Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told By Its Stars, Writers, and Guests

Paul Schaefer is a scamp, Harry Shearer is a raging ego-maniac and an all-around asshole (& that's on his good days), Bill Murray (who I love as an actor) is almost sociopathically anti-social and often just plain mean, Chevy Chase is a bad man, John Belushi was a lovable but very messed up lush, Joe P. (who's actorly and comedic talents seemed to decrease in direct proportion to his increasing muscle mass) resented Eddie Murphy's success, and not one single soul has a bad thing to say about Will Ferrell. That's all in the book -- and I haven't even told you the good stuff!

(Teaser in the form of True or False Quiz: Paul Schaeffer is a legal midget; i.e., as tall or shorter than 4'11". TorF?)

This is a wonderfully updated and expanded edition of a book previously published in 2002. While there have been a number of other books written about Saturday Night Live over the years, and I admittedly haven't read any of them, it's hard to imagine that any gives a greater glimpse into just what makes SNL tick than this 781-page tome by James A. Miller. The chronological narrative (if you could call it that) from idea conception to the present is told via bite-sized quotes, a format which works surprisingly well for the subject. The sheer number of past and present cast, crew, hosts and executives he must have interviewed is astounding. There were many instances in which I wished this could be a multi-media experience -- for example, show more when reading about a particularly awkward sketch or awful episode, I of course wanted to view the footage in question right then and there. Much of the content focuses on the fascinating interpersonal relationships, an aspect of which the viewer is rarely aware. Whatever you conclude about producer Lorne Michaels' personality, he is unarguably a TV god. Oh, and I'm pretty stoked that Al Franken is now my US Senator. show less

This is a great book. It's "written" in a style that feels more like you are watching a documentary or eavesdropping on a bullshitting session. This holds the full accounts of every half-story you've heard about SNL told by the people who were there. Accurate? Maybe. Entertaining? Defiantly! The one thing I noticed is that a lot of the lesser known cast members are not really present. I'd suggest reading "Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live" by Jay Mohr for another view in a similar style.

25 + plus seasons of the groundbreaking comedy-variety show are revisited through the words of the cast, hosts, writers, and production crew. This oral history approach has its downside as the authors provide little context to go with the interview quotes. I was also interested in learning more about the creative process of making the show and its most famous sketches and less interested in the tell-all tales of sex, drugs, and backstabbing. At least, on the latter note there is just as much mutual admiration among the participants of the show. Some of the greatest accolades go to performers whose voices are missing from the text due to their early deaths - John Belush, Gilda Radner, Chris Farley and Phil Hartman. It would have been show more nice if the authors could have culled some passages from old interviews so that these great performers' voices could be heard as well. It was interesting how in their own words that some people came off unpleasantly (Chevy Chase, Nora Dunn, Harry Shearer) and some people were more interesting than I ever imagined (Jane Curtin, Tim Kazurinsky, Victoria Jackson). Despite its bulk this book is a fun and interesting read, although I can't imagine anyone who isn't already a long time fan of the show finding it all too appealing. I watched the show regularly from about 1982-1994 but found the whole story intriguing and makes me want to go back and watch the old shows. Even those dreadful 10-minutes to 1 am sketches. show less

This is the second oral history I've read, the first being the Daily Show: An Oral History which came out in 2016, so quite a bit after 'Live From New York'. Different authors, similar format - are these oral history books people are putting out connecting in any way or are people just aping style? I think the Daily Show was put together a bit better, but since it's all interviews they probably just had better material to work with.

This book is prime time fluff, a diet soda of interviews and anecdotes. It was great. I do wish they had cut it off at 1995 (published in 2002) because the perspectives of performers (successful after their run or not) differed greatly from the perspective of performers currently on the show during their show more interview. It would also allow a second book to be published (in 2022?) covering 1995-2015 which would be really neat since that is more of my SNL history. (yes, I know they updated this book in 2015ish to cover new years, but that's not the copy I have and it will still suffer from the 'currently on the show' atmosphere that dulls reflection). show less

The book is a series of interviews with cast members, writers, producers, hosts and anyone who had anything to do with the show. It’s written chronologically so you get a good idea how the show progresses over time. The interviews are interspersed with commentary from the authors who provide some good hindsight and fill in some blanks. The best part about the book was reading the different perspectives and experiences from everyone interviewed which paint a pretty honest story of SNL.

I like this show, and thought this book could be interesting. Specially to learn more about the phenomenon and people involved in this, with me being non-American.

But the book didn't grab me. It was a messy read, with interviews instead of clear writing and presentation. I tried to read from the very beginning and jump to the era I'm most familiar with but nah. I gave it up.