Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels take over the world!

Tina Fey was all of 5 years old when "Saturday Night Live" premiered in 1975, but as we ride through 2008, both Tina and "SNL" are equally smoldering. Well, OK, maybe not equally. Fey is probably hotter right now than any comedy actress I can recall in the past 20 years. And that's with a TV comedy series ("30 Rock") that isn't even a bonafide hit yet as far as the ratings and a feature ("Baby Mama") that doesn't premiere until April 25. This is to take nothing away from such ladies of laughter as Ellen DeGeneres and Sarah Silverman, but they somewhat pale beside the imminent mainstream explosion that's about to greet Fey -- particularly if "Baby Mama" (which co-stars "SNL's" Amy Poehler) hits a home run, or even a ground-rule double.

There she is, looking like a '40s ingenue on the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly. She is neither beautiful nor unattractive but spectacularly all-American. Behind her mischievous eyes lurks a cool-as-a-cucumber smart-ass. We also know she's smart, a great writer who honed her chops in the weekly pressure-cooker that is "SNL." Her style is at once adorable and effortlessly charming. But here's the thing about Fey that really sets her apart: everyone seems to love and respect her. Good luck trying to find someone who thinks she's irritating or phony. She has managed to embody both likeability and a veneer of hip, which is no small feat.

If "Baby Mama" becomes a hit and Fey is able to carry a big-screen comedy to the bank, there will simply be no stopping her growing into comedy's Next Big Thing (if she hasn't already).

""Tina's the real thing," observes Lorne Michaels, the "SNL" creator/exec producer, "30 Rock" exec producer and "Baby Mama producer who has played an obvious key role in shepherding Fey to the comedy Promised Land. "We're hoping that 'Baby Mama' will have the same impact on Tina's career, and on '30 Rock,' that 'The 40-Year-old Virgin' had on fueling Steve Carell and 'The Office.' It's only a matter of time before Tina hits really big. And the same is true of '30 Rock,' I have to believe."

And why hasn't Fey's talent yet catapulted her to true mass popularity as of yet?

"America is a very big country," Michaels reasons. "You have to shout really loudly to get anyone's attention. We're also still in the cycle where comedy is a far tougher sell on television."

And yet even as comedy remains largely on the outside looking in as far as primetime is concerned, "Saturday Night Live" is arguably as relevant as ever in this election year -- a testament to Michaels' uncanny skill in keeping the show sufficiently fresh and edgy to persevere through fickleness and shifting tastes. It is now 33 years old, and counting -- and Michaels has been there to see it through nearly all of its up-and-down life while also using it as a launching pad to push forward the film careers of everyone from Chevy Chase to Eddie Murphy to Adam Sandler to Mike Myers to Will Ferrell and, now, Fey.

"We've been fortunate at 'SNL' to tap a new generation this year," Michael believes. "That's never a guarantee, and it's rarely an accident. It's my job as producer to make the show important and get people to pay attention, and I'm gratified that it has worked out."