Saturday Night Live is an American institution. To say anything less is to disregard the show’s cultural, social, and political impact over the past 40 years.
For many of us, it is the reason we were first able to stay up late watching television — or maybe it was the first time we rebelled and stayed up late without permission. It has taught us to laugh at those in power, and those with celebrity, even when the lines between celebrity and power start to blend together.
The show has had so many special moments that trying to condense them all into a three-and-a-half-hour special is impossible. Cast members, hosts, sketches, and WHOLE SEASONS, didn’t make the cut, but that didn’t stop SNL from attempting to give us a complete retrospective of its past 40 seasons Sunday night (Feb. 15).
Here are some of the highlights, questions, and maybe some answers from SNL 40:
EDDIE MURPHY
When everyone first found out that Eddie Murphy would be returning to SNL after 30 years away, many were expecting big things from quite possibly the greatest cast member of all time. Of course, that wasn’t going to happen.
Chris Rock introduced Murphy who walked on stage, said a few words, awkwardly threw to break, and that was it. No Mister Robinson, Gumby, or Buckwheat — just Eddie in a tuxedo. If you’re upset by that, don’t be. Just having Eddie Murphy back at Studio 8H is big. It’s like when Pink Floyd reunited for Live 8 in 2005, and hopefully we’ll see him back soon.
JACK NICHOLSON?
Jack Nicholson was the one seemingly out of place appearance from last night’s show. He’s never hosted, and I don’t believe he’s ever even appeared on the show. I guess if you can get Jack Nicholson to be on your show, you get Jack Nicholson on your show.
NICK OCEAN – “LOVE THEME FROM JAWS”
Martin Short and Beyonce (Maya Rudolph) hosted a segment dedicated to music and comedy on SNL. It was long, and not really all that great. Sure, the Blues Brothers and DeAndre Cole made appearances, but they all paled in comparison to Bill Murray’s Nick Ocean.
Two things you can always count on: the sun rising, and Bill Murray being the funniest guy in the room. Backed by Paul Schaffer, Murray delivered a tour de force performance of “Love Theme from Jaws,” and instead of being nestled between King Tut and the Blues Brothers towards the end, it should have been the whole segment.
Murray appears right around the 12-minute mark, and look out for Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock watching from the wings behind Murray.
BUMPERS
Throughout the show, several bumpers featured important people to the history of SNL. Here’s a little bit about the people on those bumpers.
Buck Henry – Ten-time host including the season finales of seasons two through five.
Jim Signorelli – Film segment producer at SNL since 1976, including many of the show’s commercial parodies.
Dick Ebersol – Developed SNL with Lorne Michaels, and took over as executive producer when Michaels left from 1981-1985.
Edie Baskin – Photographer at SNL during the 1970’s.
Tracy Morgan – Former cast member who sustained serious injuries in a June 2014 collision with a semi truck. Morgan’s injuries require the comedian to use a wheelchair, and he is still undergoing treatment for a brain injury.
Jim Downey – Long-time writer, including head writer from 1985-1995. He was also a cast member for season five. This bumper did not include Downey’s name.
“THAT’S WHEN YOU BREAK”
A brand new digital short, introduced by a Sia wig-wearing Zach Galifianakis, featured Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg singing about the time honored tradition of breaking during a sketch. The kings of breaking, Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz, were singled out for breaking frequently.
MILEY CYRUS – “50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER”
I know I’m supposed to be all mad, and write many words about why this was terrible, but it was actually pretty good. Her performance also made me realize that Miley has been a pretty good host. She should have been in “The Californians” sketch instead of Taylor Swift.
BIGGEST STAR MISSING
Obviously, when you have over 130 living cast members you’re not going to be able to fit them all in, but who was the biggest star not to appear on SNL 40? The biggest star after leaving SNL not featured was easily Robert Downey Jr., but he was a member of the dreaded 11th season where Lorne Michaels fired everyone but Nora Dunn, Dennis Miller, and the “recently deceased” Jon Lovitz after the season ended.
The biggest SNL star left out may be a little more difficult to place. Dunn, Horatio Sanz, and Victoria Jackson didn’t make an appearance even though they were in attendance, but I didn’t really expect them to. I was very surprised that Miller, considered by some the best “Weekend Update” anchor, didn’t appear, especially when a whole segment was dedicated to “WU.” Guess that’s why we got Colin Quinn instead.
Q&A WITH JERRY SEINFELD
One of the best segments of the night was when Jerry Seinfeld took questions from the crowd, another SNL tradition that can help even the worst host have a decent monologue. Seinfeld took a shot at embattled NBC anchor Brian Williams before taking questions when he told everyone that he just found out Williams was in the original cast.
WAYNE’S WORLD. WAYNE’S WORLD.
I still think Wayne’s World 3 is an amazing idea.
LORNE’S FIRST SEASON BACK
Lorne Michaels left SNL after the fifth season in 1980, citing exhaustion. During those five seasons away, he produced Nothing Lasts Forever, Three Amigos, and another sketch comedy show, The New Show, for NBC. None of them garnered as much success as his early work on SNL.
When he returned to SNL in 1985, the first thing he did was fire the entire season 10 cast — which included Billy Crystal, Martin Short, and Christopher Guest — and replaced them with a bunch of hipper, younger actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Anthony Michael Hall. The season was a disaster, and possibly the worst season of SNL ever.
Not surprisingly, SNL 40 didn’t feature much from this “lost” season outside of Danitra Vance appearing during the “In Memoriam” segment. Randy Quaid and Downey Jr. were mentioned, but mockingly — and for good reason because season 10 is terrible.
OTHER NOTES:
– Pete Davidson and Leslie Jones introduced a segment on SNL auditions that featured the failed auditions of Jim Carrey, Stephen Colbert, Zach Galifianakis, Kevin Hart, and Andy Kaufman.
– Who was inside the Land Shark costume? Bobby Moynihan!
When I was a kid I told my Mom I wanted to be on SNL. Tonight I was the Landshark. I am very thankful today. #SNL40 pic.twitter.com/VEQtRbSbnJ
— Bobby Moynihan (@bibbymoynihan) February 16, 2015
– Everyone else heard Christopher Walken introduce “CAN-ye” West, right?
– How did three of SNL’s best impersonators, Dana Carvey, Bill Hader, and Jay Pharoah, not appear in the “Celebrity Jeopardy!” sketch?
Saturday Night Live returns on Saturday, Feb. 28 with host and 50 Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson.
