[lbo-talk] Biden vs. Palin/Fey debate sketch on SNL last night

[Dennis Perrin]

SNL's political humor is very surface oriented. They play up the celebrity 
angle and avoid real satire. When Fey's Palin mentioned Israel in the bit, I 
thought for a sec, "Hello? What's this?" But as usual, the punchline was 
toothless and avoided anything controversial.

Back in the early days, SNL actually did some decent political humor, stuff 
about the CIA and wars in Africa. But that was of that time, and once the 
show became a cultural landmark, all that disappeared. They can still be 
funny now and then, but like I said, it's pretty surface. It certainly helps 
that Fey's a dead ringer for Palin.

The only late night comedy show that really did cutting satire was "Fridays" 
on ABC, from 1980-82. They skewered Reagan, the Christian Right (at a time 
when everyone else was afraid of their supposed clout), and set sketches in 
Salvadoran refugee camps, depicting torture and death squad activity. It was 
great stuff. And of course, they were cancelled after ABC put "Nightline" in 
their slot. A much funnier show.

Dennis