Tom Shales' and
James Andrew Miller's Live From New York chronicles the first 30 years of the seminal American comedy series,
Saturday Night Live. The book opens with
SNL's tumultuous creation by its Canadian executive producer Lorne Michaels, in order to replace Saturday night reruns of
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The book- narrated by the stars, writers, and guest hosts of the program- reveals the behind the scenes tensions that existed between Lorne, the original cast, and the NBC network bosses.
Live goes on to cover
SNL's disastrous season and near cancellation at the hands of executive producer Jean Doumanian, its righting in 1981 by new EP Dick Ebersol, Lorne Michaels' return to
SNL in 1985 with a cast of young actors who again nearly tanked the program, and its general success since then with such great players as John Lovitz, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, and Chris Kattam.
Live From New York gets an 8/10 from me. While it presents an incredibly thorough look at
SNL's formation and subsequent travails, it can sometims jump around confusingly between topics, making it difficult to follow the exact thread of
SNL's history. That being said, the glimpse that
Live reveals of the culture at
SNL- the competitiveness between the writers and performers and Lorne Michaels' extreme reservation of praise, among other things- is an essential resource for understanding just what it takes to be part of the great American institution of
SNL. Anyone interested in how show business really works, both thirty years ago and today, will find a wealth of information to enjoy in
Live From New York.
-Reviewed by Jerry, grade 11.
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