Saturday Night Live VP Debate
Who Won SNL’s Version of the Vice Presidential Palin-Biden Face-Off?
Oct 5, 2008
Experts said both Joe Biden and Sarah Palin made it through their vice presidential debate without major mistakes and thereby exceeded the low expectations assigned them. Five nights later, Tina Fey and Jason Sudekis topped the high expectations of the Saturday Night Live version of the debate, recapturing some of the show’s legendary popularity.
Biden was acknowledged the winner in most of the polls measuring the real debate and Sudekis’ Biden performance won many plaudits.
But Tina Fey, the Sarah Palin look-a-like, enjoyed a huge advantage in vice presidential experience, having mimicked Palin in previous performances and she walked away with the SNL laughs.
Tina Fey in for Sarah Palin
Dingumama, one of many debate viewers commenting on the SNL forum, even said he "would become a Republican if (GOP Presidential Candidate John) McCain dismisses Palin and chooses Tina Fey instead. She just nailed it."
Other viewers nominated Fey for an Emmy, an Oscar and either president or vice president in the real world.
Although some viewers said much of the script flowed directly from the real debate, the SNL writers came up with some funny original lines for Fey and Sudekis. Fey got the best of them. A few that could be deciphered through her winks and smiles:
Third Graders at Gladys Woods
- "I’d also like to give a shoutout to the third graders at Gladys Woods Elementary who have been so helpful in my debate prep."
- Regarding her solution to the nation’s fiscal crisis: "We’re going to ask ourselves what would a maverick do in this situation. And then, you know, we’d do that."
- "I believe marriage should be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers."
- "I don’t believe it’s patriotic to criticize these wars we’ve got going on."
Sudekis Pans Scranton, Pennsylvania
Sudekis drew most of his laughs with:
- Lines expressing his great love for McCain;
- Frequent "let me repeat that again" lines;
- Descriptions of his birthplace and home town, which may cost the Obama-Biden ticket some votes in the crucial Pennsyvania and Delaware voting.
"I come from the absolute worst place on earth, Scranton, Pennsylvnia. And Wilmington, Delaware is not much better," he said.
Queen Latifah Did Gwin Ifill
Queen Latifah was also lauded for her role as Gwin Ifill, the PBS debate moderator. However, her impartiality had to be questioned after she displayed those long can’t-believe-she-said-that facial expressions following almost every Palin/Fey remark.
Like the real debate, the SNL version was a huge television success. Commentators on the Saturday Night Live forum said the Fey-Sudekis episode brought back memories of the SNL golden years of popularity. It may be remembered as an SNL classic.
Some commentators, however, did not appreciate the show, including one nicknamed Cheavers.
"This wasn't funny at all. Just goes to show how far down SNL has really gone. I wish they would go ahead and euthanize the show before it gets any worse. Send it to the glue factory," Cheavers wrote.
References:
- Saturday Night Live website
- Technorati.com
- Joe Biden for President.com
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