Saturday Night Live Christmas 2002

Lorne Michaels knew he had a winning team behind the Weekend Update Desk as soon as Jimmy Falon & Tina Fey hit their dumb bozo/smart bitchy routine. Being Lorne Michaels, knew how to take advantage of their chemistry. He had been pushing Jimmy (arguably the biggest chick-magnet to join the cast of Saturday Night Live since Chevy Chase) for a while anyway, and when head writer Fey finally stepped into the spotlight, the Weekend Update spot become more popular than ever. The pair of them even got their own fan site, Fallonfey.com, where each of their Updates was posted long before Youtube was dreamed up by whoever those two guys were that invented Youtube. Always one to cash in on the latest craze, Michaels had his new golden duo make appearances on other Network shows and host all sorts of SNL specials, including a Tribute to John Belushi. This Christmas special was green lighted even though the previous X-mas compilation, "Saturday Night Christmas Past" was made just three years earlier, in 1999. As such, "Saturday Night Christmas 2002" covers most of the same ground, but has the added bonus of seven minutes of new material by Mr and Miss F (and a bunch of children) gluing the skits together.

Decked out in thick sweaters, Jimmy & Tina do their usual routine. Jimmy acts dumb, Tina acts smart. He talks about copying Dana Carvey's Jimmy Stewart impression, she shows that she's longing to have a child. JF's hair is very short, TF looks nerdy but cute. Compared to the earlier Christmas special, there are less 'classic' skits from the seventies and eighties this time around. The focus is mainly on the Will Ferrell years, with new additions featuring The Culps, Mary Katherine Gallagher, Mark Jensen's Family Christmas, and Adam Sandler's third Channuhah song. Also, to make the special seem more like a regular show, there are two festive musical performances: one by Whitney Houston, the other a team effort by Luciano Pavarotti & Vanessa Williams. Skits that are on both compilations include Pete Schweddy on the Delicious Dish, Martha Stewart's Topless Christmas, Consumer Probe, The Lost Ending to It's a Wonderful Live & Steve Martin's Christmas Wish (Tina's personal favorite). I wonder how long it will be for Lorne to commission another Christmas special? Probably won't happen until the next breakout star emerges on SNL...

8 out of 10