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The Best Episodes of Saturday Night Live Season 5

Every episode of Saturday Night Live Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Saturday Night Live Season 5!

A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed...
Genres:ComedyNews
Network:NBC
Episodes
20
Avg. Rating
6.6
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3

Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Steve Martin/Blondie" is the best rated episode of "Saturday Night Live" season 5. It scored 7.5/10 based on 140 votes. Directed by Dave Wilson and written by N/A, it aired on 10/13/1979. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "Eric Idle/Bob Dylan".

  • Steve Martin/Blondie
    7.5/10(140)

    #1 - Steve Martin/Blondie

    Season 5 Episode 1

    Aired 10/13/1979

    Sketches include ""The Pope's Doorman,"" ""Craig's Travellers' Checks,"" ""Free Spanish Lesson,"" ""Juvenile Delinquent Vandal,"" ""Rise,"" ""Carole King,"" ""The David Susskind Show,"" ""Bolshoi Ballet,"" ""The All-New Mr. Bill Show,"" ""What the Hell is That?"". Blondie performs "Dreaming" and "The Hardest Part".

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Eric Idle/Bob Dylan
    7.5/10(122)

    #2 - Eric Idle/Bob Dylan

    Season 5 Episode 2

    Aired 10/20/1979

    Sketches include ""Eric's Sick,"" ""Hotel-Motel Art Fair,"" ""Mr. Howard's Shoe Store,"" ""Prince Charles Tells You How To Pick Up Girls!,"" ""Hardcore II,"" ""Heavy Sarcasm,"" and ""Ask Elvis."" Bob Dylan performs ""Gotta Serve Somebody,"" ""I Believe In You,"" and ""When You Gonna Wake Up.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Bill Russell/Chicago
    6.1/10(101)

    #3 - Bill Russell/Chicago

    Season 5 Episode 3

    Aired 11/3/1979

    Sketches include ""Kennedy in '80,"" ""Banshee,"" ""The Black Shadow,"" ""The Landers Files,"" ""Mr. Bill at Home,"" ""Nick in the Arctic,"" ""Eleanor Roosevelt,"" ""Sports Hot Line,"" and ""Big n' Tall That's All."" Chicago performs their 1970 hit ""I'm a Man"" and their then-current single ""Street Player.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Buck Henry/Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
    6.7/10(105)

    #4 - Buck Henry/Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

    Season 5 Episode 4

    Aired 11/10/1979

    Sketches include ""Rush Home to the Bathroom,"" ""Find the Popes in the Pizza Contest drawing,"" ""Nerds #12,"" ""Harley's Bristol Cream"" and ""Banshee"" commercial parodies, and one of Aviva Slesin's ""First Love"" films.

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Bea Arthur/The Roches
    6.1/10(109)

    #5 - Bea Arthur/The Roches

    Season 5 Episode 5

    Aired 11/17/1979

    Sketches include ""Sex Change,"" ""The Backers' Audition,"" and ""First, He Cries.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Howard Hesseman/Randy Newman
    6.2/10(104)

    #6 - Howard Hesseman/Randy Newman

    Season 5 Episode 6

    Aired 12/8/1979

    Sketches include the ""Steve Marvin Radio Show"" and the debut of ""The Al Franken Decade.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Martin Sheen/David Bowie
    7.0/10(123)

    #7 - Martin Sheen/David Bowie

    Season 5 Episode 7

    Aired 12/15/1979

    Sketches include ""Quick Sex Change Operation,"" ""Le Shoe,"" ""Afraid of the Dark,"" ""Striking Teachers,"" ""Apocolypse Now,"" ""First Love, Part 2,"" ""Foreveready,"" ""Criminals,"" ""Minota AM-3 Camera,"" ""Revisions of Freudian History,"" ""Martin Sheen Hairspray""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Ted Knight/Desmond Child and Rouge
    5.8/10(96)

    #8 - Ted Knight/Desmond Child and Rouge

    Season 5 Episode 8

    Aired 12/22/1979

    Sketches include A Christmas Gift from The Shah, Nerds Nativity, and Java Junkie.

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Teri Garr/The B-52's
    6.4/10(98)

    #9 - Teri Garr/The B-52's

    Season 5 Episode 9

    Aired 1/26/1980

    Sketches include ""Paul McCartney in Japan: Day 11,"" ""Craig's,"" ""Somewhere Near Mason City, Iowa,"" ""Debs Behind Bars,"" ""Anchovy Council of America,"" ""Bad Playhouse,"" ""Baby Casting Director,"" and ""The Mr. Bill Show."" The B-52's perform ""Rock Lobster"" and ""Dance This Mess Around.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Chevy Chase/Marianne Faithfull
    6.4/10(101)

    #10 - Chevy Chase/Marianne Faithfull

    Season 5 Episode 10

    Aired 2/9/1980

    Live from New York, it's…Chevy Chase! Sketches include ""Henry Kissinger and Gerald Ford,"" ""Pre-Chewed Charlies,"" The Bel Airabs, ""You Can't Win,"" Speaking of Fashion, ""Linden Palmer, Hollywood's Forgotten Director,"" and ""Honduras.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Elliott Gould/Gary Numan
    6.3/10(91)

    #11 - Elliott Gould/Gary Numan

    Season 5 Episode 11

    Aired 2/16/1980

    Sketches include ""Kramer vs. Godzilla,"" ""The Incredible Man,"" Andy Aaron's film ""Get Rid of That Building,"" and ""All-Time Radio.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Kirk Douglas/Sam and Dave
    6.4/10(103)

    #12 - Kirk Douglas/Sam and Dave

    Season 5 Episode 12

    Aired 2/23/1980

    Sketches include ""Kirk's Greatest Kirks,"" ""What If?,"" ""Arlene Meets Kirk Douglas,"" ""Greg's Bar Mitzvah,"" ""Prime Time Saturday,"" and ""Mask of Fear""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Rodney Dangerfield/J. Geils Band
    7.0/10(115)

    #13 - Rodney Dangerfield/J. Geils Band

    Season 5 Episode 13

    Aired 3/8/1980

    Sketches include-- Dressing Room opening, Dr. Shockley's House of Sperm, Niggerands, Manhasset, The Subsitute Judge, Celebrity Corner: Bill Murray talks with Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow.

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Paul Simon/James Taylor
    6.3/10(94)

    #14 - Paul Simon/James Taylor

    Season 5 Episode 14

    Aired 3/15/1980

    Sketches include ""Anniversary Seance,"" ""Todd's Campaign,"" ""The Biggest Leprechaun,"" ""The Flogging Musicians,"" ""Talk or Die,"" and ""The David Susskind Show."" Paul Simon and James Taylor perform ""Cathy's Clown / Take Me to the Mardi Gras"" and David Sanborn performs ""Anything You Want.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss/The Grateful Dead
    6.1/10(89)

    #15 - Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss/The Grateful Dead

    Season 5 Episode 15

    Aired 4/5/1980

    Sketches include ""Women Empowerment"" and ""Hotel Room/Smell You.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Burt Reynolds/Anne Murray
    5.7/10(96)

    #16 - Burt Reynolds/Anne Murray

    Season 5 Episode 16

    Aired 4/12/1980

    Sketches include ""Burt's Not Angry,"" ""Vomitorium,"" ""The Burt Book,"" ""Be a Pepper,"" and ""Baba Wawa at Large."" Anne Murray performs ""Lucky Me.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Strother Martin/The Specials
    6.8/10(98)

    #17 - Strother Martin/The Specials

    Season 5 Episode 17

    Aired 4/19/1980

    The host for the episode is Strother Martin, and the musical guest is The Specials. The skits for this episode are as follows: Rosalyn Carter talks about sections of the 1980 census intended for illegal aliens, including questions about how they got into the US, where they would hide if the INS came to their homes, and how much they would be willing to do housework for. During his opening monologue, Strother Martin reveals that he was asked to host the show because Lorne Michaels mistook him for Tennessee Williams, and so far he's been keeping up the act. At Camp Beau Soleil, the campers are forced to learn French by the brutal camp counselor, Le Capitain, but a camper named Luke is determined to escape. Additional skits include a variety show will, the Conductor's Club, Any Town, and Food. The Specials perform "Gangsters" and "Too Much, Too Young".

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Bob Newhart/The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Bruce Cockburn
    6.7/10(92)

    #18 - Bob Newhart/The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Bruce Cockburn

    Season 5 Episode 18

    Aired 5/10/1980

    Sketches include ""Mysteries of the Universe,"" ""The Dating Zone,"" ""Writing Home,"" and ""Mr. Bill."" The Amazing Rhythm Aces (featuring Bill Murray) perform ""Third-Rate Romance.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Steve Martin/Paul and Linda McCartney
    7.7/10(111)

    #19 - Steve Martin/Paul and Linda McCartney

    Season 5 Episode 19

    Aired 5/17/1980

    Sketches include: ""Father Guido Sarducci, Live from London,"" ""Real Incredible People,"" ""Stretch Marks Record Offer,"" ""Reagan's Dinner,"" and ""The Hominids."" 3-D performed ""All-Night Television.""

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A

  • Buck Henry/Andrew Gold
    7.4/10(99)

    #20 - Buck Henry/Andrew Gold

    Season 5 Episode 20

    Aired 5/24/1980

    Live from New York, it's Harry Shearer! Sketches include "Election '80: Almost Halfway Over," "The SNL Stars of the Future" monologue, "Lord and Lady Douchebag," "Uncle Roy," and "Nick at Trader Nick's."

    Director: Dave Wilson

    Writer: N/A