Saturday Night Live: The Complete Third Season

Mainly purchased this item for the Musical Acts. If you were alive when these came out, it CAN BE still funny. Extras are minimal but quality (a special or Interview type thing). I wish they would have put out the 80's Decade run....oh well.

Running Time: approximately 1 hour, ten minutes per weekly episodePerceived Running Time: 40 minutes (depending on the episode)Replay-ability: highEstimated Durability: 4 generations+Audience: Wide. Fifth grade and up (some mildly dirty jokes).Why:This is one of the best and most entertaining time-windows into the late 70's you'll ever find. It features some of the funniest, most talented performers, at their height, hungry, raw and energetic. This is about the time when they'd polished off the rougher edges, but before the show became tiresome formulaic. Watching each episode in it's entirety is important as each one had an overall rhythm and flow like a good music album or symphony. My 6th grader has found a cornucopia of inspiration from this trove of forgotten excellence in performance and modern vaudeville. I predict that the material herein will remain fresh and highly entertaining long-after my generation is dead and gone. The Charles Grodin episode alone was hysterical from beginning to end, in a weirdly post-modern way. My son's watched that single week several times over.Without the commercials, the episodes fly by. They can also be enjoyed in chapters if you need a some quick entertainment.This is also a great time capsule of Americana, reflecting the mind and matters of the late 70's. If you want to get a cultural feel for that time, or share it with someone else, this is better than any history book. While it does mock timely events and make timely references, it does not rely on them to the point of alienating subsequent generations; about as much as classic Loony Tunes or Monty Python.In addition to the comedy, it also features some very candid performances by famous musicians, also in their early prime.Why not:The jokes do get a little dirty here and there; it is a late-night product of the swinger culture of NYC. It would be considered racy even by today's broadcast standards. It periodically makes references to people and events that are long-forgotten, even by those of us who were active in those days. The most intolerant youth might call it dated, and the pacing is of course slower than modern comedy. The skits that do rely too heavily on the forgotten are easily skipped.Further, the quality is not strictly consistent. Some "weeks" are funnier/better than others. Some skits soar while some bomb. But even the weakest weeks are quite entertaining. But this is the result of it's organic nature. As it grew in consistency in the 80's, it lost genius.Kudos:Raw, hungry, fresh, energetic talent.Demerits:Occasional out-dated references.A blu-ray edition would be appreciated with more special features, bookmarks and the ability to play only the musical segments.Notes:You might be given to buy one of the "Best Of" volumes, but you'd be cheating yourself. Again, each week had a flow. At the risk of comparing SNL with immortal classics, it would be like attending a Best Of Shakespeare. It would be like only watching the highlights of a sporting event. Too much of the overall experience is lost. Several youth I know never "got" the classic SNL until they sat down and watched complete episodes.Verdict: Don't bore younger people with your old-people stories of how great the 70's used to be. Show them some of this and then just answer their questions.

I have been binge watching the classic first 5 years of SNL, as I remember them as my favorite show in my early twenties; the first two boxed sets were huge and included a souvenir booklet et had 8 DVDs; from the third setand onward, NBC switched to 7 DVDs and no huge box or booklet but that's ok; I've been waiting for this third set (1977-1978) because, by then, the show was funnier, had recurring favorite skits and the comedians were at their zenith as far as their characters were performed; I especially like this third dvd set because it has Steve Martin as host Three times (remember King Tut) and to my surprise, a show I missed was hosted by Chevy Chase; like the previous two years of complete shows, commercial free, which gives more rhythm to the show), the sketches are funnier, well written and well performed; I still laugh at many of the jokes and I'm glad to have these classic sets to watch for when the new shows are boring; and with these dvds, when you don't like a sketch or musical guest, you just move on to the next scene; I remember I always was a little sad when all the cast and guests would gather together to say goodnight...but I didn't anticipate that some day, I could have a copy of my own; if you liked them then or if you are discovering these comedy gems for the first time, you won't be disappointed; perhaps the best season I can remember, I highly recommend it; thank you to NBC and Lionsgate for finally releasing them for all to enjoy!

The first SNL season had an unsure, exploratory feel of not knowing what works and doesn’t work. The second season was a vast improvement but it’s season three where the not ready for prime time players hits its stride. I would introduce people to SNL with season three although season two is also essential. A few things I like about season three: it has most of the SNL staples such as Coneheads, “well excuse me!”, and the King Tut song. The best SNL newscast with Dan Akroyd, Jane Curtain and guest Bill Murray (“get outta here, you knucklehead”). Plus the dancing NBC sign!

Several classic characters were introduced this year for the first time. It was enjoyable to see them again.

Quite enjoyable if you are a Christopher Lee fan or miss seeing the fat Meatloaf. Laraine Newman and Gilda Radnor work with Christopher the most and appear to enjoy working with a professional. ~ Belushi is probably high, which might have seemed silly to some other cast members who played along with him.~ SNL was still fairly new and guest hosts were not expected to appear in each and every sketch like is done today. Mr. Lee is excellent in the lackluster skits that were available for this episode. You will notice, that he quite obviously learned ALL his lines and doesn't just read from cue-cards or prompters over the head of the person on stage with him, like everyone(?) else, who has ever appeared on this show, ever. ~ Perhaps the word 'everyone' is too strong.

Got this for my husband for Christmas after hearing him remark that he used to enjoy SNL during it's original TV run. We both found that the jokes relating to current news headlines from back in the day aren't that amusing to us...Perhaps because those "news stories" are not as fresh in our minds these days, I'm not sure? But the classic skits (like Steve Martin's "King Tut") are still a riot. All in all we laughed out loud at some of this and ended up fast forwarding on other parts. I guess it all depends on your personal taste, but all in all, a true Saturday Night Live fan should enjoy this.

an old comedy but funny.

Some of the best years of SNL!

Two wild and crazy guys came this season..Steve is almost an honorary cast member...

was what I expected, no issues, thanks!!!

thanks !

Quick delivery and good price, thanks.