SNL 40th Anniversary Review: 5 Best Moments From the Episode
Saturday Night Live celebrated its 40th anniversary with a three-and-a-half-hour episode with tons of stars on- and off-stage. The show, which the New York Times pointed out to seem unlikely to live out the decade when it started out in 1975, became a staple as far as variety shows are concerned.
The very long celebration is not all that it's cracked up to be: as the website noted, some of the sketches were too long, and there were too many montages of clips from memorable moments on the show, however, it is still done in high spirits, and here are some of its best moments:
1) According to Rolling Stone, Paul McCartney performed an impromptu duet with Paul Simon for "I've Just Seen a Face" and followed it up with his own rendition of "Maybe I'm Amazed," but the best part is Keith Richard's introduction: "In the early Sixties a band came out of England and it changed the world. But enough about the Rolling Stones: Ladies and gentlemen, Paul McCartney." Pretty slick, don't you think?
2) The highlight reel of the cast audition tapes were also part of the show, and it included shots of John Belushi, Amy Poehler, and Jim Carrey, who, unfortunately did not make the cut as a cast member in the show.
3) There were plenty of skits to look forward to, but one will burn in our retinas forever: the image of Bradley Cooper making out with 90-year-old actress, Betty White is just a thing to behold in an all-star skit that, according to Time Magazine, included Kerry Washington and Taylor Swift.
4) One of the original SNL cast members, Jane Curtin also went up onstage with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the "Weekend Update" anchor desk, where they poked fun at Fox News, Curtin saying, "I used to be the only pretty blond woman reading the fake news," but added when the Fox News logo appeared, "Now there is a whole network devoted to that."
5) However, it was, according to Business Insider, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David who stole the show during the question-and-answer segment with the audience, kicking off with a jab at Brian Williams, the controversial NBC anchor who got caught in a lie. But it's when Larry David stood up to ask about his brief writing career on SNL, to which he exclaimed, "Look how big we hit it after that!" Seinfeld's response, "We had the biggest show of all time!" seems to have been proven true, after all it's been 40 years, and SNL is still there to continue giving late-night entertainment.
What is your favorite part of the SNL special?