Saturday Night Live” paid tribute to the children and adults killed at a Connecticut elementary school.

Not known for taking anything seriously or tenderly, the show made a sweet departure in its opening moments. Rather than the usual comical opening, a children’s choir appeared on camera and angelically sang “Silent Night.”

Then the members of the New York City Children’s Chorus bellowed out the show’s time-honored introduction: “Live from New York, it’s ‘Saturday Night!'”

Later in the show, actor Samuel L. Jackson made a distinctive contribution of his own in a cameo appearance. He pretended to be miffed at being cut short as a guest on the mock talk show “What Up with That?” and dropped a couple of vulgarities, including an F-bomb and the term sometimes shortened to “B.S.”