Almost Live! was and continues to be a Washington State treasure. When it first aired back in 1984, it had more of a late night talk show feel; focusing on interviews and the banter between ( then host ) Ross Shafer and guests. For details on early history, I refer you to the Almost Live! Wikipedia page, which can answer many of your questions. But even early on, a solid comedy troupe had formed, and they were performing bits that were giving SNL a run for its money ( perhaps explaining why they became the 11:30 lead-in for that show here in Seattle ). The team was even good enough to land a show on Comedy Central for a while. It was too bad the rest of the country did not understand our sense of humor. However, I still get many emails from folks throughout the USA who remember the show from cable, and are glad to see the bits they remember once again.

The goal of this site is to celebrate the 'local' flavor of the show. Our fine city of Seattle is one that dares to laugh at ourselves. Whether it be how silly our governing officials are, the quirks of people in various counties, or the latest antics of a member of our wonderful athletic teams, the Almost Live! staff always expressed how we all felt by taking them to the woodshed. The show also celebrated our local culture, with guest appearances by local bands, filming on location at well known campuses, businesses, and stadiums. Special guests ran the gambit; from Governor Locke introducing "The Presidents of the United States of America", to the richest man in the world making fun of his own hairstyle ( or lack thereof ).

With that said, please enjoy the new site. As time goes on, the video collection found at www.youtube.com/GeorgeBuford will grow, and more information about the show will be compiled in our new Episode Guide. There is still a long way to go before everything gets put in place, so if you don't see your favorite bit online yet, don't panic! Just be patient, and one day you may be surprised to see a note about your favorite clip in your inbox.

Finally, we would like to say thanks to King 5 Television for making this site possible! Also a big thanks to Ben & Don for scraping together the episode guide that helped shape the database. If there is anybody out there with any old tapes of the show, please drop me an email and let me know. Who knows - you may have a piece of material that even King 5 can't get a hold of! With your help, we will soon have the most comprehensive database of Kent jokes ever on file. Even though they can't figure out how to access it...

my two cents - tax = no sense,
George Buford