The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective
An in-depth journey into the legacy of one of television's most iconic and influential shows - Saturday Night Live. Through deep dives into its most memorable eras, behind-the-scenes stories, and analysis of its evolution, we celebrate and debate all things SNL - the show that has become an institution, defining comedy for over 50 years.
Episodes
172 episodes
Deep Thoughts: SNL Without Lorne
A companion to our discussion about the end of the original era of SNL, we talk with biographer Susan Morrison about Lorne Michaels’ side of things. Susan joins us to discuss Lorne’s mindset going into Season Five, how much he (...
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46:26
Deep Thoughts: The End of SNL?
Why did Lorne Michaels leave SNL? How hard did NBC try to keep him? Did a future US senator really sabotage everything?Saturday Night Live historians and authors Doug Hill & Jeff Weingrad join us once ...
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54:51
Bill Swerski's Tournament Talk: Best Bits of SNL's Original Era
As we bring our look back on the first five years of SNL to a close, we rounded up some of our favorite and most knowledgeable guests for a very special Tournament Talk. Together, they help us discuss and debate the “Best Bits” of ...
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1:59:37
The Early Years of SNL: Season 5 Recap
Well, we made it! Season Five of Saturday Night Live has come to an end.Brad and Gary look back and discuss what they liked (and didn’t), what they learned, and what surprised them from the final season of SNL’s origina...
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56:38
The Early Years of SNL: S05E20 Buck Henry/Andrew Gold; Andrae Crouch, The Voices of Unity (5/24/80)
It’s the end of an era. Saturday Night Live brings the original era to a close as Buck Henry (naturally) hosts the season finale of Season Five. Andrew Gold (it’s okay, you can ask “Who?”) and Andrae Crouch w...
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1:11:57
My SNL Story: Marc Shaiman
Marc Shaiman has won a Tony award, two Grammy awards, two Emmy awards, and has been nominated for seven Oscars. Unsurprisingly, after a career spanning over 50 years rubbing shoulders with the "who's who" of entertainment he is not at a ...
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54:35
The Early Years of SNL: S05E19 Steve Martin/Paul & Linda McCartney, 3D (5/17/80)
Steve Martin returns to host SNL for his 8th time. He won’t return to the show (aside from a memorable cameo) for over 6 years. Perhaps it was because of the deer outfit they had him wear?Steve hosting Saturday Night ...
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58:24
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Bill Swerski's Tournament Talk: Favorite SNL Olympic Moments
With Saturday Night Live off for a few weeks due to the Olympics, we thought it would be fun to get some friends together to debate our “Favorite SNL Olympic Moments.” That’s right, Tournament Talk is BACK. Sadly, Bill Swerski is not.<...
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1:30:18
The Early Years of SNL: S05E18 Bob Newhart/The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Bruce Cockburn (5/10/80)
SNL finally gets comedy legend Bob Newhart to host the show, and we finally get back together for a “live” episode. In honor of being in the same room, we try something a little different and record immediately after watching ea...
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57:25
The Early Years of SNL: S05E17 Strother Martin/The Specials (4/19/80)
Just when you thought Season 5 of SNL might have thrown in the towel, it delivers one of THE BEST episodes of the season! Host Strother Martin knocks it out of the park – whether carrying a sketch or simply in a supporting role ...
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1:07:08
My SNL Story: Andy Aaron
While the average SNL fan might not know Andy Aaron by name, they almost certainly know his work—his short films have been showcased on the show several times. His most well-known, "Push Button to Cross Street," was featured in ...
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51:55
The Early Years of SNL: S05E16 Burt Reynolds/Anne Murray (4/12/80)
Not all episodes of SNL are created equal. Some of them…well, they just miss the mark. That is a polite way of describing Burt Reynolds’ hosting of Saturday Night Live’s late Season Five entry.This episode is wel...
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52:42
My SNL Story: Matt Neuman
Veteran comedy writer Matt Neuman, whose story starts all the way back in the early 70s, joins us today to share his SNL story. He talks about the creation of his own sketch comedy show, The Chicken Little Show (where Father Gui...
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1:10:03
The Early Years of SNL: S05E15 Richard Benjamin & Paula Prentiss/The Grateful Dead (4/5/80)
SNL makes history as Richard Benjamin returns to host – this time with his wife Paula Prentiss – to be the first husband/wife team to ever host the show. In honor of the occasion, we did the only thing that seemed right –...
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1:00:59
The Early Years of SNL: S05E14 - Saturday Night Live's 100th Episode (3/15/80)
Milestones are supposed to shine. SNL’s 100th did something stranger: it skipped a host, stacked cameos, and unintentionally made flogging history when Paul Shaffer became the first person to drop the F bomb during the live broa...
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1:25:43
The Early Years of SNL: S05E13 Rodney Dangerfield/The J. Geils Band (3/8/80)
Throughout the storied history of SNL, one constant move has been booking hot stand-up comedians to host the show. And in early 1980, there were very few hotter than Rodney Dangerfield, who having already cameoed once in Season ...
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1:01:15
The Early Years of SNL: S05E12 Kirk Douglas/Sam & Dave (2/23/80)
Kirk Douglas hosted Saturday Night Live? Yes, yes he did. Along with R&B legends Sam & Dave as the musical guest. This did happen.How did it turn out? Well…the show opens with Douglas doing what looks to be...
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1:04:35
VINTAGE NR4PTP: Tournament Talk: Favorite SNL Holiday Moments
Ho, ho, Hoooo! Our season of celebrating the holidays comes to a close with this VINTAGE re-release of our very first edition of Tournament Talk. Fittingly, for this inaugural outing, we brought a few of our friends in to discuss and deba...
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2:02:29
Deep Thoughts: Is Scrooged a Christmas Classic?
We continue to celebrate the holiday season by looking back at a movie that is a must watch this time of year – Scrooged!Bill Murray returns to acting after a four-year hiatus to star in this modern retelling of Charles Dic...
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46:05
VINTAGE NR4PTP: The Early Years of SNL: S2E10 Candice Bergen/Frank Zappa (12/11/76)
Christmas is coming early this year to The Not Ready for Prime Time Project. This week we’re re-releasing a VINTAGE episode of The Early Years of SNL as we look back at not only the best holiday episode of the original (or any) era, but ...
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1:06:05
The Early Years of SNL: S05E11 Elliott Gould/Gary Numan (2/16/80)
SNL looks to pick up the pieces as it turns into the back half of Season 5 as old standby Elliott Gould returns to become the third host in show history to do it a fifth time (a feat that wouldn’t be repeated for over six years)...
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1:09:57
The Early Years of SNL: S05E10 Chevy Chase/Marianne Faithfull, Tom Scott (2/9/80)
They say “you can never go home again.” But maybe, what they meant was that you just simply shouldn’t. Original Not Ready for Prime Time Player and first breakout star of SNL, Chevy Chase returns for his second time hosting and ...
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1:02:14
VINTAGE NR4PTP: The Early Years of SNL: S1E6 Lily Tomlin (11/22/75)
In the spirit of giving thanks, we wanted to say thank you to everyone with a VINTAGE re-release of The Early Years of SNL that celebrates an episode of Saturday Night Live that originally aired 50 years ago this week. This episode of ...
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51:34
The Early Years of SNL: S05E09 Teri Garr/The B-52's (1/26/80)
SNL steps into the new decade with film and television actress Teri Garr as the first host of the 80s. But, after closing out the 70s in strong fashion, the show takes a few steps backwards. It seems to have lost any sense of id...
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58:32
