Although my enthusiasm for watching Saturday Night Live has waxed and waned over the years -- I'm still fascinated by the politics, gossip and often outrageous backstage dynamics of the show. I had high hopes for this book but found it very dry. I far prefer and highly recommend Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller's "Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live." I re-read it for the third time directly after finishing this book and found it as zippy and entertaining as ever. Lightning-fast read. It's an oral history taken from interviews with past cast and crew, a far more enjoyable format. (It does for SNL what the excellent "Please Kill Me" does for seventies punk.)

In short, this book definitely needed more cowbell.

If you are an SNL ultra-fan, this is a great history book on the first ten years of the show. It was riveting almost entirely throughout and left me wanting more about the following 38 years.

Yes, it's dated, and as a result it ends with Lorne Michaels' (dare I say "triumphant"?) return to the show, but this is still a highly entertaining and eye-opening look at a program that is, honestly, a comedy icon. Very few of the warts are removed, and the names listed are numerous. Chances are you will come out of the reading experience with a different view of the show. For my part, I came away from it dearly wanting to strangle Michael O'Donaghue for insulting the wonderful Mary Gross, with whom I have always been secretly enamored. Also, the story is perhaps more about the mechanics of the show rather than the performers...but I reckon that's okay, I wanted to know about that too. Perhaps in another title; SNL was (and remains) too big to cover in one 500+ page tome. That they would have Kate Bush as a musical guest is proof enough of their legend. She's not noted here, but take heart; perhaps she will get a mention in another book. If you're a fan, get it and read it...it's kinda like the old saw about the sausage factory: you love the product but you never want to know how it's made. Well, if you've got the stomach for it, you'll enjoy this one. I did, and have no trouble recommending it.

Wow. fact filled insight into a world we though we were familiar with.

Enjoyed reading the history of the origins of a show that was slightly before my time. After reading of the drug use, decadence and attitudes of those who originated the show, I found this quote from Lorne Michaels about drug use and the death of John Belushi significant:
Part of the problem of my generation was a morality that said you don't tell people how to live. That was garbage. It was just a way to avoid taking responsibility.

Great on the first and second season... then the focus begins to fade. But fantastic insights into the backstage politics.

I've always liked Saturday Night Live (watched a lot of reruns as a teen), and once I found out it had been running for years and seen a few sketches from the '70s I was really obsessed with the history behind it. I think this is a great book to read if you're like that too.
It has a very in-depth view to the creation process, the cast and staff that make up the first 10 years (1975 when the show started-1985 when this book was written) of Saturday Night. It goes into a lot of detail of the dynamic that makes up the show, and shares a lot (sometimes perhaps a little too much?) of the behind-the-scenes lives of all involved. Plus it has a very good collection of pictures throughout.
Overall I loved this book.

Interesting behind-the-scenes look at SNL (the first ten years anyway). There are tons of office politics on display throughout, and the anonymous quotes (from "a former cast member," "a one time crew member," etc.) are clearly meant to settle old scores.

Loved this book. And it was exceedingly interesting, covering the first ten years of the landmark show wonderfully. Plus, unlike the Shales book, it's written in a narrative format. Only complaint is that, even for the 2011 digital edition/reissue, several easily verifiable factual errors are found throughout. Of course, in1985, the authors can't be faulted for relying on people's memories of certain episodes. But today one can more easily go back and see that certain sketches did indeed air or that some events were colored by an individual's perspective at the time. Highly recommend.

Some crazy stories in this book - very entertaining

The very best thing about this book is the very inimate look at Lorne Michaels. This isn't a backstage tell-all about the nitty gritty, and stays focused on the actual production of the show.

This wasn't anything like I had hoped. It is about all the backstabbing and fighting between NBC execs, Lorne Michaels, the union crew and talent. There isn't much to laugh at here. I'm disappointed and I threw it in the trash when I was done (because the spine broke down and it was in terrible shape).