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 ...
The reporter also fails to post the fact that Michael Phelps was advertised, non-stop, since the Olympics ended and he committed to doing SNL...
NBC is so far in the tank...it is comedic...
It was funny. One of the few things to be funny on SNL in years. Tina Fey did a great Palin. Gotta keep that sense of humour.
The show was really bad - I felt sorry for Michael Phelps. They made this great Olympic champion look like an idiot in really dumb (not funny) sketches.
I watched the clip.
In no way did they “skewer” Palin.
I found the “and I can see Russia from my house” line hillarious.
Yeh, ha ha...they have so much fun bashing the right...
And the sad thing is SNL is not even humorous any more.
I watched it and thought is was funny. Fey has Gov. Palin’s voice inflections and mannerisms down pat. They tried to make Gov. Palin look like a dumb airhead and Sen. Clinton look like a shrill shrew. But during the “news” segment of the show the Palin punches didn’t seem to get much response. You can definitely see who SNL is rooting against.
I think that they skewered Cankles pretty bad. The physical impersonation of Palin was good, but the words were what Kos readers think Palin sounds like, and were just more media misfires in the Palin War...
I agree it was funny. Hillary having a fit after acknowledging labels such as cankles and flurge was a riot. They put the rip in the Dem party front and centre. Tina let Sarah be a babe — and frankly I think global warming is G-d hugging us closer!
I agree. It was completely HILARIOUS and did not skewer Palin. The other funniest moment in that skit is when “Hillary” starts to laugh maniacally at the thought that she did not “want it” enough to win, and she pulls a chunk off the podium. Her comic timing is perfect.
Tina Fey should thank Sarah Palin for single-handedly reviving her career.
The skit was hilarious. It also skewered Clinton.
I saw it too, it was funny.
My point is the MSM will do anything to attack Palin...
ABC News is the default news source for KSFO here in the Bay Area...every story, EVERY ONE has an anti-Republican barb at the end of it.
They are merciless and completely wrong.
Can’t wait ‘til they skewer Barack and Michelle.
That line about “seeing Russia from my house”, I thought, demonstrated the “real-lifeness” of Palin vs the theoretical “experience” of Hillary.
I must be one of the few people who didn’t find it funny in the least. I was just another NBC hit piece on Palin in the form of comedy.
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