If you missed the SNL50 special last week, it’s worth finding it streaming on Peacock or the NBC app. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid in the 1970s, sneaking downstairs when my parents were asleep to watch it, and the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special was a tribute to its enduring legacy.
SNL’s been a cornerstone of American television and sketch comedy, and a star-studded lineup of past and present cast members and celebrity-jammed audience gathered for the nostalgic evening. After the opening musical number “Homeward Bound” duet by Paul Simon, 83, and Sabrina Carpenter set the tone, Steve Martin delivered a great monologue featuring a funny appearance by Martin Short.
The special featured appearances from a who's who of comedy, including Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Bill Murray (who threw shade at the absent Chevy Chase during the news segment), Kristen Wiig and countless others. Each brought their unique flair, whether through stand-up routines, sketches, or musical performances. There are countless hilarious moments—from Murphy’s impression of Tracey Morgan while standing right next to him during Black Jeopardy to Laraine Newman visiting the set and encountering Pete Davidson as Chad. Meryl Streep joins Kate McKinnon in reprising her hysterical Close Encounters alien sketch, complete with Devil Wears Prada Easter egg line.
In addition to the opening musical performance, Miley Cyrus and Brittany Murphy performed a hauntingly beautiful tribute to Sinead O’Connor’s cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares To You,” a nod to the late O’Connor and hopeful SNL apology for its past transgressions against her activism. Paul McCartney, 82, performed a medley ending with “The End.” My favorite number was the NYC tribute number by John Mulaney with sidekick Pete Davidson, a full-on Broadway-in-miniature complete with Lin Manuel as Hamilton, McKinnon as Giuliani, and dozens of stars. Other notable numbers included Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island-vibes Anxiety digital short and Adam Sandler’s 50 Years song, with poignant tributes to some of the show’s lost cast members and contributors. The show didn’t do an In Memoriam specifically but did pay tribute throughout the night to those who are fondly remembered. The show paid homage to the cast, crew, writers from over the years and producer Lorne Michaels.
“SNL50 had three jobs: capture the significance of the milestone, pay respect to those who made it possible, and be funny. It handily managed all three, often at once,” writes Joe Berkowitz at Vulture.
I agree with just about everything in his review, except here: “Thankfully, SNL50’s creators pulled out all the stops to make what could all too easily have been a masturbatory exercise into something that should satisfy just about everyone—but especially millennials.”
The title of his piece and this sentence put an emphasis on millennials for no valid reason. SNL was born in 1975, like every other bona fide Gen X kid. We were the ones watching it long before our millennial younger siblings and children. An SNL article is hardly the time for Gen X erasure; Vulture, go appropriate your millennial culture elsewhere.
The Atlantic prattled on in their review about “regency bias” for anyone who pays money to get behind their paywall (to answer their own whining they could simply watch the 40th SNL anniversary special, since this one was supposed to be an answer to that).
The SNL50 special was about a television institution that’s left an indelible mark on American culture; the festivities struck a perfect chord of nostalgia, humor, and reflection. When the cast gathered on stage for a final bow, it was clear the legacy of Saturday Night Live is as relevant as ever, gearing up for more at a time when we need to find laughs where we can.