At this stage TV ratings were published with only the Network Top 20, meaning programmes on the minority channel of BBC2 were extremely unlikely to feature. The release of Top 10s per channel began in 1981.
Des makes an early acknowledgement of the criticism he received, and would continue to receive throughout the whole of the chat show's run, telling Jay Leno: "I get accused sometimes of laughing too much."
There's a sizeable amount of racial humour in this edition which may jar when watched in the modern age. Jay Leno does a routine about asking if all the shop owners in Pakistan are from England, with Des stating (of Pakistani shop owners) that "They're all here." Later Leno does a routine about the pointlessness of credits in Japanese films as no one will know who the actors are, while Bob Monkhouse impersonates an "African".
The sequence with Bob Monkhouse's zip being undone (see "goofs") was referenced by Des in Episode #5.2 (1981), where he stated it was heavily edited for television, perhaps explaining why the studio audience are laughing so loudly at what seems a brief incident onscreen.
When Des mentions it in the later episode, the audience laugh, causing Des to say: "You saw that? You didn't see all of it. We took out... quite a bit. Eight minutes were cut out of that."
When Des mentions it in the later episode, the audience laugh, causing Des to say: "You saw that? You didn't see all of it. We took out... quite a bit. Eight minutes were cut out of that."