I can't seem to get enough SNL books or stories. I was 11 in 1975 when SNL went on the air - I remember much of the early shows in '75 and '76 and was an avid watcher into the '80's and picked up again in the late '90's.
I find the entire show fascinating - the late nights, the drive to put on an hour and a half of live TV every week, the topicality of the material, the discovery of new talent - all of it.
Jay Mohr's book shows what it was like for a couple of years in the 1993-1995 years of SNL. This period is much lighter in the drugs than earlier cohorts, much of the long-timers are older and in a different stage of life. It is very interesting that the culture of the show remains on a seeming drug-induced schedule - writing tends to start in earnest at about 8pm for a run-through at 5pm on Wednesday. Jay's experiences show the frustrations and difficulty of a new body coming into a long-standing show.
Though he is careful not to identify anyone as a cause, and doesn't think he was in any singled out, having sketches removed at the 11th hour, between the early Saturday evening show and the final live performance at 11:30, along with the difficulty in finding unique, humorous sketches to begin with on such an abbreviated timeline, and having both your writing and your acting lives on the line each week, is certainly an ongoing, humbling and frustrating lifestyle. Jay's learning through these two years, and his fight with a panic disorder make for an interesting 2 year rollercoaster.
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