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Ever since Saturday Night Live returned in February, it's been hard to tell which candidate they're favoring. Lorne Michaels is putting his money on McCain (saying he has a "real affection" for him), but the show's spotlight is on Clinton and Obama (the former having appeared herself).
Now the NY Times is taking a look at their Hillary favoritism, something they've been accused of having. Michaels isn't hearing it, though, saying:
"Why is it ok for Oprah to repeatedly endorse Obama on her show and at rallies, but it is an 'obamination' for Tina Fey to endorse Hillary in a short fake news brief?"Jim Downey, the writer responsible for the political sketches, says he's just trying to make them funny. However, the bland light Barack is portrayed doesn't feel accurate, especially to critics of the show who aren't buying the spin. Many think the bits have revived Hillary's campaign (the "SNL Effect") and generated more critical coverage of Barack.“I’m in show business and I never, ever forget that. We put on a comedy show.”
“I’m sensitive to the suggestion that we’re in the service of Hillary Clinton this year,” he said. “That obviously is not the case. We don’t lay down for anybody.”
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“I’m in show business and I never, ever forget that. We put on a comedy show.”
- this show isn't funny enough to cop that plea
Um, Oprah is a talk show and SNL is supposed to be sketch comedy. I don't watch sketch comedy to hear Tina Fey stump for Hillary.
I'm surprised that Fey did her spiel on how smart she is. If she's so smart why did she vote for Iraq, the Patriot Act and its reautho, FISA, and is beating the drum for war with Iran, Tina?
Point of clarification: Obama has also made an SNL appearance. In any regard, quit whining.
If people are voting based on SNL characterizations, we're in worse shape than I thought.
Tina Fey is on my mega shitlist.
Bye 30 rock.
American voters are generally morons, who listen to their Oprahs and Tina Feys because they are also too lazy to dig deeper into the issues and rely on soundbites. I see no problem with Fey endorsing Clinton, considering that the big "O" is running around campaigning for Obama. He's is just a big fluff with charisma, IMO.
I love 30 Rock, so glad it's back.
I don't really have feelings on this issue since I haven't been watching SNL, but it's okay for Oprah because she has specifically said that she is endorsing him. Either way, it's perfectly fine because political satire is protected by our first amendment.
Get a grip people is a freakin tv show
If a candidate says something on Saturday Night Live, does anybody hear?
...but the show's spotlight is on Clinton and Obama (the former having appeared herself).
don't forget obama appeared too. http://youtube.com/watch?v=fRFns9l44WM
"...generated more critical coverage of Barack"
There is coverage critical of Obama? Where? All I see and here all day long in NYC and online is "Hilary is the devil, Obama is Jesus."
Why is this show culturally relevant? I think the writers for this site are probably 60% of the total viewing audience.
it's ok if oprah endorses someone because unlike SNL, she isn't being dishonest about it. the "sketch" with obama calling hillary for advice was just another way to call him inexperienced, it was a long commercial for her.
the commenters here may be too cool to watch snl but that doesn't change the fact that the media has in fact changed the way it deals with these two since it came back on the air.
Honestly, even if SNL is biased, WHO CARES? Are we really at the point that we are going to get a stick in our craw that a political satire . . . *gasp* . . . might have a bias?
"it's ok if oprah endorses someone because unlike SNL, she isn't being dishonest about it. the "sketch" with obama calling hillary for advice was just another way to call him inexperienced, it was a long commercial for her."
Why in the world is it dishonest to satirize something that is part of a candidate's public oeuvre? COMEDY EXAGGERATES PERCEPTIONS FOR HUMOROUS EFFECT. Whether or not Obama is actually inexperienced is not the point. The point is that his inexperience is something that HAS been discussed publicly and so therefore that is ripe for exaggeration.
When SNL portrayed Bush Sr. as a bumbling nerd, they didn't endorse the view that he was actually a bumbling nerd, just that this was part of the many things that make up the discussion of "Bush" in the general public.
When SNL portrayed Bill Clinton as a lascivious womanizer, they didn't mean to endorse the view that he actually was an uncontrollable horndog, just that this was part of the many things that makes up the discussion of "Clinton" in the general public.
It really amazes me how sensitive people get about things. If you don't always portray something in a 100% positive light, you are "biased." Nonsense.
I do feel as though the SNL sketches have been helping Hillary, but it seems as though the biggest problem is that these sketches have been sloppy. The first debate sketch had a very distinct point of view, but the second was all over the place, and lazily trying to ape the success of the sketch from the week before. As for the 3am ad parody, that was all over the place too--the guy who wrote it, James Downey, was trying to say that it was an ad making fun of Hillary's exaggeration of Barack, but the sketch barely came across that way. I think SNL's political problem is that IT DOESN'T have a point of view, not that it's supporting one candidate or another. These sketches meander from one political view point to another, lightly making fun of this or that without any real kick to any of it. A good political sketch should be like a good political cartoon--incisive and hardhitting. I don't care if I don't agree with the writer's opinion as long as the sketch has something to say.
Jerk Store,
I'm with you. It's possible that they have a bias, but I don't really care. I'll still watch SNL. I already now who I'm voting for and my decision is based in reality, not based on a comedy skit.
If they could just be funnier I'd appreciate that.
Obama '08
I find SNL's political skits to be quite good.
I thought the 3 a.m. ad spoof was funny because it was ridiculous to the extreme. I doubt Obama will call Hillary for ANY reason if he is Pres. nevermind during a 3 a.m. crisis.
The SNL Bill Clinton was dead on. The late Phil Hartman did a skit as WJC at McDonald's that was superior.
If SNL is a powerful-enough agent to renew Clinton's campaign than we are all fucked no matter who performs the daily sit-n-spin in the Oval Office.
SNL is so not funny since a long time ago. *Yawn*
SNL didn't renew Clinton's campaign at all. Did you guys see Pelosi's comments about the Dream Ticket and Hillary using superdelegates to overtake Obama? It's over for her.
SNL is great on politics.
I like Tina Fey, but I don't give a rat's ass who she endorses. And what's with the comparison? She is NOT exactly an Oprah!
As I said elsewhere, it seems to me that SNL isn't spoofing Obama or Hillary so much as that they are spoofing the news media's coverage of the two.