The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

We are extremely excited to debut a new show on The Not Ready for Prime Time Project . “ My SNL Story ” is where we get the chance to talk with the people who played an integral part in the life of Saturday Night Live and hear THEIR story about the show and time on it. In our first installment we talk to Mitchell Laurance , who worked on SNL from 1975-1980. Mitchell talks about what it was like be...

The GOAT Buck Henry returns for his 7th hosting gig & SNL pulls out all the stops! Beloved characters make triumphant returns while new ones debut in this memorable outing. Plus, The Grateful Dead are on hand to deliver one of the best musical performances of the original era. The SNL Hall of Fame 's Bill Kenney joins us to talk about it all! --------------------------------- Subscribe &a...

Steve Martin returns for his 6th appearance hosting Saturday Night Live , bringing Van Morrison along as musical guest. The cast lights up with one of their favorite hosts, dusting off some beloved characters and recurring sketches. Plus, a fresh face in the writers' room knocks it out of the... oh wait, sorry folks - we'll have to finish this description when Steve returns in February!...

Introducing a little something we’re calling " Deep Thoughts ," a new series that is replacing our traditional bonus episodes. This series explores SNL-adjacent content and special projects throughout the show's history. Our debut episode examines NBC's first Season 4 off-week entry, the film " Things We Did Last Summer ," (directed by SNL veteran Gary Weis) that aire...

We're excited to premiere a new show here on The Not Ready for Prime Time Project! " Bill Swerski's Tournament Talk " takes SNL fandom to the next level by turning beloved Saturday Night Live topics into rousing tournament-style showdowns. Our premiere episode tackles " Favorite SNL Holiday Moments ," where sixteen legendary sketches, bits, and moments from the show&a...

Of all the memorable mishaps in Saturday Night Live 's history, perhaps none are as infamous as Frank Zappa' s return to the show as both host AND musical guest. We couldn't tackle this one by ourselves so we welcome back SNLinReview 's Andy Hoglund to help explore this controversial moment in SNL history. Was this episode really that bad? And, if so, who was to blame? Was Zapp...

How does Saturday Night Live follow up The Rolling Stones as host? With Muhammad Ali, of course. And when that doesn't pan out and they go with... Fred Willard ! Fresh from his acclaimed run on Fernwood 2 Night and America 2-Night , Willard brings his unique comic energy to an episode that has many recurring characters (including the return of Mr. Bill) as well as a second half that takes som...

Saturday Night Live is BACK w/ The Rolling Stones pulling double duty on the season four premiere.  An episode that may have been more concerned with the spectacle than the content, we basically get a “best of” collection of characters and sketches with nothing really new or exceptional in terms of comedy. The Stones don’t do much to help the cause as their first appearance performing on American...

And…we’re BACK! But, before diving into Season 4, we've got some exciting news: The Not Ready for Prime Time Podcast is becoming The Not Ready for Prime Time Project ! Don't panic – there is nothing you need to do (except to Subscribe, Rate, & Review!). Our weekly dose of classic SNL discussions are not going anywhere. We're just adding more ways to celebrate the show.  We expla...

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were at the forefront of American comedy in the late 1970s and early '80s. Emerging from The Second City, they both joined the original cast of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players as Saturday Night Live was being formed in 1975. On that show, they helped redefine television comedy and ushered in a new era of revolutionary satire. By 1979, they had a #1 hit record...

On October 11, 1975, Lorne Michaels and a diverse group of writers and performers—most of whom had little to no television experience—forever altered the landscape of American comedy. The launching of Saturday Night (later to be known as Saturday Night Live ) would prove to be a groundbreaking show that would redefine the possibilities of television and evolve into a comedic institution, celebrati...

Michael O'Donoghue is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of Saturday Night Live , yet his impact on the show’s early success is undeniable. As the original head writer when the show premiered in 1975, O'Donoghue led an inexperienced writers' room that would go on to revolutionize television comedy. While he was instrumental in shaping what SNL would be in those early...

Well, well, well...the infamous Season Three of SNL has come to end. What a ride it has been. Brad and Gary revisit this landmark season of Saturday Night Live to highlight what they love, what they learned, and what surprised them the most. They pick their favorite hosts, musical guest, episodes, sketches, and the season's overall "Best Bits."  They also try to answer the question:...

Saturday Night offers fans a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes efforts of Saturday Night Live 's premiere episode. Brad and Gary caught a matinee of the film, which delves into the 90 minutes before the iconic show went on air, live, on October 11th, 1975. While some creative liberties were taken, it's a must-watch for any SNL fan. Stay tuned as we share our insights on the movie, the c...

Another season of Saturday Night Live comes to a close and that can only mean one thing....the return of Buck Henry ! Buck is back for his 6th time hosting to close out Season Three with what most people agree is one of the most bizarre musical acts in the history of the show... Sun Ra .  And if SNL has Buck on the show we, of course, have Jon Schneider on the podcast. Taking a break from The Satu...

Sometimes you need to make concessions to get what you want. That seems to be the case with this episode of Saturday Night Live . How else does one explain Gary Tigerman as the musical guest?  "You'd like Richard Dreyfuss , fresh off becoming the youngest Oscar winner ever, to host?  Sure, he'd love to do the show. But, he'd like to bring his friend along."  Some call it &...

We're back for Part 2 of this legendary episode of Saturday Night Live . The hits just keep on coming as we get the memorable "Dancing in the Dark" w/ Steve & Gilda, a classic "Nerds" sketch, and The Blues Brothers return for one more number.  Oh right, and then of course there is the iconic "King Tut" performance. Original Saturday Night Live writer Marilyn...

This is it! The episode many people put up as the greatest in Saturday Night Live history. Steve Martin returns for his THIRD time hosting this season. The Blues Brothers are introduced to the world as the musical guest. And, if you didn't know any better, you just might think this was a "Best of" compilation. There is so much great material and so much going on that we couldn'...

Michael Sarrazin was a Canadian. He was an actor. And, near the end of the Season Three, he hosted Saturday Night Live . A jazz pianist ( Keith Jarrett ) and an all-tuba band (Howard Shore's Gravity) are the musical guests. None of this is made up.  There is a lot going on and a lot to talk about in this one. To help make sense of it all, we are joined by Mark Malkoff from "Inside Late N...

Saturday Night Live welcomes its second member of Monty Python to the show as Michael Palin covers the hosting duties this week.  We can confirm that Palin is, in fact, British and thus we are joined once again by The SNL Hall of Fame 's Thomas Sena to break everything down.  The musical guest is Eugene Record .  He is NOT British, yet Thomas still knows who he is. The result of this pairing...

Horror film icon Christopher Lee does "the single most important thing" (his words, not ours) in his career as he hosts this week's episode of Saturday Night Live .  The veteran British actor is game for anything and is surprisingly enjoyable taking his comedic swings. With him is a relative newcomer as musical guest; an artist with close ties to the cast of the show who is promotin...

Get excited!  Jill Clayburgh returns to Saturday Night Live for her 2nd time hosting.  This time, she brings Eddie Money (who in turn brings the hits) to help as the musical guest.  Is it enough?  Can an episode filled with recurring characters be THAT bad?  We're not sure.  Well, one of us made up their mind.  Listen and decide for yourself. --------------------------------- Subscribe &...

Art Garfunkel makes his third appearance on Saturday Night Live, this time as HOST!  That is not to say he does not provide A LOT of musical performances.  And yet...there actually is a musical guest as Stephen Bishop is thrown a bone and allowed to sing one number.  To be fair....he does get an amazing set! The former Paul Simon BFF does an admirable job fulfilling his host duties and one of our...

SNL gets its second athlete-as-host as (soon-to-be-former) Buffalo Bills' running back, O.J. Simpson achieves a dream of his (his words, not ours) by hosting the show.  A surprisingly decent episode finds an iconic cold open, a spot on commercial parody, a few recurring characters, and couple of songs from Ashford & Simpson (no relation).  Never fear, there are some true OMG moments (even...

The Prodigal Son returns as Chevy Chase is back at Saturday Night Live ...as HOST! An event So BIG...that Billy Joel skipped his high school reunion to be the musical guest.  Not surprisingly, this is one of the most infamous episodes in the show's history. Sadly, pretty much all of the legend has to do with what went on behind the scenes and not in front of the camera.  That Week in SNL &apo...