‘SNL 40′ – was it worth the 3½ hours to watch it? Vote

Truth be told, I had completely forgotten that SNL’s 40th Anniversary Special was going to be on last night.

So imagine my surprise when I started channel surfing for something to watch.
Lo and behold, there it was!

Luckily I was going to catch it from the beginning – unlike the Grammys, where I missed the first 25 or so minutes (and the show opener AC/DC).

Right from the jump, one of the hardest things for me to deal with was hearing the intro to the show.
No Don Pardo! – as he’d already passed on.

That set the tone for what was to be an evening of ups and downs. Overall, I’d call it a draw.
One of the ups was Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake doing their best “Beastie Boys” imitation to the history of of SNL history via a medley of recognizable catchphrases, callbacks, and cameos.

This was punctuated by the appearance of Steve Martin, who described the show:

“Tonight is like an enormous high school reunion,” he began. “A high school that is almost all white…”

And from there it took a few twists and turns - some good, some not so much.

I had to wonder if trying to bring back an old sketch isn't trying to recreate funny once it's happened.

That's the impression I was left with when I saw Dan Ackroyd’s Bass-o-Matic pitch, or even the unforgettable Will Ferrell’s reprise of Alex Trebek’s hosting Jeopardy with Darrell Hammond’s Sean Connery requested a category.

Most every column you read today gave the sketch high marks. To me, it started getting tedious with the introduction of more and more characters.

There were others too many to mention.

The show’s always relied on it’s musical guests – but here one had to wonder whether or not they were even necessary.
Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” amazed me that he was able to make it through the song without rupturing a vocal song.

Christopher Walken introducing Kanye West as “can-ye” set the stage for what had to be one of the most bizarre musical sets ever seen. (Did anyone notice a slight “boo” from the crowd as he was about to begin his routine?) And since a major part of Sia’s act is to shield her face, I thought for a second I was looking at a large sheep hound.

Probably the biggest disappointment of the night was Eddie Murphy’s “non appearance!”
Was he there merely in body but not in spirit? This especially after the 4 ½ minute opening given by Chris Rock.
(Oops, look at the time!)

From an overall perspective, as much as I appreciated the show bringing back cast members from the last 40 years - they could have at least relied on clips of seasons past.

It's just as well NBC carved out 3 ½ hours. With that number of egos onstage, the show would still be going on.