SNL Turns 40

“Saturday Night Live” kicked off its 40th anniversary episode with a hilarious rap from Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. During the musical number, they referenced some of SNL’s best moments. It was a great start to the episode, regardless of what Debbie Downer (Rachel Dratch) said.

Most of the new episode was meant to pay respect to previous cast and crew members while remembering some of the show’s best hits. I was fine with that, but it seemed to drag on. I wanted to see more sketches with the new and old cast members together, but there were hardly any.

SNL almost made up for the lack of new sketches by making the ones they did have longer and more memorable.  My favorites were “The Weekend Update” skit which involved Melissa McCarthy as former cast member Chris Farley’s Matt Foley smashing into the Weekend Update desk and destroying it.

The “Celebrity Jeopardy” skit, featuring Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek, was one of the best. The reference to accused sex offender Bill Cosby, played by Kenan Thompson, followed by Trebek’s frantic, “Oh dear God, no. I’m very sorry — we filmed that in June!” made it even better. Another favorite of mine was the revival of “The Californians,” which somehow ended with Bradley Cooper making out with Betty White.

Another weak point of the episode was the musical guests. Paul McCartney was the first to perform, and by far the best. That’s not saying much though, since McCartney was followed by Miley Cyrus. Her voice wasn’t right for the song she chose, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” by Paul Simon. Cyrus was okay overall. I just wasn’t entertained by her vocals or performance.

Kanye West followed Cyrus. I honestly don’t remember if he rapped well or not.  I was distracted by the fact that he was laying under what looked like a giant tanning bed. He eventually got into a crouching position and was joined by Sia and rapper Vic Mensa.  The whole thing was really weird, and I didn’t make the emotional connection I think I was supposed to.

Overall, the anniversary episode did a good job of paying tribute to the previous seasons, but it wasn’t as entertaining as I hoped it would be.

Andy Samberg

In sixth grade my friends and I would burst into the chorus of Samberg’s “I Threw it on the Ground” whenever we dropped something, which, in hindsight, was incredibly annoying, but I thought it was hilarious at the time. Samberg wrote and starred in the best digitals shorts of SNL like “Laser Cats” and “Lazy Sunday.”  He and Adam Sandler made another short for the anniversary special about the actors breaking on camera.

Bill Hader

Hader’s “Weekend Update” character, Stephon, is one of the weirder ones. He’s funny, but I also find it kind of creepy when he covers his nose and mouth with his hands. Hader’s character is also my favorite on “The Californians.” His characters are unique and creative, and never seem to get boring.

Cecily Strong

The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party is another one of my favorite Weekend Update characters.  Strong manages to act annoying and annoyed with the anchors’ ‘ignorance’ about the news. I also love her skit “Niff and Dana” about two employees who bash on their co-workers to save themselves from getting fired.

SNL released a free iOS8 app on Feb. 12 for fans to build up to the anniversary episode. The app comes with SNL-inspired emojis via the emoji keyboard. The emojis can be sent to phones without iOS8 or the app since they send like a picture would.

In addition to the emojis, the app lets users navigate easily through the 40 years by letting them search for clips by season, sketch, character, recurring sketches, cast and talent and impersonations.

It runs smoothly and I can waste my time by browsing through my favorite skits. In order to watch full episodes of SNL though, users need to download the NBC app.

I’d highly suggest getting this app as a fun time-waster or to easily rewatch SNL’s best moments.