Tina Fey returns to ‘Saturday Night Live’ and reprises her Sarah Palin impression

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Tina Fey and her Palin impression return to ‘SNL’

NEW YORK — She’s back and wearing leather.

Tina Fey reprised her impression of Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live” while hosting the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday night. It was Fey’s first performance as the former Alaska governor since her iconic impressions during the 2008 presidential campaign when Palin was the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Fey appeared as Palin in a sketch introducing a mock “Sarah Palin Network,” satirizing Palin’s entry into media. Palin recently launched the program “Real American Stories” on Fox News Channel and will soon begin production on “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” an eight-part series for TLC.

Appearing as Palin in a leather jacket with an American flag pin, Fey introduced a lineup of shows like “Tea Party Wheel of Fortune” (the puzzle read “Obamar is a terrist”), “Are You Smarter than a Half-Term Governor?” and “30 Main Street,” a parody of her own “30 Rock.”

Other fake shows included “Hey Journalist, I Gotcha,” in which Palin re-edited interviews to make it look like her interviewers — like CBS’ Katie Couric — were “woefully unprepared.” Also touted was a spinoff starring husband Todd Palin (played on “SNL” by cast member Jason Sudeikis) as a renegade police officer transferred from Alaska to New York.

Fey made four appearances in 2008 as Palin, earning her an Emmy last year for guest actor. She was also voted 2008’s AP Entertainer of the Year. The 39-year-old comedian said the whole experience was “a little overwhelming,” but in a recent interview with The Associated Press, she said reprising Palin was “inevitable.”

Shortly before the 2008 election, Palin made a cameo appearance on “SNL” alongside Fey. Afterward, Palin said she had fun on the show and would do it again if asked. In her memoir, “Going Rogue,” Palin wrote that she grew up watching “SNL.”

Fey, who was a cast member and head writer on “SNL” before leaving to create “30 Rock” on NBC, had plenty of other fodder for her second stint hosting “SNL.”

She played a new gum-smacking blond analyst for CBS’ coverage of the Masters, claiming to be a former girlfriend of Tiger Woods.

Fey also appeared in a sketch with the show’s musical guest, the 16-year-old pop sensation Justin Bieber. Fey played a lonely teacher haunted by sexual fantasies of the young Bieber.