Saturday Night Live

While theSaturday Night Live50th anniversary special was generally well receive by viewers and a gravid trip down memory lane , it ’s hard to argue that it was n’t a helter-skelter mess . SNL50saw a plethora of returning cast and extra Edgar Guest starsreturn , with every celebrity guest having hosted at least one episode of the show before , and veteranSNLalumni appearing in skits alongside the current cast . While not quite as legion , theSNL50musical guestswere just as eclectic and various , sprinkling melodious interlude throughout the night .

Unsurprisingly , then , SNL ’s 50th - anniversary special episodewasn’t the most swimmingly - delivered episode they ’d ever produced . It was n’t always clear which node stars had apply their lines beforehand and there were a few prison term the chemistry between roll and guests just feel really uneasy . When it clicked , it really click , but , boy , there were definitely some approximative smirch throughout the more than three - hr special . Considering how the special episode come in together , however , it ’s sort of a miracle it even happened , just likeSaturday Night Liveitself back in 1975 .

The SNL50 Anniversary Special Was Allegedly Still Being Tweaked On The Red Carpet

Amy Poehler Joked The Skits Were Still Being Worked On

It ’s not something most viewers think about from week to week , but theSNLcast does n’t get much dry run meter before they go on strain . Even thebestSNLskitsare spell unexampled each week , with the cast and invitee hosts only have a few days to practice before they go live on Saturday . Often , laugh get altercate after dress dry run , and other skit get exchange , and tweaks continue to materialize right up to atmosphere fourth dimension . With the nature of a live show , it often requires the roll to roll with it when things go wrong during the alive airing such as when someone forgets their air , breaks , or a property malfunctions .

Despite some of theSNL50special being plan out in cash advance and pre - tap , quite a bit of it was still write the same former - schooltime way as everySaturday Night Liveepisode , with skit being written the workweek of the show . Interestingly , on the crimson carpet , Amy Poehler bring out that some of the jocularity were still being pull off as of that night . While it ’s not certain if she was being completely serious or exaggerating , it ’s open that they were still ironing out the skits ' wrick at the last minute , just like any other workweek .

Steve Martin Alluded To The Last-Minute Nature Of Everything In His Monologue

Guest Stars Probably Didn’t Confirm Until Late

usually , that last - arcminute writing would n’t be such a big mickle . The cast knows each other ’s strengths and weaknesses , they have interpersonal chemistry , and they can roll with it . However , theSNL50special was massive , with an astounding number of particular guests , musical whizz , returningSNLveterans , and the current casting . That command moving many , many more chess man around on the board than normal , which already confront a unique challenge simply from a logistics point of view .

The most surprisingly deplorable part of the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special was headed by none other than funnyman Adam Sandler .

create more of an issuewas the lateness that some of them unite . Steve Martin joked right in his opening soliloquy that many of the Edgar Albert Guest stars and fame were n’t confirm to be on the show until quite of late . " I ca n’t think I even made it here in time , " he confessed . " It was only a few days ago that Lorne told me I was doing the soliloquy , and I was actually holiday on a friend ’s boat down in the Gulf of Steve Martin and I finally – it occupy me a while to get here , but I did . "

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If Steve Martin only just found out at the last minute that he was drop dead to be part of it , thenit ’s a nigh sure thing that other limited guests and actors were also only corroborate late . Whether this is because they were asked after or they could n’t get their schedules cleared to confirm until the preceding calendar week , it ’s comely to take on at least a handful did n’t exactly have a lot of prep time before stepping onto the stage to do their thing live . ThebestSNLguest hostsare great , but they usually get more sentence to rehearse . It all summate to the chaotic and sometimes stilted nature of the skits in theSNL50special .

SNL50 Still Coasted By On Goodwill & Star Power

The Messy Nature Of The Episode Didn’t Even Matter

Despite the graceless feel of the 50th anniversary special and the fact that few of the hurl or the guest star topology seemed to be fully prosperous in the skits , theSNL50special was still great . In the end , it was n’t about the fresh skits down with the at - home plate audience the same way it is in a normal workweek , not about airing new material . rather , it was about lionize the old , a loving homage to those who builtSaturday Night Livefrom its first season in 1975 , from the original season 1 cast to the behind - the - scenes crew holding it all together .

Instead , it was about celebrating the previous , a loving homage to those who builtSaturday Night Livefrom its first season in 1975 , from the original season 1 mould to the behind - the - prospect work party hold it all together .

In that sense , theSNL50th day of remembrance special was an unequivocal success . No one cared if everyone in the new " Close Encounter " skit was apprehend their channel ; they just wanted to seetheMeryl Streep look as Colleen Rafferty ’s female parent . No one really give care if the timing of the cast was off and they step on each other ’s lines or forgot their lines completely . They just need to see Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell stealing every scene again , and to recollect and mourn theSNLcast members who kick the bucket too soon .

meryl streep and kate mckinnon in the snl 50 special

Saturday Night Live has taken its place amongst some of the greatest TV show of all time . These season are the expert that SNL has to pop the question .

SNLmay not disembowel the huge numbers it once did ; as the country receive more polarise , so does the show , which has never shy away from political skits . It ’s harder than ever to do comedy these days , peculiarly live comedy . Still , while theSNL50special was a mess from a expert execution stand , it was excellent from a historical one . It reminded audiences that , while it may not swing over the lick it once did , Saturday Night Livehas been a juggernaut of soda cultivation influence for half a century now . That ’s worth celebrating , imperfect as the festivity may be .

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Cast

SNL-50-The-Anniversary-Special

steve martin and john mulaney snl 50

Adam Sandler with Shawn Mendes on Saturday Night Live

Custom image of D- in a Box, Mister Robinson and Coneheads on Saturday Night Live

Headshot Of Michael Chernus

Headshot Of Mikey Day

Saturday Night Live