Saturday Night Live

Comedienne and actress Tina Fey on Tuesday thanked former Alaska governor Sarah Palin as she accepted this year's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

According to the Washington Post, she then mocked conservative women "first to nervous laughter and then to not much laughter at all":

A September 25 Quinnipiac poll found 57% of New Yorkers oppose building a mosque on the site where wreckage from the airliner piloted by Mohammed Atta crashed through the roof on 9/11, 2 blocks from the World Trade Center. Only 32% think the Muslim plan is ok.

The opinion of Americans nationwide is even more pronounced. Time magazine found they polled 61% against, 26% for.

In NY the political divide on this issue is great. While 90% of Republicans oppose the mosque, only 34% of Democrats support it, according to Quinnipiac.

And of course the Saturday Night Live team would reside in the Democrat camp. Hence their skit this past weekend attempting to pigeonhole those opposed to building a mosque so close to Ground Zero as social conservatives. Video after break....

Two weeks ago most Americans had never heard of Christine O'Donnell.

Now, she's the brunt of a vulgar joke on the opening sketch of "Saturday Night Live's" first show of the new season.

In it, the GOP nominee for Senate from the state of Delaware - played by Kristen Wiig - met with members of the Republican National Committee to decide a campaign strategy.

As they went over some of the skeletons in her closet, she informed them that she's reversed her position on masturbation.

"I will have you know that I masturbate constantly," said Wiig. "I masturbated this morning when I woke up, again in the shower, then while eating breakfast, and in the taxi on the way over here."

Wiig continued, "In a few minutes, I'm going to want to masturbate again" (video follows with commentary):

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" last evening mocked President Obama, healthcare reform, and the census while strangely adding what some could find a tad anti-Semitic.

Trying to explain why the census isn't "some Socialist plot to spy on the American people," Fred Armisen in what's becoming his signature role walked through the questions being asked of citizens this April.

Following some largely sophomoric and somewhat tasteless sexually oriented items, Armisen moved on to the topic of healthcare.

After that, he asked a question about Jews destined to raise a few eyebrows (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Tina Fey hosted NBC's "Saturday Night Live" last evening, and as expected, reprised her role as former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

Dressed in black leather, Fey began by going after Tea Party members referring to them as "protesters dressed like Paul Revere who are so overweight they picket from folding chairs."

Next, Fey introduced the "Sarah Palin Network," which will feature hit movies like, "My Daughter Only Sprained Her Ankle, You Can't Seriously Be Considering Euthanizing Her."

"But not all our programming is fear-based," she said before highlighting SPN's lineup of shows like "Tea Party Wheel of Fortune," "Are You Smarter than a Half-Term Governor?" and "Hey Journalist, I Gotcha," in which Palin re-edited interviews to make it look like her interviewers - Katie Couric for example - were "woefully unprepared" (video follows):

The "Saturday Night Live" team last evening mocked CNN and many of its most prominent personalities, in particular, Wolf Blitzer.

"Such an exciting name for such a boring man," said actor Jason Sudeikis in a marvelous Blitzer costume.

CNN personalities weren't the only target, for the sketch also lampooned the network's use of citizen journalists via the Internet and cell phone videos.

"Once again, CNN asks, are you there?" said Sudeikis. "Are you on the scene?" 

"Then send us your updates and send us your photos," he continued. "In other words, do our job for us" video embedded below the fold with transcript, h/t Story Balloon):

"Saturday Night Live" mocked the entire Democrat establishment last evening taking on President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and healthcare reform.

Fred Armisen playing Obama in a mock address to the American Nursing Association continually referred to healthcare legislation currently before Congress as "surprisingly unpopular."

"Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid have assured me that unpopular though it may be, in the days ahead this bill will be passed by both the House and Senate and sent to my desk for signature," assured Armisen.

"Finally, after decades of effort, we will have real healthcare reform even though, as I have said, it may not be popular. Or viewed favorably by Americans. Or what the people want us to do" (video embedded below the fold with transcript, h/t Story Balloon):

In potentially a new broadcast television low, "Saturday Night Live's" Andy Samberg, playing White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, went into an f-bomb laden attack on former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin last night.

In what was sarcastically billed as "an even-tempered apology" by Emanuel for his highly-publicized comments concerning some liberal Democrats being "retards," Samberg began by going after these "stupid f**king babies who can't keep their mouths shut."

But the real venom was saved for Palin who Samberg referred to as a "f**king harpy" and a "half a f**king politician."

Samberg concluded by threatening the former governor Facebook style, "Poke me again, and I will write s**t on your wall so obscene your computer will cry" (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, vulgarity alert): 

Last evening, NBC's "Saturday Night Live" marvelously mocked President Obama's recent State of the Union address.

In the opening sketch, Fred Armisen as Obama began by talking about last Tuesday's surprising victory in the Massachusetts special senatorial election.

"Our nominee Martha Coakley was the single most incompetent candidate ever to seek public office in this nation's history," said Armisen to thunderous applause.

"Martha Coakley, you are a disgrace," he continued. "You couldn't beat Dick Cheney for mayor of Berkeley" (video embedded below the fold):

Having been regularly lampooned by the folks at "Saturday Night Live," Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin now want to co-host the weekly comedy program.

On Wednesday's installment of "Glenn Beck," the host pitched the idea: "It will be a very highly rated show I'm guessing. We'll make fun of us and give you guys the time off, where you don't have to make fun of us and we'll co-host the show."

Moments later, Beck asked the former Alaska Governor if being mocked by Tina Fey bothered her.

Palin responded, "Well, the only scary thing about all that is that people did start mixing that parody with those things that I actually have said in interviews and some of the reality started kind of atrophying into whatever she was saying. So that was the scary thing that some people weren't intelligent enough to know what the difference was" (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript):

"Saturday Night Live" opened yesterday's show by mocking media for supposedly under-reporting the extra-marital affairs of three politicians, but the sketch completely ignored how the press boycotted the philandering of Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards for nine months.

The program's producers also opted not to include disgraced former Democrat Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer in the group.

Instead, on stage were Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), played by Jason Sudeikis, Sen John Ensign (R-Nev.), played by Bill Hader, and former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), played by Will Forte.

Despite the absurdity of suggesting that Ensign and Sanford's respective affairs were under-reported by the press, "SNL" writers completely avoided the fact that the news media, with the exception of the National Enquirer, boycotted Edwards' affair until after Barack Obama had been declared the Democratic presidential nominee (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, h/t Story Balloon):

"Saturday Night Live" and NBC are being criticized for a recent skit that poked fun at Tiger Woods' highly-publicized marital problems.

In the sketch, Woods, played by Keenan Thompson, continues to get further beaten up by wife Elin, played by guest host Blake Lively, resulting in more and more injuries in subsequent press conferences.

With singer Rihanna -- a victim of domestic violence by former boyfriend Chris Brown -- also on the program, the politically correct crowd is in a tizzy.

This may not be as bad as CNN fact-checking a previous "SNL" skit, but what Access Hollywood reported Sunday seems awfully thin-skinned (video of skit embedded below the fold):

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" offered viewers a parody movie trailer of the disaster film "2012" Saturday evening.

The premise: former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Fox News host Glenn Beck have been elected President and Vice President, and the world is coming to an end as a result.

In an apparent attempt at fairness and balance -- or maybe the real point! -- the "credits" jokingly showed the film was created by the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and authored by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann - "A Political Disaster of Epic Proportions."

"On Election Day 2012, Planet Earth is Going Rogue" (video embedded below the fold, h/t our old friend Ms Underestimated):

NBC's "Saturday Night Live" really went after President Obama in its opening sketch Saturday evening.

Not only that, his policies involving economic stimulus, healthcare reform, and Cash for Clunkers were also exposed as having absolutely no positive or future impact on unemployment.

The setup was Obama, played by Fred Armisen, doing a press conference with Chinese President Hu Jintao, played by Bill Hader.

As Jintao, through interpreter played by Nasim Pedrad, realized how much money the United States owes China, he questioned how we were going to pay them back if Obama's policies "to save money involve spending even more money."

Realizing he's being lied to, Jintao asked Obama to kiss him - "I like to be kissed when someone is doing sex to me!" (video embedded below the fold courtesy Story Balloon):

Some vindication for Sarah Palin in the midst of non-stop media hostility. On Monday night's Late Show with David Letterman, guest Seth Myers, the head writer for Saturday Night Live who also anchors the comedy show's 'Weekend Update' fake newscast, noted how in her new book she asserts that during her guest appearance on the NBC show, just before the election, “that we had taken her mantra, 'drill baby drill,' and tried to make a rude double-entendre about it.”

Myers offered his verdict on the allegation, quipping: “I just want to come here tonight on the record and say that's one hundred percent true.” He recited the original proposed line for a rap: “When we're in Wassila it's chill baby chilla; In the bedroom with Todd it's drill baby drilla.”

Audio: MP3 clip

Fox News' Glenn Beck isn't catching a break anywhere - from "Saturday Night Live," The New Yorker, Al Gore's Current TV and Comedy Central's "South Park." They have all taken shots at the popular TV host.

On his Nov. 16 program, Beck responded to the "South Park" interpretation of him - that he wasn't making accusations, but phrasing them in the form of a question. The show's character Eric Cartman played a spoof of Beck in which he railed against his school's president, Wendy Testaburger. Beck maintained he wasn't making the "accusations" in the form of a question - but playing the words of the "accused" themselves.

"Have we gotten to a place you can't ask questions?" Beck asked. "What were my crazy accusations or questions? Well, the accusation was that Van Jones was a communist revolutionary," Beck said. "I didn't describe him that way. In his own words he described himself that way. He was a 9/11 Truther. He was forced to step down. Was it that the administration was using NEA as a propaganda arm for the administration? That was a question. We played tapes of the call with Yosi Sargent and Yosi Sargent had to step down."

In its opening sketch last night, NBC's "Saturday Night Live" mocked Vice President Joe Biden and healthcare reform.

With the President out of the country for a week, Biden, played by Jason Sudeikis, has picked the lock on the Oval Office in order to get something big done while Obama is gone.

He opted not to solve what's going on in Afghanistan because it's "a mess - it can't be fixed...It's worse than Scranton."

As for fixing the economy, "We already did it...The stimulus is working."

With that in mind, Biden opted to reform healthcare by "[caving] in like crazy!...The President wants to pass a healthcare bill so bad that he will literally sign anything" (video embedded below the fold, h/t Story Balloon): 

"Saturday Night Live" in its recent installment took shots at the Fox News Channel for what it saw as an amazingly one-sided, anti-Obama take on Tuesday's election results.

The skit began with an off-screen announcer declaring, "You're watching Fox News, continuous coverage of the 2009 election -- end of an era."

On screen at that moment was a picture of President Obama above a graphic which read, "End Of An Era."

Actress Kristin Wiig, doing a marvelous impersonation of Greta Van Susteren, then hosted a discussion on the election results which included one-sided opinions from actors impersonating Glenn Beck, Brit Hume, Karl Rove, Shepard Smith, Joe Trippi, and Juan Williams.

The group was ecstatic over what happened in New Jersey and Virginia, but chose not to discuss Democrat Bill Owens victory in New York's 23rd Congressional district (video embedded below the fold h/t Story Balloon):

Where is Tina Fey now that we need her?

Martha Coakley is the front-runner for the Dem nomination for Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat.  In a recent debate, asked about her lack of foreign policy experience, the first credential Coakley offered in response was that "I have a sister who lives overseas, and she's been in England and now lives in the Middle East."

This ought to get the folks at the left-wing noise machine all wound up.

Fox News host Glenn Beck on his Oct. 14 show, after being a regular recipient of MSNBC host Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons in the World" on his "Countdown" program, decided to have a little fun by mocking Olbermann and his MSNBC colleague Chris Matthews.

Beck mocked Olbermann's "Shakespearean" performance he puts on nightly on his "Countdown" program and also mocked Chris Matthews for his February 2008 "Obama gave me a thrill up my leg" comments.

"Now, the President has an entire network devoted to singing his praises," Beck said. "There is a guy at night I love, he's like Shakespearean, he is waxing poetic about his oratory skills, writing soliloquies - got another one I must say about the greatness of Obama's speaking ability. And then another guy is like, ‘I got a thrill is going up my leg' when they just hear him speak. It is incredible."

On September 25, NewsBusters asked, "Will SNL take off the gloves and set its sights on the suddenly stumbling, bumbling President?"

On October 3, we got our answer, for on the most recent installment of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," the opening sketch absolutely skewered Barack Obama for having accomplished absolutely nothing since Inauguration Day.

In fact, according to actor Fred Armisen portraying Obama, his two biggest achievements thus far are "JACK and SQUAT!" (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, h/t Story Balloon):

On Thursday, NBC's "Saturday Night Live" spin-off "Weekend Update Thursday" mocked President Obama as being willing to discuss healthcare reform on virtually any cable channel that will have him -- except, of course, Fox News.

Although the opening skit did poke fun at FNC's Glenn Beck, the real joke was that the President, having just done Sunday interviews on ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Univision, wanted to "get the healthcare message out to as wide an audience as possible. I don't want to shut anyone out of this debate."

After that statement, Fred Armisen playing Obama sat down with representatives from ESPN, Bravo, MTV, The Food Network, and even a teenage vampire from The CW, but continually said "No" to meeting with anyone from Fox News (video embedded below the fold):

Stop the presses! 

A member of the mainstream media actually said something nice about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

I kid you not: "Saturday Night Live" senior producer Marci Klein said during an interview last week, "This is the most confident person I've ever met."

Certainly not the impression created by CBS's Katie Couric or ABC's Charlie Gibson, wouldn't you agree?

Appearing on Julie Menin's "Give and Take," Klein had absolutely nothing but nice things to say about the press's current public enemy #1 (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, relevant section at 2:25):

Chris Matthews, on Monday's "Hardball," showcased "Saturday Night Live" skewering Joe Biden but he conspicuously ignored the "Weekend Update" clip, from the same show, making fun of his fondness for Obama in which he was depicted as daydreaming about Obama in a "loin cloth." The MRC's Brent Baker caught the clip from this past Saturday's show making fun of Matthews. However Matthews -- who in the past has enjoyed SNL's Darrell Hammond's impersonations of him so much that he invited the impressionist on his MSNBC show -- ignored the most recent quip made at his expense.

The following moment was aired during the "Sideshow" segment on the April 13 edition of "Hardball":

MSNBC's Chris Matthews, infamous for getting a “thrill” up his leg while drinking in a speech by Barack Obama and his ongoing adoration for the President (“He is the new us!”), became the punch line of a joke on NBC's own Saturday Night Live.

During the Weekend Update segment on the April 11 show, SNL's news anchor, Seth Myers, delivered this “news” item, illustrated by a creative matching graphic:

A new comic is being published this summer called 'Barack the Barbarian' which features the President in a loin cloth. Also featuring the President in a loin cloth: Chris Matthews' daydreams.

Not that much of a stretch. Or maybe no stretch at all.

"Saturday Night Live" has always made politicians’ policies and missteps the butt of jokes, but the popular NBC show stooped too far on Dec.13, when it made fun of a governor’s disability.

On Saturday, Seth Meyers’ “Weekend Update” bit featured a sketch with Fred Armisen playing New York’s Democratic Governor David Paterson. Armisen played the role of the mostly blind Paterson with one eye half closed, and was shown needing help finding the desk right in front of him.

Update 11-25 8:20 AM: Morning Joe Makes SNL References -- see discussion at foot.

Call it "The Wild 'n Crazy Guy–Billionaire Style."  Maria Bartiromo's interview of Saudi Prince Alwaleed, the largest shareholder of Citigroup, is literally a Saturday Night Live skit waiting—begging—to happen.

CNBC's Bartiromo conducted the interview by remote this afternoon. When the camera went to the prince in Riyadh, you might have expected to find him in a TV studio, or perhaps in his business office, maybe even in one of his palace rooms.  But no, there he was sitting outdoors, apparently by his stables, with seated camels and sleek horses very visible in the background.   And rather than being attired in business or traditional Saudi dress, the Prince was duded up with an open collar, tinted glasses and a scarf warding off the desert's cool night air.  He could be seen occasionally fingering what appeared to be golden worry beads.

View video here.

"Saturday Night Live" absolutely skewered MSNBC's Keith Olbermann last night accurately depicting the "Countdown" host as a pompous, dishonest buffoon who regularly takes things completely out of context, or just plain makes things up, in order to lambast Republicans.

Frankly, it was shocking to see an NBC program so aggressively attack a fellow employee, and to watch the excessively liberal actor Ben Affleck, playing the part of Olbermann, participate in the skit.

This must-see video is embedded below the fold with a rough transcript:

McCain returned to offer some new, last-minute campaign strategies on "Weekend Update" (video embedded below the fold):

Busybody Keith Olbermann couldn't wait to see how Saturday Night Live was going to portray him. So, says Politico.com's Michael Calderone, he apparently breached the show's (I thought) tight security to find out.

And of course, when contacted, the MSNBC host took yet another cheap shot at his personal obsession, Sarah Palin. It was just a few weeks ago on NBC's Sunday Night Football that Olbermann made a Palin Derangement Syndrome-betraying allusion when describing the mental condition of a just-injured NFL quarterback.

Here is most of Calderone's brief item: