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 The 3-1/2-hour show on NBC, which has aired the Saturday
night staple since 1975 and launched the careers of comedy stars
ranging from Eddie Murphy to Martin Short, featured a series of
rapid-fire clips of classic SNL bits, with the show's veterans
reprising or reinventing their most-loved sketches.
Ostensibly hosted by Steve Martin, the anniversary show included
appearances by some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Jack
Nicholson, Robert De Niro and Tom Hanks.
Dozens of cast members from the checkered history of "Saturday
Night Live" were on hand, notably first-season regulars Chevy
Chase, Jane Curtin, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman and
Garrett Morris.
Top figures from the music world such as Paul McCartney, Paul
Simon, Taylor Swift and Keith Richards joined sports heroes
Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning, crowding into the studio at
NBC's Rockefeller Center headquarters that comprised a veritable
who's who of popular culture.
The show opened with former cast member Jimmy Fallon, now host
of the "Tonight Show," one of television's most visible
positions, being "upstaged" by Justin Timberlake before the pair
launched into a rap duet celebrating the show's classic sketches
and characters.
Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Chris Rock and Billy Crystal and others
took to the stage to argue about who should have served as host,
Will Farrell hosted a segment of "Celebrity Jeopardy" and
nonagenarian Betty White and Bradley Cooper exchanged a lengthy,
full-on the mouth kiss in a soap opera satire segment of "The
Californians."
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Aykroyd and Newman reprised an old "Bass-o-Matic" fake commercial,
Curtin joined Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler to host "Weekend Update," and
a series of old tapes showed auditions by cast members, as well as
some famous names who didn't make the cut, including Stephen Colbert
and Jim Carrey.
Among musical highlights were a duet by McCartney and Simon, and
performances by Kanye West and Miley Cyrus.
Nicholson introduced a segment on the show's political humor, Short
handled the duties on its musical history and Rock paid tribute to,
and introduced, Murphy.
Working the black-tie audience, Jerry Seinfeld quizzed Michael
Douglas, John Goodman and James Franco before calling out "Yes,
Tina."
"Yeah, no, it's Sarah," intoned former vice presidential candidate
Sarah Palin, a favorite target of the show and of Fey, who scored
with a dead-on impression of the politician for many a week during
the 2008 presidential campaign.
In a moving tribute, Murray honored cast members John Belushi, Gilda
Radner, Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman, Chris Farley and others who worked
on the show and have died. Alumni Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Adam
Sandler, David Spade and Norm Macdonald also appeared.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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