Saturday Night Live (season 5)

Saturday Night Live (season 5)
The title card for the fifth season of Saturday Night Live.
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 20
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Original run October 13, 1979 – May 24, 1980
Home video release

DVD release

Region 1 December 1, 2009

The fifth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 13, 1979, and May 24, 1980.

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd left the show at the end of the fourth season, leaving a void in the cast that most fans thought would be the beginning of the end of the late-night sketch show.

To keep the show going, Lorne Michaels upgraded many of the show's writers to featured cast member status: Peter Aykroyd (Dan's brother), Jim Downey, Brian Doyle-Murray (Bill's brother), Don Novello, Tom Schiller and Alan Zweibel. Band leader Paul Shaffer also joined the cast, becoming the first person from the SNL band to become a cast member. Harry Shearer joined the show as a featured cast member and was promoted to repertory status during the season.

This season was also the first to have two members of the same family as cast members, (Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray).

This would be the final season for everyone in the cast. Tom Davis and Downey would return to the show in future seasons as writers. Al Franken, Doyle-Murray, Novello, and Shearer would rejoin the cast in future seasons (Franken would also return as a writer).

Cast

Repertory cast members
Featured cast members

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Featured cast members announced and shown during the "Opening Introductions" varied from week to week, as noted below in each episode's description.

Writers

As previously mentioned, Michaels upgraded many of the show's writers to cast member status, including Aykroyd, Downey, Doyle-Murray, Novello, Schiller and Zweibel. Doyle-Murray would be the only one to return, as a writer, in the following season.

This season's writers were Peter Aykroyd, Anne Beatts, Tom Davis, Jim Downey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Al Franken, Tom Gammill, Lorne Michaels, Matt Neuman, Don Novello, Sarah Paley, Max Pross, Herb Sargent, Tom Schiller, Harry Shearer, Rosie Shuster and Alan Zweibel. The head writer was Herb Sargent.

Episodes

Saturday Night Live season 5 episodes
No. # Host(s) Musical guest(s) Original airdate
871Steve MartinBlondieOctober 13, 1979

- This is Martin's seventh time as host.
- This is Blondie's only time as musical guest.

Blondie performs "Dreaming" and "The Hardest Part".
882Eric IdleBob DylanOctober 20, 1979

- This is Idle's fourth and final time as host.
- This is Dylan's only time as musical guest.

Bob Dylan performs "Gotta Serve Somebody", "I Believe in You", and "When You Gonna Wake Up".
893Bill RussellChicagoNovember 3, 1979

- This is Russell's only time as host.
- This is Chicago's only time as musical guest.

Chicago performs a cover of The Spencer Davis Group's "I'm a Man" and "Street Player".
904Buck HenryTom Petty and the HeartbreakersNovember 10, 1979

- This is Henry's ninth time as host.
- This is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers's first time as musical guest.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers performs "Refugee" and "Don't Do Me Like That".
915Bea ArthurThe RochesNovember 17, 1979

- This is Arthur's only time as host.
- This is The Roches's only time as musical guest.
- This is the first episode as a featured player for Peter Aykroyd.

The Roches performs "Bobby's Song" (from its second album, "Nurds") and "The Hallelujah Chorus" (from its third album, "Keep On Doing").
926Howard HessemanRandy NewmanDecember 8, 1979

- This is Hesseman's first time as host.
- This is Newman's third time as musical guest (not including the "Mardi Gras" special, in which he was billed as "Special Guest").

Randy Newman performs "It's Money That I Love", "I'm Gonna Take Off My Pants", and "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band".
937Martin SheenDavid BowieDecember 15, 1979

- This is Sheen's only time as host.
- This is Bowie's first time as musical guest.
- This is the first episode as featured players for Doyle-Murray, Zweibel, and Schiller.

David Bowie performs "The Man Who Sold the World", "TVC 15", and "Boys Keep Swinging".
Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias make guest appearances as backup singers.
948Ted KnightDesmond Child & RougeDecember 22, 1979

- This is Knight's only time as host.
- This is Desmond Child & Rouge's only time as musical guest.

Desmond Child & Rouge performs "Tumble In The Night" and "Goodbye Baby".
G.E. Smith plays backup guitar.
959Teri GarrThe B-52'sJanuary 26, 1980

- This is Garr's first time as host.
- This is The B-52's first time as musical guest.

The B-52's performs "Rock Lobster" and "Dance This Mess Around".
9610Chevy ChaseMarianne Faithfull and Tom ScottFebruary 9, 1980

- This is Chase's second time as host.
- This is Faithfull's only time as musical guest.
- This is Scott's only time as musical guest.
- This is Shearer's first episode as a member of the main repertory cast rather than as a featured performer.
- New opening montage, featuring all cast members in rolling still images in a bar setting.

Faithfull performs "Broken English" and "Guilt". Chase and Scott perform "Sixteen Tons".
9711Elliott GouldGary NumanFebruary 16, 1980

- This is Gould's fifth time as host.
- This is Numan's only time as musical guest.
- This episode features a running gag where Father Guido Sarducci attempts to interview former President Richard Nixon, and stakes out his New York apartment building.

Gary Numan performs "Cars" and "Praying to the Aliens".
9812Kirk DouglasSam & DaveFebruary 23, 1980

- This is Douglas's only time as host.
- This is Sam & Dave's only time as musical guest.

Sam and Dave performs "You Don't Know Like I Know" and "Soul Man."
9913Rodney DangerfieldThe J. Geils BandMarch 8, 1980

- This is Dangerfield's only time as host.
- This is The J. Geils Band's only time as musical guest.

The J. Geils Band performs "Love Stinks" and "Sanctuary"
10014(none)Paul Simon
James Taylor
David Sanborn		March 15, 1980

- There is no announced guest host.
- This is Simon's second time as musical guest (though unbilled as such in the opening credits).
- This is Taylor's third time as musical guest (though unbilled as such in the opening credits).
- This is Sanborn's only time as musical guest.
- The show celebrates its 100th episode, and features several cameos.

Simon and Taylor perform "Cathy's Clown", "Sunny Skies", and "Take Me to the Mardi Gras". David Sanborn performs "Anything You Want".
10115Richard Benjamin
Paula Prentiss		The Grateful DeadApril 5, 1980

- This is Benjamin's second and final time as host.
- This is Prentiss's only time as host.
- This is The Grateful Dead's second and final time as musical guest.

The Grateful Dead performs "Alabama Getaway" and "Saint of Circumstance" (both from the album Go To Heaven).
10216Burt ReynoldsAnne MurrayApril 12, 1980

- This is Reynolds' only time as host.
- This is Murray's second and final time as musical guest.

Murray sings "Lucky Me" and "Why Don't You Stick Around"
10317Strother MartinThe SpecialsApril 19, 1980

- This is Martin's only time as host, and his final television appearance before his death in August, 1980.
- This is The Specials' only time as musical guest.

The Specials perform "Gangsters" and "Too Much, Too Young"
10418Bob NewhartThe Amazing Rhythm Aces
Bruce Cockburn		May 10, 1980

- This is Newhart's first time as host.
- This is The Amazing Rhythm Aces's first and only time as musical guest.
- In a Weekend Update commentary, "A Limo For A Lame-O", Franken laments that he doesn't have limo service like NBC president Fred Silverman, despite the network's poor ratings and shaky finances under Silverman's leadership. This ruined Franken's slim chance of succeeding Lorne Michaels as the show's executive producer.[2]

The Amazing Rhythm Aces performs "Who Will the Next Fool Be" and "Third Rate Romance" (Joined by Murray on the Maracas). Cockburn performs "Wondering Where the Lions Are".
10519Steve Martin3-D, Paul McCartney and Linda McCartneyMay 17, 1980

- This is Martin's eighth time as host.
- This is Paul McCartney's first time as musical guest.
- This is Linda McCartney's only time as musical guest.
- This is 3-D's only time as musical guest.

3-D performs "All-Night Television".
10620Buck HenryAndrew Gold
Andrae Crouch & the Voices of Unity		May 24, 1980

- This is Henry's tenth and final time as host.
- This is Gold's only time as musical guest.
- This is Crouch's first time as musical guest.
- This is The Voices of Unity's only time as musical guest.
- This is the final episode as repertory cast members for Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner
- This is the final episode as featured performers for Peter Aykroyd, Tom Davis, Jim Downey, Tom Schiller, Paul Shaffer, and Alan Zweibel
- This is the final episode as repertory cast member for Harry Shearer until Season 10
- This is the final episode as featured performers for Brian Doyle-Murray until Season 7, and for Al Franken and Don Novello until Season 11
- This is Lorne Michaels's final episode as executive producer until Season 11

Andrew Gold performs "Kiss This One Goodbye". Andrae Crouch & the Voices of Unity perform "Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus".

DVD release

SNL's fifth season was released on DVD on December 1, 2009.[3] There are no plans to release any further seasons.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "The SNL Archives: 1979-1980". Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad, Saturday Night, Beech Tree Books, 1986, p. 376
  3. ↑ "Saturday Night Live: Season 5, 1979-1980". Amazon. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  4. ↑ Lambert, David (November 4, 2010). "Saturday Night Live - Season Set Outlook is Not So Good for SNL, Studio Says". TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved March 5, 2015.