Tina Fey & Amy Poehler/Bruce Springstien & E Street Band (12.19.2015)

Okay, here’s my review. This episode was a lot of fun, inconsistencies and all, and was certainly the least disappointing Christmas episode in at least three years. Aside from most of the cameos we were predicting, this episode delivered exactly what it promised in a way consistent with the quality of the rest of this current season. Tina and Amy really carried the show as hosts and they both sweetly bought back many fond memories of what we liked about them as cast members and why they were so beloved during their time on the show. The cast is still uneven in terms of airtime but that’s okay as we pretty much expected Tina and Amy to dominate the show with their combined force. Having Springsteen perform Santas' Coming To Town was a great and fun way to close the show. Anyway, let’s get into it.

CNN GOP Debate - This cold open was great. Through sheer dumb luck, Jons' failed Anderson Cooper turned out to be a serviceable Wolf Blitzer. Good to see Darrells' Trump back in the spotlight as well as Becks' very animated Jeb Bush. Their back and forth was great. Tarans' Ted Cruz is still pretty underwhelming but he had some good lines about being the most hateable human being ever. Bobby and Jay hit it out of the park with their Carson and Christie. Pete as Marco Rubio was serviceable casting. His impression wasn’t quite there but he made up for it by delivering several funny lines. The only real dud here was Cecilys' Carly Fiorina when Kate could easily do better there. Kyle as Rand Paul was funny being briefly confused with an audience member. The only other thing that really disappointed me was casting Jost as Kasich with no lines rather than placing Chris Parnell in this role. B+

Monologue - This was just okay. It felt more like unused Golden Globe banter than a true SNL monologue. For once, a music number was enjoyable here as much as they ran it into the ground. C+

Ghost of Hillary Past And Present – This sketch was an instant classic and with Tinas' Palin shoehorned in was just the icing on the cake. The ladies played very well off each other and almost every line was pure gold. I also liked the dance party at the end. A+

Meet Your Second Wife – This game show was one of their more ambitious and dark game show sketches in recent memory. Only Tina and Amy could make this premise work as well as it did. Taran, Kenan, and Bobby did great reacting in horror at being confronted with children and Vanessa, Aidy and Leslie did a great job at reacting with a mix of disgust and bewilderment. Kudos to Bobby as well for playing off the huge technical error at the beginning like a pro. B-

Hoverboard - This ad was very funny. The sheer unfiltered cheesiness of Kyle and Pete reacting to minor catastrophes really made this for me. B+

Movie Set - I can't believe they bought back that acting coach sketch from Chris Hemsworths' first episode (and only one week after he inexplicably hosted again) but this was another instance where Amy and Tina are the only people who could make this watchable. C-

Update is still going strong. Even if this was a little inconsistent, I loved the slams at the GOP candidates as well as Maher and O'Reilly. Jays Kwanzaa mini rant was the funniest part of Update. While I appreciate Jost going after Martin Shkreli, his jokes fell a little flat there. Kates' mom character seemed to be another derivative go-nowhere bit, but her and Josh managed to somewhat salvage it with their breaking. It was very gracious of them to let Tina and Amy read the last two Update jokes of 2015. They both reminded of what SNL fans actually LIKED about them as Update anchors. B-

Chad And Mrs. Douglas Show DVD - This sketch worked well live even if Mayas' bit got it off to an obnoxious start and needed some serious editing but Amy, Tina and especially Kenan really saved it. Kenan Cosby really cracked me up here as did Taran and Vanessa odd interactions. C+

Dope Squad - This short was also quite fun. It was a dead on Bad Blood parody (albeit months too late but still FAR better than the original). Schumers' cameo was funny even if it was a bit too long and Aidy played quite well off them. C+

Bronx Beat IX - It's quite odd seeing this as the very last sketch of the night, but Tinas' Philly accent automatically made this the best Bronx Beat ever. I cracked up at her describing the absurd violence going on in her city. B-

Now, for my update rankings for the season…

1. Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato

2. Elizabeth Banks/Disclosure with Lorde & Sam Smith

3. Tina Fey & Amy Poehler/Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

4. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges

5. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper

6. Donald Trump/Sia

7. Miley Cyrus

8. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

9. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

Well, that was a fine way to end a year and bring this season to an intermission. Next month, Adam Driver of “Girls” and just recently “Star Wars” fame makes his hosting debut. Well, if they had to get someone hot off the Star Wars promotion train I’d rather see them get Daisy Ridley or John Boyega. Still, I can’t say I know what to expect from him comedically so he could go either way as a host at this point. Can’t wait to see who they will have booked as the first musical guest of 2015! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!