By Amanda Love, Special to the Chronicle

I walked into Studio A and onto the set of Thursday Night Live last week not quite sure what to expect. Busy technicians focused on their work breezed by talking earnestly into headsets, and the audience buzzed with anticipation.

I took a seat in the front row, noticing that although the technicians seemed focused, they were making jokes to each other and to the audience, creating a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

After one false start and some more joking around, the show finally started, opening with a hilarious skit where a couple walks into a pet store only to find that the inventory consists of dead puppies. The dialogue was witty and the dead puppy salesman had an impeccable deadpan that had me out of my seat laughing.

It wasn’t perfect.  The script, like most of the skits I saw that night, had moments ranging from hilariously amusing to repetitive and unconvincing.  However, I enjoyed most of the live skits and appreciated the range of comedy presented; there was even a skit called “Oh Betty!” where a posh British woman admitted to having a fetish for old ladies, particularly for Betty White!

The live TNL cast is made up of very talented actors with great comic timing, but I did note that a couple of the scripts left a little to be desired plot-wise. In addition to live skits, TNL also aired multiple pre-filmed packages, which were a mixed bag of skits that made you chuckle, skits that made you laugh out loud, and an unfortunate couple skits that failed to be entertaining in the slightest.

One called “Alex and Anthony 1 and 2” had incredible cinematography and was side-splitting.  The smaller and simpler packages, like the series of Facebook advice segments that detailed frankly how to not look like a pretentious douchebag online had the whole audience laughing.

One of the best parts of Thursday Night Live’s premiere was the performance of “Don’t Upset the Bear,” an alternative band with unique vocals and high-energy, hard-rock instrumentals paired with thoughtful lyrics. It was the kind of beat that pounded in the ears and had the entire audience bobbing their heads.

I also thought one of the funniest parts of the show was a sardonic and amusing satire on the news that elicited a steady stream of chuckles from everyone present. The best line was when the “reporter” started to talk about the politics of Occupy Wall Street, paused to listen to a voice in his headset before saying, “Nevermind! America is great, God bless you all.”

I was struck by the cleverness and sophistication of most of the humor throughout the show, and was pleased to see that it rarely digressed into cheap jokes.

Overall, the crew and cast clearly have a lot of fun doing what they do, and that translates directly into what they present on the screen: a fun, relaxed atmosphere that’s all about having a good time and sharing that with their audience.  If you have nothing to do on a Thursday night check out TNL.