NEW YORK (Sept. 14) - Live from New York ... it's Tina Fey as Gov. Sarah Palin.
After wild conjecture over whom would play Sen. John McCain's running mate on "Saturday Night Live," Fey returned to her old show for an opening sketch featuring her and Fey's former "Weekend Update" co-host Amy Poehler as Sen. Hillary Clinton.
The NBC comedy show's season premiere opened Saturday with a "nonpartisan message" where the two pleaded for an end to sexism in the presidential campaigns ? which have seen Palin enjoy sudden popularity after Clinton's loss to Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination.
"I didn't want a woman to be president, I wanted to be president," said Poehler, reprising her caricature of Clinton.
Let's Play 'Count the Phlubs!' Obvious mistakes at :50, 01:25 and 02:35 ... can you find more? Post them below.
Many have said Fey bears a resemblance to Palin, a comparison alluded to in the sketch. A frustrated Clinton eventually broke down, complaining about Palin's ease of ascendance and her "Tina Fey glasses."
A few digs were made about Palin being less experienced than Clinton. As Poehler's Clinton bragged about her foreign policy experience, Fey's Alaskan governor exclaimed: "I can see Russia from my house!"
When Poehler said she disagreed with the Bush Doctrine, Fey's Palin acknowledged, "I don't know what that means" ? a reference to Palin's apparent confusion on the subject in her first major interview earlier this week on ABC.
Poehler wrapped up the sketch: "In conclusion, I invite the media to grow a pair. And if you can't, I will lend you mine."
Oct 3, 1992: Sin O'Connor stirs up controversy when she rips up a picture of Pope John Paul II on 'Saturday Night Live'.
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Oct. 1, 2006: Narcolepsy is in the London air as David Hasselhoff nods off during an interview on a morning talk show -- he later blames the incident on sleeping pills. Meanwhile, across town, George Michael is arrested after being found asleep at the wheel of his car in the early hours of the morning.
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Oct. 2, 2006:Pop star Aaron Carter wants his ex-fiancee Kari Ann Peniche to give back $10,000 earrings he bought her during their nine-day engagement that he broke off. He is spotted with Kaci Brown a few days later. (Pictured: Singer Aaron Carter and Kaci Brown at the 33rd Annual People's Choice Awards.)
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Oct. 2, 1951: Gordon Sumner is born in Wallsend, England. While playing with the Phoenix Jazzmen, a black and yellow sweatshirt will earn him the nickname Sting. Following a brief career as a school teacher, hewill move to London, where he eventually teams up with Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland to form the Police.
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Oct. 4, 1990: The original 'Beverly Hills, 90210' premieres on FOX. The show would run 10 seasons and produce two spin offs, 'Melrose Place' and the new CW "90210" which debuted in 2008.
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Oct. 4, 1970: Janis Joplin, lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, dies of a heroin overdose at the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles.
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Oct 5, 2007: The group, Hanson, has to call off their gig in Tulsa, Okla., after Isaac Hanson is taken to hospital with shoulder and chest pains. Doctors perform an emergency heart surgery, and Isaac recovers.
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Oct. 4, 2006: It's the Battle of the Blondes as Miss USA 1995 Shanna Moakler and Paris Hilton each claim they were assaulted by the other outside a Hollywood nightclub. No charges are ever filed by either party.
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Oct. 7, 2005: George O'Dowd, a.k.a. Boy George, calls the NYPD claiming that his apartment has been robbed. Upon arrival, police find the singer with three and a half grams of cocaine. The whole mess ends with O'Dowd serving five days community service cleaning the city streets.
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Oct. 6, 1991: Elizabeth Taylor takes her eighth and final crack at matrimony, marrying construction worker Larry Fortensky, whom she'd met while both were patients at the Betty Ford Clinic. The union will last five years.
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"SNL" returned early this fall for its 34th season in part to capitalize on the presidential campaign. The show has historically had particular relevance in its political parodies.
Last season, a sketch making fun of the media's fawning over Obama was seen as causing the press to rethink its coverage. In 2000, Darrell Hammond's impression of Al Gore in the debates made the phrase "lock box" ubiquitous.
This year's season debut was expected to dive even further into politics because of a planned appearance from Obama. But the Senator canceled his cameo early Saturday. His campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Obama decided it was no longer appropriate because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike.
Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps was the host. Phelps, who won eight gold medals at last month's Beijing Olympics, said in his opening monologue: "This seriously is like the ninth best moment of my life."
Phelps' mother, Debbie, got in on the joke from the audience, as did William Shatner, who made an irreverent cameo.
The star swimmer stumbled over a number of lines, but also performed in a reprise of a sketch another athletic "SNL" host, Peyton Manning, played last season. As he did a similarly football-themed sketch, cast member Will Forte played a swimming coach trying to rally a despondent swim team in a locker room.
As team captain "Michael Phillips," Phelps said: "I just don't think I'm cut out for this whole swimming thing."
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