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Tina Fey has played Sarah Palin to perfection and now it's time she met her match....well sort of. The Republican running mate of John McCain is slated to appear on Saturday Night Live (SNL) October 25.
The New York Daily news noted that Palin has wanted to do the show for some time.
Cindy Adams of the New York Post reports that Palin will be on the Oct. 25 episode of the show. "She has already OK'd it. She's booked. It's confirmed. Done deal," Adams writes, adding that "sketches are being sketched as we speak."
The campaign would not officially confirm the appearance, but others close to the campaign said plans are well underway after at least two weeks of talks.
Tina Fey has received rave reviews for her uncanny portrayal of the Alaska Governor.
Lorne Michaels, longtime executive producer of NBC's "Saturday Night Live, on Wednesday he wasn't actively seeking Palin, but that the McCain campaign called after the first skit, when Fey's Palin appeared with Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton on the show's Sept. 13 season premiere, to say they enjoyed it.
"Saturday Night Live" has a long history of political walk-ons. Michaels prefers keeping this sort of news a surprise until it happens, an opinion reinforced when word leaked that Barack Obama would be on that same show and the Democratic presidential candidate had to cancel at the last minute. "I think we looked stupid," he said.
Palin told reporters on Tuesday she'd love to appear on the show with Fey.
"I love her, she's a hoot and she's so talented," Palin said. "It would be fun to meet her, imitate her and keep on giving her new material."
From the moment Palin was selected as John McCain's running mate, Michaels said he barely had time to consider the idea of Fey impersonating her. Others did it for him.
"The next day the doorman in my building said, `What a gift, you're going to have so much fun with Tina Fey,'" he said.
Through the first three weeks of the season, "Saturday Night Live" has averaged 8.3 million viewers, or 49 percent more than last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. The skits have also drawn tremendous Web traffic, with 9.3 million people watching an online clip of the "Clinton-Palin" segment. The "Couric interview" has been seen by nearly 7 million people, NBC said.
"She's made `Saturday Night Live' look, for the first time in a long time, like it's playing in the same satire league as Comedy Central, said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
Ironically, Tina Fey has been quoted as saying she would like to see Barack Obama win in November, not the McCain/Palin ticket.
Richard Greene, a public speaking coach and author of "Words That Shook the World: 100 Years of Unforgettable Speeches and Events," said if he were a Democratic official, he'd be pulling any favor he could to keep Palin off "Saturday Night Live."
"She is so charming and so media savvy," Greene said. "When she has a script, she will completely seduce America."
Michaels is enjoying the ride, letting Fey know that she only has to impersonate Palin through Nov. 4.
But what if she is elected the next vice president?
"I think we'll find somebody else to play Sarah Palin," he said. "I don't think she's going to be playing Sarah Palin for the rest of her life."
.....Betting on the US Presidential race:
Odds on Who Will be Elected the Next US President: (courtesy of Sportsbook.com)
Barack Obama -450
John McCain +275
Battleground Six-Pack Betting - George Bush won each of these 'Six-Pack' states in 2004. How many can McCain hold onto? (Six-Pack states = Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia) - odds courtesy of Paddy Power - Ireland's largest bookmaker (US customers prohibited at this time).
None 6 - 4
One 7 - 2
Two 10 - 3
Three 5 - 1
Four 8 - 1
Five 10 - 1
Six 10 - 1
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Jordan Bach, Gambling911.com
