SNL Image Boosted With Political Content
Posted by andrea78958 on October 25, 2008
Last week’s episode of Saturday Night Live was the highest-rated SNL since the spring of 1994.
The host wasn’t Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts, either, it was Josh Brolin, a lesser-known character actor. And to be honest, the regular cast wasn’t spectacular: since Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph left the show, “SNL” has been hit-or-miss with its casting, with a few reliably great players (Amy Poehler, Krsitin Wiig, Bill Hader), lots of interchangeable supporting actors, and one or two who just can’t seem to pull off more than a one-note joke.
And yet, in its 34th season, “Saturday Night Live” has somehow gotten cool again, and everybody’s talking. The reason is incredibly simple: it’s an election year. Beginning last season, when Amy Poehler’s Hillary Clinton ran amok and Daryl Hammond introduced his looney John McCain, “SNL” started to produce consistently relevant, hilarious material for the first time in ages. Add in a few non-political recurring characters like Kristin Wiig’s over-exaggerator Penelope and the “McGuyver” parody McGruber, and momentum started to build.
This momentum got some attention, and suddenly it became really cool to visit “Saturday Night Live.” This year Cameron Diaz, Queen Latifah, Demi Moore, and iconic “SNL” veteran Bill Murray have all appeared on the show without actually hosting, not to mention presidential candidate Barack Obama.
In the last few weeks alone, the most exciting special guest in years has actually turned out to be former “Saturday Night Live” head writer Tina Fey, doing a shockingly spot-on impression of Governor Sarah Palin.
Every time she appears, executive producer Lorne Michaels (who by now must spend his spare time sitting on a throne made of $1,000 bills) gets just a little bit richer, and SNL’s buzz gets a little bit louder.
Election years have always been good to this show, but for the first time in American history, we also have sites like YouTube ensuring that even the earliest risers never have to miss a single skit, and more media-savvy candidates who actually don’t mind having a little fun poked at them.
Last Saturday, in fact, Governor Sarah Palin herself showed up on SNL, where she didn’t do too much except show she’s a good sport (and get in a nice dig at special guest Alec Baldwin — when he “mistakes” her for the actual Tina Fey, Palin coolly points out that William was always her favorite Baldwin).
As the election gets closer and closer, SNL has taken on the ultimate snowball effect: after all, everybody loves a good sport. The presidential candidates like to visit because it increases their profile and shows off a sense of humor.
Guest actors like Baldwin (and, hilariously, Mark Wahlberg) like to cameo because it they gain a positive good-natured reputation and lets them plug their own projects (yes, “Max Payne” and “30 Rock” both got a mention), and in return, the writers have more to work with, more viewers are tuning in, and the excitement and fun just build and build. That’s how episodes like Saturday’s end up being the highest rated in almost 15 years.
read more here:
www.chippewa.com/articles/2008/10/24/entertainment/doc490213d35ad35305015263.txt
