25 best cold-opens in SNL history

10. Tina Fey copies Sarah Palin word-for-word in Couric interview

SNL’s Sarah Palin tour during season 34 gave them a chance to showcase Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at least once every week, which was a win for everyone. While Poehler often played Hillary Clinton, it wasn’t a pre-requisite. In fact, one of the best sketches that came from season 34 was when Poehler donned Katie Couric’s look and the pair lampooned one of the most disastrous TV interviews in recent memory.

There’s an argument to be made that this sketch is better than the initial Palin/Clinton one. For one, it’s more grounded in reality — Palin and Clinton never did a sexism PSA together — and they didn’t have to stray too far from the source material. In fact, there are times when Fey is practically uttering what the real Palin said word for word, which give you a sense of how bad that interview was.

Prior to the Couric interviews, John McCain’s campaign was already skeptical about all the media attention Palin was getting. From the start, she had to go on the defensive over her Russia comments, then after she rambled on about the economy, she called Alaska the “microcosm of America.” When Palin herself appeared on SNL, it felt like her “I meant to do that” moment. But it wasn’t enough to rescue her failing poll numbers.

Palin got rightfully bashed for this interview, since all SNL had to do to make fun of it was essentially re-air it. However, you get the sense that she’s watching Trump now with a ton of resentment. He’s far more incoherent than Palin ever was, but instead of having it sink him, it got him elected President. And no matter how many times he gets mocked for it, nothing will ever change that fact.