Tuesday Morning Live!

Early this morning, I just read the last page of the book Live From New York.

I've never been a fan of backstage drama, so it surprised me that I found Live From New York such a pleasurable read. Making it enthralling was that most of those who told the story were as immersed in the life backstage as much as the people they were talking about.

The authors Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller weaved the narrative together, crossing between major players and bystanders. Their presence in the book seems at once both negligible and overarching, remaining invisible when a cast member relates their affection or disdain for a colleague and yet their hand is noticed when they spin various accounts together around a single theme or event. The integrity of the book lies in the fact that nearly every passage involved a first hand incident, purging the text of the rumors that are usually spun in such a chronicle. Each speaker is allowed to have their own voice, not edited over by the authors or truncated by publishers.

Where a story written in this manner about the senate or a fast food chain would fail, Live From New York shines. Eight-ninths of the tale is told by the comedians responsible for making Saturday Night Live funny. The everyday details of their lives are perked up by the witticisms of their commentary. Even the tough content like drug abuse and the deaths of cast and crew are tinted with an appropriate amount of humor and irreverence. What are especially poignant are the simultaneously honest and touching memories of Belushi, Gilda,O'Donoghue , Hartman and Farley, all shown in their glory and failings. The book smoothly entwines their deaths in among what was going on at the show, making the comments feel both immediate and meditated.

While the reflections copied down into this book share some hilariously grim stories, it has also encouraged me to not give up my dreams of being a comedy sketch writer. The legends of Saturday night are given a humanizing portrayal, grounding and reaffirming a belief that quality television can be made by real people. When a book is able to be simultaneously cynical and optimistic, it easily deserves my accolades. That means Live From New York earns a "schwing!" from this blogger.