‘Saturday Night Live’: Here’s to 50 Years

BY ASHTYN HANSARD

Digital Media Director

On Feb. 16, 2025, the 50th Anniversary Special of “Saturday Night Live" (SNL) aired for the world to see. The three hour long special was one for the books, bringing out old cast members and celebrity hosts to enjoy the evening with one another while putting on their biggest show yet.

To start off the show, Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon sang the song “Homeward Bound” together. 

Soon after, actor Steve Martin came out on stage with an opening monologue. While giving this monologue and cracking jokes, we got cameos from John Mulaney, a famous comedian and old writer for “SNL,” and Martin Short, actor and past cast member of “SNL.”

After the opening, the sketches started immediately, showing many timeless characters gracing our screens again. For example, Rachel Dratch reprised her character “Debbie Downer” in a sketch with Ayo Edebri, Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore and Robert De Niro.

There was also the reappearance of Domingo, a character played by Marcello Hernandez. Past cast members Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney and Andy Samberg also joined the sketch as groomsmen. However, the biggest surprise was Carpenter as one of the bridesmaids and Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny as brothers of Domingo.

Seth Meyers made an appearance on “Weekend Update” alongside Colin Jost and Michael Che, reprising his role during his time on “SNL.” He had a segment with Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer, who played “Lorne’s Best Friends from Growing Up.” 

“Weekend Update” also brought back Cecily Strong and Bobby Moynihan for their characters, “The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With At A Party” and “Drunk Uncle.”

My personal favorite sketch, “Close Encounter,” brought back Kate McKinnon as Colleen Rafferty alongside new characters played by Pascal, Woody Harrelson and Meryl Streep.

Even with the reprise of many beloved characters, cast members and hosts, I still feel like we were missing some vital people. 

For instance, Bill Hader, an actor and past cast member, did not make an appearance at the anniversary special. While I’m not sure why he wasn’t there, I know I’m just one of the many fans that would’ve loved to see him reprise his role as Stefan on “Weekend Update” with Seth Meyers and talk about New York’s hottest club.

Another major absence was Dan Aykroyd, one of the original members of “SNL.” It was surprising to see that Aykroyd did not make an appearance to the anniversary special, especially since his fellow castmates Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman all attended the event. 

Unfortunately, Gilda Radner and John Belushi, the other two original members of “SNL,” passed away several years ago and were not able to see how far “SNL" has come.

Along with an opening monologue and several nostalgic sketches, there were several other monologues done by past members and hosts. One that stuck with me the most was Adam Sandler’s.

Sandler sang a song about “SNL" over the past 50 years, taking several jabs at the show and people in general. However, there was a bittersweet ending when Sandler started to sing about different cast members and how much time they had given to “SNL.”

The real heartbreak was when he sang, “Six years of our boy Farley and five of our buddy Norm.” 

Chris Farley was a cast member on “SNL" at the same time as Sandler. The two were great friends until Farley’s unfortunate passing in 1997.

While I’ve listed quite a few sketches featured in “SNL’s” 50th Anniversary Special, there’s still plenty more for fans to see. The anniversary is currently available on Peacock, and I highly recommend it to any fan of “Saturday Night Live.”