Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season, 1975-1976 |  | Directors: Dave Wilson, A.D. Miles, Christopher Guest, Mike Judge, Tom Schiller
Actors: Dan Aykroyd, Cheve Chase, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $17.00
as of 9/8/2010 11:59 EDT details
You Save: $22.98 (57%)
New (43) Used (34) from $15.28
Seller: ladyslw925
Rating:  151 reviews
Sales Rank: 2193
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Discs: 8
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1593 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.6 x 1.4
MPN: 025193056528
UPC: 025193056528
EAN: 0025193056528
ASIN: B000JLQPYK
Theatrical Release Date: October 11, 1975
Release Date: December 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
First season of comedy skits from Saturday night live.
Amazon.com
Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season boxed set is much more than the sum of its parts, in fact it's one of the most significant TV DVD releases yet. This isn't just an 8-disc set featuring 24 episodes of live sketch comedy, it's a big box of zeitgeist. This really is the complete first season, mostly uncut and complete with every musical act and short film intact (a few bumpers and transitions were removed to make it flow better on DVD). The first broadcast aired on October 11, 1975, hosted by George Carlin and featured musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. At first, things seem a little raw: Carlin's opening monologue is painfully unfunny, Chase's first shot at the seminal "Weekend Update" is amusing but sloppy, and much of the cast seem to be holding back. But the groundwork is all there, and soon in subsequent episodes you can see it all start to come together (especially with John Belushi who lets his simmering intensity out to tremendous effect), proving that the first episode simply belies the historic impact the show would come to have on popular culture. Here you'll find the first airing of some of the many skits that stayed famous over the years: the Land Shark, Samurai Hotel, Chevy Chase's opening pratfalls and the impersonations of Gerald Ford which would spin off into the proud SNL tradition of presidential parodies. The set is a very entertaining look at a significant point in TV and American cultural history. It is so 1975, but that's a major part of its appeal: did Chevy Chase really used to look that young? Did a young George Carlin really used to look so old? Check out Abba in those disco jumpsuits. And if you're a fan of The Muppets, seeing them here on late-night TV making jokes about getting drunk will blow your mind. Younger fans may not fully understand just how groundbreaking this show was at the time. For example, Richard Pryor hosting the seventh episode, which includes the famous "Word Association" sketch. Back then, to have a comedian of Pryor's reputation joking about drugs, sex, and race on live TV was a tremendous risk (it's also gratifying to see the obvious effect he had on the next generation of comics like Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock), and it helped established the show's cache as unpredictable and edgy. The DVD set is full of moments like this and, like the show itself, it has its ups and downs. Watching hosts like Rob Reiner (back when he was still in his "Meathead" days from All in the Family), Madeleine Kahn, and Desi Arnaz work their comedy chops with the cast are high points. Whereas the infamous Louise Lasser episode, which is known for being among the worst episodes in the show's history… not so much. Still, it's entirely to Executive Producer Lorne Michaels's credit that it's included here. It's a tremendous collection of everything that gave birth to Saturday Night Live, and the seed of what SNL would become, spawning many movies (not to mention a few catch-phrases), launching the careers of many great comedians, and providing TV viewers with some of the most famous, and infamous, moments in broadcast history. And it all started right here. The set is packaged in a well-designed, sleek fold-out digi-pack with every episode listed on the sleeves, with hosts, musical guests, and the original air date. The special features include a rare look at the cast members' original screen tests, and a 1975 TV interview with the cast. --Daniel Vancini
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 151
 Almost all of the Land of Gorch April 11, 2010
M. HARDT (Houston, Texas)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Remember the Land of Gorch? For those of you who missed it, the Land of Gorch was the "adult" Muppets -- complete with king, fawning toady and old-style "god". The appearance of the Land of Gorch muppets is similar to that seen in The Dark Crystal movie, but their humor is completely 1970's.
Awesome!!! March 12, 2010
Jeri K. Thomas (Cincinnati, OH)
The price was awesome and this is the very best of SNL. The Not Ready For Prime Time Players! Love it!
Template for the irreverent comedy show genre. December 29, 2009
S. Spears (Florence, MA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Saturday Night Live premiered in the fall of 1975. At that time, the show broke new ground in the otherwise stale, late-night TV landscape. It was fresh, cutting-edge, and boiling-over with it's unprecedented brand of risqué humor.
It's target audience, was mainly the teen and twenty-something 70s baby-boomers. These viewers finally had a comedy show, that they could instantly relate to. It poked fun at everything their parent's generation tended to take too seriously; religion, politics, social proprieties, etc.
It goes without saying, that the splendidly talented Not Ready For Prime Time Players, were the centerpiece of the show. They included Chevy Chase, Dan Akroid, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Jane Kurtin, Garrett Morris, and Lorraine Newman. When they left the show after the first few seasons, it never quite regained it's comedic edge, that it had when they were regulars.
Saturday Night Live also had the hippest guest hosts every week. These various hosts, always seemed to mesh marvelously with the overall comedic hi-jinx of the show.
During it's early years, and even today, Saturday Night Live has featured some of the most cutting-edge musical performers; Patti Smith (the 'godmother' of Punk), Run DMC, Queen Latifah, The Talking Heads, Nirvana, etc. So the musical performance segment of the show, was always as much of a treat as the comedic sketches were.
In summation, Saturday Night Live was the original template, for all of the irreverent comedy sketch shows that came later; SCTV, The Kids In The Hall, Mad TV, etc. And though the first few seasons of the show were the best, it still holds its own, even after being on the air nearly 33 years now.
SNL 1st season November 6, 2009
Michele L. Shea (Brookfield, MA United States)
Loved these shows originally and they bring back lots of good memories and laughs. We'll enjoy these shows for many years to come. Great value.
 NOT - The Complete First Season April 15, 2009
GamePlayer30 (Baltimore, MD)
3 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is false advertising. This DVD set is missing many pieces. Do not support this weak effort! Also, video quantity is very poor.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 151
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