Saturday Night Live: The Complete Fifth Season, 1979-1980
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Actor: Garrett Morris, Harry ShearerBrand: Universal
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1320 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-12-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Saturday Night Live: The Complete Fifth Season, 1979-1980
DVD Review: The End of an Era
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Description of Saturday Night Live: The Complete Fifth Season, 1979-1980
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.Bestsellers in DVD
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