Dave on Demand: Pro-Hillary? Well, 'SNL' sure is pro-Poehler
The stupidest TV scandal of the week has been the accusation that Saturday Night Live is somehow pro-Clinton because since the show returned from the writers' strike, it has done Hillary sketches each week.
The stupidest TV scandal of the week has been the accusation that
Saturday Night Live
is somehow pro-Clinton because since the show returned from the writers' strike, it has done Hillary sketches each week.
This has everything to do with comedy and nothing to do with politics. SNL is quite happy with Amy Poehler's Hillary imitation, a bit they can milk for laughs. Fred Armisen's Barack Obama is lethally dull, and the show's John McCain is still nonexistent.
If they could think of a way to make fun of those other candidates, believe me, they'd be doing it.
"Idol" nonsense with Anderson and Kelly. Nothing against Regis Philbin, but I love it this time of year when Anderson Cooper subs for him on Live With Regis and Kelly, because then Cooper and Ripa can riff to their hearts' content on their mutual obsession: American Idol.
It's much better than the opening banter when Philbin is around. What used to be the most spirited part of the hour has become dull and self-serving.
What'd you do last night, Reege? Oh, I went with Joy to a charity event at the Waldorf. I wasn't going to talk about this, but . . . where is that picture? (Produces glossy 10-by-12 for the camera.)
See, there's me on the dais next to the Donald and his daughter. Boy, that Ivanka is turning into a swell young lady. And smart?
Let me tell you, Ripa, they had an auction to raise money for autistic giraffes. More than $72,000 in pledges. And who could resist? They're doing fantastic things for those animals.
But I digress. . . . When Cooper comes on, it's nothing but Idol. And these two are true students of the show, dissecting the judges, the contestants, the performances, the gossip, the subtle changes from week to week, like Simon's suddenly forgetting all the kids' names.
On Thursday, Ripa debuted a killer impersonation of Paula Abdul. The blank look, the halting diction, the mixed metaphors, the empty compliments, the wrist-locked clapping - it was perfect.
Life is funny, isn't it? If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be laughing at a Paula Abdul imitation in 2008, I would have had you committed.
A very senior class. I'm delighted at the prospect that Friday Night Lights may return to NBC for a third season. I still love the show, even though I saw more bad girls' volleyball this season than varsity gridiron action.
But FNL is now battling the Saved by the Bell Syndrome. The quandary: How deep into their 20s can a cast continue to play high school sophomores?
The loud sell. Have you ever noticed when you're watching TV that the volume for the commercials is markedly louder than it is for the shows?
I have hearing issues, residue of all those Led Zeppelin concerts in my misspent youth. So I keep the TV cranked fairly loud. When the ads hit, it's blaring. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Related by ratings. MTV just announced a new series, Rock the Cradle, in which the children of performers, the sons and daughters of Olivia Newton-John, Kenny Loggins, Eddie Money, Joe Walsh, Dee Snider, M.C. Hammer, Bobby Brown and others, will perform each week in an elimination contest in front of their parents and judges. It's like Celebrity Idol.
That's what I love about reality TV. From Keeping Up With the Kardashians to My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad to Rock the Cradle, it's keeping the American family together!
Ivanka, honey, you're fired.
