Pregnant Poehler Poaches Palin's Party

After weeks of speculation and buildup, Sarah Palin finally appeared on Saturday Night Live last night, playing herself in two separate bits on the show. Despite the star power of the cold opening that on top of Palin and Tina Fey featured appearances from Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin, the sketch fell a little flat when compared to the instant classics that Fey has been cranking out all fall.

But SNL wasn't done with Palin there. To close out Weekend Update, she made a second appearance, but quickly told Update's Seth Meyers that she "couldn't go through with" the planned sketch because it wouldn't be good for the campaign. That left Amy Poehler to "fill in" and give a showstopping performance, rapping as a gangsta version of the governor while Palin raised the roof in the wings. Chris Parnell must have left some hip-hop fairy dust in the Update desk because Poehler really knocked it out of the park--watch below.

Elsewhere on the show, Josh Brolin held his own as host in an episode that saw not one, but two mentions of his work in The Goonies. One of those came from Mark Wahlberg, who would also make a second appearance on the show, essentially replaying the "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" sketch from the previous episode while confronting Andy Samberg about it. And it wouldn't be an election year without an appearance from Will Forte's longtime character, the always deliberate Senator Tim Calhoun. (Both clips, along with the opening, are after the jump.)

As for Poehler, following this Thursday's final primetime special, she only has two more episodes remaining before she leaves the show--her final one being November 1st. She will certainly be missed.

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By Billy Parker in Arts and Events on October 19, 2008 11:30 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

Fucking hilarious!

JMH

"I actually enjoyed kenyan thompson's skit as the french def comedy jam comedian. incredible."

I think what you meant to say was "incre-i-ble!"

Mark Wahlberg was great if you saw the sketch last week that it was referencing; if not it probably made no sense. And Tim Calhoun is always funny.

everyAframe

Oh my god it was just painful. I still can't figure out why one would show up to a set where they're just being hilariously grilled and imitated.

cucarachita

Palin's cameo sucked ass. Anyone who says otherwise must have thought Tina Fey was Palin!

JacqueMehoff

I actually enjoyed kenyan thompson's skit as the french def comedy jam comedian. incredible.

bartnj

The moose shooting was my favorite, aas others have said. Just the way he/she (the moose) comesout dancing, all innocent, and the gets capped. I dunno, i rearely, literally, laugh out loud aat SNL, but I was loudly laughing last night.

Laughing at the moose, and also the lines:

"All the mavericks in the house

put your hands

All the plumbers in the house

PULL YOUR PANTS UP!"

Amy Poehler will be sorely missed, she is by far the most naturally funny cast member currently and in a long time.

And I thin k it's Andy Smaberg who writes all these rap skits, even when he collaborated with Chris Parnell on the viral giant "Lazy Sunday".

The rap skits are the best parts of the show for the last ten years, all the way back to Parlin rapping to Kiersten Dunst

"Naked like a statue,

the goddess of fun

Then she removed my shorts, my shoes, and my gun...

I apologized to Kiersten

for all the blood shed

she just smiled

and pulled back in bed"

NYCSniper

McCain/Palin ticket s'gonna win. You betcha!

babyhitler

This is so goddamn freaky. It's like a serial killer who murdered your mom and ate her eyeballs is on SNL and is funny,irreverant and hilarious but at the same time your thinking to yourself "Bastard ate my mom's eyes!"

virgil

You stay classy, redwhite&brooklyn.

The only skit that made me laugh out loud was the fartface businessmen sketch, but I'm incredibly immature. Oh, and McGruber. I don't know why it's so damn funny, but it is.

eyekantspel

SNL is actually trending up, I hope they can keep the momentum going.

The opening skit was pretty funny, especially with Baldwin's involvement. And Poehler's Palin rap was a homerun.

RedWhiteandBrooklyn

Hey, Sarah Palin: you can't act, even when it come to acting like yourself! Stick to standing behind a podium and lying to the knuckledraggers who show up at your rallies. Lorne Michaels: WTF happened to you? You actually allowed this crap on your show? Oh, that's right... your show was in the crapper for the past 15 years. I started watching again because of the few new routines that were intelligent & funny. Back to business as usual.

Oh... and Palin... if you insist on using Barack Obama's middle name, we want to use yours: Sarah Dumbf__kingc__t Palin. OK? OK!

matthew gannon

TKaisen telling us he/she is hip is reminiscent of McCain declaring he isn't Bush. If you have to tell us...

The truth is SNL's political humor is right on the mark, and always has been. Baldwin referring to Palin as Tina was subtle but cleverly funny. Palin isn't a comedic performer but she came of well by participating in those skits. I wonder if McCain was really responsible for her doing it.

Poehler was great on the Palin rap.

trotskie

Thanks for the recap, missed the show last night.

Editrixie

Why rehash it here? Everyone tuned in.

SeasTooFarToReach

Also, the McGruber's skit was a good one too!

JacqueMehoff

it was pretty awkward, I bet lorne forced them to do it. no interaction at all.

pretty bad.

SeasTooFarToReach

I though it was pretty good. Agreed that the opening skit should have been better, but it wasn't bad either. I've seen worse in SNL.

The best was by far the rap, and the Moose shooting was hilarious.

Thumbs up to Palin for playing along in perhaps the best politician cameo I've seen in that show... the first, and probably only, thumbs up I'll ever give her.

TKaisen

I'm hip and ironic and never find SNL funny. I have to watch obscure shows from the BBC to crack a smile... but then I think that the man wants me to laugh so I don't.

grifforama

Oh Come on, especially you thenebula.

Last night's SNL was appalling. Palin managed to make it unfunny.

BillyParker

I like that Palin looks pretty clueless staring out while Amy calls out the Bridge to Nowhere, yet she is visibly mouthing along during 'When I say Obama, you say Ayers.'

drewo

The fake commercial for the online stock trading company - in which the only option is to sell your stocks - was pretty good too.

colonelcasey

It was pretty good last night. Nice to see Palin can take a few jabs at herself and still have a good time. I wonder if McCain or Obama will show up in any of the following shows before the election, just for fun.

Jen Chung

For some reason, Jason Sudekis as Todd Palin--in his snowmobile outfit--really really cracked me up. Also, the moose killing was pretty great.

matty

And now, a word from the president!

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

Gettin voted into the white house

Everything lookin good to the people of the world

But the mafia family is my boss

So every now and then I owe a favor gettin down

Like lettin a big drug shipment through

And send em to the poor community

So we can bust you know who

So voters of the world keep supportin me

And I promise to take you very far

Other leaders better not upset me

Or Ill send a million troops to die at war

To all you republicans, that helped me win

I sincerely like to thank you

Cuz now I got the world swingin from my nuts

And damn it feels good to be a gangsta