BWW Recap: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Live 40th Anniversary Special

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE held a one night only 40th anniversary special. It is a 3 and 1/2 hour LIVE special with everyone you could imagine on the show, with celebrities ranging from Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Justin Timberlake, Sarah Silverman, Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy and more!

Read more for the full recap!

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon are kicking off the show with a monologue reminicising on the last 40 years. The opening was full of great moments, like Debbie Downer coming in to bring in some bad news as always, Justin's Walken impersonation, and Molly Shannon's Superstar!

Steve Martin got the job of giving the official monologue which was hilarious. Not only was he interrupted by the likes of Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin, got a performance from Paul McCartney and Paul Simon singing "I've Just Seen a Face." There also were a lot of jokes at others expenses, like Steve making fun of John Lovitz, and his slight to Baldwin,"From comedians to actors to...Alec," and Melissa McCarthy asking the question, "What about hosts who aren't men over 80?" The show is off to a great start!

Celebrity Jeopardy is back! The guests include Sean Connery, Justin Bieber, and Tony Bennett and they are as dumb as ever. Connery, as always, is caught up with insulting Trebek and his mother. Burt Reynolds also showed up with his own podium and for some reason was hung on Andre the Giant. Christoph Waltz and Matthew Mcconaughey also show up and add to the craziness.

They showed tapes of SNL auditions, and wow! So many actors who tried and made it, and so many famous comedians who didn't, like Jim Carrey and Stephen Colbert! They also shows clips of moments that give tribute to the amazing city they have SNL in, New York City. So many great, emotional moments.

The Californians are back and it's a family reunion, Bradley Cooper even shows up as the pool boy and Kerry Washington makes a cameo as a doctor. And as always, they are hung up on driving in the city. Taylor Swift and Betty White even drop in! Swift's impression was really good, too! Wow, nothing like ending the Californians sketch like a kiss from Betty White and Bradley Cooper!

Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Jane Curtin are at the Update Desk!! After a few topical SNL jokes, they brought on celebrities to pay tribute to their favorite characters. Emma Stone paid tribute to Gilda Radnor, Edward Norton tried his hand at Stefon, and Melissa McCarthy was Matt Foley, the Motivational Speaker--she even broke the Update Desk!

Nothing quite like a musical number from Martin Short and "Beyonce" a.k.a. Maya Rudolph, but Cat and Garth may or may not have shown them up. So many great musical numbers, from Chopping Broccoli, and What Up With That?!

10:02- Chris Rock is paying tribute to and introducing Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy is such a legend. He's out on the stage talking about his time at SNL and how happy he is to be back.

Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning introduced a tribute to the 40 years of sports on SNL. And then Miley Cyrus followed with a performance of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" that she killed.

Jerry Seinfeld came out on the stage taking questions from a star-studded audience! He takes questions from Michael Douglas, James Franco--who was wondering if everyone got his emails, and Larry David--who forgot he wrote on the show for one season.

Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin came out the stage honoring Tracy Morgan, who unfortunately is still not well enough to be there tonight. It was a nice tribute to Morgan who was such a big cast member on the show.

Kanye West performed, and as always it is anything short of legendary. From laying on the ground singing for the first half, to crawling on the ground with SIA, it was an epic performance.

They then paid a tribute to the pre-recorded shorts, which are my favorite parts of SNL (well specifically Digital Shorts.) And then a new Digital Short followed This short was hilarious, all about breaking on camera, with a hilarious shout out to Fallon and Sans who always broke on camera.

The show then made a lovely tribute to those we've lost. RIP to all of these amazing performers and crew members.

The last sketch of the night was Wayne's World. Garth and Wayne are back talking about the 40 years of SNL. Their top ten list is "The Top 10 Things About SNL." The list is as follows:

10. Live Show

9. Satire

8. Saturday Night Dead

7. Catchphrases

6. Musical Guests

5. Kanye, sit down!

4. Opening Credits

3. Aftershow Orgies / Wigs

2. Lorne Michaels

1. The Crew

The last musical number of the night was Paul Simon is performing and killing it as usual.

Wow, what a show. Three and a half hours of amazing moments and tributes to the most iconic show on television. I am so glad I was able to watch this event and be a part of a show that has affected so many lives and made so many people happy. I for one want to be in comedy because of SNL. I remember seeing Lazy Sunday when I was 12 years old and realizing that is what I wanted to do. SNL really does change lives and makes so many kids find their passion. Thank you for 40 amazing years, Lorne.

Photos courtesy of the SNL Tumblr

To post a comment, you must register and login.