Episode 157: Art Garfunkel/Stephen Bishop (March 11, 1978)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
Release Date: 03/13/2026
Episode 158: Ray Romano/The Coors (March 13, 1999)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
Sweet sassy molassy! That's it. That's the post. Nah, I guess I gotta write some more here. Well, it's the first episode of SNL hosted by Ray Romano. You might remember him. Had a pretty popular sitcom for a number of years. Got a real memorable voice too. It's time to do some fun SNL gag 'em ups with him and gag them up we do! Got a few beloved sketches in this one, a few that don't really land, Weekend Update doing it's Weekend Update thing. And, of course, we make sure to dedicate a small little chunk of the episode to discuss the movie Grandma's Boy because that's what Doris...
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Episode 157: Art Garfunkel/Stephen Bishop (March 11, 1978)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
It's time to Art Funk with the Garf! This week, we've got a pleasantly mellow little outing from the original cast, one with a heavier bent on music than usual. And since the music is being provided by Art Garfunkel and Stephen Bishop, it's also maybe a little sleepier than usual but that doesn't mean we don't have some bangers in here too. In fact, we have one of the most recognizable SNL sketches ever nestled in this one and, for my money, one of the best musical performances as well. There's some real bafflers and Andy Kaufman so join us as we explore this strange, John Belushi heavy...
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Episode 156: Edwin Newman/Kool & The Gang (February 25, 1984)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
Here we are at an important crossroads for the show: the final live episode for Eddie Murphy as a cast member. Yes, the show would still have two pre-taped sketches left to air in later episodes but this is basically it for Eddie. And who does the show bring into host for this momentous occasion? Recently retired NBC newsman Edwin Newman. Huh. That doesn't seem terribly exciting. I mean, yeah, Kool & The Gang are there to very literally bring the Celebration but Edwin Newman? Seems like an odd choice...or is it?
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Episode 155: Cicely Tyson/Talking Heads (February 10, 1979)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
The show's first black female host. One of the coolest bands in NYC providing the tunes. Quite possibly the most amount of people watching the show in it's entire history. What could go wrong? Turns out, everything! In a move that can only be described as "yeah, that sounds like something SNL would do", the show manages to torpedo this moment in time with some of the most grim, grimy, sexist and just plain ugly sketches to ever grace your television screens. Strap in for this one, folks because it's not getting any easier.
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Episode 154: Paul Giamatti/Ludacris featuring Sum 41 (January 22, 2005)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
Against the backdrop of a snowed in New York, the cast and crew of the thirtieth season of SNL huddle into 30 Rock with beloved character actor Paul Giamatti to do what is quite possibly the finest outing of a fairly infamous season. We get two decent political efforts, a rare Finesse Mitchell showcase, some quality oddities and the ridiculous, joyous nonsense that is Ludacris and Sum 41 as our musical guests. And, as an added bonus, a few commercials and weirdness from an incomplete live airing I found! OH NO!
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Episode 153: Sting (January 19, 1991)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
We're kicking off 2026 with another one of those quietly important episodes of the show, featuring the debut of a number of sketches that would go on to define the early 90s era of SNL. We get the first Richmeister sketch, the debut of Deep Thoughts (kicking off with FOUR of those tonight) and the first Coffee Talk, here in it's original form with host Paul Baldwin. And hey, we even get the widely loved Sinatra Group sketch in there as well! Elsewhere, things are pretty damn odd though (including one that never made it in reruns of this episode) and the Gulf War had just kicked off only a few...
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Episode 152: Eddie Murphy/Lionel Richie (Dec. 11, 1982)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
This week, we're covering the one and only episode of an offshoot series of SNL called The Eddie Murphy Show. It's got the same cast, same writers, same format, except that it's the only time a cast member hosted the show while still in the cast and that person is Eddie Murphy and so now it's The Eddie Murphy Show. So, yeah. You might've heard about this one. Original host Nick Nolte has to drop out, his 48 Hours co-star steps in and thus, an fairly notable episode is born. We've got Jon Schneider with us on this one to explore all of the herpes, the endless run of failed jokes from Brad Hall,...
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Off Week 72: MADtv's Fifth Christmas Episode (Dec. 11, 1999)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
(Originally posted on Patreon on December 11, 2023) We continue our yearly journey through the history of MADtv with it's fifth Christmas episode, an episode that spells the end of a period of semi-stability for the show. As per usual, we get some Mrs. Swan and we get some Stuart because of course we do but as an extra holiday treat, we also get Deborah Harry and Blondie as special guests!
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Episode 151: Steve Buscemi/The Black Keys (December 3, 2011)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
After crashing out a little bit with the January Jones episode, we thought we'd return to this era for a slightly better outing, this time hosted by Steve Buscemi! Who doesn't love Steve? No one, that's who. And if you don't like Steve Buscemi, keep that to yourself, ya weirdo. So what do we got on deck for this one? Well, we've got a fairly well remembered sketch with Coach Bert, a cameo from Maya Rudolph as Whitney Houston, some fun debuts, some last iterations of a few sketches and The Black Keys playing some songs you may remember and have very little opinion on. Friends, it looks like we...
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Episode 150: Macaulay Culkin/Tin Machine (November 23, 1991)
That Week In SNL (A Vintage Saturday Night Live Podcast)
Hey, it's another one of those episodes hosted by an extremely young child! This time around it's Macaulay Culkin, here promoting Home Alo...wait, hold on...I'm getting word that he is in fact here promoting My Girl. Huh. Well, they sure do spend a lot of time riffing on Home Alone in this one, but I do suppose that was the style at the time. We do get an all-timer Lorne Michaels performance out of it though so that's cool. Kieran Culkin is here too and he's in this about as much as Macaulay, which is certainly notable. And Tin Machine. My god, Tin Machine. That band is a David Bowie side...
info_outlineIt's time to Art Funk with the Garf! This week, we've got a pleasantly mellow little outing from the original cast, one with a heavier bent on music than usual. And since the music is being provided by Art Garfunkel and Stephen Bishop, it's also maybe a little sleepier than usual but that doesn't mean we don't have some bangers in here too. In fact, we have one of the most recognizable SNL sketches ever nestled in this one and, for my money, one of the best musical performances as well. There's some real bafflers and Andy Kaufman so join us as we explore this strange, John Belushi heavy episode of SNL.