Season 5
Saturday Night Live aired its fifth season during the 1979–1980 television season on NBC, and also the final season with the original cast. This fifth season started on October 13, 1979 and ended on May 24, 1980. SNL's fifth season was released on DVD on December 1, 2009. 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 cast member status: Peter Aykroyd, Jim Downey, Brian Doyle-Murray, 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 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.
Episodes
1 Steve Martin/Blondie Oct 13, 1979 
2 Eric Idle/Bob Dylan Oct 20, 1979 
3 Bill Russell/Chicago Nov 3, 1979 
4 Buck Henry/Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Nov 10, 1979 
5 Bea Arthur/The Roches Nov 17, 1979 
6 Howard Hesseman/Randy Newman Dec 8, 1979 
7 Martin Sheen/David Bowie Dec 15, 1979 
8 Ted Knight/Desmond Child and Rouge Dec 22, 1979 
9 Teri Garr/The B-52's Jan 26, 1980 
10 Chevy Chase/Marianne Faithfull Feb 9, 1980 
11 Elliott Gould/Gary Numan Feb 16, 1980 
12 Kirk Douglas/Sam and Dave Feb 23, 1980 
13 Rodney Dangerfield/J. Geils Band Mar 8, 1980 
14 Paul Simon/James Taylor Mar 15, 1980 
15 Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss/The Grateful Dead Apr 5, 1980 
16 Burt Reynolds/Anne Murray Apr 12, 1980 
17 Strother Martin/The Specials Apr 19, 1980 
18 Bob Newhart/The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Bruce Cockburn May 10, 1980 
19 Steve Martin/Paul and Linda McCartney May 17, 1980 
20 Buck Henry/Andrew Gold May 24, 1980