The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

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 SNL comes only six weeks into the show's existence and yet the Lily Tomlin-hosted affair is one of the very best of the show's first season. The show is just beginning to see the reward for recurring bits as Chevy Chase's Gerald Ford and Landshark both make their return to the program, as does Garrett Morris' “News for the Hard of Hearing.” We also get original material in the form of John Belushi's Beethoven impression, a commercial parody for "Spud Beer," and the legendary "Hard Hats" sketch. Lily even makes The Muppets bearable! This episode was originally released on May 2nd, 2023. --------------------------------- Subscribe today! Follow us on social media: Twitter: @NR4PTProject [https://twitter.com/NR4PTProject] Instagram: @nr4ptproject [https://www.instagram.com/nr4ptproject/] Bluesky: @nr4ptproject.bsky.social [http://@nr4ptproject.bsky.social] Facebook: The Not Ready for Prime Time Project [https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Project-100089010324178/] Contact Us: Website: https://www.nr4project.com [https://www.notready4ptpod.com] Email: nr4ptproject@gmail.com

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 identity it forged prior to the holiday break, and a whopping seven featured players credited this week. And yet, while it might be very hard to see at times, this was the episode nominated for the Emmy for Writing this season! Though there are glimpses of what the show will become - especially in regards to its political humor. But there is a silver lining! In addition to a wickedly smart and funny cold open and a look back at Mr. Bill’s childhood, Saturday Night Live also kicks off the 80s with its first of several new wave/punk acts as The B-52's serve as musical guest – an appearance one of us ranks among the the all-time best of the original era. Fun Fact: SNL gets its first appearance by a presidential candidate in this episode! --------------------------------- Subscribe today! Follow us on social media: Twitter: @NR4PTProject [https://twitter.com/NR4PTProject] Instagram: @nr4ptproject [https://www.instagram.com/nr4ptproject/] Bluesky: @nr4ptproject.bsky.social [http://@nr4ptproject.bsky.social] Facebook: The Not Ready for Prime Time Project [https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Project-100089010324178/] Contact Us: Website: https://www.nr4project.com [https://www.notready4ptpod.com] Email: nr4ptproject@gmail.com

My SNL Story: Patrick Weathers

Season Six of Saturday Night Live is one of the most infamous in the show's history. The show attempts the near impossible task of continuing on with a brand new cast, an almost entirely new writing staff, and – most notably – without Lorne Michaels producing. Patrick Weathers, a Featured Player that season, joins us to pull back the curtain on the very brief Jean Doumanian year of SNL. Ever the raconteur, he shares his journey from opening act for The Meters (former SNL musical guests), to cold calling producers and forcing them to let him audition, to his whirlwind tenure on the show. Patrick tells tales of auditioning alongside Paul Reubens (at which a famous director friend may or may not have been in attendance for) and watching a young Eddie Murphy’s stand up before he was cast, to what it was like trying to replace the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players and work for a producer that not many had faith in. He talks about his favorite hosts, memorable sketches, and writers he learned from. He also gives a first-hand account of Doumanian’s final week at SNL – which started with Bill Murray returning to the SNL and ended with her (and him) being fired. Patrick gives us an inside look at an era of the show rarely talked about. And, along the way, he also drops nuggets about Woody Allen, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Studio 54, Dan Aykroyd, Scotland Yard, Dick Ebersol, and even Lorne. --------------------------------- Subscribe today! Follow us on social media: Twitter: @NR4PTProject [https://twitter.com/NR4PTProject] Instagram: @nr4ptproject [https://www.instagram.com/nr4ptproject/] Bluesky: @nr4ptproject.bsky.social [http://@nr4ptproject.bsky.social] Facebook: The Not Ready for Prime Time Project [https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Project-100089010324178/] Contact Us: Website: https://www.nr4project.com [https://www.notready4ptpod.com] Email: nr4ptproject@gmail.com

The Early Years of SNL: S05E08 Ted Knight/Desmond Child & Rouge (12/22/79)

Veteran actor Ted Knight hosts the S5 Christmas episode as SNL says goodbye to the 70s. As a present (to Gilda, we're guessing), Desmond Child and Rouge are the musical guest. While The Mary Tyler Moore Show star brings the comedic chops and appears to have a lot of fun, this episode is known more for the myth and legend surrounding it than the material itself. Andy Kaufman wrestles a woman (again) in his final Saturday Night Live appearance of the original era and the Nerds sketch is known more for its battle with the censors than for its actual content ("You can't give noogies to the Virgin Mary!"). But, not all is lost! We do get a great Schiller's Reel and, did we mention the host was Ted Knight? You can't not like the guy. Speaking of guys you can't not like, we're joined once again by Ian Fermaglich who talked to a few people associated with this episode on his podcast, Ian Talks Comedy [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ian-talks-comedy/id1516695750] and shares some first hand stories about the night. --------------------------------- Subscribe today! Follow us on social media: Twitter: @NR4PTProject [https://twitter.com/NR4PTProject] Instagram: @nr4ptproject [https://www.instagram.com/nr4ptproject/] Bluesky: @nr4ptproject.bsky.social [http://@nr4ptproject.bsky.social] Facebook: The Not Ready for Prime Time Project [https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Project-100089010324178/] Contact Us: Website: https://www.nr4project.com [https://www.notready4ptpod.com] Email: nr4ptproject@gmail.com

The Early Years of SNL: S05E07 Martin Sheen/David Bowie (12/15/79)

Innovative. Iconic. Legendary. These are just a few words to describe the one and only David Bowie. And all could be used to describe any one of his musical performances on his very first appearance on SNL. Bowie helps ring out the 70s as the musical guest alongside host, Martin Sheen. His three songs are not only the highlight of this episode but all of season five. So much so, it is easy to forget that Saturday Night Live did actual comedy this episode. And while the comedy is up and down – ranging from the fun to the bizarre to the just long and boring – there are still some nuggets in there worthy of "best bits." This is a MUST-SEE episode from the original era of SNL. Speaking of "must-see" please check out this car ad [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og_luW5USJw] from 1979 and tell us if this is Nick Nolte or not. --------------------------------- Subscribe today! Follow us on social media: Twitter: @NR4PTProject [https://twitter.com/NR4PTProject] Instagram: @nr4ptproject [https://www.instagram.com/nr4ptproject/] Bluesky: @nr4ptproject.bsky.social [http://@nr4ptproject.bsky.social] Facebook: The Not Ready for Prime Time Project [https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Project-100089010324178/] Contact Us: Website: https://www.nr4project.com [https://www.notready4ptpod.com] Email: nr4ptproject@gmail.com