S50.E13: SNL50: The Anniversary Special

[Carey]

Carvey's absence was a shocker for me.  The guy made several appearances early in season 50.  I'd think he would have been a lock for tonight's events.  Maybe something came up, but that was odd that he showed up as much as he did only to skip tonight.

Speaking of Dana, as mentioned earlier, it's still a tough sense that he missed the SNL25 tribute to Phil Hartman.  Of course, that was a valid reason as he had his issues that affected his life.  But to this day that was the most emotional segment on SNL.  Even Dennis Miller was there (which was his only appearance on the show since his 1991 finale)

[Galileo908]

10 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

I thought it was excellent.  There were sketches that didn't work, but that's what the show is all about.  Loved the music.  And seeing everyone so happy... except Lorne, but that's his default.

Yep. If it wasn't hit or miss, was it truly SNL? The 40th had bits that didn't work either (Garth & Kat). And clearly they didn't want to repeat sketches and bits that were in that for the 50th. At least Jon Lovitz got to do something. I had money on a callback to the RIP gag.

[anna0852]

Overall, I think it was a good show, but the 40th was much stronger. It feels like more planning went into the 40th as well in terms of nostalgia in the sketches, in pairing new cast members with old cast members and the pre-tapes referring to things like auditions in digital shorts. Unfortunately utilizing all of those elements in this show would’ve just been a repeat of 40, which is why I think it felt so uneven.

[Galileo908]

My DVR ended at the cutoff, so I can't see the Paul McCartney performance again ;_;

[MerBearHou]

I was delighted by so many moments tonight, but I think my favorite aspect of the whole thing was seeing Eddie Murphy so thoroughly committed to the skits and enjoying himself.  

[Peace 47]

1 hour ago, Galileo908 said:

Debbie Downer! A bartender is a perfect job for her.

This was probably the best sketch Robert DeNiro has been in.

This sounds hella patronizing for me to say, but I was so proud of Robert DeNiro!  He did such a good job delivering his lines.

I had such a good time with this show.  Because I am apparently a Mulaney stan who finds everything he does hilarious, I thought his sketch best captured the concept of putting on a “normal” show and a “normal” version of this sketch (centered around NYC peculiarities) with paying homage to all eras of the show as part of an anniversary special.

Martin’s monologue, Streep finally getting in there and doing a sketch and Poehler/Fey with the crowd work, and Sabrina Carpenter working well with an older Paul Simon with a weaker voice at this point in his career (and also doing well in her sketch:  she should host) were my other MVPs of the night.  I had such a good time with this.

I don’t know if I remember the 40th super well (Bill Murray doing the “love theme from Jaws” and Celebrity Jeopardy stand out) but I think I liked this one just as much, probably more.

[MerBearHou]

I was impressed and touched by Adam Sandler’s song — just perfect.  

[Phebemarie]

I would have preferred original cast members rather than guest stars like Kim Kardashian, ScarJo, and even Meryl Streep in the skits.  I suppose it's possible people like Jane Curtain politely declined to be in skits, but it would have been fun.  

 

 

Edited Monday at 05:05 AM by Phebemarie

[Arkay]

My DVR also cut off right after the cemetery bit so I missed Paul as well. 
 

 I only saw one very brief moment of Daryl Hammond. I think he should’ve gotten  more credit. Was he there and I missed it?

Paul Simon was great as always. Eddie doing Tracy Morgan was great.

Adam Sandler won the night though. You could see how all the insiders got all his references.

[ebk57]

17 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

My DVR ended at the cutoff, so I can't see the Paul McCartney performance again ;_;

A lot of the sketches are already up on YouTube.  I'll keep looking for Sir Paul for you.

[Galileo908]

1 minute ago, Arkay said:

I only saw one very brief moment of Daryl Hammond. I think he should’ve gotten  more credit. Was he there and I missed it?

Yeah, he only got a shout out at the end. He's the guy that took over from Don Pardo! He got nothing!

 

2 minutes ago, Arkay said:

Paul Simon was great as always. Eddie doing Tracy Morgan was great.

I'm a sucker for castmembers doing impressions of the people right in front of them. Dana Carvey as Dennis Miller, John Belushi as Joe Cocker, Mark McKinney as Jim Carrey (while Jim was Jimmy Stewart). Sandler might've won the heart, but Eddie Murphy was the VIP for laughs tonight.

[Galileo908]

1 hour ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

A movie with Eddie and Will NEEDS to happen.

Criminal that this was probably the first time they shared a scene.

And man, I'd love to be at THIS afterparty. But then again, they've been pretty much saying that the party started on Friday.

[Is Everyone Gone]

There's a lot of chatter about why Bill Hader wasn't there. I hope he's okay.

[Peace 47]

8 minutes ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

There's a lot of chatter about why Bill Hader wasn't there. I hope he's okay.

It was reported in some industry publication earlier in the week that he had declined the invitation, just like Aykroyd had.  Most people assumed that since he has been open in recent interviews about how much the show stressed him out and filled him with anxiety when he was on it, that he made a reasoned choice not to subject himself to that again, now that he is a successful auteur.

But his whole neighborhood recently burned down in the Palisades.  His house was still standing, but pretty much everything around it was ashes.  It looked so bad, I might assume he can’t live there right now, so who knows: maybe he didn’t participate in this because he has family issues to attend to around the fire cleanup.

Like others, I’m more shocked about Dana, since he’s been so involved in the current season and seemed to be having fun with it.  I hope that he is okay.

[Dirge]

@Galileo908and others, nbc.com is putting up clips. This is the goodnights (I don't know if this will work or if you'll have to input how you usually watch NBC) 

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/50th-anniversary-goodnights-snl50/NBCE129093787

I don't see McCartney up yet. 

[opus]

[MrWhyt]

I thought that was great from top to bottom with Sandler's segment being the stand out, I might have gotten something in my eye when he mentioned hartman and farley and norm. Overall a pretty good mix of celebrating the show and poking fun at themselves.

[nickp1991]

Eddie Murphy and Kenan Thompson in the same sketch in 2025

[nickp1991]

New York: the musical sold me

[absnow54]

1 hour ago, nickp1991 said:

New York: the musical sold me

It made the best use of the format. It’s a great vehicle to shuffle through a ton of cameos. Kind of like the audition or music compilation sketches they love to do. Speaking of, they could have done an SNL audition sketch where old cast members got to do their favorite celebrity impressions auditioning for the show throughout the decades.

Also, after 20-some years, they had both Mike Meyers and Eddie Murphy in separate sketches, but they couldn’t sneak in a Shrek reunion. Guess it’s too early to start promoting Shrek 5. Now that would have made a scared straight tale to tell!

8 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I saw Chevy Chase walking in right as the show closed out!  I thought I had read that Chevy would Not show up...

He must have been so mad. Not only did they give Bill Murray an Update bit, they put him at number 4 for the best update hosts! The show has really let up on stroking his ego in recent years. 

[absnow54]

I also want to give credit to the deep cut of having Nick Jonas as Marius in the One Day More portion of the broadway sketch. Every time the anniversary special for Les Miserables plays on PBS (which is often) I always have a “wait, Nick Jonas?” moment when he appears. 

Edited Monday at 02:15 PM by absnow54

[Ohiopirate02]

18 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

I also want to give credit to the deep cut of having Nick Jonas as Marius in the One Day More portion of the broadway sketch. Every time the anniversary special for Les Miserables plays on PBS (which is often) I always have a “wait, Nick Jonas?” moment when he appears. 

I also caught Nick dressed up as Marius and it cracked me up. I have that Les Mis special on DVD and watch it often because the cast is stacked enough to make up for Nick's acting. Bless his heart, he tried.

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, absnow54 said:

He must have been so mad. Not only did they give Bill Murray an Update bit, they put him at number 4 for the best update hosts! The show has really let up on stroking his ego in recent years. 

It’s no secret that he’s been a dick to the newer casts every time he hosted, and the old cast didn’t think much of him either. Jane and Laraine were holding Gilda’s photo in front of his face. Could be a coincidence but who knows.

[SeanBug]

13 hours ago, Slade347 said:

I would have preferred seeing literally any female cast member to seeing fucking Kim Kardashian.

Thank you!!!

Why not just have her in the audience asking TFey & Amy a question. Or not at all.  

It was hilarious to see her next to Scarlett. A very talented actress and a woman who first became famous because her mother leaked her sex tape. 

Kim had more make up on her face than Anna, Scarlett and Kristin combined. 

[Ohiopirate02]

22 minutes ago, SeanBug said:

Thank you!!!

Why not just have her in the audience asking TFey & Amy a question. Or not at all.  

It was hilarious to see her next to Scarlett. A very talented actress and a woman who first became famous because her mother leaked her sex tape. 

Kim had more make up on her face than Anna, Scarlett and Kristin combined. 

She also stared down the camera during the whole sketch. I get a weak actor wanting something in the distance to focus on while being on stage, but pick an audience member or the cue-card guy not the camera.

[paul4295]

I loved Gilda Radner (Roseanne Rosannadanna is my all time favorite SNL character), and got a little teary when they showed the dance sketch with Steve Martin, and then again when Jane and Laraine had her picture at the end.  I also liked the skit with Laraine and Pete.  It was touching, but also funny.

Eddie Murphy seemed to be having so much fun in his skits.  That was nice to see, too.

Edited Monday at 03:43 PM by paul4295

[Is Everyone Gone]

4 minutes ago, paul4295 said:

Eddie Murphy seemed to be having so much fun in his skits.  That was nice to see, too.

Watching Eddie break with Will Ferrell was awesome. Eddie is usually the one who causes other people to break.

Seeing these old-timers show up also makes you realize people don't really change. I recognized all of them immediately bc of their voice and mannerisms are still exactly the same.

[absnow54]

6 minutes ago, paul4295 said:

Eddie Murphy seemed to be having so much fun in his skits.  That was nice to see, too.

I hope he comes back to host again soon. He’s just so effortless. The laugh he got off the simple setup of his half braided hair and the line “I don’t do anything halfway.”

And Kristen Wiig still annoys me, but the 40th and 50th anniversary have shown how strong the late-00s cast was. Sudiekis/Armisen/Wiig/Forte/Poehler/Rudolph/and we can count Kenan since he was there too made a strong showing last night. 

[paul4295]

I wonder if Jane Curtin declined to be in a sketch.  They could have easily included her with Laraine Newman visiting the set in her sketch, and that could have made it even more touching.

Or (I know Streep is a legend and was very funny) I could have seen Jane as Kate's mother in the alien sketch.

[janeyjay]

The whole evening -- nay, the whole anniversary weekend -- was a delight. Must give enormous props to the writers for providing such good and funny material for the beloved (mostly... looking at you Kim K) performers to deliver. Love that people like Tina Fey and Paula Pell and John Mulaney and Seth Meyers jumped back in to help with this project -- their voices were obvious, at least to me. 

[Ohiopirate02]

12 minutes ago, paul4295 said:

I wonder if Jane Curtin declined to be in a sketch.  They could have easily included her with Laraine Newman visiting the set in her sketch, and that could have made it even more touching.

Or (I know Streep is a legend and was very funny) I could have seen Jane as Kate's mother in the alien sketch.

That is my assumption for any of the former cast members who were there but did not participate in any sketch outside of Chevy.

[Crashcourse]

Lil Wayne should have performed at the Super Bowl instead of that other guy.

[SnarkAttack]

I was disappointed, as was my sister.  There are so many great skits they could have played from each season, I would have loved just clips of original skits and original musical acts.  Maybe do a montage of all the hosts, or show the cast by year.  But no one ever asks me, lol.  

[cdnalor]

Steve Martin's monologue (esp. the "Gulf of Steve Martin" line) and Eddie Murphy doing Tracy Morgan were two of several moments in this show that will stay with me.  I'm not an Adam Sandler fan but his tribute song was excellent and the audience gave him a well deserved standing O.

[absnow54]

8 minutes ago, SnarkAttack said:

I would have loved just clips of original skits and original musical acts.

Have you watched the Ladies and Gentlemen… documentary? It did a phenomenal job honoring the musical performances throughout the years. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

I mostly enjoyed this, but I was hoping to see some more classic sketches, like Celebrity Jeopardy or The Delicious Dish (especially since the latter has been in the Capital One commercials recently). Even Kristen Wiig as Penelope (such an underrated character). The wedding speech skit with Sabrina Carpenter was funny but not necessary.

Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard’s cover of Nothing Compares 2 U was a hit for me, and I’m not a Miley fan and had never heard of Brittany until last night. It’s too bad it’s not a single you can get on Spotify because I’d download it and listen to it on repeat forever. 

[AriAu]

Enjoyable 3+ hours but there was, as always, the good, the bad and the ugly

Good

Eddie

Eddie doing Tracy Morgan next to Tracy Morgan

Meryl Streep as Colleen Rafferty's Mother....inspired, but I wish it had been a prior cast member....and somehow Kate got them all (other than Jon Hamm) to break, including the greatest actress of all time.

The New York musical number....inspired all the way around.

Drunk Uncle

Tina and Amy's chemistry during Q&A

Eddie, Kennan and Will Ferrell being in the "10 to 1" sketch and killing it.

And, of course, Sandler's song......that for once looks like it wasnt written 5 minutes before.

Bad

Not enough original cast

Too much of Lorne's favorites...I love Maya, but come on. Same with Molly Shannon and Cecilly and Sarah Sherman

Lil Wayne....why??? There was a whole (excellent) concert 2 nights before. Same with Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard. I get the irony of the song they chose, but would have rather had a  sketch or clips.

UGLY

Seriously, enough with Domingo. Was moderately humorous the first time, but enough. And if you were going to bother with it, use alums and not the current cast.

Kim Kardashian......really......like they needed to draw in an audience. Altho it was funny when they focused on her famous derriere.

Debby Downer....another over used character who is not all that funny.

Sadly, the voices of our (and Lorne's) beloved Pauls. From a nostalgia standpoint, dead on, but a tough listen.

[MerBearHou]

5 minutes ago, AriAu said:

Debby Downer....another over used character who is not all that funny.

Sadly, the voices of our (and Lorne's) beloved Pauls. From a nostalgia standpoint, dead on, but a tough listen.

I have never thought Debbie Downer was funny (though we all know that person).  

Help me out — who are the beloved Pauls?

[BradC]

Overall, way more hits than misses.  I thought it was interesting that Chevy Chase was there, but didn't get a speaking part.  A little too much Kristen Wiig, as usual, but it wasn't overwhelming.

Many highlights, including Eddie Murphy who was committed (and hilarious) in every sketch), Tina and Amy's Q&A (a great opportunity for cameos), and seeing Mike Myers.  Would have liked to see a little more of a tribute to the remaining original cast members, but maybe it would have been a little awkward with Akyroyd's absence and Chase being so minimally featured.

To me, the number one highlight was Bill Murray doing the countdown of best Weekend Update anchors.  Murray's delivery and commentary was perfect.  Leaving Colin out and putting his brother at #1 was outstanding.

The unintentionally hilarious part was seeing Kevin Costner in the audience, who looked bored the entire time, and seeing as one of the first to walk out of the studio as the good nights were wrapping up.  What was his problem?

Pretty amazing to put on a 3 hour live show that hung together very well.  

[chediavolo]

20 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I have never thought Debbie Downer was funny (though we all know that person).  

Help me out — who are the beloved Pauls?

Paul McCartney and Paul Simon. Singing. They have lost their ability and I am one of a few it seems  who listened when they were great, and now has turn them off because it’s just sad. That goes for quite a few of the old timers who have literally lost their voices. Let’s just remember them in their heyday because to listen to them now is seriously disturbing. It happens. Aging sucks. 

Edited Monday at 06:47 PM by chediavolo

[oakville]

15 hours ago, absnow54 said:

I was wondering where GE Smith was. 

I saw him.

[Is Everyone Gone]

This kind of petty, but anyone notice right away the older cast members who have gotten, uh, "refreshed" and the older cast members who have age-appropriate wrinkles?

[AriAu]

Quote

 I thought it was interesting that Chevy Chase was there, but didn't get a speaking part.

Chevy has suffered from memory loss and, apparently, some cognitive decline. Given that and the fact that he had a reputation as a prick during his hosting stints, I am not shocked that he wasn't featured.

I am surprised that Jane Curtin wasn't featured in some way....maybe in the Chad taped scene with Lorraine Newman, who is younger and maybe in better shape.

These guys are all aging and maybe not all that well.....altho Drunk Uncle with gray hair was pretty perfect.

Quote

Paul McCartney and Paul Simon. Singing. They have lost their ability and I am one of a few it seems  who listened when they were great, and now has turn them off because it’s just sad. That goes for quite a few of the old timers who have literally lost their voices. Let’s just remember them in their heyday because to listen to them now is seriously disturbing. 

Simon was seriously sad. They tried to have Sabrina Carpenter prop him up, but it didn't work and he sounded off key and weak. Not sure what to say about Sir Paul other than he sounded better than Simon.

By the way, who was in the rat costume holding pizza in the New York song parody?

Edited Monday at 07:45 PM by AriAu

[Milburn Stone]

Agree with the general thrust here that it was a really good, if uneven, show. (Major cringe for me was the Black Jeopardy sketch, with only Eddie Murphy's fantastic impression of Tracy Morgan saving it.)

What I found especially interesting was that there were no fewer than three entries that probed what it's really like behind the scenes at the show: the Anxiety film by Andy Samberg; the song by Adam Sandler; and the bit with Fred Armisen desperately trying to get a new draft of a sketch approved by Lorne.

Edited Monday at 08:08 PM by Milburn Stone

[Ohiopirate02]

39 minutes ago, AriAu said:

By the way, who was in the rat costume holding pizza in the New York song parody?

Variety says it was Taran Killam.

[paul4295]

2 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard’s cover of Nothing Compares 2 U was a hit for me, and I’m not a Miley fan and had never heard of Brittany until last night. It’s too bad it’s not a single you can get on Spotify because I’d download it and listen to it on repeat forever. 

I'm glad you liked it, but I was going to comment that I didn't enjoy it at all.  I think Miley is a good singer (she did an excellent duet of I Will Always Love You with Dolly Parton on one of the New Year's Eve shows last year), but didn't think her voice was a good fit for that song.  I thought Brittany Howard was a little better suited to it, but also think in general that it's a downer of a song, and they could have come up with many better choices that would have been more entertaining.

[MerBearHou]

45 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Variety says it was Taran Killam.

Poor Taran — I liked him so much when he was in the cast and last night had ZERO idea that was him.  Talk about invisible.  

[Ohiopirate02]

14 minutes ago, paul4295 said:

I'm glad you liked it, but I was going to comment that I didn't enjoy it at all.  I think Miley is a good singer (she did an excellent duet of I Will Always Love You with Dolly Parton on one of the New Year's Eve shows last year), but didn't think her voice was a good fit for that song.  I thought Brittany Howard was a little better suited to it, but also think in general that it's a downer of a song, and they could have come up with many better choices that would have been more entertaining.

I don't think the show's producers including Lorne were going for entertaining with that song choice. I saw it as a homage to one of the most (in)famous musical moments in the show's 50 years even if Sinead sang a different song during that performance and also a way to put to rest the rumors that she was blacklisted from the show.

[Thumper]

13 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Poor Taran — I liked him so much when he was in the cast and last night had ZERO idea that was him.  Talk about invisible.  

I liked him, too!   There were several people I did not recognize last night.

[SnarkShark]

I only saw clips (and only about 2/3 of them yet) but it wasn't great.

I did like Eddie doing Tracy.  Just him doing NORMAL Tracy was over the top (and that's actually what Tracy is like).  Eddie only had to do him accurately, not exaggerated.  I was fully expecting it to break Tracy... but was unsurprised it broke Leslie instead.  The skit went to crap when it took too long with the "Black people don't know SNL" theme.  Chris Rock (often funny) crapped the bed and didn't deliver at all on his portion.