Emma Stone takes the stage with Molly Shannon
"Who are you? What's your age and your name?" Stone says to Molly Shannon, who appeared onstage as her character Sally O'Malley.
The two introduced a video celebrating 50 years of physical comedy on "SNL."
Tom Hanks returns to Black Jeopardy sketch
Tom Hanks replaced Eddie Murphy at the podium of the Black Jeopardy sketch as Doug, a contestant sporting a red "Make America Great Again" hat.
Kenan Thompson shook Hanks' hand awkwardly as Hanks suggested that the next show be called "White Jeopardy."
Hanks' Doug is a fan favorite among "SNL" viewers.
We've got our first break of the night
"SNL" actors laughing when they're not supposed to — also known as breaking — happens. It happens to the best of them.
And Leslie Jones has our first break of the evening during the "Black Jeopardy" sketch.
Eddie Murphy plays Tracy Morgan in 'Black Jeopardy' sketch
Kenan Thompson played host of "Black Jeopardy" once more, with Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and Eddie Murphy as contestants.
In a twist, Murphy impersonated Morgan.
Chris Rock later took over for Thompson as a guest host to ask a question related to "SNL" trivia.
Paul Simon, an 'SNL' stalwart
Why Paul Simon, people might ask?
As one half of hit-making folk duo Simon & Garfunkel ("Bridge Over Troubled Water"), he was a significant figure in the counterculture that culminated in "SNL's" existence in the 1970s, so it's somewhat of a natural pairing, but there's more to it.
Simon is a longtime friend of SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels and, as such, he appeared in Episode 1, in part to tease a temporary reunion of Simon & Garfunkel in an upcoming episode.
Simon has hosted SNL at least four times, and he was one of the first stars to both host and perform as a musician on the show.
In November 1976, he famously appeared in a turkey costume to sing "Still Crazy After All These Years," which he halted when he realized how ridiculous he looked, though that was part of the script.
Will Ferrell returns as Robert Goulet in star-studded first sketch
"Oh, my God, did they put LSD in my Caesar salad, or do I see three beautiful ladies hitchhiking my way?" Will Ferrel says in his signature Robert Goulet impression.
He then introduces "sisters" Janice, Holly and Margaret, played by Ana Gasteyer, Kim Kardashian and Scarlett Johansson.
Then, of course, Kristen Wiig's Dooneese character, the awkward sister with tiny hands, makes an appearance.
Martin Short joins Steve Martin briefly in monologue
Martin Short briefly joined his longtime pal and "Only Murders In the Building" co-star Steve Martin onstage during the monologue.
"I thought we were hosting together," Short said.
“Do you have your passport on you?” Martin replied.
“No,” Short replied
“ICE GET HIM” Martin replied, before Short was dragged offstage.
"We’ve been working together so long we could actually finish each other’s careers," Martin joked.
Steve Martin jokes about being the show’s ‘newest diversity hire’ in monologue
Opening the special, Steve Martin delivered a signature monologue packed with his trademark wit.
Describing himself as "SNL’s" newest “diversity hire,” Martin recalled his excitement when he first heard about the anniversary special:
“I literally wanted to leap into the air. ... The only reason I didn’t was at the time I was wearing a short skirt with no underwear.”
He also joked about how he found out he’d be opening the show:
“Lorne told me I was doing the monologue ... on a friend’s boat down on the Gulf of Steve Martin.”
Steve Martin cracks AI joke about writers
During the monologue, Steve Martin asked everyone to give "SNL" "writers in the crowd" a hand. Only to have a shot of them all outside Studio 8H.
"By the way, that tribute to the writers was written by AI," Martin joked.
'SNL' opens with montage of tonight's cast
Tonight's 50th anniversary special will have a lot of guests, all of whom were teased in the opening montage, which featured photos of the previous casts.