CNN — 

One of the most famous stages in New York was the place to be on Sunday night.

Alums, former hosts and seemingly everyone who’s ever entered “SNL’s” orbit was on hand to celebrate the show’s 50th Anniversary.

“SNL50: The Anniversary Special” was part reflection, part reunion and a culmination of festivities that began on Friday with a concert.

Here are some highlights:

What would an “SNL” special be without the favorites? Kristen Wiig’s Dooneese, Will Ferrell’s Robert Goulet, Molly Shannon’s Sally O’Malley, Pete Davidson’s Chad, Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer, Cecily Strong’s the Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party and Bobby Moynihan’s Drunk Uncle were among the characters who returned with largely positive results.

What would a trip town memory lane be without Debbie pouring drinks and reminding us of the dangers of alcohol and microplastics?

An inarguable highlight of the familiar fictional faces was the “SNL” talk-show crossover, which featured Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph’s “Bronx Beat” having a moment with Mike Myers in character as Linda Richman from “Coffee Talk.” With a guest list as packed as the one for Sunday’s special, it felt natural to have these characters make the most of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to come together.

Kate McKinnon’s chain-smoking Colleen Rafferty, a woman who was abducted by aliens, was also among the returning characters, but this time, she was joined Meryl Streep, who chose to make her “SNL” debut on a very special night.

The sketch, in which McKinnon appeared alongside Pedro Pascal, Woody Harrelson, Aidy Bryant and Jon Hamm, took the lore of Colleen one step further by introducing her mom, who was as hilariously raunchy as her daughter.

“A good mother can also be a bad girl,” Streep, in character, suggestively joked to Pascal.

“SNL’s” musical history was honored in an excellent special produced by Questlove, so many of the musical moments during Sunday’s special felt oddly less memorable, with the exception of Paul McCartney. In fact, perhaps one of the most memorably musical moments came from Adam Sandler.

Sandler was not among the billed musical performers but nonetheless whipped out his guitar for a song that in equal measure honored some of the longtime crew members, delivered a poignant trip down memory lane and joked about nepo babies.

Pre-taped segments included a tribute to the show’s history of physical comedy, a digital short led by Andy Samberg about the anxieties of working on “SNL” and a look back at the shows satirical ads, including “Colon Blow” cereal and “Mom Jeans.”

One of the best, however, was a highlight reel that revisited sketches and characters that have aged poorly.

Tom Hanks, who introduced the latter video segment, joked that while some of the characters, accents and “ethnic wigs” featured in the past “were unquestionably in poor taste, you all laughed at them.”

“So if anyone should be cancelled, shouldn’t it be you, the audience,” he joked.

It was inevitable that the faces of beloved late cast members would be featured on Sunday. John Belushi, Chris Farley, Norm MacDonald, Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman and more appeared many times in compilations and highlight reels. What can’t be forgotten, however, was that the stage was also graced by countless living “SNL” legends.

One of them was Steve Martin, who had the honor of doing a timelessly funny opening monologue.

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.”

To see the likes of Poehler, Martin, Ferrell, Rudolph, Wiig, McKinnon, Myers, Shannon, Strong and more playing again on the stage in Studio 8H was nothing short of, as the night’s festivities were fittingly billed, special.