Evolution of 'Saturday Night Live': See how the 'SNL' opening monologue has transformed over 40+ years

"SNL" fans know what to expect at 11:37 on NBC each Saturday night: There's a cold open, jazzy title credits and then an opening monologue delivered by the week's celebrity guest host.

But really longtime viewers remember the days when the show wasn't quite so cleanly structured. Forty-four years ago, when the show first debuted in 1975, host George Carlin was tasked with the monologue, and it wasn't just an opener: The comic performed five separate short routines throughout the live taping.

At the time, the weekly host wasn't intended to perform in any sketches; he or she was just meant to appear throughout the broadcast. Other early hosts, like Richard Pryor and Hugh Hefner, also stuck to the guy-with-a-mic role.

Unsurprisingly, the set design has also dramatically transformed, but today's version is still reminiscent of its early incarnation. Gone is the winding stairway and they've added a full live onstage band, but the general Grand Central-esque aesthetic remains.

PHOTOS: See the transformation of the "Saturday Night Live" opening monologue

Before the redesign, hosts would walk down the long staircase before taking their place onstage. Today, the hosts emerge from a center-stage door and head down just a few stairs. (Which is much easier for anyone wearing heels!) The doors were replaced with bigger, brighter ones around 2003.

In the eighties and nineties, chandeliers, candelabras and oil paintings created an art gallery look. Those features have all since been ditched.

Recurring hosts like Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin have been privy to all stages of the set's transformation over the decades. We haven't seen a redesign in quite some time now -- the set has stayed largely the same for the past 15 years -- but who's to say what season 45 will bring?

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