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'SNL' skewers Palin, Clinton and receives huge ratings (MSM WaPo Barf w/chunks alert)
San Jose Mercury News/Washington Post ^ | 9-14-08 | Tom Shales

Posted on 09/15/2008 10:53:37 AM PDT by wac3rd

The quality of "Saturday Night Live" season premieres is almost always on the shaky side, and the 34th season debut was no exception. It took off, however, like a skyrocket.

Saturday's "cold open" sketch — a "Nonpartisan Message From Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton" — rose to the occasion and then kept rising, right into the stratosphere. Former writer and cast member Tina Fey, making a brief return to the show, played the Republican vice presidential candidate, with pregnant cast member Amy Poehler doing her surefire, time-tested Clinton beside her. In the parlance of the show, they "killed."

With CNN reporting Fey's return as national news Friday, the tremendous buzz was reflected in the ratings. Early overnight figures showed the "Saturday Night Live" season premiere earned a 7.4 rating and 18 percent share of viewers watching at that hour — the highest for a season premiere since 2001, and the highest for any "SNL" telecast since Dec. 14, 2002, when Al Gore was host. The numbers were up 64 percent over last season's premiere, according to Nielsen data.

The sketch was written by "Update" co-anchor Seth Meyers with assists from Fey and Poehler, and every punch line got roars from the 400 audience members.

Poehler as Clinton: "I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy."

Fey as Palin: "And I can see Russia from my house!"

Poehler: "I believe global warming

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: clinton; hillary; liberalmedia; mccainpalin; obama; palin; rerun; snl
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To: wac3rd

I must be one of the few people who didn’t find it funny in the least. It was just another NBC hit piece on Palin in the form of comedy.


21 posted on 09/15/2008 11:13:26 AM PDT by jersey117
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To: popdonnelly

Don’t hold your breath. Some things are sacrosanct.


22 posted on 09/15/2008 11:14:47 AM PDT by swain_forkbeard (Rationality may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.)
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To: wac3rd

Just got to watch it this morning and thought it was hilarious. It was much more vicious to hillary than it was to Sarah.

And Sarah’s laughing response was awesome. She said she wore a Tina Fey costume for Halloween.

You go girl!


23 posted on 09/15/2008 11:14:53 AM PDT by Carley (she's all out of caribou.............)
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To: wac3rd

My bet is that ratings dropped after the first 10 minutes......skit was funny, but you can be sure Omama and wife won’t be touched!


24 posted on 09/15/2008 11:17:41 AM PDT by MadelineZapeezda ( MUST SEE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkgHkxIfgBc)
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To: swain_forkbeard
Tina Fey has a guaranteed opportunity to play this for years. This is probably one of the best spoof underplaying of the impersonation of a public figure we have seen since the guy that used to play John F. Kennedy (Vaughn Meader? I don't remember exactly).

I have not heard of him for years.

25 posted on 09/15/2008 11:18:01 AM PDT by alloysteel (Like they say, if you really can do it, it ain't bragging.)
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To: popdonnelly
'Can’t wait ‘til they skewer Barack and Michelle.'

Don't hold your breath, FRiend.

26 posted on 09/15/2008 11:18:37 AM PDT by T Lady (The Mainstream Media: Public Enemy #1)
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To: wac3rd; swain_forkbeard; jporcus

Tina and Amy were amusing. And Shatner who should have been used more. The rest of the show was pretty horrible. Writers on bad mushrooms again. Terrible music.


27 posted on 09/15/2008 11:19:55 AM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: popdonnelly

(....crickets.............)


28 posted on 09/15/2008 11:23:37 AM PDT by wac3rd (The MSM will accompany the Captain of the SS Marxist Titanic to the bottom of Lake Michigan)
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To: All

Couldn’t have been worse than MadTV with Bobby Lee as McCain. Having ‘old’ Cindy and John facing the ‘hiphop’ Obama’s on Dancing with the Stars. The judges liked them both, so I didn’t really see the point of the skit, except John McCain is old and white and the Obamas are funky. I think that was the point? Meh.


29 posted on 09/15/2008 11:24:08 AM PDT by ReneeLynn
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To: wac3rd

I never watch SNL and my wife watches it even less than I do. Oddly enough we both watched the opening “message”. I found it funny and somewhat balanced in its skewering of both Palin and Clinton. But I got angry during the next skit about the home-schoolers vs. public-schoolers. It wasn’t just anti-home-schooler it was anti-God. Liberals are government worshiping, God-hating, do-gooders.


30 posted on 09/15/2008 11:27:03 AM PDT by DeltaZulu
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity

Shatner is ALWAYS funny. The inherent self-parody is irresistable. I stopped watching soon after the Shatner bit.


31 posted on 09/15/2008 11:28:38 AM PDT by swain_forkbeard (Rationality may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.)
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To: alloysteel

He’s been dead since 2004, but I guess it really all ended for him in November of ‘63.


32 posted on 09/15/2008 11:30:44 AM PDT by Mila
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To: popdonnelly
"Can’t wait ‘til they skewer Barack and Michelle."

Given the media's outright fear of being painted as racists, we both know that will NEVER happen.

NEVER.

33 posted on 09/15/2008 11:32:47 AM PDT by Prole (Please pray for the families of Chris and Channon. May God always watch over them.)
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To: MadelineZapeezda
SNL is a cut from the same cloth as that recent MTV music video award show.

Shameless attacks on Americans, and nothing but praise for democrats.

Both shows and the people involved are examples of how pathetic our media is.

34 posted on 09/15/2008 11:39:05 AM PDT by Prole (Please pray for the families of Chris and Channon. May God always watch over them.)
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To: brwnsuga

The show after the funny Fep/Palin sketch was absolute dreck.

The worst one was the Christian home-schooled kids, portrayed as ignorant fanatics.

Ed


35 posted on 09/15/2008 11:39:06 AM PDT by Sir_Ed
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To: Loyalist
To the second person today. Er.....No.
36 posted on 09/15/2008 11:44:56 AM PDT by Locomotive Breath
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To: Sir_Ed

Agree, in general that the rest of the show was unfunny. I’m thankful for my TIVO. In my house, SNL is otherwise known as Sunday morning dead. If a sketch doesn’t get a smile in the first 15 seconds it’s done. SNL generally takes about 15 minutes for me to watch.

The home-schooled kids were portrayed in a most unbelievable fashion so I don’t think anyone bought into that at all. The public school kids were portrayed as real real dim and refugees from the Leno segment “Jaywalking”. Which is pretty close to the truth.


37 posted on 09/15/2008 11:50:18 AM PDT by Locomotive Breath
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To: wac3rd

I cracked up when Amy Poehler (As Hillary) pulled a chunk of the podium off.....

I thought it was quite funny.


38 posted on 09/15/2008 12:20:22 PM PDT by mombyprofession
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To: Carley
I thought it was funny too! IMHO who was skewered was the MSM for "sexism" and The One for passing over Hillary.

And if I'm one of the Obamessiah's priests I really bothered by the fact that he's not enough of a factor in the public mind to have him in the skit.

39 posted on 09/15/2008 12:20:29 PM PDT by colorado tanker ("I just LOVE clinging to my guns and my religion!!!!" - Sarah Palin)
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To: alloysteel
Vaughn Meader?

Yup.

Mom and Dad have a copy of "The First Family" on 33-1/3 LP. Probably worth a buck or two, now.

40 posted on 09/15/2008 12:26:49 PM PDT by wbill
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