Revolution Televised.pdf

156 That Nigger’s Crazy
network refused. In addition to the four shows he agreed to follow
through on, he agreed to do six specials for NBC, two per year over
the following three years. Even so, like black television performers
before him, Pryor employed the strategy of counternarratives and
used mainstream magazines to rail against the censors at NBC.
I think they hire people, about 6,000 of them, to do nothing but
mess with people . . . for somebody to tell us that ain’t right and
they weren’t with us and didn’t feel our energies and are not working
with us, that’s just asinine. I think that after they got me, they
did not want me when they realized that I was not going for that
oke-doke pressure thing. [Comedy] should be related that way—
from my point of view of Black awareness and where I come from
and what I see. They couldn’t see that. I don’t believe they really
wanted to. 22
However, whenever he was able to do so, he used his control over
the show not only to openly criticize NBC but also to expose the
U.S. audience to vernacular black humor. Pryor created skits that
ranged from silly, to experimental, to pieces critical of mainstream
politics and U.S. stereotypical views of black people. He introduced
unknown talent to the mainstream audience and experimented
with both comedy and drama as art forms.
The Richard Pryor Show aired from September 13 to October
20, 1977, and, like Saturday Night Live, the show featured a
regular cast of supporting actors, some of whom gained in profile in
later years. Cast members were Paul Mooney, a long-time friend and
collaborator of Pryor’s, Tim Reid, Marsha Warfield, Argus Hamilton,
Sandra Bernhardt, Victor DeLapp, “Detroit” John Witherspoon,
Alegra Allison, Jimmy Martinez, and a young Robin Williams. From
the beginning, the network proved problematic. Although promised
that his show would be scheduled no earlier than 9 p.m., the
show aired on Tuesdays at 8 p.m., during the family hour and opposite
ABC’s Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley, shows which
were number one and number two in the ratings. 23
With the show scheduled opposite the most popular programs
in America, the audience was not encouraged to find The Richard
Pryor Show. Pryor also made certain creative decisions that may
have had a negative impact on viewership. He decided that the
show shouldn’t feature famous guest stars, who potentially could
have attracted a wider audience. The show did not receive the at-