The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

The Early Years of SNL: S05E11 Elliott Gould/Gary Numan (2/16/80)

SNL looks to pick up the pieces as it turns into the back half of Season 5 as old standby Elliott Gould returns to become the third host in show history to do it a fifth time (a feat that wouldn’t be repeated for over six years).  Gould clearly knows his way around the show, as evidenced by his “laissez-faire” approach to this episode, yet he isn’t given much material to work with. It’s not a good sign when the only bit the man notorious for always kicking off his Saturday Night Live appearances with a song and dance is reduced to simply eating a carrot stick for his monologue. He’s forced to wait until he dresses up as a bear for an uncopyrighted Canadian retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” sketch to do both.  But, the episode does kick off with a fun cold open that turns into a runner – something we have not seen for quite awhile – and Harry Shearer continues to shine when he’s given the spotlight. And, the show continues to showcase new and interesting musical acts with Gary Numan as this week’s musical guest. --------------------------------- 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: S05E10 Chevy Chase/Marianne Faithfull, Tom Scott (2/9/80)

They say “you can never go home again.” But maybe, what they meant was that you just simply shouldn’t. Original Not Ready for Prime Time Player and first breakout star of SNL, Chevy Chase returns for his second time hosting and it does not take long for things to go off the rails. An obviously impaired Chevy is covered in flop sweat, has trouble reading his lines, and at times struggles with the English language.  Not to be outdone, musical guest Marianne Faithfull arrives at Saturday Night Live equally impaired – if not more. She struggles through two performers off her comeback album, Broken English, and at times seems to be someplace else.  These two combine for one of the greatest – and most infamous – trainwrecks in show history. And what would a trainwreck be without The SNL in Review [https://x.com/SNLinReview]’s legendary Andy Hoglund on hand to help sort through it all? Andy joins us to defend the musical guest, give his sympathies to Harry Shearer, and debate the pros and cons of drug use. Make sure to listen all the way through to the end to hear a snippet of one of the tracks off Chevy’s debut album. It is….AMAZING! --------------------------------- 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

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