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The SNL 50th anniversary special: What worked and what didn't
Leslie Jones (from left), Tracy Morgan and Eddie Murphy during the “Black Jeopardy” sketch during SNL50: The Anniversary Special.
Chris Haston/NBC
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Chris Haston/NBC
How much you enjoyed Sunday night’s prime-time special celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live probably depended on how seriously you take SNL to begin with.
If all you expected was a diverting, nostalgia-filled evening where former cast members and celebrity friends of the show bounced in and out of sketches based on some of the program’s more notable features, then you likely enjoyed the special — which stretched well past its three-hour planned run time.
But if you were looking for a collection of performances that might somehow place the history of this comedy institution in perspective — or if you wanted the show to take some of those old, venerated sketches and use them to comment on modern times — you were likely disappointed by what the SNL crew rolled out.
To be sure, it was a tall order. Presenting a sprawling extravaganza live, with crew and staff decked out in formal wear while trying to pull together a program more than twice as long as the usual Saturday episodes was no small feat.
And the list of celebrities involved was truly impressive, including Meryl Streep — in her first appearance acting on the show — Jon Hamm, Ryan Reynolds, Drew Barrymore, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Ayo Edebiri, Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Simon and Paul McCartney, alongside former cast members like Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bill Murray, Martin Short and many, many more.
As often happens with SNL, the anticipation leading to Sunday’s show may have felt bigger than any program could actually deliver. And some sketches seemed so insidery, watching them was like hanging out at the reunion of a high school you never attended.
But there were multitudes of highs and lows for any fan of the program. Many of the heartfelt cameos and the callbacks to classic sketches were worthy of a show that has served as the foundation for Hollywood’s comedy establishment for decades.
Here’s a quick trip through some notable moments.
Steve Martin delivered an amiable monologue, but John Mulaney brought more bite
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Steve Martin cracked a lot of jokes about his own age and his status as “Saturday Night Live‘s diversity hire,” with the skill of a pro who has hosted the show 16 times. A bit where his longtime comedy partner Martin Short was hauled off after Martin called immigration police on the Canadian comic was topical and a little sassy.
But it was former SNL writer John Mulaney who really brought the pain when he noted, “Over the course of 50 years, 894 people have hosted Saturday Night Live. And it amazes me that only two of them have committed murder.”
He may have been referring to O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake, two celebrities accused of murder who have hosted SNL. But actor Alec Baldwin was also in the room. (You may remember that a judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against him last year after a shooting on a movie set.) Which might have made hanging out in the dressing room a little more tense Sunday night.
Eddie Murphy quickly emerged as the night’s MVP, followed by Will Ferrell
Most early sketches weren’t all that inspired — why did they revive the show’s Lawrence Welk satire? — but Murphy made a return to “Black Jeopardy,” one of the funniest early moments, with his sidesplitting impression of Tracy Morgan, who was standing next to him playing another character.
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Murphy kicked it up a notch a little later, playing a convict in a return to the show’s classic “Scared Straight” sketch, flanked by Kenan Thompson and — my runner-up for the night’s MVP — Will Ferrell, who shone in every sketch where he appeared.
Cool as it was to see lots of celebrity cameos, too many sketches went on too long
It was a treat to see Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return, leading a Q&A that they eventually admitted was just an excuse to shoehorn in a bunch of celebrity cameos. But as the list stretched from Ryan Reynolds, Quinta Brunson, Cher and Keith Richards to Seth Meyers, Jason Momoa and Tim Meadows, one began to wonder if the charm was wearing thin.
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Ditto with sketches bringing back Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer, Kate McKinnon’s UFO lady Ms. Rafferty (with Meryl Streep as her mom!) and Mike Myers’ Linda Richman character dropping into Poehler and Maya Rudolph’s Bronx Beat show — all wonderful callbacks filled with great cameos that could have been improved by making them shorter.
Some musical performances revealed the strain of bridging generations in entertainment
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Instead of a typical “cold open” sketch to start the night, Paul Simon began the prime-time special duetting with Sabrina Carpenter on a touching version of his song “Homeward Bound.”
Simon, who has spoken publicly about struggling with hearing loss, offered a sensitive performance but seemed to struggle to stay on key.
Similarly, even as rock superstar Paul McCartney brought a powerhouse medley of Beatles tunes to close the night — “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End” — he too seemed to struggle a bit with the high notes, revealing the limits of those musical heroes who were involved with SNL from early on. (My favorite musical moment of the night was the rocking duet between Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard on “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a Prince song covered by Sinéad O’Connor. It reminded me of an important moment in SNL history, when O’Connor sang a cover of Bob Marley’s “War” and then unexpectedly ripped up a picture of then-Pope John Paul II to protest the church’s handling of sexual abuse allegations.)
Who attended, who participated and who didn’t was sometimes puzzling
Five of the seven cast members who appeared on the first season of SNL are still alive, but they didn’t have much of a presence in Sunday’s show.
Laraine Newman appeared in a pretaped sketch where she visited the set with Pete Davidson’s clueless Gen Z character Chad, and Garrett Morris introduced a replay of the show’s classic film “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” in which John Belushi outlives all the other cast members (it was an inside joke when the film first aired in 1978, because of the hard-partying lifestyle of Belushi. He died in 1982).
Jane Curtin and Chevy Chase were present, but didn’t appear in any sketches; Dan Aykroyd didn’t seem to be present, while Gilda Radner died in 1989.
Some other former cast members didn’t seem to be in the house, including Dana Carvey, who played Joe Biden for much of the past season, and Bill Hader, who was on the show for eight years.
Mulaney leads one of the night’s best sketches, a bizarre musical about the dark side of NYC
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Similar to his “Diner Lobster” sketch from years ago, Mulaney led a bizarre musical about the history of NYC’s dark side that had Nathan Lane singing about cocaine and vodka to the tune of The Lion King’s “Hakuna Matata” and Lin-Manuel Miranda singing a twisted version of Hamilton to Kate McKinnon’s Rudolph Giuliani, who exclaimed, “I am throwing away my shot!”
By the end, when a giant banner unfurled — displaying the newspaper headline “New York to Ford: Who’s Dead Now?” — it seemed SNL had finally stepped past nostalgia to deliver just the sort of biting, eccentric humor that has kept the show around for five decades.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story.
Now you can pair your big show with dinner and a more intimate listening experience. The Hollywood Palladium, an Art Deco music venue graced by performers like Frank Sinatra, Richard Pryor, Jimi Hendrix, Lady Gaga and Jay-Z since 1940, has debuted a swanky lounge known as Vinyl Room.
Inspired by 1970s Japanese high-fidelity (hi-fi for short) listening rooms and operated by entertainment company Live Nation, it’s a space where concertgoers can have dinner, grab drinks and catch a vinyl DJ set before, during or after their ticketed event in the same venue.
With a name like Vinyl Room, you can expect to see vinyl records everywhere.
“You’re in [for] a whole night of music,” says Geni Lincoln, president of the California region for Live Nation, adding that her team put “so much thought” into the sound and design of the space, which was in development for more than two years.
“I’ve been coming to the Palladium since I was a teenager, so it’s really special to see,” she says.
Entering Vinyl Room feels like you’re stepping into a secret speakeasy for music lovers, one with iconic music memorabilia, a thoughtful food menu and premium sound quality. Want to check it out? Here are five things to know.
Everything inside of Vinyl Room is inspired by the sounds and the musicians who’ve played at the Hollywood Palladium since 1940.
1. Vinyl Room is exclusively open to members and concertgoers with an upgraded ticket
Vinyl Room is open only on Hollywood Palladium show nights, starting 90 minutes before doors open, and remains open one hour after the concert. Admission is limited to concertgoers who purchase a ticket upgrade, which starts at $35. Early reservations are recommended.
Vinyl Room also offers annual membership packages, which start at $2,000 and come with various benefits such as complimentary guest passes to Vinyl Room, access to an exclusive menu, valet parking, table reservations inside the lounge, a dedicated private entry, complimentary coat check and concert ticket credits.
Tip Dunn, also known as DJ tenSpeed, played records during opening night at Vinyl Room at the Hollywood Palladium.
2. Hi-fi is having a moment in Los Angeles — and Vinyl Room delivers on sound quality
From Common Wave Hi-Fi in Boyle Heights to Slow Jamz Gallery in the Arts District and Gold Line bar in Highland Park, hi-fi — a 1950s term used to describe the high-quality reproduction of sound — venues and experiences have been slowly popping up around L.A. over the last few years. Vinyl Room joins a short list of places where audiophiles can go to listen to music on hi-fi equipment, which many argue is the best way to experience it.
Much like the Hollywood Palladium, which is known for its top-tier sound, Vinyl Room also makes sound a priority. The lounge utilizes hi-fi sound equipment including Master Sounds Clarity-M speakers to ensure that the records sound as crisp as possible. Live DJs spin records on a set of turntables, which helps to create a richer and more analog sound that is closer to the original track than compressed versions such as MP3s.
Ruthie Embry, vice president of architecture and design at Live Nation, says the records and other memorabilia inside the space “connects you directly to the venue’s history the second you walk in the door.”
3. All of the decor ties back to music and the Hollywood Palladium’s rich history
With a name like Vinyl Room, you can expect to see vinyls everywhere. Records line most of the walls and shelves, drinks are served on vinyl-shaped coasters and tables and light fixtures are designed to the theme. There’s even vinyl wallpaper in the photo booth. In one corner of the lounge, you can dig through records under a neon sign that reads, “But have you heard it on vinyl?”
Ruthie Embry, vice president of architecture and design at Live Nation, says the records and other memorabilia inside the space “connects you directly to the venue’s history the second you walk in the door.”
Some standout items include a Red Hot Chili Peppers show flier, a Hollywood Palladium postcard signed by late musician and host Lawrence Welk and a photo of late singers Bonnie Baker and Orrin Tucker at the venue. Even the bathroom creates a memorable photo moment: The stalls are filled with photos of musicians and an “on air” studio sign lights up when a stall is occupied.
Vinyl Room’s menu, created by Chef Ryan DeRieux, is inspired by Asian flavors and includes items like the “Vinyl Roll,” which is made with spicy tuna.
4. Don’t worry about dinner plans before or after the show. Vinyl Room has got you covered
Eliminating the need to find a pre- or post-show restaurant, Vinyl Room has a full Asian-inspired menu created by Chef Ryan DeRieux.
Think sushi tots (like crispy tuna but with tater tots instead of rice), tuna poke nachos, chili crunch chicken wings and shiitake tempura burgers. There’s also a mouth-watering 10-ounce American wagyu skirt steak served with shishito peppers, pickles and charred carrots. For dessert, try the taiyaki, a popular fish-shaped Japanese street food, which is served with a delicious passion fruit cream that I wanted to take to go because I liked it so much.
Signature cocktails at Vinyl Room, inspired by popular songs, include the Superfly, Escape (if you like piña coladas) and Smoke on the Water.
5. The craft cocktails aren’t just delicious — they each have a story
Vinyl Room’s old-fashioned is made with Nikka Yoichi whisky, which is made in Japan.
The cocktail program, developed by third-generation bartender Sean Kenyon, is inspired by the songs created by musicians who’ve graced the Hollywood Palladium stage. A nod to the 1970s, the Superfly is a fizzy, citrus-forward play on Curtis Mayfield’s 1972 track and is made with Roku Gin and yuzu and sencha syrup. Other signature drinks include the rum-based Escape (if you like piña coladas) with coconut oolong syrup, pineapple juice and miso, and the tart yet sweet Smoke on the Water, which is reminiscent of Deep Purple’s 1972 song. The bar also offers an espresso martini (called the MT Joy), a signature old-fashioned (made with Nikka Yoichi whisky) and a Japanese whiskey highball (made with Hibiki Harmony whisky). The bar offers a number of non-alcoholic options as well.
A screenshot from George Mélière’s Gugusse et l’Automate. The pioneering French filmmaker’s 1897 short, which likely features the first known depiction of a robot on film, was thought lost until it was found among a box of old reels that had belonged to a family in Michigan and restored by the Library of Congress.
The Frisbee Collection/Library of Congress
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The Frisbee Collection/Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has found and restored a long-lost silent film by Georges Méliès.
The famed 19th century French filmmaker is best known for his groundbreaking 1902 science fiction adventure masterpiece Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon).
The 45-second-long, one-reel short Gugusse et l’Automate – Gugusse and the Automaton – was made nearly 130 years ago. But the subject matter still feels timely. The film, which can be viewed on the Library of Congress’ website, depicts a child-sized robot clown who grows to the size of an adult and then attacks a human clown with a stick. The human then decimates the machine with a hammer.
In an Instagram post, Library of Congress moving image curator Jason Evans Groth said the film represents, “probably the first instance of a robot ever captured in a moving image.” (The word “robot” didn’t appear until 1921, when Czech dramatist Karel Čapek coined it in his science fiction play R.U.R..)
“Today, many of us are worried about AI and robots,” said archivist and filmmaker Rick Prelinger, in an email to NPR. “Well, people were thinking about robots in 1897. Very little is new.”
A long journey
Groth said the film arrived in a box last September from a donor in Michigan, Bill McFarland. “Bill’s great grandfather, William Frisbee, was a person who loved technology,” Groth said. “And in the late 19th century, must have bought a projector and a bunch of films and decided to drive them around in his buggy to share them with folks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York.”
McFarland didn’t know what was on the 10 rusty reels he dropped off at the Library of Congress’ National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Va. A Library article about the discovery describes the battered, pre-World War I artifacts as having been, “shuttled around from basements to barns to garages,” and that they, “could no longer be safely run through a projector,” owing to their delicate condition. “The nitrate film stock had crumbled to bits on some; other strips were stuck together,” the article said. It was a lab technician in Michigan who suggested McFarland contact the Library of Congress.
“The moment we set our eyes on this box of film, we knew it was something special,” said George Willeman, who heads up the Library’s nitrate film vault, in the article.
Willeman’s team carefully inspected the trove of footage, which also contained another well-known Méliès film, Nouvelles Luttes extravagantes (The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match) and parts of The Burning Stable, an early Thomas Edison work. With the help of an external expert, they identified the reel as having been created by Méliès because it features a star painted on a pedestal in the center of the screen – the logo for Méliès Star Film Company.
A pioneering filmmaker
Méliès was one of the great pioneers of cinema. The scene in which a rocket lands playfully in the eye of Méliès’ anthropomorphic moon in Le Voyage dans la Lune is one of the most famous moments in cinematic history. And he helped to popularize such special effects as multiple exposures and time-lapse photography.
This moment from George Méliès’ Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon) is considered to be one of the most famous in cinematic history.
George Méliès/Public Domain
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George Méliès/Public Domain
Presumed lost until the Library of Congress’s discovery, Gugusse et L’Automate loomed large in the imaginations of science fiction and early cinema buffs for more than a century. In their 1977 book Things to Come: An Illustrated History of the Science Fiction Film, authors Douglas Menville and R. Reginald described Gugusse as possibly being, “the first true SF [science fiction] film.”
“While it may seem that no more discoveries remain to be made, that’s not the case,” said Prelinger of the work’s reappearance. “Here’s a genuine discovery from the early days of film that no one anticipated.”
Joshua Jackson
I Got the Eye of the Tiger!!!
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BACKGRID
Joshua Jackson may have picked up a thing or two from “Karate Kid: Legends” … we got video of him going H.A.M. in a boxing gym with a trainer.
Watch the video … the 47-year-old actor ditched his shirt for the workout, really working up a sweat as he bobbed and weaved in the ring while throwing in some pretty impressive jabs!
He later goes to work solo on a speed bag like an old pro.
Joshua has publicly said that starring in “Karate Kid: Legends” in the role of a former boxer was a dream for him, but there’s no word on whether he’s training for another role or just really fell in love with boxing.
Either way … you’re looking great, Joshua!
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