SNL 50: The Anniversary Special (2025 Even with 3 hours and 20 minutes, it may not have been possible to do an all encompassing recap of half a century of Saturday Night Live....
But not that producer Lorne Michaels didn't try his best.
Packed to the rafters with SNL guest hosts, current cast members, past cast members and musical guests, the show took a deep dive into legendary SNL moments, characters, skits, mock commercials and general history.
For any fan of the show, a nostalgic treasure trove opened wide, spilling out who knows how many fond memories.
Also on view......the glaring omissions.
Though SNL established a long history of mercilessly lampooning U.S. Presidents, you'd never know it from the 50th anniversary special.....MIA were cast members' eviscerations of the POTUS of the moment, from Chevy Chase's dim bulb Gerald Ford to James Austin Johnson's babbling Donald Trump.....(unless you count the montage of the young Chase's stumbling pratfalls, a signature of his Ford impression.)
We'd hate to think this has anything to do with Trump, now armed with unlimited power and his own FCC minion, planning to exact vengeance on TV shows and comedians who've dared to mock him.
Also glaringly not in attendance for various reasons - some of the most monumental figures in SNL's history.....Dan Aykroyd, Bill Hader, Dana Carvey. Considering the contributions they made, you'd think Lorne Michaels should've moved heaven and earth to include them, even if from remote locations.......
Just sayin'........
To the special's credit, it served up a feast of mostly on target recaps, fresh skits and live musical performances over a long, long Sunday night, with few duds and missteps.
A few random observations......
If ever anyone needed a poignant reminder about the ravages of time, we felt both saddened and elated as Paul Simon and Paul McCartney valiantly sang their songs with weakened, aging voices.
The tour of un-woke, now offensive politically incorrect skit characters was for us, the funniest, most perceptive bit in the show. It reminded us of when we recently watched the re-airing of the show's 1975 premiere episode. A mock news film by Albert Brooks included the breaking news that Oregon has lowered the age of consent to 7 years old, then cut to clip of a guy dating a little girl. Try imagine seeing something like that on TV today (along with Buck Henry's character of a pedophile uncle babysitting his nieces.)
Fortunately, the golden moments outnumbered the duds.....appearances by Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris, Adam Sandler, Rachel Dratch and the formidable female power players Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Kristin Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Maya Rudolph (We're aware, we're leaving out lots of people off these lists, but by now, you know all the others....)
We can only feel thankful that two former guest hosts, President Elon Musk and Assistant Dictator Donald Trump declined an invitation to attend the show. Maybe Lorne Michaels shouldn't consider inviting people dedicated to wiping his show off the air......
SNL 50 was a huge mixed bag of treats and blunders.....but then that aptly describes the 50 years of the show itself.
If you missed it, it's well worth streaming. 4 stars (****).
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