On 'SNL,' Fey as Palin, and Palin as Palin [View All]

[Hissyspit]

Source: New York Times

On ‘SNL,’ Fey as Palin, and Palin as Palin

By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: October 19, 2008
Anyone tuning in to “Saturday Night Live” hoping to see side-by-side versions of Gov. Sarah Palin — the real thing and the Tina Fey version — would have been disappointed. But Ms. Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, did appear on the show Saturday, wearing a bright red suit and her trademark glasses for the opening sketch. She left most of the comedic heavy lifting to Ms. Fey, who played Ms. Palin giving her first news conference as the nominee for vice president. Lorne Michaels, the longtime executive producer of the show, and the actors Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin also appeared in the sketch.

Ms. Palin stood next to Mr. Michaels as they watched the news conference, with Ms. Fey at the lectern playing Ms. Palin, from a television backstage. “Why couldn’t we have done the ‘30 Rock’ sketch that I wrote?” asked Ms. Palin, her left hand planted impatiently on her hip, referring to Ms. Fey’s critically acclaimed but underwatched comedy series. "Honestly,” Mr. Michaels answered, “not enough people know that show.”

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In the sketch on Saturday, Ms. Fey, wearing the same red suit and half up-do as Ms. Palin, reprised her now-famous impersonation of the Alaska governor. Ms. Palin popped up again an hour into the show on the “Weekend Update” sketch, where she joined in a rap routine that made fun of Senator John McCain’s smile, and she cheerfully waved her arms in the air when the chant ordered “all the mavericks in the house” to raise their hands.

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The McCain campaign tightly limits Ms. Palin’s availability to the traveling press corps, but in rare forays to the back of her campaign plane in the last several weeks, she has told reporters that she “would love to” make a guest appearance on “SNL.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/us/politics/19snl.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin