SNL 40

Visiting 30 Rock and 8-H in 2013.

I am a huge nerd, I have admitted it in the past and I will continue to admit it into the future. One of the things that gets my nerd juices flowing the fastest is Saturday Night Live. Last night was SNL40, the highlight of my storm-stayed holiday long weekend at home. I have been waiting for the huge special that aired last night since I first caught wind of it and believe me, it did not disappoint. After over a year of hard work the special was absolutely magical to me.

My Highlights:

-Bradley Cooper making out with Betty White.

-The auditions feature during the show with clips of SNL favourites auditions back in the day.

-Chris Rock’s tribute to Eddie Murphy.

-The montages, all of em’.

-Tributes to my hero Lorne Michaels throughout the night, my favourite one had to be during Adam

Sandler and Andy’s Samberg’s Digital Short. 

My Forgettable Moments:

-Miley Cyrus’s performance, it was good but had everyone in my house scratching their heads.

-Eddie Murphy’s 73-second appearance.

This morning I woke up and re-watched most of the special again and there are honestly very few things I would cut. I thought Jerry Seinfeld’s question and answer segment was great but would have been better without Dakota Johnson’s awkward plug for her upcoming episode and a throw to the uncomfortable antics of Ellen Cleghorne. Also, the Californians went a too long. It was an absolute treat to see Wayne and Garth back together and impersonating Lorne.

My favourite moment is a hard one to judge, but it would have to be Celebrity Jeopardy.

I could go on and on about the magic of SNL 40 last night, unfortunately some people failed to see it. The internet is a-buzz today with feedback about the special but I think the most important thing to remember about SNL is something that I was told when touring NBC and visiting the SNL set.

Studio 8-H is tiny, it truly is. The crew does an incredible job making it look WAY bigger than it really is. That is one of the reasons it is so hard to get tickets to the show. During the tour they tell you that the show is not created each Saturday night for the people in the audience, it is made to watch at home. Last night’s Sunday night special was a change in format, I watched it as a performance for the incredible cast and crew that has made SNL over the past 40 years. From the comfort of my home I felt like I was peeping into a window watching something special created by and for some of the most talented comedians to ever live. It is hard to articulate exactly how I feel about last night’s show, but I feel privileged to say that I watched it and that I visited 8-H a place where magic truly does happen.

Last night it was exciting to see the incredible casts of the past work with the contemporary SNL night crew. I have mourned many people leaving the show in the past few years only to be blown away by the incredible new talent that joins the cast. It was wonderful to see them all working together.

If you have not watched SNL40 yet make sure you watch it all soon, do not just watch the clips online you will not get the incredible impact of the entire show as it was meant to be seen.

One final note, THANK YOU to everyone who has worked at SNL in the past and continues to provide laughs for the future. As I type this there are three people on screen in the TV show that I am watching (not SNL) that were once on SNL working together with other talented comedians to produce one of the funniest shows on television right now. Saturday Night Live has made the world a funnier, better place.

Also, props to Global TV here in Canada for live streaming SNL 40 for FREE online. Now SNL start letting Canadians view your YouTube videos, common' Lorne I know you have the power!