Of the new bits that were done live, I most enjoyed the Wayne's World, and the Jeopardy recreation. But I was never a huge fan of the California bit, and that bit's reprise wasn't any better. Of all the bits from that era, why did they bring THAT one back? And the Jimmy Fallon/Justin Timberlake number wasn't very good either. They didn't actually include any comedy in the lyrics this time. Kind of a key ingredient.
I thought the writers made a good choice by lumping together similar bits and presenting them. The one that reprised musical bits was pretty good--Martin Short is always great, Operaman was fun to see again, and Bill Murray killed the Jaws theme (although Dana Carvey's bit was pretty bad...of all his bits THAT'S the one they brought back?). Jerry Seinfeld's tribute to the "taking questions from the audience" bit was actually pretty funny too. Loved the chance for Larry David to get back at everyone there for not doing his bits when he was an SNL writer.
But I also thought the Weekend Update bit was a miss (Ooh boy Chevy Chase looked awful), although Melissa McCarthy did a kick-ass Matt Foley. And Chris Rock's introduction of Eddie Murphy was twice as long as Eddie Murphy's appearance on stage--and it appeared that he was just brought out for an applause break. They didn't even give him a joke. I love Dan Ackroyd too, but why have him redo the exact same old bit--the bass-o-matic? That was a weird choice.
But most of all, I hated the montages of old bits. It was just a hodge-podge of one-liners--the jokes without the setups. Not everyone has been around for all 40 years, you know. My kids looked at me during those video montages, completly oblivious.
As for the musical acts...one Paul was great and the other was not. I love McCartney, but wow did he butcher "Maybe I'm Amazed" last night. That was painful to watch. Paul Simon, on the other hand, did a wonderful version of "Still Crazy After All These Years."
I know it's hard to encapsulate 40 years into one night, and there were a few highlights, but most of all I was a little disappointed. I guess it would have been impossible (because of scheduling conflicts and inability to rehearse) to do a brand new show featuring all the biggest stars of the past, but they had them all there in one room for the first, and probably last time ever.
