Season 5 began in 1979 and ended in 1980. Since John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd had left the show at the end of the fourth season, many thought the show was coming to an end, but NBC was determined to keep it going.
Season 5 introduced the "featured players" cast category, which remains a part of the show today. Most of the original featured players were writers who had made many uncredited cameos throughout the show's first four seasons. Season 5 also reached the show's 100th episode. No one carried over to Season 6, including producer Lorne Michaels, who would eventually return for Season 11. For Season 6, Jean Doumanian took over and constructed an entirely new cast, only to be replaced by Dick Ebersol for Season 7.
Cast[]
Not returning:
Repertory[]
 Jane Curtin |
 Garrett Morris |
 Bill Murray |
 Laraine Newman |
 Gilda Radner |
 Harry Shearer |
Featured[]
 Peter Aykroyd |
 Tom Davis |
 Jim Downey |
 Brian Doyle-Murray |
 Al Franken |
 Don Novello |
 Tom Schiller |
 Paul Shaffer |
 Alan Zweibel |
Changes[]
- Harry Shearer: First October 20 (hired as featured player) (upgraded to repertory status: February 9)
- Paul Shaffer: First November 17
- Peter Aykroyd: First January 26
- Jim Downey: First January 26
- Brian Doyle-Murray: First January 26
- Tom Schiller: First April 19
- Alan Zweibel: First April 19
Episodes[]
| Episode No |
Season Episode |
Date | Host | Musical guest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87 | 1 | October 13, 1979 | Steve Martin | Blondie |
| 88 | 2 | October 20, 1979 | Eric Idle | Bob Dylan |
| 89 | 3 | November 3, 1979 | Bill Russel | Chicago |
| 90 | 4 | November 10, 1979 | Buck Henry | Tom Petty |
| 91 | 5 | November 17, 1979 | Bea Arthur | The Roaches |
| 92 | 6 | December 8, 1979 | Howard Hesseman | Randy Newman |
| 93 | 7 | December 15, 1979 | Martin Sheen | David Bowie |
| 94 | 8 | December 22, 1979 | Ted Knight | Desmond Child, Rogue |
| 95 | 9 | January 26, 1980 | Teri Garr | The B-52's |
| 96 | 10 | February 9, 1980 | Chevy Chase | Marianne Faithful |
| 97 | 11 | February 16, 1980 | Elliot Gould | Garry Numan |
| 98 | 12 | February 23, 1980 | Kirk Douglas | Sam & Dave |
| 99 | 13 | March 8, 1980 | Rodney Dangerfield | The J. Geils Band |
| 100 | 14 | March 15, 1980 | James Taylor Paul Simon |
David Sanborn |
| 101 | 15 | April 5, 1980 | Richard Benjamin Paul Prentiss |
The Greatful Dead |
| 102 | 16 | April 12, 1980 | Burt Reynolds | Anne Murray |
| 103 | 17 | April 19, 1980 | Strother Martin | The Specials |
| 104 | 18 | May 10, 1980 | Bob Newhart | Amazing Rhythm Aces with Bill Murray Bruce Cockburn |
| 105 | 19 | May 17, 1980 | Steve Martin | 3-D Paul McCartney Linda McCartney |
| 106 | 20 | May 24, 1980 | Buck Henry | Andrew Gold Andrea Crouch Voices of Unity |
Births[]
- Mikey Day (March 20, 1980)
- Casey Wilson (October 24, 1980)
Opening montage[]
S5
This intro was first used on February 9, 1980, and was used for the rest of the season. This episode is from the season finale that aired on May 24, 1980.
Gallery[]
Featured player photos for the first-half of season 5 (overall span: October 20, 1979 - January 26, 1980)
| Preceded by: Season 4 |
Season 5 (1979— 1980) |
Followed by: Season 6 |
[]
| Seasons | |
|---|---|