Sarah Palin Rocks SNL – The Irony - Palin pushes rankings highest since 2002

Sarah Palin has given a big boost to NBC’s Saturday Night Live, which has enjoyed consistently high rankings since Tina Fey found she resembled her enough to parody the Governor in a series of skits beginning with the season opener. The episode last night, where Palin appeared on SNL (videos below), was billed as a must watch, and the Neilson rankings are sure to come up with some startling numbers. Watching NBC local news prior to the 11:30 PM start, three male reporters (news, weather, sports), were plugging the Governor’s appearance urging their viewers to be sure to watch. It was, in a word, hysterical – both the pre-show plugs and the performance by Palin. NBC must now consider the consequences of enjoying an audience that makes up the entire country, rather than continuing to pursue a bias that insures they will garner at least a part of the 30% of the country which considers itself liberal. As an independent leaning conservative watching the program last evening, the majority of the skits were boring, and boorish – from the MacGruber stunts to the ridiculously dull “Engagement Surprise” skit, the only highlights were the Palin stunts, as well as a the appearance of Walhberg, although a bit slow - definitely not up to the heyday SNL performances of the the 1970’s or the 1980’s. It is not that the humor hinges on stupid, or slapstick or schlock, as that type of humor finds appeal across a broad range of demographics – it is that most of the skits are humorless and painful to watch. Perhaps one has to be a bit less critical, however, put the political humor aside, and the balance of the skits are lacking. It is more entertaining to watch MSNBC, and that is telling. Surely, as GM stocks tank, perhaps the board should consider a new direction for their news and information outlets – taking a clue from SNL – it’s good to have an audience, a big audience.