SNL50: The Anniversary Special

This has just about everything you could possibly want in an SNL homage. I watched it with my teens who had recently gotten into watching Weekend Updates every week, and it was a blast from the past, blending past and present beautifully. Just watching the crowd, it's fun to look out (and point out) who was there. Right from the get go it was evident everybody channeled real love into this special, and everybody was enjoying their time, well aware of the fact that they were taking part in a historical event. I can't even say exactly what my favorite moment was, but even the nostalgic, emotional beats hit just as hard as the humor.

If you've ever enjoyed SNL, this is well worth your time!

They brought an impressive array of celebrities and past cast members for this much anticipated special. Wondering who might pop up next did hold your attention. The novelty of seeing past and current cast members and the odd celebrity thrown together in skits was entertaining to some degree. There were also skits that mixed characters from different seasons, or were modern versions of old skits - all adding a novelty to the show.

BUT BUT BUT!! But novelty is not enough for a comedy show. Strip away the novelty and the skits simply weren't funny or clever or well fleshed out. The only skit that struck as funny at all was the UFO sketch with Kate McKinnon, Meryl Streep, Jon Hamm, Woody Harrelson, Pedro Pascal, and Aidy Bryant. The humor was mostly due to Kate's dialogue and delivery (and Harrelson and Pascal trying not to crack). Overall there's disappointingly little that sticks out at memorable, which is sad for a 50th anniversary show crammed with celebrities.

Found huge enjoyment... in the 40th Anniversary Special. With the Saturday Night film last year and all the specials running lately, I can't help remembering a show that used to push boundaries. A show willing to be controversial and bizarre. Not always hilarious, but a showcase of comedians being honest and creative.

This "special" felt contrived and safe and not particularly funny. The standouts were Martin's monologue, Sandler's song, Garret Morris introducing a classic Belishi clip, and the scared straight skit.

Everything else was run of the mill, been there done that, tame (ie lame) bits with a few mediocre music performances and lot of celebrities angling for screen time.

I appreciated the opening that paired Paul Simon (from the second ever SNL) with Sabrina Carpenter (from RIGHT NOW). I personally wish that they had picked a different right now "it" girl - but that's just me. Paul at the end was just magical. Those two numbers alone were done with more respect for the audience and the artists than the entire "music" special. I love both Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard. The comic material was great. They found cool ways to remind us of how wide and deep the talent of the cast and the celebrities that have been on that stage over the years is. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot.

It is Saturday Night Live at 50. The names don't get much bigger and that's just the audience. This opens with Sabrina Carpenter joining Paul Simon as he reprises his first performance. Paul isn't doing so well. Sabrina's age joke hits hard. Steve Martin's opening monologue also hits when he says that people can be dead by natural causes now. Eddie Murphy playing Tracy Morgan is probably the best. He actually got the others to break. Tom Hanks comes in and brings that skit to a halt. In a way, that is the quintessential SNL experience. Some of it is genius and the next is comedy death. This is better than most episodes by its sheer comedy power.