Anyone who knows me knows that I can be a bit opinionated when it comes to pop culture. This is not to say I don’t respect other people’s views on TV, music or movies (see Noah’s Snark about music taste in the latest copy of The Black & White) because I do understand that “different” taste does not mean “bad.” But if you say that Saturday Night Live isn’t funny or (even more heinous) never was, then we have a serious problem.

Let me clarify: SNL by no means is funny 100 percent or even 85 percent of the time. There has not been a single season in the 40-year history that hasn’t had enough sketches that tanked to fill five full episodes.

But the fact that the show has survived for 40 years speaks volumes. The 3.5-hour anniversary special on Sunday on NBC highlighted the factors that makes SNL so great—its versatility, willingness to take a risk and fall flat, and casting of people who are just funny.

SNL’s greatness comes from the fact that almost all of its segments, even the ones that involve current politics, can be watched and rewatched years later.

Beginning with the part that is most obviously consistent: the music. While some weeks bring one-hit-wonders, more often than not, the show brings in awesome acts. This was embodied by Paul Simon’s performance of “Still Crazy After All These Years” and Paul McCartney’s performance of “Maybe I’m Amazed” on Sunday. Both the music and the performers proved timeless.

The anniversary special had a segment of clips from the best political sketches that, despite the large amount shown, wasn’t able to even scratch the surface of hilarious moments. Older skits with Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford and Will Ferrell as George Bush made viewers laugh at the past, and recent clips of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton had people simultaneously rolling their eyes and chuckling.

Another strong element is Weekend Update. Though the show has gone through a seemingly countless number of anchors over the years (some downright terrible), the short segment always provides at least a few chuckles, as evidenced in the anniversary special by the great presentation of clips from female anchors Jane Curtin, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler.

However, the real backbone of the late night show, for me, comes from the completely random sketches that make me think, “Who just sits down at their desk and thinks of the idea for Coneheads, or motivational speaker Matt Foley?”

The special on Sunday night highlighted all of these sketches with a long reel that spanned the 40 years, and several live sketches from different decades.

While the “Californians” sketch lasted too long (and was even cringe-worthy as Taylor Swift got no laughs), it was quickly redeemed with David Spade’s famous “Buh-bye” character, who swept people off-stage, as rudely as ever.

It was the live reenactment of Dan Aykroyd’s “Bass-O-Matic” that really made me appreciate the long-running sketch show. Throughout the years, as TV is changing with DVR, YouTube, Netflix, etc. SNL has been able to keep afloat through sketches like “Bass-O-Matic” that are just silly and fun to watch at 11:30 on a Saturday Night.

While the show is by no means perfect, that’s part of the appeal, and is something that will keep people coming back each week to hear “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”