October 24, 2008
What Lorne Michaels wants, Lorne Michaels gets. Saturday Night Live is an exhausting show to produce, and never in its three-decades-plus history has a cast had to work as hard as the current one has this month. Never, not even close. Putting on a weekly 90-minute sketch comedy show is hard enough. Adding an extra half-hour each week is even more taxing, but when you add in the extra pressure of extreme media scrutiny and the expectation of constant hilarity, the work that this Saturday Night Live cast has done is astonishing. The fact that Tina Fey, who already works extremely hard on her own show 30 Rock (which she stars in and is the head writer for), has now portrayed Sarah Palin on four separate occasions, you know that Lorne Michaels has some pull. Fey does owe Lorne a lot – he made her SNL's first ever female head writer, and brought 30 Rock to the air. Still – SNL is squeezing every last bit of juice from the Sarah Palin phenomenon that they can. And, what can I say? It's been a lot of fun.
October 22, 2008
Now that Sarah Palin has made her buzz-worthy appearance on Saturday Night Live, it's time for the next rumor to come along. Saturday Night Live has always been a desired destination for political candidates, especially during the stretch run f the election season. Back in 2000, both Al Gore and George W. Bush made cameos on the last SNL episode before the election. Lorne Michaels recently stated that he expects all of the candidates to make an appearance before polls open. The rumors permeating some political blogs these days is the Democratic candidate Barack Obama will make an appearance on the final Saturday Night Live before the election on Saturday, November 1, in an episode hosted by well-known Democrat Ben Affleck. Are there any truth to these rumors?
October 20, 2008
Sarah Palin finally appeared on Saturday Night Live a couple nights ago. Not only did she make a cameo in the Cold Open, she returned later on during Weekend Update. The results were mixed. Palin herself wasn't given much responsibility. She read a few lines, didn't have to say anything funny. The professionals took care of that. The episode itself was pretty middle of the road for Saturday Night Live; some laughs, some flops, easily DVR-able. But, the Palin stuff is what we're supposed to talk about, so let's. Isn't it funny that we more or less force our political figures to be in attendance when we make fun of them? Sarah Palin, a serious candidate for public office, was lambasted to her face on Saturday by professional satirists. She took it like a champ, I suppose, but I can't imagine it was much fun, no matter how often Palin was assured that the whole venture was harmless.
October 19, 2008
Saturday Night Live has always been a hot-bed for politics. In the last year, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have all appeared on the show, and last night, all eyes turned to SNL when vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin made not one, but two cameo appearances. Viewers have fallen in love with Tina Fey's impression of Palin, and the governor had one of two choices: ignore it, or get in on the joke.
Without a doubt, Palin was in on the joke. In her first appearance on the show, she was hilarious mistaken for Fey by 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin, who proceeded to read off a list of reasons he was offended that the real Palin was allowed to be on the show. Upon learning he was actually talking to the real Palin, he said she's a lot hotter in person. To her credit, Palin got in a good jab, naming born again minister Stephen as her favorite Baldwin.
October 17, 2008
The rumors can end now. Sarah Palin, the real one, will be appearing on Saturday Night Live. This piece of news was broken, interestingly enough, by Senator John McCain during his contentious interview held last night with David Letterman. Palin's spokesperson later confirmed that the Alaska Governor will appear on Saturday Night Live this Saturday, but offered no details about the appearance. Also unknown is whether or not Tina Fey will appear alongside Palin as Palin, or whether Tina Fey will be on the show at all. Regardless, the rumors can be put to rest. Sara Palin, the real one, will be on Saturday Night Live this weekend.
October 15, 2008
The Saturday Night Live machine is taking full advantage of this contentious election season, airing an ungodly amount of new episodes since premiering its 34th season in the middle of September. Over the next two weeks, NBC will air two new proper Saturday Night Live episodes, plus two additional prime time Weekend Update specials each of the next two Thursdays. Tina Fey's portrayal of Alaska governor Sarah Palin has shepherded in SNL's rediscovered cultural significance, though the sketch show has always done well during politically trenchant times. This is not a surprise – in the midst of serious and often ugly political discourse, the common man and woman needs a release valve. We all need to laugh in the face of politics and Saturday Night Live has provided quality escapist fare in a time of need.
October 15, 2008
Most Saturday Night Live stars get famous while they're still cast members. An SNL character will catch on and in a flash. People will start watching and rewatching clips of their favorite sketches online. With Tina Fey, the irony is that, now that she is no longer on Saturday Night Live, she's more popular on the show than ever.
Thanks to her amazing Sarah Palin impression, SNL fans are obsessed with clips of Tina Fey's brilliant impersonation, from the season premiere skit with Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton to the Vice Presidential debate to the Katie Couric interview, Tina Fey is having her best year ever on Saturday Night Live.
October 13, 2008
Saturday Night Live, as the series is wont to do, finds itself in a renaissance. Ratings are through the roof and the sketch comedy series has become appointment viewing in the midst of this election season. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin has been an absolute gift from god for Saturday Night Live, sparking water-cooler debate across the country. Saturday Night Live has pounced on the increased media exposure, airing four consecutive episodes to begin the season for the first time ever. In addition, NBC has given SNL a prime-time slot this month, beginning with last week's Thursday at 930pm live Weekend Update special. SNL will put on two more special Thursday episodes in the same time slot over the next two weeks. In addition, Saturday Night Live has announced plans to launch its very own video site, featuring sketches from throughout Saturday Night Live's decades long history, and previously unseen skits that were cut after dress rehearsal, among other content.