Dick Martin (comedian) was an immediate hit, becoming the #1 American television program within two months of its debut. It was the top-rated show in its second and third seasons. "Laugh-In" had a kaleidoscopic format, with what was then a uniquely fast-paced stream-of-consciousness style of blackout gags, double entendre, topical satire and catchphrases, much of it delivered by a cast of then-unknowns such as Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, and Arte Johnson. At the center of the maelstrom stood the veterans Rowan and Martin, who bemusedly made no effort to slow down the program. Martin later said, "We designed it so that we are
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In it with a razor blade or guillotine cutter and splicing with video tape, in a manner similar to film editing. This had the incidental benefit of ensuring that the master tape would be preserved, since a spliced tape could not be recycled for further use. "Laugh-In" editor Arthur Schneider won an Emmy Award in 1968 for his pioneering use of the "jump cut" – the unique editing style in which a sudden cut from one shot to another was made without a fade-out. When the series was restored for airing by the Trio Cable Network in 1996, the aforementioned edits