SNL - TINA FEY & ELLIE GOULDING FOR MOTHER'S DAY - MAY 7, 2011

This was (disappointingly) one of the poorer SNL's. While nothing was especially terrible, there was little that was especially funny. I liked the Fetal Quartet during the monolog, some of the jokes on Weekend Update, Fey as Palin - briefly (see the GOP debate below), and the Natural Childbirth sketch. (See below!)

Here are some real time comments (in reverse chronological order -- the first ones are at the bottom).

- Bland, boring, waste of time. One of the poorer shows. "Natural Childbirth" the only sketch with any zing.

- Mother Collection -- WTF???

- Slightly Damaged Prom Wear Barn - Not funny & made no sense.

- Pregnant in Heels on Bravo - The Celebrity in the ultrasound. -- The concept is a joke, but the execution... missing

- Sleepover - Stupid premise. Boring.

- Ads - B & N is promoting current Nook like mad, but a new one is to be announced very soon.

- Natural childbirth - At last... some zenned out energy!

- Weekend Update - Jokes funny; devil not so much; Gaddafi's friends quiet humor; Stefan I just don't get; At all;

- 12:09 and so far it's been especially bland.

- Klondike Bar Ad --- WTF???

- Digital short - OK. So what?

- Mermaid & Crabby - Very lame

- Google Chrome Ad is way sentimental and doesn't make any sense.

- GOP Debate - Fey/Palin is still the winner of any debate.

- Opening Monolog - a fetal quartet

- Opening Monolog - Tina Fey & Maya Rudolph with baby bumps bump babies

- Opening - Kind of lame.

Tina Fey host on SNL w/ Ellie Goulding. Now!

Here's the GOP Debate with Tina Fey briefly as Sarah Palin (or maybe that really is the true, the essential Sarah Palin?)

Here's the Childbirth Class:

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PALIN'S PLANS ($$$???) & TINA'S NEW GIG (???)

In October, she seemed a big draw (Palin & Fey), a fiery speaker (Palin & Fey), and something of a joke in national politics (Palin & Fey).

Republicans (at least those generally in the McCain domain) seem more critical of Palin's exit speech than Democrats. Indeed, backing out of the Governor's mansion before the term is up is not good Presidential politics.

If Palin were serious about politics now, she would take a few year's off, go to the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and fill in the gaps in her understanding about how things work and look from the 48 & the North East & DC.

A simpler plan would be to travel around giving support to Republican candidates all over. She could build a strong base of friends and allies. But it would not solidify her credentials for the rest of the country.

Much of her talk seemed to suggest the main reason for leaving was that her personal legal fees and the state's legal bill were reaching unacceptable heights. So a likely route for her is the lecture circuit (with or without a book). As a politically slanted entertainer, or even in non-political entertainment, she could likely do very nicely.

Should she get full-force into the political wars, she would also give Tina Fey a big present. It was sometimes difficult during the campaign remembering who was who. ("Wait, is that Tina Fey on TV or really the Governor?")

Even the latest speech had a wealth of ironic humor (the Daily Show probably regrets it does not broadcast on Fridays). With the ducks and geese bobbing and quacking and honking in the background it was hard not to remember the ill-fated Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon video, when she pardoned one bird in the foreground while visible in the background less fortunate birds were, well... not fortunate birds.