Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are pros at hosting live shows, having emceed the Golden Globes three times. They're also pros at all things Saturday Night Live. Fey and Poehler weren't just average repertory players during their tenure at 30 Rockefeller Center. They were the first all-female co-anchors of SNL’s "Weekend Update" and Tina was SNL’s first female head writer.
It is very safe to say that Tina and Amy know the drill when things go "live from New York" on a Saturday night. So the question was not if they would be awesome at co-hosting, it was just how awesome things would get when their Liz Lemon-Leslie Knope wonder twin powers were activated. Would Amy’s Hillary Clinton make an appearance, even though cast member Kate McKinnon currently handles those duties? Would Colin Jost and Michael Che make room at the Update desk for Tina? (Spoiler: The answer to both is "yes.")
In a show crackling with the sparks from two all-time SNL greats (who happen to be all-star BFFs), here are three of the night’s best moments.
1. DopeSquad: This spoof of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” video took a not-so-subtle, but still good-natured, swipe at #girlsquad culture. Tina and Amy started off doing a Sisters interview with a reporter, played by Aidy Bryant. Bryant mentioned the word "squad" and the co-hosts jumped into a black, white, and red, post-apocalyptic video with the most important women in their life: their nannies, their gynecologist, and the woman at the diner who remembers their orders. Not to be outdone by Swift, their squad boasts some celebrities like Gayle King, Robert Downey Sr., and even Amy Schumer. “It take’s a village, y’all,” is their DopeSquad mantra. The ladies of SNL know how to make a joke and make a point.
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2. A Clinton Christmas: All of our Hillary Clinton wishes came true as Amy Poehler’s 2008 Hillary came to visit Kate McKinnon’s 2015 Hillary in a Christmas Eve dream. She even brought Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin with her. While the epic Poehler/Fey 2008 election cycle will live on as classic SNL political satire, McKinnon has proven herself worthy of Clinton’s pantsuits and sensible shoes. 2008 Hillary warns 2015 Hillary not to get to ahead of herself, reminding her that, “Barack Obama came along with a basketball and a cigarette and stole my life.” Palin gives them both some advice: “If it gets too hard, just quit. Who cares?” Hats off to McKinnon for holding her own with the Poehler/Fey juggernaut and cheers to all three for the dance party at the end.
3. The Chad & Mrs. Douglas Time Life Ad: In a nod to both 1970s variety shows and Time Life compilations, this sketch highlighted fictional holiday clips from a long-defunct song-and-dance show. The first flashback featured Maya Rudolph, who stole the sketch with a drunken, nonsensical version of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Poehler was a strung-out disco diva and Fey survived an awkward “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” turning down a drink from Kenan Thompson’s Bill Cosby. All three rocked it, but everyone knows it's Rudolph who has the best musical-comedy chops. (For bonus Rudolph, Poehler, and Fey, check out the “Bronx Beat” sketch.)
Extra-special treat under the tree: Paul McCartney joined Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band and the SNL cast for a festive, fake-snow filled version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”