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 al things SNL - the show that has become an institution, defining comedy for the last 50 years.
The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective
The Early Years of SNL: S04E17 Milton Berle/Ornette Coleman (4/14/79)
Comedy legend Milton Berle's SNL hosting gig has gone down as one of the most infamous - and disastrous - events in late-night television history. In this episode of Saturday Night Live - widely considered one of the worst of all time (not just of the original era) - “Mr. Television” brings his 1950s showmanship, sensibility, and bravado to the comedy landscape of the late 1970s. And the results are… A-mazing!
From the opening monologue (cringeworthy in any era), Berle's constant adlibbing, camera-mugging, and pre-planned "spontaneous" moments derail the show, creating palpable tension that resonates through every painful bit. Behind the scenes, Berle's legendary ego only amplified the problems. Luckily, there are a few sketches that do NOT include the host, and they work quite well (for the most part). And, although only given one number, Ornette Coleman delivers as musical guest.
As with all “train wrecks” from this era, we bring in The SNL in Review’s Andy Hoglund to pontificate on all that went wrong with this outing, what few bright spots there might be, and to help get to the bottom of who is to blame for this fiasco.
Is this one really as bad as history (and Lorne Michaels) would have us believe?
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