Saturday Night Live - The Complete First Season (1975)

Finally, season one! A mixed bag as entertainment. Problematic video quality.

Saturday Night's format was in flux during 1975 and 1976. The series was originally touted as a comedy/variety show (rather than flat-out sketch comedy). Viewers who are used to SNL's current format may find the amount of music surprising, but it was an essential part of the show. For some viewers at the time, the music was SN's main attraction.

Yes, it all looks very 1970s, and yes, the topical jokes are now dated. But, of course, it WAS the '70s, so that's to be expected.

There are a few classic episodes here, including a great early show hosted by Lily Tomlin. Again, it's a different series than the current SNL, so you have to leave your expectations behind and view it on its own terms.

Having said that, though, these DVDs are a mixed bag as entertainment. There are memorable skits, but also a lot of humor that falls flat (especially some of the Albert Brooks films, which seemed baffling even at the time, and anything involving people in bee costumes). But I'm having a grand old time watching even the weaker programs.

My only major complaint is the picture quality, which is rather smeary and suffers significant loss of color detail. I can't help wondering whether these were mastered from dubs instead of the original tapes, or if perhaps someone went a bit overboard with the digital noise reduction filtering.

Among other issues, there's major "crushing" of the darker colors, with people's hair occasionally disappearing into the background. There are also sporadic image distortions and juddery movement. These quality problems, which are worse than I've seen on most other series from this era, add to the sense of datedness. Nonetheless, I'm thrilled to finally have the whole first season of this groundbreaking series, which redefined late-night TV. July 18, 2008

The depths of 1975

If you want to remember--or learn about--how utterly rotten 1975 was, exhibit A is the first season of Saturday Night Live. The comedy is not up to the high school level; one after another of the sketches falls completely flat. And there should be a contest about who was the worst host. Rob Reiner was pathetic. Lily Tomlin was excruciatingly bad. And as for Louise Lasser.....Then there was the bad music. And the garrish clothes. And the stiflingly uniform political correctness (even before the term was invented), made to seem oh-so-daring. (It takes a lot of courage and smarts to make fun of Gerald Ford.) In short, drugs help make these programs funnier than they were. Which is surely one of the problems haunting the performers and the writers who concocted some of the lamest excuses for comedy to be seen anywhere. July 3, 2008

Chuckles

Whew boy, I knew that the first season wouldn't be great, but I thought it'd be a lot better than it is. The majority of the skits aren't funny, and at best they produce a chuckle but never a full belly laugh. The worst part are the Albert Brooks and Muppet segments. I hate it when they do a Brooks skit, they are too long and not funny. The same goes for the muppet segments, but they are at least not as bad.

However, the cast is great. I enjoy watching John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and the rest. Too bad the writing just isn't good enough. The series does eventually get a lot better, but it is a slow ride through the first season May 24, 2008

Finally!

Finally SNL is available on DVD! I've watched since the beginning...the great seasons as well as the less memoriable. Even the bad shows had at least a few redeeming moments that made me laugh. I'm thrilled to have complete access instead of the edited reruns currently in syndication. I can only hope they continue to release each season so I can own the complete set instead of the best of's... May 15, 2008

They were the best!

What can I say? This was my era...I've been a serious fan of the original "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" and in my opinion, their creativity & humor was one of a kind. The first 5 years are the best, by far!
April 21, 2008

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