In case you missed it...Saturday Night Live turns 50 this year. I was finally able to sit down and watch the three-plus hour anniversary special (which you can find on the Peacock app)...and as a lifelong fan, can honestly say that I thought it was just good...not great. There were however some great moments....
- Adam Sandler’s song that paid tribute to the show in general...along with many former members of the cast.
- Weekend update that featured Cecily Strong as “the girl you wish you hadn’t started a conversation with at a party”, Bobby Moynihan’s “Drunk Uncle”, and Billy Murray’s top ten hosts list.
- Black Jeopardy (love it or hate it) stayed pretty true to form with Tom Hanks reprising his “Doug” character...and Eddie Murphy impersonating Tracy Morgan right next to Tracy Morgan.
- Meryl Streep appearing alongside Kate McKinnon in her 5th Alien Abduction sketch. Special nods to Woody Harrelson, Pedro Pascal, and Jon Hamm.
But as a huge music fan...my favorite moment came down to the show-closing performance by Paul McCartney. When Paul tours, he often plays (and often at the end of the show) an abbreviated medley of Sgt. Pepper’s Reprise and the last half of the Golden Slumbers Medley. For this performance...he simply dropped Sgt. Pepper and played the ENTIRE Golden Slumbers Medley as it appears on The Beatles Abby Road album. I had never seen him do that before. And though his aging voice still needed some support from the other guys in his band...to me, it was the perfect close to a not-so-perfect show. Which I guess is what SNL has always been...and always will be.