Saturday Night Comatose

Apparently like most of America, I was suckered into watching Saturday Night Live for the much ballyhooed Sarah Palin appearance. It had been hyped (by just about everybody) for so long, perhaps my expectations were too high. For the record, I thought that, in both her bits, Governor Palin was gracious, a good sport, and looked like the only adult in the room. Everybody else looked like what they were – entertainers who weren’t that entertaining, more spoiled kids riffing on a throwaway joke as if it were the next “Who’s On First” routine. And I’m not just talking about the Palin sketches. I’m talking about the entire show. (You know the show’s a dog when the best – and most memorable – thing on it is the musical guest. Where are the Muppets when they need them?)

What struck me was how un-funny the show was, really from start to finish. YouTube is definitely the best way to catch SNL nowadays – you don’t have to sit through an hour and a half of dreck just to get to the few funny moments on the show. I’d put a link to the Palin bits here, but I found them so anemic, I figure, why bother? If you wanna see ’em, go to YouTube – they won’t be hard to find.

Palin came off savvy, too. I’m sure it was all part of the script, but she maintained her dignity (considering what Rudy G. has done in the past, no small feat, that), but still looked like she was willing to play along. That struck a nice balance, even though she was surrounded by liberal Democrats (Alex Baldwin? Wow…that’s like putting Leon Trotsky on the same bill as Maggie Thatcher.)

So, Palin passed her last test, and ran her last gauntlet before the election. Now we just have to hope that McCain and Palin can do more than narrow the gap, but truly turn this thing around in time. Maybe if they win, they can enact some sort of legislation that can remove the obligatory “must be liberal even if not funny” rule that seems to haunt the SNL writers’ room, and change not only the direction of the country, but the direction of what was once a pretty funny show.