VINTAGE NR4PTP: The Early Years of SNL: S2E10 Candice Bergen/Frank Zappa (12/11/76) 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

VINTAGE NR4PTP: The Early Years of SNL: S2E10 Candice Bergen/Frank Zappa (12/11/76)

December 16, 2025 • Two Pints Productions, Inc.

Christmas is coming early this year to The Not Ready for Prime Time Project. This week we’re re-releasing a VINTAGE episode of The Early Years of SNL as we look back at not only the best holiday episode of the original (or any) era, but also one of the best episodes of the entire first five years.

Candice Bergen returns to Saturday Night Live for the 3rd time to host the Christmas episode for the second year in a row. This one is loaded with killer sketches from “Adopt Belushi for Christmas” to “Santi-Wrap” to the iconic “Consumer Probe.” It's got a great monologue and two sketches, “Gary Gilmore” and “The Killer Trees,” which are sleeper gems you may have forgotten about. And, speaking of forgetting, we also get one of the most memorable “breaks” in show history as Candice forgets who is playing who in a sketch and calls Gilda by Candice’s own character’s name, causing both women to just lose it.

To top it all off, Frank Zappa performs three numbers – all of which are top notch. He even manages to sneak into a sketch.

We love this episode. We hope you do too. Happy holidays!

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