Saturday Night Live: it's certainly not the most consistent sketch comedy show on TV, but it's been chugging along for over three decades. Premiering on October 11, 1975---then known as NBC's Saturday Night, and simply Saturday Night the year after---the 90-minute show's unique live atmosphere kept things fresh, though it proved to be quite a challenge. Despite a few rough years, it's remained one of the most well-known shows in the history of sketch comedy. Things aren't be stopping anytime soon, either: NBC has ordered a 31st season of the show---incidentally, the first to be broadcast in HDTV---for the upcoming fall season.

Countless legends have passed through the halls of SNL history, including Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Conan O'Brien, Chris Farley (and Rock), Mike Myers---the list literally goes on and on. As far as "which cast was the best?" goes---well, that's always up for debate, but one thing's for certain: SNL has also enjoyed tons of excellent hosts over the years (though it's usually just to plug an upcoming film or show). In any case, the charisma of the host determines whether or not they'll return; naturally, only the most audience-friendly are invited back more than once. The most popular include Steve Martin and Christopher Walken---but hey, they've already got their own collections on disc. This SNL Best Of DVD features the talents of Tom Hanks, who's appeared over half a dozen times through the years. The original broadcast of Hanks' highlight reel took place as the 29th season drew to a close last year, but it's now available on DVD with a few extras sketches thrown in for good measure.

Index of Clips and Sketches:
(17 chapters, 86 minutes total)

1. "Calgary 1988 Olympic Figure Skating Coverage"
2. Hanks' Fifth Hosting Appearance (Opening monologue) and "The Five-Timers Club"
3. "Wayne's World" (w/ Hanks as 'Barry', Garth's cousin & Aerosmith roadie)
4. "Mr. Short-Term Memory: The Blind Date"
5. "East Lake Ping-Pong Tournament" (Cheerleader sketch w/ Hanks as 'The Spartan Spirit')
6. "Tales of Ribaldry" (Hosted by Jon Lovitz)
7. "Weekend Update w/ Cast Away's Wilson the Volleyball"
8. "Girl Watchers" (Hanks & Lovitz, above left)
9. "Rare Outtakes from Big" (above right)
10. "Night Out with the Roxbury Brothers" (w/ Hanks as...the third brother, I guess)
11. "The Guy Who Plays Mr. Belvedere Fan Club"
12. "The Stand-Up Comic Who Hangs Around Backstage"
13. "Sabra Price Is Right"
14. "Happy Anniversary" (w/ Joan Cusack)
15. The infamous "Jew, Not a Jew"
16. "Welcome to The Bean Cafe"
17. SNL 25th Anniversary (Closing monologue)

A decent collection of sketches overall, but I'd be hard-pressed to say that Hanks was the focal point in all of them. "East Lake Ping Pong Tournament", "Weekend Update", and even the "Wayne's World" sketch all feature the star as either a cameo or a minor role. Still, there's a few pleasant surprises like "The Guy Who Plays Mr. Belvedere...", the one-track "Bean Cafe", and Hanks' recurring character "Mr. Short-Term Memory" (although the Tony Randall sketch is nowhere to be found). Both SNL and Tom Hanks fans will undoubtedly want to check this out: it's not the funniest batch of sketch comedy ever assembled---from SNL or elsewhere---but at least it practices truth in advertising.

Lions Gate has released a slew of solid SNL discs already, and The Best of Tom Hanks continues the trend. While the technical presentation certainly shows the limits of the source material, they've managed to throw in a short collection of bonus features that fans should enjoy. Add a relatively low retail price to the list, and we've got a disc that's worth a closer look.

Seen above, the menu designs are almost too basic for their own good. The 87-minute main feature has been divided into 17 chapters---one for each of the sketches and/or clips, though chapter titles would've helped---and no layer change was detected during playback. The packaging is also straightforward, as this single-disc release is housed in a standard black keepcase with no insert.

A trio of bonus features are included here: the first two are a pair of Dress Sketches (8 minutes total)---short routines that were practiced before the live broadcast, but didn't quite make the final cut. The first is the terrific "Nude Beach", featuring John Lovitz as a first-time nude beachgoer (Hanks plays the guy who invites him). It's a really funny bit, but you'll be amazed at how many time the word "penis" can be casually mentioned in 4 minutes. The second dress sketch, "Macbeth Rehearsal", features Mary Katherine Gallagher upstaging Hanks (who plays a stage director)---it's ain't quite a classic sketch, but it's nice to have anyway. The third and final extra is a brief, self-navigating Photo Gallery that's worth a quick look (1 minute). It's certainly not the most feature-packed disc currently available on the market, but it's fairly well-rounded in overall content quality.

There are better Best of SNL discs out there, but fans of Tom Hanks should really enjoy this collection of sketches and clips from the past few decades. Lions Gate offers a passable DVD treatment, preserving the technical presentation nicely and offering a few bonus features to boot. The disc's replay value depends strictly on your love for "America's Everyman", but a slew of guest appearances and cameos make this an easy choice for all SNL completists. Recommended.