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I've read some people didn't like the format - the constant paragraphs from different people involved with the show - but I didn't mind it so much. Really surprised, though, that Christopher Walken hadn't contributed, given how many times he hosted and how many other "five-timers" appear in the books.
To start off, the format of this book was perfect. It was just the right amount of light but informative storytelling/oral history that I was enthralled.
Some parts of it definitely showed the book’s age, and there were other parts that I wasn’t super into (particularly the last chapter on Lorne Michaels). I appreciated the way the rest of the book had intertwined the veneration for people involved in the show with the rest of the history, so that last bit felt a little dragged out and out of place. Overall a solid read, and definitely worth the few days it took to get through it.
Some parts of it definitely showed the book’s age, and there were other parts that I wasn’t super into (particularly the last chapter on Lorne Michaels). I appreciated the way the rest of the book had intertwined the veneration for people involved in the show with the rest of the history, so that last bit felt a little dragged out and out of place. Overall a solid read, and definitely worth the few days it took to get through it.
Someone suggested this for bookclub. Another of her choices was by Mindy Kaling. Bookclub needs more readers and fewer celebrity gossips.
Probably more like 3.5 -I've skimmed this book a million times but finally decided to break down and read it cover to cover. I wish it covered less of the mythology of SNL and more the essence but perhaps this is the case with any of these "oral history" style book - they attempt to get to the essence through the stories of many.
this is the gossipiest book i have ever read. and that's saying a lot, because I read tina brown's biography of Princess Diana.
The beginning is a lot about creating SNL and the not ready for primetime players, which I loved. I have a real thing for Gilda Radner.
The second half, after Lorne Michaels comes back to the show, is just so so gossipy. So gossipy. Not a lot of substance, unless you count backstabbing as substance.
Worth it for the first half, but you can probably quit when you get to the pictures.
OH! I read this on my ipad, which I would HIGHLY suggest, because you're going to want to youtube sketches of Father Guido Sarducci and the church lady and Mary Katheryn Gallagher and Roseanne Roseannadanna and the Blues Brothers, and it helps to have that just a swipe away.
The beginning is a lot about creating SNL and the not ready for primetime players, which I loved. I have a real thing for Gilda Radner.
The second half, after Lorne Michaels comes back to the show, is just so so gossipy. So gossipy. Not a lot of substance, unless you count backstabbing as substance.
Worth it for the first half, but you can probably quit when you get to the pictures.
OH! I read this on my ipad, which I would HIGHLY suggest, because you're going to want to youtube sketches of Father Guido Sarducci and the church lady and Mary Katheryn Gallagher and Roseanne Roseannadanna and the Blues Brothers, and it helps to have that just a swipe away.
This book is just absolutely massive, and I'd say the first 2/3 were 5+ for me and the last bit was a little long - it might be because I don't know as much about the most recent cast or that there just needed to be tighter editing. On the whole though super fun and super surreal.
A fascinating look behind the scenes of one of American comedy’s greatest institutions, this is an oral history that covers Saturday Night Live from its inception to the early 00s, featuring almost all the key names who were there. Both the highs and lows, tragedies and triumphs are covered, and overall this is an entertaining, and sometimes salacious, read.