SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 40TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL — Pictured: (l-r) Martin Short, Tina Fey, Chris Rock, tim Meadows, Lorne Michaels, Miley Cyrus, Molly Shannon, Steve Martin during the Goodnights & Credits on February 15, 2015 — (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC)
It was starting to feel like “SNL” at 50 or 60. The long, tuxedo-filled tribute to NBC’s live late-night institution was like most editions of “Saturday Night Live” itself, full of misses but with occasional laugh-out-loud moments.
Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake excelled at the opening, with a rap hommage to the show. From there the live acts were bested by the vintage footage. As Steve Martin said, what better way to celebrate a live variety show than with a collection of clips?
Too many sports personalities, not enough Gilda and Belushi. Peyton Manning represented, but really this was a night to honor Lorne Michaels, his creation and his casting.
The standouts were Maya Rudolph doing Beyonce (why hasn’t Rudolph landed her own show yet?), and Martin Short, who said of the star-studded gathering, “Do you realize if this roof were to collapse right now, it would be the least of NBC’s problems?”
The bottom line: the ratings were huge. Early reports say 23 million viewers.
