CNN —
Live from New York… it’s everyone who’s ever been to New York. Well, it appears that way anyway.
Alums, former hosts and seemingly everyone who’s ever entered the show’s orbit is on hand to celebrate “Saturday Night Live’s” 50th Anniversary.
The first hour of the special, scheduled to run three hours, was a mix of callbacks and moments that referenced the milestone.
Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon and Kate McKinnon were among those who brought back classic characters.
McKinnon resurrected her chain-smoking Mrs. Rafferty character, appearing alongside Pedro Pascal and Woody Harrelson recount an alien encounter to government officials played by Aidy Bryant and Jon Hamm. McKinnon’s character also introduced her mom, played by Meryl Streep.
“A good mother can also be a bad girl,” Streep, in character, suggestively joked to Pascal.
Pre-taped segments included a tribute to the show’s history of physical comedy and a digital short led by Andy Samberg about the anxieties of working on “SNL.”
Adam Sandler performed an original song with shoutouts to the show’s longtime crew and tributes to previous cast members who died, including his friends Chris Farley and Norm McDonald.
Steve Martin had the honor of doing the opening monologue for “SNL50: The Anniversary Special.”
Martin, who has hosted the show 16 times, said that at 79 years old, he feels “like I’m 65, which is also not good.”
He joked that when he heard “SNL” would be having a special to celebrate its milestone 50th year, he wanted to “leap with joy” but didn’t at the time because “I was wearing a short skirt with no underpants.”
Martin was briefly joined on stage by Martin Short and John Mulaney, the latter of whom joked that, “It amazes me that 894 people have hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ in the course of 50 years and only two of them have committed murder.”
Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon opened the special with a rendition of “Homeward Bound,” which he sang on the show in 1976.
“I was not born then… and neither were my parents,” Carpenter joked.
“Saturday Night Live” has been celebrating its 50th anniversary is epic fashion this season, culminating in this weekend’s festivities, which kicked off on Friday with a concert.
Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard performed a duet of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Lil Wayne the Roots and Paul McCartney are also scheduled to perform.
Earlier in the night, Amy Poehler admitted to red carpet host Amelia Dimoldenberg that despite her extensive experience in the “SNL” machine, she was a bit nervous.
“We don’t usually do a red carpet before our show,” she said, adding that having a live episode on a Sunday “feels kinda weird.”
Asked whether she’d given longtime producer Lorne Michaels a gift to mark to occasion, Poehler seemed – possibly jokingly – nervous, answering, “No. Have other people?”
Will Ferrell said he got Michaels “a pony.”
Paul Rudd said he hadn’t gotten Michaels anything but that he’d maybe send him a “box full of Omaha Steaks next week.”
“Does he like steak?” Dimoldenberg asked.
“I don’t know,” Rudd said.
