Two things are clear in the wake of the Josh Brolin edition of Saturday Night Live, which featured the long-awaited appearance of the Republican candidate for vice president: the writing staff is not up to working at its current pace (five new shows in six weeks, in addition to the Thursday specials); and SNL has probably gone to the Sarah Palin well one too many times. Even Tina Fey, an Emmy-winning actress who nonetheless has found the role of a lifetime with her impression of the candidate, didn't really seem to be fully engaged in her fourth appearance as Palin--or perhaps she too is simply exhausted.

The show opener was a Palin news conference starring Fey, an ironic notion for a sketch given that the real Palin has yet to actually hold a news conference since attaining her new status. One of the questions referenced Palin's recent comment about enjoying her campaigning in parts of the country that were more "pro-American," a label that the New York audience no doubt realized did not include them. This may be why, when the show cut to a shot of executive producer Lorne Michaels and Palin watching the skit on a hall monitor, the crowd reaction was more subdued than it typically is for "surprise" cameos.

Palin told Michaels that the sketch was not "a realistic depiction of how my press conferences would have gone," the awkward phrasing an acknowledgment of her lack of availability. After Mark Wahlberg wandered by looking for Andy Samberg (who parodied him two weeks ago), Alec Baldwin sidled up and said "Hey Lorne, hey Tina," complaining to Michaels about how he could allow Fey to play someone as awful as Palin. Michaels then introduced him to the candidate. An embarrassed Baldwin told Palin "You ... are way hotter in person," while she responded that the born-again Stephen was her favorite Baldwin brother. For someone who has looked comfortable before the cameras during her debate and her convention speech and had a career in local news at one point, Palin seemed ill at ease, although this isn't unusual for a visitor to SNL.

The show wasn't finished with Palin, however. As "Weekend Update" wound down, she was introduced but immediately said that she had second thoughts about doing what they had rehearsed because it wouldn't help the campaign. So Amy Poehler took over, performing a raucous Palin rap complete with cameo appearances from a fake Todd Palin, male backup dancers in parkas, and a guy in a moose costume.

Poehler, much more animated than anyone who is nine months pregnant has any right to be, delivered lines like "All the plumbers in the house pull your pants up," "When I say Obama, you say Ayers!" and "McCain-Palin gonna put a nail in the coffin of the media elite." Palin grinned throughout and even threw her hands in the air like she just didn't care. Perhaps for the last time given her imminent departure from SNL, Poehler provided the unquestioned episode highlight.

The rest of the show, unfortunately, ranged from mediocre to stupefyingly awful, with the only real high points being musical guest Adele (who should receive a nice boost), Wahlberg eventually confronting Samberg with his anger about the "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" sketch before revealing just how accurate it was, and host Brolin displaying the physical tricks that make for a dead-on George W. Bush impersonation. The worst elements were the parts of Weekend Update that weren't rapped, a Kristen Wiig-as-Suze Orman sketch that featured some unpleasant lesbian jokes, and Brolin as a businessman obsessed with fall foliage.

Palin probably didn't hurt herself by appearing on the show; though she looked out of place and wasn't given anything funny to say, the huge audience will no doubt make up for it. As for SNL, the 90 minutes marked the end of an era, since three weeks from now Fey will be back at 30 Rock fulltime, while Palin will either have returned to the relative obscurity of Juneau, Alaska, or advanced to the even greater obscurity of the vice president's office.

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