Dana Edelson/NBCThe John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket would love to have Saturday Night Live's poll numbers.
Last weekend's show, featuring yet another Tina Fey take on Palin, scored yet another big overnight rating, NBC said. Through the first four weeks of its season, SNL is up nearly 50 percent versus last fall.
Coincidentally, Fey, as the winking, flute-playing, media-bashing Alaskan governor, has appeared on three of those first four shows.
Sorry, make that not coincidentally.
"I only turn it on right now to watch that," says Politics1 website founder Ron Gunzburger.
There is no question what that is.
On NBC.com, the three most-popular SNL clips were, as of today:
- Fey's Palin delivers a message with Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton, as originally aired on the Sept. 13 season premiere (6.4 million views)
- Fey's Palin blathers on with Poehler's Katie Couric (4 million views), as aired Sept. 27
- Fey's Palin "debates" Jason Sudeikis' Joe Biden (2.5 million views), as aired last Saturday
"It's relevant, and it's being well written," says Gunzburger. "This one's just hitting the mark in part because she's [Fey's] dead-on. No one thought Chevy Chase looked or sounded like Gerald Ford."
SNL seemed to know this election year was going to be a boom time. The show pushed up its season premiere to mid-September to get in as much election material as possible prior to the Nov. 4 balloting.
Starting Thursday, the show goes prime time with the first of three scheduled all-new, live Weekend Update half-hour specials. There is no word if Fey will appear. (Actually, there are two words from a network rep on the subject: "No idea.")
Forgive Fey if she doesn't make Thursday's show. The woman does have a full-time job, after all—30 Rock's fourth season gets underway later this month. Also, Fey, big SNL ratings or no, isn't terribly fond of playing you-know-who.
"I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5," Fey said at last month's Emmys. "So, if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me."