Customer Reviews

Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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This is one of the best behind-the-scenes books I've ever read. Published in 1986, it detailed the first ten seasons of SNL. This isn't a sanitized, cast-only, everybody's-wonderful book, but it's not a gossipy tell-all, either. There's a lot of great stories about all the people on both sides of the camera who put the show on week after week. There are great chapters on how the show got on the air in the first place (they even needed an OK from Johnny Carson), and the battles the show fought with censors, critics, even the White House. And there are chapters devoted to the shows four breakout stars--Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Eddie Murphy. Hill and Weingrad are clearly fans of the show, but they're still merciless when discussing the show's low points, particularly the 1980-81 season. There are detailed examinations of many of the show's milestones, including a 1978 show with Steve Martin that's still considered one of the series' best. If you remember watching the show back when the Coneheads, the Blues Brothers, and the Nerds were the hottest thing on the tube, you'll want to track down this book. And I'd dearly love these authors to put out a volume II chronicling the last dozen years of the show.

An excellent book, in terms of its breadth and the behind-the-scenes perspective it gives to the Saturday Night Live episodes we have all seen on TV. The writers certainly did their homework, and yet the scores of names, dates, and places mentioned never bog down the flow of this story. It is fascinating to read about the clashes between these stars who were both comic geniuses and petulant egomaniacs, and frankly, it is surprising that any episodes were able to air at all. Despite what you think about Saturday Night Live, you cannot deny the show's existence as a television institution, and reading this book makes you appreciate its innovation then, and longevity now, all the more.

Like many, I grew up watching Saturday Night Live, either new episodes or those rerun on various cable channels, marveling at the wonderful humor and originality. I had always heard urban legends surrounding the show, and its earliest moments, and when I discovered this book I knew I had to read it. The authors take you through the first several seasons of the show, showing the reader many aspects of the backstage history, from the dynamics between Lorne Michaels and the cast to the use of drugs in the early days. There are many anecdotes from tales involving the Hell's Angels to the trip Chevy Chase made to the White House to lampoon President Ford, and all of the early greats are covered from Belushi, Murphy, and Chase to O'Donoghue, Franken, and Davis. I laughed recalling many of the skits that are presented in this book, and I sit amazed as I read about many of the sorrowful topics including the decline of Garret Morris and Larraine Newman. This book is older and dated, and many of the actors that were predicted to go into obscurity have resurfaced since publication and have seemingly came into there on. It's very light hearted, even given some of the darker topics, and it is a fairly quick read as it is written in an anecdotal style. Read this book and enjoy.

If you are ever interested in Saturday Night Live, this is the book for you. Chronicling the years between 1974-1985, this gives an interesting insight on the lives and careers of Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Eddie Murphy and others. A must read for all SNL fans.

The idea in 1975 was to give Johnny Carson a break from weekend reruns. Very soon "NBC's Saturday Night" became something more, something special, and yes, at times, something dangerous, both to cultural custodians and to the very people who made it happened. Some died from it, others became rich and famous. At least one did both. "Saturday Night" tells their story, very well.

Published in 1985, and thus focused on the first decade of a show now 35 years old, "Saturday Night" is about as perfect a history as one imagines anyone could have gotten from a show that thrived on creative chaos. Co-authors Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad offer equal parts juicy gossip, riveting character studies, and warm appreciation for what was accomplished by Lorne Michaels, his performers, writers, and staff.

It's a long book that can be devoured pretty quickly, especially for those of us who remember the thrill of the program when it first aired. You can read it as an engaging snapshot of powerhouse comedians like Bill Murray, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and Eddie Murphy in their youthful prime. Alternately, you can read it as a business study, of how a profitable creative enterprise was developed with much struggle from within a corporation, NBC, going stale from playing it too safe for too long.

"I know the ingredients but not the proportions" was how Michaels, a young writer-producer, pitched it to the suits. First and foremost, "Saturday Night" tells of the balancing act Michaels accomplished in getting the show to become must-see TV for a generation brought up in television but, until then, locked out from expressing themselves on it.

Hill and Weingrad detail the brilliant sketches, popular ones like the Land Shark and the Coneheads as well as less-celebrated but critical offerings. One running character, pedophilic "Uncle Roy", shocked many but opened eyes, too. Yet with popularity came drugs and egos, two negatives that work to give the narrative a dark undertow. Michaels himself went from accessible guru to comedy khedive, hobnobbing with the rich and hosting a fancy party on Long Island where all the guests wore white. SNL wasn't so much in the business of television as it was in the business of rock and roll, he claimed, and as success was achieved decadence followed.

There were worse things than "Saturday Night Live" under the control of a Michaels so transformed. After he quit at the end of the fifth season, he was replaced by Jean Doumanian, a talent coordinator with little feeling for TV production or comedy but certain she had all the answers anyway. She didn't, and Hill and Weingrad's account of her mismanagement is a caustic capsule of all that can go wrong in television. Imagine "Downfall" without the subtitles, and you have the Doumanian season in a nutshell.

As pithy as the book is, what really amazes is the balance of both tone and of content. You have some amazingly brilliant but eccentric people giving their accounts of what happened, like the gonzo comedy writer Michael O'Donoghue, a singularly memorable figure here. Yet no one takes over the story to the degree where you feel you are seeing it through their eyes alone. And the book captures everything, from the financial and ratings issues to the artistic development of performers central and otherwise.

The show rallied in the seventh season, with a new producer (Dick Ebersol), a new star (Murphy), and a new sensibility. Hill and Weingrad give them their due, but note a loss. "The first show [Michaels'] was saddled with cult status, drugs, and an elitist attitude," an unnamed production assistant tells the writers. "With Dick things run more smoothly, although it borders on dull."

You can't say that of this book. Why it's out of print today is both a mystery and a shame. Yes, the 1985 cutoff misses Michaels' return to the show after Season 10, and all that came after, but what you do get is so vital and fresh to read that you really relish the focus you have. I'd rather see this reprinted, and have Hill and Weingrad if they are still with us regroup for a second volume capturing what has happened since. I'd buy it in a second; in fact I'd buy the reprint, too. I've just about worn out my copy.

You never see much of the behind the scenes going ons of SNL. It would probably make a great documentary "A week in the life of SNL" Until that video comes out (if ever) this is probably the next best thing. I havent finished it yet and already there is a wealth of things I learned. ...Come out with another edition guys! We want more.

This book was an amazing account of the first ten years. I had read "Live From New York" which gave detail, but this was above and beyond that. There were so many stories and personal accounts of situations that you didnt get in the other story. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan!

I felt like a housewife at her fence, excitedly listening to all the juicy neighborhood gossip. It's a great book, though dated.

If you ever liked Saturday Night Live...you will LOVE this book!! Lots of juicy, behind-the-scenes stories and revelations will keep you turning the pages. One of the most enjoyable "TV" books I have ever read. If you can find it, buy it!

SNL writer Al Franken once used the following comparison to describe "Wired," Bob Woodward's controversial account of the fast times and short life of John Belushi: it was like reading about college - who threw up, what they threw up, and where they threw up. "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live" is much like "Wired" in that sense, not only for Belushi, but the entire cast and writing/production staff of the show. Even former NBC president Fred Silverman is not exempt from being turned into a sleaze by authors Hill and Weingrad.
The duo seems bent on vilifying anyone involved with "Saturday Night Live," and the book's publication date may in hindsight provide a reason why; it was published shortly before SNL hit its creative resurgence in the late 80s, and therefore the book might have been an attempt to exorcise all of the demons that plagued the halls of Studio 8H.
That's not to say that much of what Hill and Weingrad write is unbelievable - it's likely mostly true - but the narrative is in such a gossip magazine, "so-and-so says..." manner that it dampers what could have been an engrossing account. Countless anonymous sources provide grim stories, usually just named "a writer" or "a cameraman" or "a friend," and even the most positive aspects of SNL from its debut in 1975 to its bleaker days in the early 80s are covered in a bitter plaque.
However, "A Backstage History" is probably most valuable for being one of the deepest historical accounts of the dark days of SNL, from the time Lorne Michaels and the original cast and writers left the show in 1980, to Dick Ebersol's tenure as producer until 1985.
The book leaves the reader with hints that Lorne Michaels was returning to produce the show, which he indeed would, and after a less-than-successful season, SNL would return to its former high points in the 1986-87 season. But, I'm sure if Hill and Weingrad got hold of the he-said, she said tales from backstage even after the show's comedic renaissance, they'd probably make it look as grim as possible, much like they do here.