Saturday Night Live: Season 1, 1975-1976

With 8 DVDs, you get the entire first season of episodesDisc One featured the pilot episode with comedian George Carlin with musical guests like Billy Preston and Janis Ian along with the original not ready for primetime players starring Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner in the cast in groundbreaking comedies. George Carlin performs more stand-up comedy than participates in skits with the cast. It is still a terrific episode though and unforgettable. The second episode has Paul Simon with musical guests, Art Garfunkel, a very pregnant Phoebe Snow, Randy Newman and the Jesse Dixon Singers. The third episode has Emmy winner Rob Reiner (All in the Family's Mike Stivic) with Joe Cocker, John Belushi and Penny Marshall.Disc Two has Candice Bergen with Esther Phillips as a musical guest. Comedian Robert Klein hosted the fifth episode with musical guests like ABBA and Loudon Wainwright III. The sixth episode was hosted by the incomparable Lily Tomlin with Howard Shore's All Nurse Band.Disc Three has Richard Pryor and Gil Scott-Heron as musical guest. Candice Bergen hosts again the Christmas episode and is the first repeat host with Martha Reeves and the Stylistics. Elliott Gould is the host with Canadian legend singer, Anne Murray as musical guest.Disc Four has Buck Henry with musical guests like Bill Withers and Toni Basil. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore are the first comedy duo to host the show with musical guest, Neil Sedaka. Talk show host Dick Cavett hosts with musical guest, Jimmy Cliff.Disc Five has Peter Boyle with musical guest, Al Jarreau and unforgettable skit with John Belushi as the dueling Brandos. Desi Arnaz from "I Love Lucy" host with his son, Desi Arnaz Jr. as musical guest. Gilda Radner does a terrific job as Lucy. The show ends with Desi leading the cast in the audience. Jill Clayburgh host with Leon Redbone as musical guest.Disc Six has Psycho's Anthony Perkins as host with Betty Carter as musical guest. President Gerald Ford's press secretary Ron Nessen is the host with Patti Smith Group as musical guest. Raquel Welch was host with a return performance from Phoebe Snow and John Sebastian.Disc Seven has Madeline Kahn and Carly Simon as musical guest. Madeline plays Marlena Dietrich to Gilda Radner's Baba Wawa in a sendup and as the Bride of Frankenstein. Dyan Cannon was host with Leon and Mary Russell as musical guests. Buck Henry is the first male host for the second time with Canadian musical guest Gordon Lightfoot.Disc Eight has Elliott Gould as return host with musical guests like Leon Redbone, Harlan Collins and Joyce Everson. Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman's star Louise Lasser hosts with Preservation Hall Jazz Band as musical guests. The final episode has Kris Kristofferson as host and Rita Coolidge as musical guests. Disc eight also the original screen tests of the entire cast and an interview with the cast and Lorne Michaels two weeks before the show premiered.Forty-one years later, the show is still groundbreaking and created stars. The original cast suffered the losses of Gilda Radner to cancer and John Belushi to a drug overdose. I still love this show and enjoyed every episode on DVD.

I never thought entire seasons of "Saturday Night Live" would ever be released on DVD. Never in a million years. Never in my wildest dreams. But lo and behold, here it is. And all I can say is "Wow".I don't think I began watching SNL on a regular basis until its second season when Bill Murray joined the show and The Coneheads first appeared and Steve Martin began hosting. So it was fascinating for me to watch the show's first season in order to see the transformation of this landmark series. The first few episodes aren't that great or funny. The Not Ready for Prime Time Players weren't allowed to really shine until around the fourth episode when Candice Bergen hosted. And the second show with Paul Simon as host is almost all music--which isn't bad--but it's not the SNL we came to know and love. But slowly as the season evolved, the original cast became stars and the main reason to tune in.Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner took over SNL and made it their own during the first season. They developed classic characters such as Gilda's Emily Litella and Baba Wawa (Barbara Walters), Chevy's accident-prone President Ford, Land Shark (a spoof of the popular "Jaws") and his smooth Weekend Update newscaster, Dan's Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon, and John's Japanese Samurai, plus The Bees. Even The Muppets showed up during the first season, but they were eventually phased out as the cast became more popular--and their humor didn't really fit the show that well (and it was all for the best, since The Muppets then went on to create their own popular show, "The Muppet Show").I confess I haven't watched SNL much since the days of Eddie Murphy and The Sweeney Sisters (Nora Dunn and Jan Hooks). After they all left, so did I. But I think it's amazing that the show is still on the air after all these years. That's what makes this first season so special--to see the roots of such a legendary show. I loved the eclectic mix of guest hosts--Rob Reiner, Candice Bergen, Lily Tomlin, Richard Pryor, Elliott Gould, Buck Henry, Dick Cavett, Desi Arnaz (who is wonderful), Jill Clayburgh, Anthony Perkins, Raquel Welch, Madeline Kahn, Dyan Cannon and Louise Lasser--and the musical guests are just as diverse: Janis Ian, Simon & Garfunkel, Abba, Anne Murray, Neil Sedaka, Patti Smith Group, Carly Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, Loudon Wainwright III (Rufus' father) and Rita Coolidge. Wow. I have to say that again. Wow. And again.Also, this DVD set includes some interesting extras: the original screen tests for the cast and an interview with the cast and producer Lorne Michaels on NBC's "Tomorrow Show" starring Tom Snyder just before the first episode aired.If you want to watch a groundbreaking show become a force of nature, here's where it all began. Right here--on this DVD set. And be sure to watch the episodes in order. It's a fascinating journey.

i had waited and waited for this to come out on region 2 and as soon as it did-i bought! i have had this for nearly three years and never tire of it.saturday night was HILARIOUS in this series, gilda radner, john belushi, chevy chase, dan aykroyd-some amazing musical guests and comedy guests are all fabulous and make for compulsive, no, obsessive viewing. one ends and you need to start another.this box set shows how things used to be, stars could laugh AT themselves and weren't too diva-ish to become part of the team and get stuck in to the sketches.political satire (see weekend update featuring gerald ford and his accidents) and political incorrectness (see richard prior job interview!) the content of the early snl series would not look out of place on tv today, the current snl crew are good but don't compare to the old school bunch. pushing the boundaries and believing in their material seemed more important than their own agendas. these days sometimes the modern snl seems to think it's cleverer and funnier than it really is.PLEASE bring season 2 on region 2, my life is incomplete without it!

Love seeing the originals at work. Some hosts jokes are a bit dated but then it is set in the 70s. Would definitely recommend to anyone.

its really amazing to get to see how the show's beginning is.im a fan of Chevy chase since i was young and really enjoy watching him doing the show's trademark fall and weekend update in full.the only thing im not very happy is that the package is very big,it takes alot of space in the house.although it is great for collectors who want to watch the show in its original context

Took me back to watching late night on TV... Love it great value superb sketches

Some of the humour a bit hit & miss.Great selection of US comedy stars.Worth buying just for the music guests and the great price