"K Bhatia" sent this to me regarding the Johnny Carson episodes that Antenna TV will be running…
The 1974 episode with Don Rickles which you referenced has two oddities…It was during the musicians' strike, so the music is all canned, and the audience is mostly NBC affiliates in town for their convention. There are several jokes about Bob Howard and Dave Tebet that probably will be understood only by you, me and 6 other people on Guam.
Well, that's one way to overcome music clearances. For those who don't know, Bob Howard was the president of NBC at the time. Dave Tebet was an NBC vice-president who specialized in talent relations. Tebet was often cited as the guy who suggested hiring Johnny to host The Tonight Show and handled the signing of him.
I keep thinking how much it would help old shows like this if the channel hired some guy to "host" the show; to come on at the beginning for a minute to explain references like that…or why everyone's laughing at mentions of Wilbur Mills or Ralph Williams. I suppose it was discussed at Antenna TV but vetoed by someone noting how much they're already spending to acquire these shows and clear all that has to be cleared. Oh, well. At least six folks on Guam, Mr. (or Ms.) Bhatia and I will be laughing.