Senator Barack Obama was scheduled to make a second cameo appearance in this episode. However, due to the results of Hurricane Ike, Obama pulled out. Chuck Norris was also scheduled to make a cameo appearance, but pulled out for the same reason
William Shatner, Michael Phelps' mother Debbie and Jared Fogle make cameo appearances.
Tina Fey appeared as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler appeared as Hillary Clinton in A Nonpartisan Message from Governor Sarah Palin & Senator Hillary Clinton.
This is the first HD episode of SNL to be shot for 4x3 "center-cut" broadcast, as opposed to the letterboxed 4x3 format the show used for its previous seasons in HD (though the rerun of this episode on October 11, 2008 had it shown in letterbox format on standard 4x3 televisions).
Lil Wayne performed "Got Money" and "Lollipop."
Bobby Moynihan's first episode as a cast member.
At the end of the episode, before the goodnights, a dedication screen was put up for producer/agent Bernie Brillstein (Brillstein helped in getting Saturday Night Live picked up as a TV series), who died a month before this episode aired.
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