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List Price: $69.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 1525
Released: December 1, 2009 |
| Our Price: $44.95 |
| Used Price: $32.73 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Returning for what would be the final season (1979-80) for many of the original cast and writers of SNL, the complete fifth season includes an array of comedic hosts, including Steve Martin, Eric Idle, Buck Henry, Rodney Dangerfield, Martin Sheen, Bea Arthur, Ted Knight, Elliot Gould, Burt Reynolds, Bob Newhart, and former cast member Chevy Chase. The complete fifth season of SNL features classic performances by Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Randy Newman, The B-52s, The J. Geils Band, Anne Murray, Grateful Dead, Blondie, as well as Paul Simon and James Taylor celebrating the 100th episode live from studio 8H.
Saturday Night Live: The Complete Fifth Season Reviews:
The strength of the returning cast almost overcomes the loss of John & Dan. 
2009-12-09 - Those who think this season will be weaker because of the loss of John Belushi & Dan Akroyd will be surprised to see just how good it is. Sure, the classic sketches featuring the departed cast are gone, but how many times can you repeat these without them getting stale. Instead we get some new & fresh sketches that make use of talented Harry Shearer. Don Novello appears more frequently as Father Guido Sarducci, and he is always on the mark, his live interview with Paul & Linda McCartney via satelite from England is priceless (episode #19).
Watching this season makes one wonder what could have happened in season 6 had most of this ensamble stayed on. The gradual loss of one or two members per year, allowing a few new members to join the cast, keeps things fresh (kind of like M*A*S*H). But the mass exodis almost killed the show.
It is ironic that in the last show (ep#20) Buck Henry announces that while the original cast would not be back he will return, he never did. Buck's DVD commentary hints to the rift between NBC and the original cast & producers over their departure as the reason he never returned. One sketch in this episode does fall flat, and it is dangerously positioned at the beginning of the show. Buck Henry is introducing "next years new cast". These people are not the real replacement cast, what is worse is that they are not even funny. Some are introduced with a clunker punchline to follow, others don't even bother to try. Buck's DVD commentary even admits that he did not know where the sketch was going, it was as if it was never finished. But this one sketch is just a brief clunk in an otherwise enjoyable final show. You just hope everyone stayed through it to get to the good stuff. To end it all the cast walks somberly out of the studio, not like excited stars about to embark on new & wonderful projects, but like a group of people who just got their pink slips. Buck Henry also comments on this odd serious departure.
Where this set falls way short is the lack of any bonus documentary, disc 7 has 70 minutes or more of free space on it! I know there are already documentaries released about the first 5 years, but I think something about the introduction of new members & promotion of secondary members would have been nice.
I will not drop the star rating of this set because of this, it just feels a little empty.
I am just glad this season got released.
Fifth Season is Better Than I Expected!
2009-12-04 - After watching thru Four Previous SNL seasons, they always seemed to be hit and miss. Certain skits would come across flat, some funny, some not and some skits depressing. The show was groundbreaking, but I found with the 5th season it is really funny, and it just flows.
Yes at this point many great cast members have left the show, but the cast of Bill, Gilda, Jane, really come into their own. Additons like Harry Shearer was much needed.
Some of the best eps are Teri Garr She is so damn funny! The Martin Sheen show was great also. The musical guests were so good also, like Bowie's odd style.
I can't say enough how great this season is. It never feels boring at all.
I can't wait for further seasons, some believe we won't see the non-Lorne years, but that is probably up in the air. I would much rather start back up when Lorne comes back for 1985, cause the show really picks up esp the following season with great new cast members Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks. Those years are golden! I can't wait for those. I feel 1985 thru the 90's were really good times for SNL, there were some roadbumps but they are still great.
The End of an Era 
2009-12-01 - Without a doubt, the first five years of Saturday Night Live were the best years of SNL. Well, the first four - at least. By the fifth year, the remaining cast and writers were so burnt-out that it hurt the quality of the show.
John Belushi and Dan Aykroid left the show after season four. Aykroid had told SNL producer/creator Lorne Michaels going into the fifth year that he would stay on as a castmember, but not as a writer -- then Dan had found out that he and John were given the chance to make The Blues Brothers movie starting that November, so Dan left too. As a replacement for the two, Lorne hired on Harry Shearer - who felt he was handed a raw deal (he kinda was). As the story goes, he was hired on as a writer/castmember by Lorne, but the others at SNL were told that he was hired on just as a writer. This brought some bitterness towards him from the other cast and writers when he would write himself into scenes. They thought he was just some stupid new writer, who didn't know that it was frowned upon to write yourself into sketches, week after week. After a friendly dispute with Lorne thereafter, Harry's time on SNL was pretty much over. Harry's side of the story states that Lorne was as friendly as can be, and said he would make everything all right. And then, Lorne simply decided that he wasn't going to do business with Harry anymore. Harry was caught completely off guard, and hated Lorne afterwards. Many have said that Lorne Michaels conducts business in an unusual way.
With John and Dan gone from the show, a major majority of the male characters went to Bill Murray, which made him feel overwhelmed. He himself had just finished a starring role in the movie Meatballs. Most all the male sketches went to John and Dan on the seasons before. Bill has said some years later that he felt kinda bitter about that fifth season because of it. Gilda Radner was very burnt-out in this season because she appeared on Broadway (in her own show - Gilda Live!) during the summer between seasons four and five. Lorne Michaels had produced Gilda's broadway show - which made him on the edge too. Laraine and Garrett weren't featured much in this season. One may speculate that drugs was a factor in that scenerio (and could be right...it was a different time...no judgement needed). As far as Jane Curtin was concerned, she was happy to see John and Danny leave. She considered them the bad boys of SNL. All she cared is that she had Weekend Update, so she could care less about everything else.
Keep an eye open in this fifth season for a sketch involving writer (now Senator) Al Franken called "Limo for a Lame-O". Lorne Michaels got alot of heat for that sketch from one of the NBC heads at the time, Fred Silverman. Al Franken refered to Silverman as a Lame-O for riding around in an NBC limo everywhere. For some reason, Al thought that Silverman didn't deserve to ride in that limo. Right before this happened, Fred Silverman had requested from Lorne to put Gilda Radner in her own show, the following season. Silverman saw Gilda as the next Lucille Ball. Lorne said no, and Fred was angry. A few days before the "Limo for Lame-O" sketch aired, Lorne and Silverman were schelduled to have a meeting, which Silverman didn't make it to. In the end, Silverman thought the "Lame-O" sketch was Lorne's reaction to Silverman missing their meeting.
As many know, this fifth season was the last season for many. All the cast (although i think Harry Shearer returned for one season sometime later), and most all the writers. And of course, Lorne Michaels left too. He would return to SNL some five years later. Lorne had suggested to NBC that Al Franken take over as the new head of Saturday Night Live. Of course after the "Limo for Lame-O" sketch, Fred Silverman was not going to make Al the new SNL guy. The person that NBC chose to run Saturday Night Live was a lady who acted as an 'asscociate producer' during those first five years, Jean Doumanian. She wasn't given a chance by her staff, or anybody for that matter. There were petitions being sent around hoping to get her fired from day one. She only lasted 10 months. One major note was that she wasn't a comedy writer. To run a show like Saturday Night Live - you need to be trained in the ways of comedy writing.
The one major reason why the first five years, the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, and their writers will always be better than any other SNL cast and writers is this: they didn't know that they were going to be breaking into fame by being on the show. They didn't know that Saturday Night Live was going to be a comedy show that everyone would see. That it would launch them into careers. Every other SNL castmember after them knows that SNL can be a show that could possibly launch their career. And they focus on that. They focus on that there could be some very important people watching them, and they are playing to them. And it hurts their work. It hurts the quality of their work. They may have good material, but it could be better if their thoughts aren't lost on SNL being the stepping stones they want to hopefully give them a successful comedy career. The original cast didn't know this. And that made the quality of their work great. And you have to give credit to Lorne Michaels towards the end of that first era. As his cast and writers were started to develop big egos, Lorne's major job was to help keep things together. After seeing Chevy Chase leave the show and become a star. After seeing the same thing start to happen to Belushi. With the critics and the papers, and all, talking about how great this show is, how these men and women have potential for greatness -- Lorne's job (which he did well) was to hold this group together, and make this thing work. There will never be another cast or writers like these.
Zeitgeist
2009-12-01 - you can waste your time comparing seasons and cast members and being an overly critical comedy snob all you want. I just love these SNL collections because these episodes are like a time travel machine. No other show has the ability to transport me back in time as well as SNL does. I'm hoping they eventually release every season ever made on DVD.
GREAT MUSIC GUESTS!!!!!! 
2009-10-24 - So the final Season of the original Not ready For Prime Time Players is being released.
There are a number of rare sketches from this season aired only once and not put into
the syndication package (aired as either 30 minute or 60 minute shows, but always editing
out close to 20 minutes of the original 90 minute length). So the restoration will
show me sketches not seen since 1979. But that is not the reason to buy this set.
It is the Music Guests!! First the is the 3 songs pefromed by Bob Dylan in his
ONLY SNL appearance. All of those songs are from his SLOW TRAIN RUNNING tour
(religious) but the songs are performed very well. (One of Dylans few TV apperances
that actually was stellar). All three songs are solid performances. Then there are
the 2 infamous songs by an(so they say at the time) inebriated or (?)
Marianne Faithfull she sings Broken English and Guilt) Guilt was not put into syndication,
and it is the better performance!
Add the Greatful Dead , Randy Newman and a few more musical gems (more solo
songs from Paul Simon).
This season gets 5 stars
for music and only 3 for the sketch content...what could they really do,
they lost Belushi, then Aykroyd and Chase had long ago departed leaving
Bill Murray to take on many roles. Hey, the season at least gave some needed
and neglected sketch time to Garrett Morris LOL. Cant wait for the release!
