Milestones are supposed to shine. SNL’s 100th did something stranger: it skipped a host, stacked cameos, and unintentionally made flogging history when Paul Shaffer became the first person to drop the F bomb during the live broadcast.

For the first time, Saturday Night Live goes without a proper host, relying instead on a slew of cameos. From Michael O’Donoghue and John Belushi (twice!) to Ralph Nader, Michael Palin, and NYS senator Daniel Moynihan - apparently NOT related to Bobby - who pops up twice. And, if you look closely, current Paul Simon girlfriend Carrie Fisher sneaks into a sketch. All of which add to a show that while entertaining, often feels discombobulated.

But don’t worry! Friend of the show Paul Simon returns (of course) to sing a few songs alongside James Taylor (who also appears in a sketch). And, in keeping with this episode’s spirit of sharing the wealth, SNL-bandmember David Sanborn also plays a song.

Happy 100th, SNL! Here’s to 900 more!!

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Throughout the storied history of SNL, one constant move has been booking hot stand-up comedians to host the show. And in early 1980, there were very few hotter than Rodney Dangerfield, who having already cameoed once in Season 4, comes ready to play.

Unfortunately, he isn’t given much to play with. The highlight of this episode just might be the monologue, where Rodney shows why he is one of the best. After that, there are a series of sketches that run the gamut from questionable to tired to downright offensive. Though it must be said that the Murray Brothers do come through near the end with a really great sketch.

The J. Geils Band do their best as musical guest to inject a little life into this one. But is it enough?

We are joined by Jason Morris, of the amazing Classic SNL Reviews blog, to talk about this episode of Saturday Night Live - one that is near and dear to his heart.

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Kirk Douglas hosted Saturday Night Live? Yes, yes he did. Along with R&B legends Sam & Dave as the musical guest. This did happen.

How did it turn out? Well…the show opens with Douglas doing what looks to be a Dorf impression. And it only gets better from there.

As “The Early Years” of SNL get closer to its end, we start to say goodbye to many fan favorites. We get the final Schiller’s Reel of the original era, the last appearance of Jane’s “Joan Face,” and the final installment of “What if?”

We do learn the last name of Nick the Lounge Singer, so perhaps it is not a total loss.

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Ho, ho, Hoooo! Our season of celebrating the holidays comes to a close with this VINTAGE re-release of our very first edition of Tournament Talk. Fittingly, for this inaugural outing, we brought a few of our friends in to discuss and debate our Favorite SNL Holiday Moments.

We had a lot of fun looking back at 50 years of memorable holiday sketches, pre-tapes, and performances as we battled it out over our top 16 favorite Saturday Night Live holiday moments.

Thomas Sena joins us to intro the episode and (spoiler alert) talk about some of our favorite moments that didn’t make it to the competition.

Happy Holidays!

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We continue to celebrate the holiday season by looking back at a movie that is a must watch this time of year – Scrooged!

Bill Murray returns to acting after a four-year hiatus to star in this modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ immortal classic, "A Christmas Carol," that’s infused with the chaotic energy of the live television and Saturday Night Live. Though originally panned by critics – as well as Murray and others involved in making the film – it has endured as one of the modern Christmas classics.

The script, written by SNL’s Michael O’Donoghue and Mitch Glazer, famously got reworked during the filming but the final product has stood the test of time. Murray delivers a layered performance, the supporting cast is stellar, and the blend of dark humor and heart hits just right.

If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and (re)watch this movie today!

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Christmas is coming early this year to The Not Ready for Prime Time Project. This week we’re re-releasing a VINTAGE episode of The Early Years of SNL as we look back at not only the best holiday episode of the original (or any) era, but also one of the best episodes of the entire first five years.

Candice Bergen returns to Saturday Night Live for the 3rd time to host the Christmas episode for the second year in a row. This one is loaded with killer sketches from “Adopt Belushi for Christmas” to “Santi-Wrap” to the iconic “Consumer Probe.” It's got a great monologue and two sketches, “Gary Gilmore” and “The Killer Trees,” which are sleeper gems you may have forgotten about. And, speaking of forgetting, we also get one of the most memorable “breaks” in show history as Candice forgets who is playing who in a sketch and calls Gilda by Candice’s own character’s name, causing both women to just lose it.

To top it all off, Frank Zappa performs three numbers – all of which are top notch. He even manages to sneak into a sketch.

We love this episode. We hope you do too. Happy holidays!

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SNL looks to pick up the pieces as it turns into the back half of Season 5 as old standby Elliott Gould returns to become the third host in show history to do it a fifth time (a feat that wouldn’t be repeated for over six years). Gould clearly knows his way around the show, as evidenced by his “laissez-faire” approach to this episode, yet he isn’t given much material to work with.

It’s not a good sign when the only bit the man notorious for always kicking off his Saturday Night Live appearances with a song and dance is reduced to simply eating a carrot stick for his monologue. He’s forced to wait until he dresses up as a bear for an uncopyrighted Canadian retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” sketch to do both. But, the episode does kick off with a fun cold open that turns into a runner – something we have not seen for quite awhile – and Harry Shearer continues to shine when he’s given the spotlight. And, the show continues to showcase new and interesting musical acts with Gary Numan as this week’s musical guest.

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They say “you can never go home again.” But maybe, what they meant was that you just simply shouldn’t. Original Not Ready for Prime Time Player and first breakout star of SNL, Chevy Chase returns for his second time hosting and it does not take long for things to go off the rails. An obviously impaired Chevy is covered in flop sweat, has trouble reading his lines, and at times struggles with the English language.

Not to be outdone, musical guest Marianne Faithfull arrives at Saturday Night Live equally impaired – if not more. She struggles through two performers off her comeback album, Broken English, and at times seems to be someplace else. These two combine for one of the greatest – and most infamous – trainwrecks in show history.

And what would a trainwreck be without The SNL in Review’s legendary Andy Hoglund on hand to help sort through it all? Andy joins us to defend the musical guest, give his sympathies to Harry Shearer, and debate the pros and cons of drug use.

Make sure to listen all the way through to the end to hear a snippet of one of the tracks off Chevy’s debut album. It is….AMAZING!

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