Deep Thoughts: Mr. Mike's Mondo Video Artwork

The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

An in-depth journey into the legacy of one of television's most iconic and influential shows - Saturday Night Live. Through deep dives into its most memorable eras, behind-the-scenes stories, and analysis of its evolution, we celebrate and debate all things SNL - the show that has become an institution, defining comedy for over 50 years.

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The Not Ready for Prime Time Project: An SNL Retrospective

Deep Thoughts: Mr. Mike's Mondo Video

April 01, 2025 • Two Pints Productions, Inc.

0:00 | 41:54

We are very excited to discuss what is widely considered the VERY BEST of the SNL-related movies. A project filled with artistic precision, coherency, and directorial flourishes that taps directly into the zeitgeist possibly better than anything to ever come out of Saturday Night Live.

April Fools!

Our topic is Mr. Mike's Mondo Video - the film promoted as "the television show too dangerous for television." (Which we are genuinely excited about.) It is a film that confounded critics and audiences alike when it premiered in the fall of 1979. Has much changed since then?

Dennis Perrin returns to discuss the origins of this curious project, helping chronicle how it went from Saturday Night Live off-week special to “full length” feature film. We examine what worked (there are some things), what didn't (there are many more), and what the project reveals about both Michael O'Donoghue and the state of comedy in the late 70s.

And, just to show how MONDO this project truly is... there are some things even Dennis can't figure out.

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