The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

Not Ready for Season 6: SNL S06E03: Ellen Burstyn/Aretha Franklin, Keith Sykes (12/06/80)

The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

Show Notes

Not Ready for Season 6 is back and we're looking at how the cast and writers of SNL bounce back after last week's infamous outing. This episode of Saturday Night Live was hosted by Ellen Burstyn from the legendary film The Exorcist with The Queen of Soul herself Aretha Franklin bringing the house down as musical guest. And... we get Eddie Murphy in his first speaking role on the show! Who is starting to emerge from the cast? What do they still need to fix? All of this on another fun and excit...

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Oct 13, 2026

After looking back on Season 6, we asked ourselves: What if Saturday Night Live DIDN’T fire Jean Doumanian in the middle of the season? How much longer might she have lasted? What might the show go on to become? And how much longer might SNL have even existed? Thomas Sena and Deremy Dove join Brad and Gary to look at what an alternate history of SNL might look like. They imagine what changes would still have taken place for Season 7 (and beyond), what kind of guests might have been on the sho...

Sep 8, 2026

Denny Dillon returns to the podcast to talk with Thomas and Deremy about her time on Saturday Night Live. She talks about what it was like trying to keep SNL alive during Season 6, the uphill battle that was, and what it was like for the show moving from Jean Doumanian to Dick Ebersol. Denny revisits the whole season, pulling back the curtain on sketches, hosts, and working with fellow castmates such as Joe Piscopo, Gail Matthius, Gilbert Gottfried, and of course, a young Eddie Murphy. Join u...

Sep 1, 2026

We made it! Season 6 of Saturday Night Live! What a ride. Thomas and Deremy take a final look back at one of the most infamous "eras" in SNL history. They discuss what they liked, what surprised them, and what the learned by watching this whole season. They talk favorite hosts, musical guests, sketches and more. Join us for one more look back at SNL Season 6! --------------------------------- Subscribe & Follow today! And follow us on social media: Twitter: @NR4PTProject...

Aug 25, 2026

Well, we've made it to the Season 6 finale of Saturday Night Live! An abbreviated end to such a monumental season in SNL history. In the first episode of the Dick Ebersol era, we open with an appearance from a legend of the original cast. New cast members are introduced, including Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky, and Tony Rosato. And Al Franken returns with an appearance on Weekend Update. So much has happened in Season 6's final episodes, and this finale is no exception! All of this and more on N...

Aug 18, 2026

Bill Murray returns to Saturday Night Live to host what ended up being the final episode of the very brief Jean Doumanian era. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save Season 6—even if he did bring back Delbert McClinton as musical guest. Hours after this episode ended, Doumanian was fired as Executive Producer of the show. Replaced by Dick Ebersol, many of the cast and writers would also experience their last week at Studio 8H. But the episode itself? The returning veteran from SNL's original...

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