Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live Review
Live From New York is compiled by James A. Miller and Tom Shales in such a giddily readable manner, you're as hooked by it as one of those VH1 Specials looking back at the history of a cultural movement. Conceived as a one-quote-after-another recollection from each significant period of Saturday Night Live's long history (leading up to the book's writing in 2003), Live From New York fascinates you with the revelation of one personality after another - it's safe to say that even in the celebrities you thought you knew well, these interviews and stories evoke something surprising about each of them, and manage to highlight the rather wonderful pretentiousness by which SNL was bourne. Conceived by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol as a chance to showcase edgy, youthful comedy that skewered the world around it, Live From New York shows that SNL's goal of biting the hands that feed it remains gleefully a part of the show's DNA in spite of how commercial periods of its run have been. So with that, Live From New York has the power to be comprehensive and merciless - its 1981-1985 Dick Ebersol years show Ebersol's surprising tenderness and respect while mocking his inability to determine if anything's funny. On the flip side, the book may wind up souring fond thoughts you had of Chevy Chase's various appearances over the years. I found myself deeply drawn into one era after another of SNL while reading this book, yet despite the years flying by over hundreds of pages, something unfortunate happens to the book as it gets "current" - it turns out it's not so current. Though this is mostly the result of the time the book was written, the Will Ferrell/Molly Shannon/Cheri Oteri cast doesn't really have a lot to offer in terms of perspective, and thinking that this was the "end" of a show that has risen back to its peak rather undersells the show's great longevity. The actors in this section talk as though champions doing a victory lap, and it, honestly, makes the pages more soggy than the ones that preceded it, feeling rushed to get in all the highlights of recent years. I also can't help but wish for a supplement to the book to get up to more recent times - Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, or the Lonely Island digital videos. Still, I can't say that's a fault of the book - it was written when it was written, though the slowing impact on the book's excitement is unignorable. Live From New York at its dullest can spend far too long on overcooked grievances and insecurities; why Janeane Garofalo - a very talented actress who had the misfortune of starring in a very bad year of SNL - gets so much ground to whine about... well I'm not sure, is beyond me. At its best, however, it wraps you in extraordinary fly-on-the-wall stories that make you feel like an insider revelling in all of SNL's endless relevance.
Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live Overview
Saturday Night Live changed the face of television: it introduced brash new stars, trashed TV taboos, and had an impact on American life, laughter, and politics.
Dozens of stars, writers, guest hosts, contributors, and craftsmen (as read by professional narrators) recall the backstage stories, behind-the-scenes gossip, feuds, foibles, drugs, sex, struggles, and calamities, including personal details never before revealed. Stars interviewed include Mike Meyers, Chris Rock, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler, Chevy Chase, Will Ferrell, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, Jon Lovitz, Jane Kattan, Julie Louis-Dreyfus, Garrett Morris, Molly Shannon, Damon Wayans, Chris Elliott, Julie Sweeney, Norm Macdonald, and Paul Simon�plus writers like Al Franken, Conan O'Brien, Larry David, Rosie Shuster, Jack Handey, Robert Smigel, Don Novello, and others who got their big breaks as part of the SNL team.
Live from New York does what no other book about the show has ever done: It lets the people who were there tell the story in their own words, blunt and loving and uncensored.
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Customer Reviews
Live from New York it's a bunch of weird people with crazy stories! - J. Johnson - Gainesboro, TN USA
This book would only appeal to a hardcore SNL fan but if you are that then this book is for you.
The story about Milton Berle is worth buying the book for. Lorne Michaels and Chevy Chase had a weird working relationship. As weird as it gets in my opinion!
A quick read - The Phantom -
The way in which this book is written--a series of brief direct quotes from cast members, directors, producers, hosts and others associated with "Saturday Night Live" down through the years--makes it a very quick read. So don't be put off by the girth.
However, that's also it's weak point: there is so much subjectivity, and little real history here. Not that opposing viewpoints are not given, because they are, but it's still all "he said, she said," which will make it a little frustrating for anybody who really wants to know what really happened. It's a lazy way of writing a book, really: the authors spent all of their time collecting interviews and not obtaining information from objective sources.
That said, the first half of the book is interesting. Collected generally by chronology, and more loosely by topic, we learn some of what went on behind the scenes at Studio 8H in the first 10 years of the show that made it a success and actually, nearly a failure. But the second half becomes less interesting as the book covers the years when the show had become an icon. Media outlets have done an adequate job of covering the show's cast over the last 25 years, so we already know a lot of this stuff.
I would have liked to have seen the book hone in on only those first 10 years, and to present the information in a more objective manner.
Probably the best way to read about SNL - Norman Krumpe - Ohio
Saturday Night Live, now nearly 30 years old, has had its ups and downs. Some years the show was hilarious, others...well, not so much (remember when Robert Downey Jr. was a cast member? no? maybe he doesn't either). Cast members have come and (with the exception of Darrell Hammond) gone.
Trying to tell the story of Saturday Night Live would, no doubt, be an enormous challenge. So, why not let the cast and crew tell the story themselves? That is the aim of this book, with a well put together chain of short stories and anecdotes that, for me, seems to capture the spirit of the show both on stage and behind the scenes. Kudos to Miller and Shales for letting the people tell their own story, with very little interruption from the "authors".
You'll read stories from producers, writers, the cast, guest hosts, and more. You'll learn of the love-hate relationship people have with Lorne Michaels, the competition among writers to get their work on the show, opinions about several infamous incidents on the show (remember Sinead O'Connor's little "bonus" she put at the end of her song?), and which guest host was particularly proud of his...ahem...manhood.
For fans of the show, I honestly can't imagine a better way to read about the history of Saturday Night Live.
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