show; on one of the funniest sketches he was involved in on The Dana Carvey Show, about Gerald Ford, that was never aired until Smigel and Dana Carvey revived it later for Saturday Night Live; on the inspiration for the sketch which was hearing news anchor Dan Rather pre-recording an obituary for Ronald Reagan (who was still alive at the time); on having to fight to get the sketch aired on SNL; on why he had trouble getting his sketches on SNL; on finally being able to get the Gerald Ford sketch on the air only when Dana Carvey came back to host Saturday Night Live in 1996

Robert Smigel on the animated sketches he created for Saturday Night Live; on the "Cluckin' Chicken" piece which he first created for The Dana Carvey Show and later brought to Saturday Night Live; on Adam Sandler as the voice of the "Cluckin' Chicken"; on hiring animation director J.J. Sedelmaier for these pieces; on why he turned to animation as a vehicle for comedy; on wanting to be a cartoonist