The Early Years of SNL: S05E15 Richard Benjamin & Paula Prentiss/The Grateful Dead (4/5/80) Artwork

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.

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The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

The Early Years of SNL: S05E15 Richard Benjamin & Paula Prentiss/The Grateful Dead (4/5/80)

January 20, 2026 • Two Pints Productions, Inc.

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 – dragged our wives onto the show to talk about this episode.

Unfortunately for them, this is a weird episode of Saturday Night Live to walk into – not bad (not at all), just weird. Especially if you haven’t been following the show up to this point. While both Benjamin and Prentiss deliver fine performances, they are rarely on screen together. That, coupled with almost a full episode of “slice of life” sketches, makes this a very interesting watch. Even the appearance of some classic recurring characters feels off.

Did our wives enjoy watching a 45-year-old comedy program? And would they come back and do it again?

Speaking of returns, The Grateful Dead are back to sing a couple of tunes from their upcoming album.

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