'SNL,' 'Mission Impossible,' others out on DVD

Lots of TV shows land on DVD this week, just in time for holiday gift-giving.

FIRST SEASONS

—"Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season" (Universal, 1975-76, eight discs, $69.98). The original Not Ready For Prime Time Players in this initial season of the live New York-based show (referred to as "NBC's Saturday Night") were Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd (with a mustache), John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris and Laraine Newman. (Chase would leave in the middle of the second season; Bill Murray would come on board for the third season.)

It's really a kick to see these 90-minute live shows (each runs about 65 minutes here) restored to their full-length glory after all those one-hour versions (with commercials) on the Comedy Central cable channel. And it will become quickly apparent to fans of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" that producer Lorne Michaels was "borrowing" heavily from that British comedy series.

The first episode is hosted by George Carlin (who does four monologues, including his classic football-baseball semantics routine) and features Andy Kaufman (who does his "Mighty Mouse" bit), with two songs each from Janis Ian (including "At Seventeen") and Billy Preston (including "Nothing From Nothing"), the "adult" Muppets that were part of the show for several years, and a faux documentary short film by Albert Brooks.

With all that going on in the first show — and with the second having a heavier emphasis on music (Randy Newman, Phoebe Snow, host Paul Simon and his reunion with Art Garfunkel) — it's hard for the new comics to show their stuff. But as the season progresses, they gain their footing and start churning out many of the memorable characters and skits for which they are still remembered.

Among other hosts this season are Rob Reiner, Candice Bergen, Richard Pryor, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, Buck Henry and, no kidding, Anthony Perkins.

Extras: Full frame, 26 episodes, original screen tests, interview with cast (taped the day before the first show); 36-page booklet

—"Mission: Impossible: The Complete First Season" (CBS/Paramount, 1966-67, seven discs, $54.99). Forget the Tom Cruise movies — this is the real deal, the original series that begins with a secret agent receiving an assignment (should he choose to accept it) from a tape recorder, which then burns itself up.