...you won’t find too many bad eggs, but a few tasty cheeseburgers.
The third season of "Saturday Night Live" featured a large wealth of musical talent. From the obscure and relatively unknown talents of songwriter Libby Titus to superstar Billy Joel and the legendary Ray Charles, the third season contained some very good performances. The names that should be familiar to practically everybody include Joel, Charles, Willie Nelson, Meat Loaf, Jimmy Buffett and Paul Simon. Eddie Money, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne and Ashford & Simpson should be other relatively familiar performances. The more obscure talent to take the SNL stage includes Titus, the Panama hat wearing Leon Redbone, Stephen Bishop, Chi-Lites lead vocalist Eugene Record and fellow Pennsylvanian Keith Jarrett. Sun Ra, Taj Mahal, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and SNL´s own the Blues Brothers completed the list of musicians that performed during the third season.
Out of the musical talent selected for this particular season, I enjoyed Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Jimmy Buffett the most. However, they are closer to personal favorites than other singers. I also enjoyed Willie Nelson, Eugene Record, Jackson Browne and Eddie Money´s performances. Some of the bigger names disappointed me. Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon and Meat Loaf gave uninspired performances that did not particularly excite me. I skipped past the episodes featuring Sun Ra, Keith Garrett, Stephen Bishop and Ashford and Simpson. There is only so much time in a week to put towards reviewing these titles and I had to stop somewhere. I´m sure I´ll revisit the Ashford & Simpson episode just to see O.J. Simpson host.
For now, I´ll save my overview and wrap-up of the main body of the review until my ´Closing Comments´ section. There is only so much space to spend on a review and this baby is already nearing the two thousand word mark. It´s off to discuss the technical portion of the seven disc review and briefly touch on the supplemental materials. Stick with me for my overall recommendation (if you can´t guess it already) at the end of this review. There isn´t too much longer to go. I promise, but next up are the obligatory paragraphs on the stuff that DVD die-hards care a great deal about. I know this review feels a bit long winded, but these things are rough to review and I thought I´d break things down into what goes together into making "Saturday Night Live" the cultural tent-pole that it has been for thirty-three years. So without further ado, here is the more ´boring´ part of the review.
Video:
I haven´t watched "Saturday Night Live" for at least a couple seasons aside from the rare occurrence here and there. However, I do believe the episodes are now shown in widescreen-friendly high definition. However, back in 1977 and 1978, the concept of high definition television wasn´t even a thought. Color televisions were just becoming commonplace in American homes. The concept of preservation and using high-end cameras for television shows was also something not too prevalent in practice during the late Seventies either. Because of these shortcomings in technology, preservation and the simple age of thirty year old episodes, "Saturday Night Live: The Complete Third Season" is hardly a visual gem on DVD. The episodes are presented in 1.33:1 full screen and the coloring and definition of the picture quality is, for lack of a better word, ancient.
Each episode of "Saturday Night Live" appears as bad in quality as aged VHS recordings. Browns and other natural hues were dominant during the day and even the bright reds, greens and blues do not come across nearly as vivid as they looked when the show was filmed. While I have definitely seen far worse in the realm of three-decade-old television shows, SNL is not that well preserved. There is haziness around the edges that is the direct opposite problem of edge enhancement. It is called fuzziness. There are moments when detail is pretty good considering the age, but other times you will think you are watching an old VCR recording. Coloring is also dated and the prints used look awfully washed out due to Father Time. Source prints are generally clean, or as well as can be expected. You can´t really be hard on these old episodes, but please don´t expect a miracle.
Audio:
The audio for "Saturday Night Live" is presented in English Dolby Digital 2 channel monaural sound. The mono mix sounds about as dated as the visuals appear and while SNL is generally intelligible; it is pock-marked with clipping and shows the limited range of the source materials. You can hear some of the tape hiss from the source recordings when the sound spectrum starts to bump into the upper range. Dialogue is clean, but many of the background sounds become lost and forgotten with the limited channels and quality of the recordings for the show. As was the case with the visual presentation of the DVDs, you really cannot expect much from aged television footage from a live show that aired over thirty years ago. The technology we have today just wasn´t there and SNL was transmitted across the airwaves with just one channel of sound. Stereo television was not yet available and without a tremendous amount of remastering, this mono mix is the best we will ever have for the third season of "Saturday Night Live."
Extras:
Two features are provided on the seven disc set. Additional Feature: Things We Did Last Summer (42:37) is a television special featuring the cast of "Saturday Night Live" as they give footage of what they ´did last summer.´ The first dozen minutes of the feature finds Gilda Radner giving a fictitious tour of her fictitious apartment that is complete with an inflatable basketball court. Her overly-long skit is followed up by a performance by the Blues Brothers, which is a marked improvement over Radner. At the twenty minute mark, Bill Murray is found ´somewhere in Pennsylvania´ driving around and looking to give up his job as an actor and becoming a ball player. This is a funny little skit with the affable Bill Murray. It takes about ten minutes, but Bill gets the home run, gives a speech and returns to comedy. The next segment finds Garrett Morris dressing up as a jockey and I´m not talking about disc jockey. This skit runs for just about five minutes and isn´t overly funny. Finally, Laraine Newman goes on a tropical vacation and they kill a huge centipede. Bill Murray and the Blues Brothers are the highlight of this feature. The John Belushi & Howard Shore Wardrobe Test (2:19) is far too brief, but finds Shore and Belushi trying on some ´casual´ costumes. Some Trailers are also included.
Closing:
At the Olympia Café, you´d be hard pressed to get an egg unless they were out of cheeseburgers and with "Saturday Night Live: The Complete Third Season," you won´t find too many bad eggs, but a few tasty cheeseburgers. With John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and other notable cast members and hosts such as Steve Martin and Christopher Lee introducing the musical talents of artists like Billy Joel and Ray Charles, the 1976-1977 season of the long-running NBC series is one of the finest years of the show. After thirty some years, they have yet to recapture the magic of the first five years and this season is smack in the middle of the ´Golden Years of SNL.´ The DVD release is marred with aged-looking visuals and audio, but the show was transmitted live at a time when color TVs were only becoming affordable and stereo television was not yet in common use. It is hard to ask for much in the way of pristine transfers and the DVD does its best with the supplied source materials. Forty-five minutes of supplemental material is provided, but the twenty solid episodes are reason enough to purchase this set. You´d be hard pressed to find a better variety show since the early days of SNL and thanks to DVD, you can revisit these episodes at any time.
Out of the musical talent selected for this particular season, I enjoyed Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Jimmy Buffett the most. However, they are closer to personal favorites than other singers. I also enjoyed Willie Nelson, Eugene Record, Jackson Browne and Eddie Money´s performances. Some of the bigger names disappointed me. Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon and Meat Loaf gave uninspired performances that did not particularly excite me. I skipped past the episodes featuring Sun Ra, Keith Garrett, Stephen Bishop and Ashford and Simpson. There is only so much time in a week to put towards reviewing these titles and I had to stop somewhere. I´m sure I´ll revisit the Ashford & Simpson episode just to see O.J. Simpson host.
For now, I´ll save my overview and wrap-up of the main body of the review until my ´Closing Comments´ section. There is only so much space to spend on a review and this baby is already nearing the two thousand word mark. It´s off to discuss the technical portion of the seven disc review and briefly touch on the supplemental materials. Stick with me for my overall recommendation (if you can´t guess it already) at the end of this review. There isn´t too much longer to go. I promise, but next up are the obligatory paragraphs on the stuff that DVD die-hards care a great deal about. I know this review feels a bit long winded, but these things are rough to review and I thought I´d break things down into what goes together into making "Saturday Night Live" the cultural tent-pole that it has been for thirty-three years. So without further ado, here is the more ´boring´ part of the review.
Video:
I haven´t watched "Saturday Night Live" for at least a couple seasons aside from the rare occurrence here and there. However, I do believe the episodes are now shown in widescreen-friendly high definition. However, back in 1977 and 1978, the concept of high definition television wasn´t even a thought. Color televisions were just becoming commonplace in American homes. The concept of preservation and using high-end cameras for television shows was also something not too prevalent in practice during the late Seventies either. Because of these shortcomings in technology, preservation and the simple age of thirty year old episodes, "Saturday Night Live: The Complete Third Season" is hardly a visual gem on DVD. The episodes are presented in 1.33:1 full screen and the coloring and definition of the picture quality is, for lack of a better word, ancient.
Each episode of "Saturday Night Live" appears as bad in quality as aged VHS recordings. Browns and other natural hues were dominant during the day and even the bright reds, greens and blues do not come across nearly as vivid as they looked when the show was filmed. While I have definitely seen far worse in the realm of three-decade-old television shows, SNL is not that well preserved. There is haziness around the edges that is the direct opposite problem of edge enhancement. It is called fuzziness. There are moments when detail is pretty good considering the age, but other times you will think you are watching an old VCR recording. Coloring is also dated and the prints used look awfully washed out due to Father Time. Source prints are generally clean, or as well as can be expected. You can´t really be hard on these old episodes, but please don´t expect a miracle.
Audio:
The audio for "Saturday Night Live" is presented in English Dolby Digital 2 channel monaural sound. The mono mix sounds about as dated as the visuals appear and while SNL is generally intelligible; it is pock-marked with clipping and shows the limited range of the source materials. You can hear some of the tape hiss from the source recordings when the sound spectrum starts to bump into the upper range. Dialogue is clean, but many of the background sounds become lost and forgotten with the limited channels and quality of the recordings for the show. As was the case with the visual presentation of the DVDs, you really cannot expect much from aged television footage from a live show that aired over thirty years ago. The technology we have today just wasn´t there and SNL was transmitted across the airwaves with just one channel of sound. Stereo television was not yet available and without a tremendous amount of remastering, this mono mix is the best we will ever have for the third season of "Saturday Night Live."
Extras:
Two features are provided on the seven disc set. Additional Feature: Things We Did Last Summer (42:37) is a television special featuring the cast of "Saturday Night Live" as they give footage of what they ´did last summer.´ The first dozen minutes of the feature finds Gilda Radner giving a fictitious tour of her fictitious apartment that is complete with an inflatable basketball court. Her overly-long skit is followed up by a performance by the Blues Brothers, which is a marked improvement over Radner. At the twenty minute mark, Bill Murray is found ´somewhere in Pennsylvania´ driving around and looking to give up his job as an actor and becoming a ball player. This is a funny little skit with the affable Bill Murray. It takes about ten minutes, but Bill gets the home run, gives a speech and returns to comedy. The next segment finds Garrett Morris dressing up as a jockey and I´m not talking about disc jockey. This skit runs for just about five minutes and isn´t overly funny. Finally, Laraine Newman goes on a tropical vacation and they kill a huge centipede. Bill Murray and the Blues Brothers are the highlight of this feature. The John Belushi & Howard Shore Wardrobe Test (2:19) is far too brief, but finds Shore and Belushi trying on some ´casual´ costumes. Some Trailers are also included.
Closing:
At the Olympia Café, you´d be hard pressed to get an egg unless they were out of cheeseburgers and with "Saturday Night Live: The Complete Third Season," you won´t find too many bad eggs, but a few tasty cheeseburgers. With John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and other notable cast members and hosts such as Steve Martin and Christopher Lee introducing the musical talents of artists like Billy Joel and Ray Charles, the 1976-1977 season of the long-running NBC series is one of the finest years of the show. After thirty some years, they have yet to recapture the magic of the first five years and this season is smack in the middle of the ´Golden Years of SNL.´ The DVD release is marred with aged-looking visuals and audio, but the show was transmitted live at a time when color TVs were only becoming affordable and stereo television was not yet in common use. It is hard to ask for much in the way of pristine transfers and the DVD does its best with the supplied source materials. Forty-five minutes of supplemental material is provided, but the twenty solid episodes are reason enough to purchase this set. You´d be hard pressed to find a better variety show since the early days of SNL and thanks to DVD, you can revisit these episodes at any time.
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[release]23152[/release]