By Matt Shevin
One day, while kicking back in his jammies, an 84-year-old Joe Dimaggio watched the announcement of his death scroll across the bottom of an NBC show he was watching. Joe took his pulse and realized rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated.
Speaking of eating it and NBC, it seems to be an annual chore for “Saturday Night Live” to prove that the show is still funny and relevant.
It is.
If it weren’t, why has it become an obligatory stop on the presidential campaign trail? And why has Tina Fey’s portrayal of Sarah Palin created what has been called the “Tina Fey Effect”, damaging the McCain-Palin ticket?
Candidates need to listen up however, and stop saving their best performances until after they’ve been eliminated from elections. Take Mike Huckabee, for example, perfectly lampooning his refusal to concede his campaign, or Al Gore’s tongue-in-cheek Oval Office speech, celebrating America’s prosperity after he, and not George W. Bush, had been running the country for six years. Right place, late time.
So stop the nonsense, haters, and start giving SNL its due. That’s change I can believe in.
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Matt Shevin’s New York upbringing is predominantly responsible for his fervent opinions on all things culture, sports and politics. Currently, he’s an actor in L.A., living with a Pit Bull named Petey, and writing a daily blog– http://insidetheactorsstudioapartment.blogspot.com/– which chronicles the highs, lows and absurdities of life in the Los Angeles. Matt recently completed a film that he wrote, produced and starred in called The Beneficiary.
