Monday, November 23, 2020

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE EARLY YEARS, a 12-Disc Time Life DVD Set Featuring 33 Complete Classic Episodes and More, is Available NOW! (Review)

 Disclosure: I was provided with a sample from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.


LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!


IN 1975, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE USHERED IN AN ERA OF GROUNDBREAKING LIVE SKETCH COMEDY,
AND TV WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME...

 
TIME LIFE INVITES HOME AUDIENCES TO FRONT ROW SEATS
FOR THE MOST HILARIOUS EPISODES FROM SNL'S
FIRST FIVE SEASONS FEATURING THE ORIGINAL CAST

 
This Hilarious 12-Disc Set Includes 33 Complete Episodes Featuring All-Time-Classic Characters Like The Coneheads, John Belushi's Samurai, Emily Litella, The Blues Brothers and More, Incredible Guest Hosts and Musical Acts, Rare Behind-the-Scenes Footage, a 28-Page Collector's Book,  a Bonus DVD and More!
 
Not Available at Retail, This Set is Only Available Via
Direct Response or Online at TimeLife.com/SaturdayNightLive
 

Can you believe that Saturday Night Live has been around for 45 years.  They started airing this weekend television show back on October 11, 1975, and have been going strong ever since.  While I will agree that some seasons have fallen a little flat with the change up of the comedians on the show, the regulars and weekly hosts really make up for it, and keep you tuning in each and every week.  And, with all the recent political stuff going on, they have been full of laugh out loud comedic sketches that have had people buzzing on their social media and chatting up their friends days after the Saturday show has aired.  Some of the best comedic relief during the whole Covid stuff this year alone has come from SNL, and I am so thankful that this weekly late night television series is still on and turning out quality programming all these years later.

Even though I was young when SNL first aired, it was a staple in our house on Saturday nights. My father, who was a police office in the Boston area, would usually come home after working an evening detail, late in the evening or in the we hours of the morning.  If we weren't still up from watching movies or playing video games, we would wake when we heard him come through the door, and come down and watch a few of the sketches with them, thanks to the VHS recording we had made for him.  He would never let us stay up and watch the entire show as it was late, but we didn't mind as we had already watched it in its entirety when it first aired. We mainly liked sharing some of our favorite sketches from that night's show with our dad, or laughing along with his to the opening dialogue from that week's guest host.  Then, Sunday when we woke, we would pop the VHS tape back in and watch that week's SNL show all over again, before we would re-record over it the following Saturday night. 

Out of all the seasons of SNL, I have to say that my favorites were the early years when you had comic legend regulars like John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murrary, Gilda Radner, and Jane Curtin, Seasons 1-5 of SNL were truly the best and continue to be watched by fans of the shows through YouTube videos, stumbling upon old VHS recordings, etc.  When I first heard that TIME LIFE was releasing the first five seasons of SNL on a 12-DVD set, I was so excited.  Now, I had something to ask Santa for this year.  :-)  My husband hasn't seen many of the early SNL seasons, so I knew he would have a blast sitting and watching all 33 full length episodes that make up the first 5 season with me.  He would get to see some of the all-time classic sketches and iconic characters that are still talked about today like the Coneheads, the singing King Tut, the Nerds, Father Guido Sarducci, and Dan Aykroyd's French Chef.  I laugh just thinking about these characters and the sketches that aired way back when.  And, now I would get to own all these memorable moments in one collection to watch time and time again.  What a great gift idea for a true SNL fan, right?  I would sure say so!  

I was so excited when I was recently sent the SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE EARLY YEARS, a 12-Disc Time Life DVD to review and include in my holiday gift guide, and couldn't wait to show it to my husband, as now we would have something fun to watch each night after the girls went to bed.  Thanks to all the recaps of the political sketches from this year and the past few years, my husband has become a fan of SNL and has tuned in every Saturday with me to watch the show.  He especially loves the "Weekend Update" segment, which was even funnier back in the day. :-) For the past week, we have watching a handful of episodes from the 12-DVD collection.  Our hope is that by the end of the December we will have all 33 episodes watched.  So far, my husband is loving all the episodes and finding himself enjoying all the guest host and musical guest performances.  Many of these back in the day actors and actresses and musicians are no longer with us, but thankfully with a box set like this from TIME LIFE, their work lives on and can be enjoyed with fans young and old.  

In addition to all 33 full length episodes, this DVD collection also contains some great bonus content not to be missed, including screen tests and interviews, a bonus DVD with classic Chevy Chase episodes including his return to SNL with music icon Billy Joel, as well as a 28-page collector's book that talks all about the show and about all your favorite "Not Ready for Primetime Players."  TIME LIFE has done it again, in creating an amazing box set for a show that has truly lasted the test of time, and continues to turn out laugh out loud episodes week in and week out.  And, with the holidays fast approaching, the release of this new 12-DVD collection showcasing the first five seasons of SNL, couldn't have come at a better time.  I can cross so many people, including my brothers and father off my holiday shopping list, as I know they would love to receive this DVD collection. They will be reminded of all the great times we had when we were younger tuning in on Saturday nights to watch the show, and then again on Sundays when we would replay the shows to laugh again at the amazing talents of these iconic comedians who graced our television scenes back then.  These truly are classic episodes from SNL, and now you can get them all in one great DVD collection to watch time and time again.

To learn more about the new SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE EARLY YEARS, a 12-Disc Time Life DVD, which is only available exclusively at TimeLife.com, head on over to the direct product page -  TimeLife.com/SaturdayNightLive.


More about this recent SNL: The Early Years 12-DVD Set Release:

"On October 11, 1975, Saturday Night Live, a topical comedy sketch show, made its debut on NBC. Created by Canadian-born comedy writer Lorne Michaels, it would go on to become a renowned launch pad for generational talent and unforgettable characters and become the longest-running, highest-rated show on late-night television. The first five years of Saturday Night Live featured some of the most beloved cast members of all time, including Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, and Laraine Newman and they set the stage for some of the most hilarious live television comedy American audiences had ever seen.


Now the best of the original cast is available unlike ever before. To commemorate this landmark show, the TV DVD specialists at Time Life have brought together the very best episodes from the first five seasons with SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: THE EARLY YEARS, a hilarity-packed 12-disc collector's DVD set featuring the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" iconic characters, legendary guest hosts like George Carlin, Lily Tomlin, Steve Martin and Richard Pryor, exclusive bonus features and more! They're still not ready for prime time, but now you can watch them any time
 
Available now exclusively at TimeLife.com/SaturdayNightLive this specially-curated collection includes:
 
This 12-DVD Collector's Set Includes:
  • 33 Complete Episodes from Seasons 1-5
  • The original groundbreaking, irreverent, hilarious cast
  • All-time classic sketches including "Land Shark," "Word Association," "The Killer Bees," "Super Bass-o-Matic," "Weekend Update," and so many more
  • Iconic characters including Coneheads, Samurai, Emily Litella, Chevy Chase as President Ford, Shower Mike, The Blues Brothers, Baba Wawa, Roseanne Roseannadanna, the Nerds, the wild and crazy Festrunk brothers, a singing King Tut, Father Guido Sarducci, Dan Aykroyd's French Chef, and more!
  • Legendary guest hosts including Buck Henry, Madeline Kahn, Elliot Gould, Eric Idle, Candice Bergen, Charles Grodin, Robert Klein, Fred Willard, Carrie Fisher
  • Incredible musical guests such as Patti Smith,Carly Simon, Joe Cocker, The Band, Paul Simon, Santana, Frank Zappa, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Van Morrison, Blondie and more
  • Plus rare footage of the original cast, including screen tests and interviews
  • 28-Page Collector's Book telling the story of the show and all of your favorite "Not Ready For Primetime Players"
  • FREE Bonus DVD with three classic episodes, including Chevy Chase's return to SNL with music icon Billy Joel, plus the historic 100th episode!"


About Time Life
 
Time Life is one of the world's pre-eminent creators and direct marketers of unique music and video/DVD products, specializing in distinctive multi-media collections that evoke memories of yesterday, capture the spirit of today, and can be enjoyed for a lifetime. TIME LIFE and the TIME LIFE logo are registered trademarks of Time Warner Inc. and affiliated companies used under license by Direct Holdings Americas Inc., which is not affiliated with Time Warner Inc. or Time Inc.


 Disclosure: I was provided with a sample from the vendor in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.


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