40 years later and SNL is still crazier than ever. You never know what to expect on this late night comedy show and last night celebrated 4 decades of this iconic show. This monumental anniversary special aired last night and was packed with celebrities, SNL alumni, throwback sketches and new sketches and performances that will go down in history. Although this 3 and a half hour special was filled with hilarious and outrageous moments, here are the top 5 highlights of the night. The first highlight moment started with the opening monologue. Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake kicked off    the show by paying a tribute to the most memorable moments in SNL history. They covered sketches from church to the Ambiguously Gay Duo, “two wild and crazy guys,” “more cowbell!” and the pals’ own “D— in a Box.” This monologue was later joined by SNL vet, Steve Martin who took the stage and noted wryly, “Tonight is like an enormous high school reunion.” After a few words, past hosts including Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Chris Rock, Miley Cyrus and Melissa McCarthy joined him onstage to land one-liners. The second highlight moment was “Celebrity Jeopardy”. Will Ferrell reprised his role as game show host Alex Trebek and welcomed Sean Connery (current SNL emcee Darrell Hammond) and Burt Reynolds (Norm Macdonald). The third highlight is “The Californians”. Kenan Thompson, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer returned in the recurring soap opera parody. This time around, Karina (Wiig) finds out she’s pregnant but not with the baby of husband Stuart (Armisen) or with lover Devin (Hader). The denim short short-sporting pool boy Greg … or Craig … (Bradley Cooper). Enhancing this A-list cast in nearly incomprehensible Valley girl accents were Taylor Swift, Kerry Washington and none other than Betty White, whose character had had an affair with Cooper’s. Long story short, Cooper and White kissed, and it broke the Internet. The fourth highlight moment is the “weekend update”. Amy Poehler,Tina Fey and Jane Curtin took over “Weekend Update” anchor duties, though their guests managed to occupy plenty of the spotlight. Emma Stones tepped out to do her best impression of Gilda Radner’s Roseanne Roseannadanna, McCarthy crashed into the “Update” desk as Chris Farley’s “motivational” speaker Matt Foley and Edward Norton emulated Stefon. The final highlight moment was “Waynes World”. Wayne (Mike Meyers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) reunited for another episode of Wayne’s World. Sharing an SNL-themed Top 10 list, the seasoned pros anchored the special with a sentimental thank-you to producer Lorne Michaels and the crew even as they managed to deliver some of the night’s most topical jokes, including an extended gag about West pegged to his Feb. 8 Grammys lash out at Beck After telling Kanye West not to “storm the stage,” they kept the laughs coming: “I think Beck was one of the best, even better than Beyonce.” All in all, it was a night that honored where SNL has irreverently been and the creative minds who have formed its identity, all the while keeping an eye toward the current events that have provided the show’s backbone over the last 40 years.

Written by: Sandra Costanzo