Rating: 
Summary: Live From New York
Review: Being a fan of SNL, I was really looking foward to this book. But I can't help but feel a little bit dissapointed by it after finishing it.
Most of the stuff about the early years in interesting, as you get to hear about how the show was created, how the origanel cast was brought togather etc. But once it gets into later casts, the book is fairly repetitive, and suffers greatly from the he said-she said things that you really would hope people would get over in high school.
Also, not hearing from Eddie Murphey at all is a let down, being that he single handedly saved SNL in the early '80's. I really could care less about what Piscopo has to say about the subject, ya know what I'm saying?
But overall if you really like SNL, there are a lot of really interesting tidbits to be found in this book. Just don't have your expectaions up to high before reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Good, bad, never ugly
Review: I think this is the first entertainment insider type of book that I have ever read. I bought the book hoping that it would give me insight into a successful creative process underwritten by talented and egotistical personalities. I was not disappointed; creativity only works in tension, and the story of SNL is full of eustress and distress. I did gain a better appreciation for how SNL has positively affected everything from the quality of television to the quality of political discourse in our society.The sound bites from various writers, producers, cast members, hosts, network executives and agents seemed like individual lights strung out around a tree, and I kept flipping pages back and forth to try to get a better continuity of what had happened in a given topic or situation--more visual whiplash than I am used to. Of course, the strength of this approach was to get multiple sides of a story. I was hoping for a little more historical context, beyond the first-person/second-person narrative sound bites and the authors' short italicized summaries (sparsely sprinkled throughout the interview bits). It would have been nice to see some of the other pieces of information that one might get on a complete resume and a lengthy interview, so that I could get to know the players better.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read, but heavy on the gossip
Review: 560 pages of new interviews with the living cast members, past and present, from the show (no old material from the dead), as well as Lorne Michaels and writers. It's a fairly interesting bit of reading, going from the show's origins in '75 to the 2002 season, and getting views from everyone except Eddie Murphy, who will not talk about the show ever for some reason. There's a lot of gossip, anecdotes about the crazy all-night sessions, backstage sex, backstabbing, and so forth. And plenty of tributes to, and aspersions of, Lorne, the literal father figure to so many of them. The gossip and dirt does get a bit repetitive at times, and a few more insights as to the actual production of the show might have been a welcome relief. A single sentence on Lorne switching the order of sketches and cutting them, for example, whets the appateite for more of how this process works. So this book is more a long puff piece than an investigation of any kind of practical information. Still, as puff piece, it's quite readable, and amusing at times. It's interesting to note three constants throughout the show's history: Lorne lording it over everyone, Chevy Chase being an ass, and everyone hating Harry Shearer. It did occur to me while reading this that a true look at the dirt behind the scenes would involve interviews with the make-up people, prop masters, and stage hands --- all people close to actors and totally under their radar. If they were kept anonymous, what sordid stories could they tell?
Rating: 
Summary: Live from New York, and You're Not
Review: The perfect book for anyone that has grown up watching one of the most successful television shows of all time. It provides a a behind the scenes look at the creation and production of Saturday Night Live, through a oral history of the producers, writers and actors who have come and gone over the years. The book has an interesting narrative style, which takes a bit of getting used to but totally makes sense when you think about the daunting task it must have been to compile all this information in the first place. The book is not a critique of the show and generally lets the participants tell when they had it right and when they didn't. It is wisely divided into time periods, which also makes sense when you think about it. My only criticisms of the book is that it does not get into more critical detail of the show or how the writers and actors were treated and I also found the last chapter, a salute to Lorne Michaels, to be rather self-serving and unnecessary, as if it were a condition for writing the book in the first place. Again, this is the perfect book for anyone who can remember watching the very first episode and who grew up staying up late every Saturday night just to watch this show. A great job.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing Book
Review: The subject could not be more interesting -- a fascinating show with many interesting characters. This book is an abject failure however. Overwritten, dull, and self-indulgent it cannot hold the reader's interest. I was totally disappointed in this book. These so-called writers could have and should have done a far better job with the material. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining - Good Read for SNL Fans
Review: I still have a copy of the book by Hill and Weingrad on the first 10 years. I started to read the new book (this book) in the middle by accident then could not put it down until I read the whole book. It is not quite as good as the first book covering the first 10 years. I thought this book, in addition to the longer time span, had a few more insights that filled in on what happened in detail regarding Michaels versus NBC to start the show and the various players in the show. I did not find it disjointed. Having watched the shows and read the prior book one has a general sense of what will happen next. Easy to read and covers the major players. I still prefer the first book. Four stars. Jack in Toronto
Rating:
Summary: This is a wild and crazy book
Review: This is an excellent oral history of one of the seminal programs in television history. I have watched the program off and on since junior high and have witnessed many of its ups and downs, but this book delves much deeper into the program then what is actually shown the viewer every Saturday night. I think the gossipy details of cast romances, drug use, office politics and the tragic deaths of some of the show's alums are interesting, but what really makes this book unique are its insights into the production of a television program and the television business. I have no interest in pursuing a career in tv, but I think this would be a great introduction for anyone who does. The style of the book, being an oral history with only a loose chronology, fits well with its subject matter and it is nice that the voices in the book are those of the people actually involved--the real talent--rather then the author's manipulating interviews and filtering information to fit their own opinions. It is a very quick read that will entertain any reader and is very insightful. I would recommend it to any fan of Saturday Night Live, people interested in the entertainment industry or readers who enjoy good stories and story tellers. This is one of the best books I've read this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Once you pop(it open), you can't stop!!
Review: My first memories of SNL where during the Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscapo, Billy Cristal years and from then on I have always had a place in my heart for the show. I have always wanted to know all about the behind the scenes lives of those involved and when I first opened the book at my local bookstore, I can only compare it to your favorite bag of chips...once I started I just couldn't put it down. It is sooo much better to hear the story straight from the horses mouth rather than have some author do all the research and write a biography and puttin' his own little twist and pervesion to the story. Before I even bought the book, while at the store, I sat for three hours just savouring all the juicy detail and stories I could before the store closed. I didn't have the money with me to buy it at the time but I was almost willing to sell my body to someon........O.K. maybe that's going just a little too far, but, I did immediatly come in as soon as possible the next day and hope that the book didn't disappear so I could get to every last crumb in this very salty and flavorful bag of chips.
Rating:
Summary: Good Insight into the Show but with a Distracting Format
Review: This book is great for avid Saturday Night Live fans especially the ones who constantly watch the old episodes on basic cable. It goes through the show's history in mostly an interview format with bits of prose throughout. The interview format is distracting and redundant, since many of the cast members give similar comments. A fan of SNL will appreciate this format, giving an insider look at the show such as details about Norm Macdonald's firing which cannot be found in other books on SNL, while those wanting to know more about the show will find it irritating especially since the interviews do not go in any logical order. The format may be irregular and several comments superfluous, but because none of the prose books offers the insight that this one does, it is the best book on SNL out there.
Rating:
Summary: Almost always live...and often lively
Review: What we have here are several hundred brief personal reminiscences and commentaries from almost everyone directly involved with Saturday Night Life over a period of almost 30 years. They are organized by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller within each period of that television program's evolution, extending from its premiere in 1975 until last year. Throughout SNL's history, one of its most unique and challenging features is the fact that it is performed almost entirely LIVE. Except for a brief period (1981-1985), SNL's executive producer has been Lorne Michaels (born Lorne Lipowitz), a Canadian writer whose work on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and specials for Lily Tomlin had attracted NBC's attention. Most members of SNL's cast and crew seem to have had a love-hate relationship with Michaels but their comments about him (both positive and negative) suggest that no one else could have guided the program as well as he has throughout the years since it first appeared. The material provides (albeit subjective) answers to questions such as these: 1. Which hosts were the most enjoyable to work with? Why? 2. Which were the most unpleasant? Why? 3. What was a normal week's work schedule? Who was involved in each stage of preparation for the next show? 4. Off-camera, what was it like to associate with John Belushi? 5. Of all the cast performers, why was Gilda Radner most loved? 6. How did Michaels deal with the NBC "suits" and especially with censors? 7. What were the biggest foul-ups prior to or during a show? 8. What do most of the cast and crew members agree are the show's greatest moments? Why? 9. What has been the best and worst aspects of being involved with SNL? 10. What is the consensus of opinion as to why SNL has continued for almost 30 years? Of special interest to me are the professional as well as personal relationships between and among cast and crew members, including Michaels. More specifically, as I read this book, I was curious to know what impact those relationships had on the programs telecast each Saturday night. Radner, Belushi, and Phil Hartman were three of my personal favorites. Although they made no direct contributions to the reminiscences and observations assembled in this volume, all three are quoted extensively and recalled fondly by those who were closely associated with them. Eddie Murphy offers a representative example of young people with immense but unrefined talent who are finally given the opportunity to perform. (During the 1980-81 season, one show ran short and needed several minutes of "filler" which he eagerly provided.) Almost immediately Murphy became the most popular member of the SNL cast and was featured prominently until 1984 when he began to concentrate on feature films. For reasons best revealed in this book, Murphy is probably the only SNL "star" who has since totally disassociated himself from the program. Who will most enjoy reading this book? Those who have been regular viewers of SNL throughout much if not all of its remarkable history. I also highly recommend it to those who are especially interested in popular culture in the United States from 1975 until the end of the 20th century. I can think of no other television program which offers more and better insights into the culture of that period than does SNL. To their substantial credit, Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller allow the contributors to speak for themselves. Predictably and understandably, the value of what they have to say is determined almost entirely by each reader's degree of interest in those who have proclaimed, week after week, "Live from New York! It's Saturday Night!"
| 
