TV Review: SNL 50th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Back when SNL was funny....

Last night, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) threw itself a giant party in an overblown, more-than-three-hour festival of self-promotion to celebrate its comedy show, Saturday Night Live. Featuring cast members and musical performers from the past 50 years to the present day, it presented the dubious anniversary with outlandish fanfare, as if it were a combination of the Academy Awards and the V-Day Parade signaling the end of World War Two. 

From the opening shot of singer Paul Simon looking (and sounding) about 100 years old to the closing act of Beatle Paul McCartney's sad imitation of his former self, I found the whole thing shockingly off-key. As a baby boomer who made sure to be home by 11:30 pm EST every Saturday during the show's early years, when it was funny, I was hoping for a boisterous romp down memory lane. Instead it was a depressing look at just how old everyone, including me, has gotten. (Although none as old as former wild man Garrett Morris, now 88, who came on near the end and did literally nothing but sit in a chair and depress me further.)

In between those two geriatric performers there were lots of younger people running around being fit and not funny. No matter -- today the reviews are in and they are 100% positive, with people like actor Jack Nicholson, now 87, earning accolades simply for dressing himself and getting there. Conspicuously absent were some of the best cast members from the early days, including Gilda Radner, Andy Kaufman, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Norm MacDonald and Phil Hartman, all dead now. 

Despite all of that, seeing Adam Sandler get teary during his tribute song made it worth staying up that late. And Bill Murray, if you could ignore him looking like Father Time, was hysterical, as usual.