Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary Special

"Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary Special" (also billed as "Saturday Night Live 25") is a three-hour prime-time special that aired on September 26, 1999, on NBC, celebrating Saturday Night Lives 25th year on the air, having premiered on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. The New York Times wrote of the special, "In defiance of both time and show business convention, SNL is still the most pervasive influence on the art of comedy in contemporary culture."

This special was preceded by the 15th Anniversary Special (1989) and succeeded by the 40th Anniversary Special (2015). The 25th special received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations including a win for the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special and a .

Synopsis

Summary

A pre-taped sketch with Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon reprising their roles as Hans and Franz was cut due to time-constraints. It would later air in the season 25 episode hosted by Heather Graham.

Musical performances

The show included musical performances by:

Eurythmics, introduced by Jerry Seinfeld and David Bowie, performed "Here Comes the Rain Again".
The Beastie Boys begin a performance of "Sabotage" before being interrupted by Elvis Costello who joins them in a performance of "Radio Radio", spoofing the Costello's appearance in 1977 where his band began to perform "Less Than Zero", before stopping abruptly and instead leading into a performance of Radio Radio against the wishes of his record company and SNL.
Al Green, introduced by Garrett Morris and Tim Meadows, performs "Let's Stay Together".

In Memoriam

Throughout the show following were paid tribute to:

Participants

All performers were credited as repertory:

Audience members

Also in attendance included numerous actors, musicians, comedians, and celebrities such as:

Awards and nominations

Ratings

The special drew 22.15 million viewers which was the 3rd-most watched program of the week behind the season premieres of Friends and Frasier.