The 50th anniversary celebration of “Saturday Night Live” is so big, it’s not even on Saturday. Airing Sunday and spanning three hours, the live “SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration” will assemble a dream team of stars who have helped the show become an enduring pop culture force.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tune into the Oct. 11, 1975 premiere episode of “Saturday Night Live” — then without “live” in its name — and you may be instantly surprised at some of the bones of the show that are still intact today.

But on February 16th “Saturday Night Live” ( SNL) will celebrate its 50th birthday on air, 979 episodes after its launch. A slew of tributes is also filling the airwaves. A new film, “Saturday Night”,

Live" celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend, it's likely many viewers won't tune into NBC's "SNL50" special at all, instead discovering clips via YouTu