Goodbye, Amy

It may seem like it's been going on for the majority of the season, but this most recent episode of Saturday Night Live finally sealed the deal: cast member Amy Poehler has left the show. After going on hiatus to have her first child (little Archie Arnett), Poehler will now go off to do a sitcom from The Office creator Greg Daniels.

Poehler, an original member of The Upright Citizens Brigade, has been on the show since 2001.

In that time, she's become perhaps the most utilized cast member, appearing in just about any sketch that required a female (and some that didn't, like when she was called upon to play presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich). She co-anchored "Weekend Update" with both Tina Fey and Seth Meyers and created a handful of recurring characters (the host of "Bronx Beat," Dakota Fanning). Like her or not, she's been a major presence on Saturday Night Live throughout the 2000s, and her absence will be felt.

I have to give credit to Poehler and the show's writers that they managed to undercut what begins as a sappy send-off during "Update" with a cheap joke. It provided the biggest laugh of Saturday's show. (Watch the video -- but watch the Gov. Patterson sketch first)

Hosted by Hugh Laurie

Saturday's show was also the annual holiday show and the last one of 2008. Grouchy TV doctor Hugh Laurie hosted for the second time, and he's one of those guys that turns out to be funnier than you might expect; he's able to make sketches work for the moments that he's in them (Jon Hamm did the same thing earlier in the season).

Sketch Highlights

• "Update: Governor David Patterson" - New York Governor David Patterson stops by "Weekend Update" to make fun of New Jersey. And be blind. And to be yet another African American character played by Fred Armisen, who is not African American. Still, it does pay off during Amy Poehler's goodbye speech. Watch this one first. (Watch the video)
• "Update: Really!?! Gov. Blagojevich" - As a resident of Chicago, I was excited to see SNL take on the Blagojevich scandal. They tried to do it in the cold open, but blew it with a sketch that didn't have much to say and wasn't very funny. And I like the recurring "Really!?!" bit on "Update," mostly because it's a good joke carrier and allows for some good, pointed one-liners. This bit on Blagojevich wasn't the strongest -- they spend way too much time on his hair, which is the least of his problems -- but I'm glad Poehler was able to do one more before departing. (Watch the video)
• "Digital Short: Cookies" - In the write-up of last week's John Malkovich episode, I made the observation that the Digital Shorts are more often misses than hits. If you consider that episode's short, "Jizz in My Pants" (it is, just barely), I guess we're due for a "miss." This week's Digital Short fits that bill. (Watch the video)
• "Wedding Toast" - I like this sketch, and I probably can't defend it. Hugh Laurie's toast is very funny to me, probably because I feel like I've sat through wedding speeches like that. I also like that most of the cast was used. And it has one of the best last lines of any sketch this year. (Watch the video)

Side note -- what does it say about the quality of Saturday's show that three of the five videos NBC has provided come from "Weekend Update?" Just wondering.

Read all SNL Season 34 Recaps

• Original Air Date: 12/13/08
• Host: Hugh Laurie
• Musical Guest: Kanye West