SNL

We knew going in that the SNL 40th anniversary special would be chock-full of just about every famous person who has ever walked within spitting distance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza and the opening monologue was quick to make use of this genuinely insane temporary cast of stars. Things got started on the right foot when the always-welcome Steve Martin took the stage ... but then he was joined by Tom Hanks. And then things got really crazy.

In the midst of an otherwise dull (and occasionally painful) red carpet special that aired before the SNL 40th anniversary show, special guest Jim Carrey livened things up by by making Matt Lauer really uncomfortable. His comedic weapon of choice? The recently suspended/disgraced NBC newsman Brian Williams.

What would a SNL 40th Anniversary Special be without Celebrity Jeopardy, one of the most popular recurring sketches of the modern SNL era. Alex Trebek was back and he brought with him some of his most frustrating contestants including Sir Sean Connery, Justin Bieber, Tony Bennett, Matthew McConaughey, Christoph Waltz, and, of course, Turd Ferguson.

Schwing! With the SNL 40th Anniversary Special bringing back all their heavy hitters, you had to know that Wayne and Garth were going to come back for one more Wayne's World. We had to wait until the end of the special, but it was worth it to see their “SNL Top 10” that broke the fourth wall and was actually sweet.

J. K. Simmons has been giving us ‘Whiplash’ for decades now with head-turning performances in everything from ‘Spider-Man’ to ‘The Legend of Korra,’ but with the ‘Kong: Skull Island’ star finally nominated for an Oscar, that most hallowed of New York institutions will give Simmons his due. J.K. will host the final January ‘SNL’ installment of 2015, no “jk” about it.

Yeah it is a little strange that a newly minted Oscar winner like Matthew McConaughey would be caught dead making television commercials for Lincoln cars. However, it did lead to a series of fake 'SNL' commercials featuring guest host Jim Carrey playing the 'Dallas Buyers Club' and 'True Detective' star, so who are we to complain?

We've got some sad news today as we've learned that Jan Hooks, former star of 'Saturday Night Live,' has passed away at the age of 57. Hooks, who was a member of the cast from 1986 to 1991, also starred on the hit sitcom 'Designing Women,' and more recently played Jenna's mom on episodes of '30 Rock.'

'The Fault in Our Stars' was one of the big surprise hits of the summer, telling a heartbreaking love story between two young cancer patients. Despite that Very Serious Material, 'SNL' and guest host Sarah Silverman found a way to make fun of the movie and tie into current events. Thus was born the fake trailer for 'The Fault in Our Stars 2: The Ebola in Our Everything.'

The latest episode of 'SNL' featured Sarah Silverman as the host and it looks like their raunchy guest encouraged the rest of the crew to crawl out on a few limbs. Would the writers have created a fake commercial celebrating the slowly dying power of white people if the world's most offensive female comedian wasn't on hand? Who knows!

If you went to some kind of comedy university, there would probably be an entire class available on the subject of how awkward white people rapping is inherently pretty funny but difficult to pull off without feeling too hacky. Whether or not 'SNL' pulled it off with last night's "Booty Rap" sketch is something we'll let you decide, but at least guest host Chris Pratt and the always reliable Aidy Bryant attack their material with gusto.