Johnny mentions a joke from November that was included in a segment on state rivalry humor; the joke contrasted a parrot and a girl from Nevada. He then reads an angry letter from Nevada Governor Richard H. Bryan in which he denounces the joke as bigoted, and insists on an apology. Instead, Johnny introduces the segment "Lighten Up", in which he ups the ante by expanding on the joke. Tim Conway talks about the origin of some of his characters from "The Carol Burnett Show", and then recalls working as an exercise boy at a Cleveland racetrack - which influenced his new movie "The Longshot"; a clip is shown. Johnny then interviews jockey Lyle Dorf, who talks about his exercise routine and race tactics. Hal Linden comments on the popularity of his former series "Barney Miller", and then discusses his new series "Blacke's Magic". He explains that he insisted on doing the magic on the show himself, although his lack of technical expertise required working with magicians who taught him the illusions, as well as some creative editing. He then performs a card trick for Johnny - one which requires very little handling of the cards.