Last night SNL’s highly-anticipated 40th Anniversary Special took place and for the die-hard fans it was quite a treat.
The Anniversary Special, which actually didn’t feature an *NSYNC reunion as everyone thought, jam-packed stars, musical performances, and memories from SNL’s 40 year history in to one very long, three and a half hour show. But it was as nostalgic and amazing just as everyone had hoped, so here are some of the best moments in no particular order:
1. Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake’s cold open
Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake, long time SNL royalty by now, opened the show with a little rap full of nostalgic catch phrases and one-liners. These two are sort of the face of the SNL generation these days so it was pretty fun to watch them choreograph their way through this little number:
2. Celebrity Jeopardy returns with Will Ferrell
Any time Will Ferrell returns to the hallowed stages of Studio 8H, everyone keeps their fingers crossed for a Celebrity Jeopardy sketch. The sketches from the ’90s are arguably some of the most classic and iconic sketches in all of SNL’s 40 year history. Lucky for us Will reprised his role as Alex Trebek, as did Darrell Hammond as the annoying antagonist Sean Connery.
3. Bradley Cooper makes out with Betty White in The Californians
The Californians, a group of blondes with thick “Californian” accents also returned with Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Fred Armisen Vanessa Bayer and Kenan Thompson reprising their roles. This time it came with special guests Laraine Newman, Taylor Swift, Betty White and Bradley Cooper. Check out all the weirdness below:
4. Not 1, but 2 Stefons!
It would be impossible to have Bill Hader back and not bring in Stefon, right? Well that’s not enough for a 40th Anniversary Special! Last night, Edward Norton showed up to show off his best Stefon impersonation, which was pretty good and got some big laughs. But not before the true Stefon broke in to show him how it’s done. As predicted, Seth Meyers was pretty jealous.
5. Steve Martin nails his opening monologue
Steve Martin was the host of the episode, if that’s what you want to call it. We have to hand it to Steve Martin: of all of the old school comedians featured in last night’s episode, he clearly still has a knack for comedic timing. His opening monologue had just the right sense of sarcasm and wit that made it feel like he had never left the show at all. Check it out!
6. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Jane Curtain helm Weekend Update
Our prayers were answered in a Tina Fey/Amy Poehler combo. This time the dynamic duo invited Jane Curtain, another female Weekend Update anchor from years gone by. Much like Steve Martin, Jane Curtain didn’t feel forced and truly made it seem as if she picked right up where she left off! There were a lot of moving parts (including a smashed set courtesy of Melissa McCarthy) but this Weekend Update tribute is exactly what we were hoping for: complete with Tina Fey being eaten by a shark!
7. Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey honor Tracy Morgan
One of the more prominent names and faces missing from last night’s celebration was Tracy Morgan. Morgan is still recovering from a horrific traffic accident that left him out of commission for quite a while. Word is that Tracy is doing better, but wasn’t well enough to participate in the events of last night. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, his 30 Rock costars, gave him a great shout out so fans of Morgan weren’t forgotten.
8. Eddie Murphy returns to Studio 8H
Comedic genius Eddie Murphy returned to Studio 8H for the first time since he left the show way back in 1984. And while we want to say it was something grandiose, all he really did was come out on stage, clap at the audience and left. The best part of this tribute wasn’t even Murphy himself, it was the introduction that he received from SNL alum Chris Rock. Either way it was a great nostalgic moment for long-time fans of Saturday Night Live.
9. Maya Rudolph as Beyoncé
There were many impersonations last night during the SNL 40th Anniversary Special (as expected), but Maya Rudolph proved she’s still got that Beyoncé in her all these years later. Beyoncé herself has transformed from front-runner of Destiny’s Child to the biggest name in pop music, and Rudolph proved she’s keeping right up with her!
10. Wayne’s World returns in ‘excellent’ fashion
One of the final sketches of the night saw Dana Carvey and Mike Meyers reprising their sketch-turned-movie Wayne’s World. It featured none other than a top 10 list for the episode we all just watched. It featured some shout outs to Kanye West as well as Lorne Michaels himself.
One of the most memorable moments of the night were the star-studded goodbyes at the end of the episode, which featured nearly everyone involved with the Anniversary Special jam packed onto that tiny stage. Amy Poehler next to Dana Carvey, next to Molly Shannon, next to Paul McCartney, next to Justin Timberlake – it was surreal to see so much talent in one place.
Towards the end, Steve Martin invited Lorne Michaels up to the stage as the audience gave a standing ovation to the man that made all of this possible. As fans of pop culture and comedy we all owe Lorne Michaels a huge ‘thank you’ for what he has created and nurtured over these last incredible 40 years.
During the Q&A session with Jerry Seinfeld, 50 Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson confirmed that she would be hosting SNL on February 28.