The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

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 with The Voice of Unity are the musical guests. The show leans into the “will they or won’t they be back” elephant in the room often throughout the episode – from the monologue right up to the goodnights. In between, Buck gives another solid performance as host, we get to say goodbye to some well-loved recurring characters, and are gifted one of the most iconic sketches in the show’s history up to this point. A lot has been said about SNL during this era – and this season – and it is bittersweet to see it come to an end. We say goodbye to Gilda, Jane, Laraine, Garrett, and Bill (and Lorne), and no one is sure what the future holds for Saturday Night Live. With one last self-referential nod, the show bows out and leaves the audience wondering just what might come next. --------------------------------- Subscribe & Follow today! And 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: 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 loss for stories to share. In honor of his hilarious new memoir, Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories From a Sore Winner, we talked with Marc about a brief, but pivotal, section early in his career – Saturday Night Live. Beginning as a freelance performer during the Dick Ebersol years, he began backing up cast members such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus and went on to form life-long friendships with the likes of Martin Short and Billy Crystal. When Lorne Michaels returned to the show, he was hired as a full-time writer and helped create one of the most iconic recurring characters of SNL’s second Golden Era – The Sweeney Sisters. Marc talks about working on SNL with Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman, Maya Rudolph, Paul Shaffer, Steve Martin, and Mary Tyler Moore, as well as shares hilarious behind-the-scenes tales about Bill Murray, William Shatner, Paul McCartney, and Prince! He also tells the story of meeting, working, and living with Bette Midler (when he was only a teenager), discusses his decades-long relationship working with Rob Reiner, and reveals the most outrageous story from his book. We had such a blast talking Saturday Night Live with Marc, we didn’t even get a chance to talk about: *Being one of the originators of the Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings *Producing songs with Mariah Carey and Harry Connick, Jr. *Backing up Bette Midler on Johnny Carson’s final show *Writing songs for South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut *Creating Hairspray for Broadway All of which are in the book – which you can order HERE [https://www.amazon.com/Never-Mind-Happy-Showbiz-Stories/dp/B0FP5L62X5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=25WQN9N61KC75&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.A6BBvP_nI1VXequpKTnfwCQvBIi6RJT3rmlIV5L4p9tzA0M1Eex04wvpZYGQYf4Q.oglwSFppZx0UIIR21RmEfnpDZqzXbsAav3dgkkSwOUE&dib_tag=se&keywords=marc+shaiman+never+mind+the+happy&qid=1771384894&sprefix=marc+sh%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1]! Or the amazing audio book - HERE [https://www.amazon.com/Never-Mind-Happy-Showbiz-Stories/dp/B0G26SZYMY/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0]! Or...as Marc says (or sings) himself - GET BOTH [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUqZicmjim6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==]! --------------------------------- Subscribe & Follow today! And 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: 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 Live gets overshadowed by one of the very few people who could pull off such a feat at the time – Paul McCartney. Hiding out in London after his public drug bust, the ex-Beatle was supposed to open the show. But, due to the time change, a mix-up ensued and the runner about getting Paul on the air (he’s debuting the video for his first solo single in 10 years) is the centerpiece of this episode. The episode is fine and Steve does a good job of having fun (especially when paired with Bill or Gilda), but one of SNL’s greatest hosts leaves the original era on a whimper. Oh, aside from Paul McCartney’s music video we also get an in-studio performance from 3-D! --------------------------------- Subscribe & Follow today! And 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

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. From John Belushi up to the recent SNL51 Olympic pre-tape, our panel of SNL superfans discuss, dissect, and debate the best Olympic sketches, pre-tapes, and bits from the show’s 51-year history. Will your favorite Olympic moment from SNL history make the list? Tune in and see what made the cut, what didn’t, and what took the gold medal. --------------------------------- Subscribe & Follow today! And 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: 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 each bit. This episode of Saturday Night Live is famous for not having a lot of material, with only four live sketches (in addition to the cold open). The show doesn’t stray far from the host’s strong suit, but is that a good thing? We’re not sure. But one thing that is certain – if you’re a Bob Newhart fan you’ll enjoy this episode. The musical guests are a bit of a conundrum. The Amazing Rhythm Aces were a request from Bill Murray (who joins them on stage for one number) and we’re still trying to figure out how Bruce Cockburn got an invite.  We’ve only got two more episodes left! Here we go... --------------------------------- Subscribe & Follow today! And 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