Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin once again proved herself a ratings magnet with her Saturday Night Live guest spot pulling in the show’s highest numbers in 14 years, according to early overnight results from Nielsen. The Oct. 18 show’s 10.7 rating put it 161 percent over the same week last year and made it SNL’s most-watched episode since Nancy Kerrigan hosted on March 12, 1994; it ranked for the entire week below only primetime behemoths Dancing With the Stars and CSI.
The rest of the weekend brought in more ho-hum numbers for primetime. CBS won Friday night thanks to Ghost Whisperer (8.9 million viewers) and Numb3rs (8.6 million), though NBC’s two-hour Crusoe premiere (7.3 million) beat CBS’ freshman romantic dramedy The Ex List (6.4 million) in the 9 p.m. hour. The Eye also won Saturday with its lineup of crime show reruns, averaging 6.2 million viewers, and yes, it won the much more competitive Sunday as well, averaging 13.5 million viewers. Its lineup (60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, Cold Case, and The Unit) got a big assist from its early-evening football lead-in, but ABC’s Desperate Housewives (15.3 million) wound up the 9 p.m. hour winner. Meanwhile, The CW barely registered with In Harm’s Way (635,000), Valentine Inc. (718,000), and Easy Money (722,000). Sounds like someone needs a miracle guest appearance from a certain governor.
More TV News:
Sarah Palin on SNL — What did you think?
Sarah Palin on SNL in Sound Bites
Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin — bad for SNL?
Comments (1-30) of 77 Add your comment
Eh, Fey still makes a better Palin: http://tinyurl.com/6det3k
After the elections, the reality of SNL’s ratings will set in.
They’ll be dismal.
The show won’t be able to carry itself outside of all of these political skits.
Also, just when did Tina Fey reinvent the comedy wheel?
You people carry on wayyyyy too much about her.
She’s severly overrated.
KC – There is no need to talk trash about Tina Fey. She is brilliant. She is definitely benefiting from a love affair the entertainment media and community has with her, but that does not make her overrated. She deserves everything she has received.
Josh, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it, much like myself, but I cannot believe the media is so focused on mediocrity these days.
Outside of Tina Fey, we’re constantly lambasted with praise about the comedy stylings of Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow, Tina Fey, Steve Carrell. The list goes on and on.
Those people are somewhat funny, but by no means “comedy gold”.
I think Will Ferrell was the dawning of mediocrity in comedy.
I really didn’t mean to mention Fey twice that last time.
Shouldn’t this headline read, “Making Fun of Sarah Palin boosts SNL’s ratings”?
I wish this article had consistency in regards to the numbers. It gives the SNL rating (I always have trouble understanding all the TV ratings numbers), but not the actual number of viewers. Then it gives the numbers of other highly rated shows in terms of millions.
If it’s true comedy gold you’re after, the show to watch this weekend was The Family Guy – it was probably the series’ strongest episode ever with parodies ranging from Little Shop of Horrors and Back to the Future to Ninety-Nine Luft balloons, The Marx Brothers, and conservative politics. It was BRILLIANT.
KC,
Maybe you just don’t get the jokes? Perhaps?
Meh, Palin sucked! She has no sense of humour and was dismal.
Love Tina Fey though! Nails it everytime!
KC – If you don’t share the same sense of humour, dont bash those who do. (biotch!)
No, I guess I’m just not simple-minded.
or an outdated simpleton still calling people biotch.
KC – You are entitled to your opinion as we all are. I think Tina Fey can be considered comedy gold at some point. She is extremely talented and not a one trick pony like the rest of your list: Seth Rogen: Same character in every movie. Apatow: Talented writer: Freaks and Geeks. 40 Year Old Virgin. But he needs to shake things up a bit. Steve Carell: Plays Michael Scott very well, but can’t do much else as confirmed by his foray into movies even though I thought his performances in Dan in Real Life and Little Miss Sunshine had hints of real acting talent: he has a ways to go in that sense, but you can’t say he is not talented or funny in the right role. Will Ferrel has made too many mediocre and dumb movies that he can’t be relied upon for comedy greatness. The leader of the pack in your list is definitely Tina Fey. What other performer can step into roles of writer, actor, producer and do each part extremely well? Tina Fey will be considered comedy gold when she is done.
KC,
you have expressed your opinion. there’s no need to continue to plague the boards with your insults and redundentcy.
We understand you are not a fan of Tina Fey, but considering this board isn’t solely about Tina Fey, unless you have something else to add on another topic, something resembling intelligent conversation, please quit spamming the boards.
ahh i love tina fey!!
sarah palin was pretty good. she’s a nice woman, regardless of anyone’s political views.
I think Amy Poehler stole the show – she’ll be missed when she leaves! I can’t believe Alec Baldwin participated, she must have seemed like the devil incarnate to him LOL but she was pretty funny. Like someone said, she seems like a likable nice woman, political views aside.
The show’s best rating since Nancy Kerrigan? What does that say about why people watched. Where is Nacy Kerrigan today? Just Asking?
Damn. The one episode of “SNL” I don’t watch this season and it’s the biggest one in a decade.
If history repeats itself, hopefully Tonya Harding hires some one to whack Palin in the knees with a crowbar.
All your insane wacko rants is out of control! You guys have no class, you make horrible rotten statements bout Palin’s family & her gender & now you wackos are violent sickos as well – according to this story – A popular local TV anchorwoman who had a small part in the Bush biopic “W” was in critical condition Monday after being beaten in her home, and police said they are investigating possible motives.
KATV anchor Anne Pressly, 26, was found about 4:30 a.m. Monday by her mother, who went to the house when her daughter didn’t answer a wake-up call, Little Rock police spokesman Cassandra Davis said.
Davis said investigators are talking to Pressly’s co-workers to determine whether she “has had any problems.” Davis said Pressly’s purse was gone and that robbery was among the possible motives being explored. Davis would not discuss specifics of what the investigation revealed.
Pressly was found unresponsive in her bed and a police report said she was bleeding from her head.
Ratings were big because Palin is an idiot, and a national joke. Like the whole Kerrigan/Harding thing. Great for ratings, and a laugh. Frightening for the country. Give her a sitcom, but keep her out of DC.
big ratings….. but she was about as exciting and funny as a piece of wet wonder bread. oh… and she’s a crazy wingnut too.
Didn’t watch the Prom Queen in action. Headed to the SNL website right now…
Sarah Palin is the apotheosis of everything that is wrong with this country today. She showed up, said 5 lines and raised her hands. Good job, Sarah. Now shut, go back to your little town in Alaska, and let the rest of the country forget you ever existed.
Ya’ll need to calm your butts down!
From the greatness of Alec Baldwin from his post on Huffingont Post yesterday:
Saturday Night Live is a comedy show. It’s not Meet the Press. It doesn’t “ask the tough questions” or “set the agenda.” It attempts, with varying degrees of success, to make people laugh. That’s it. Whether they skewer and savage people in order to do so, they don’t care. When you come on a show like that, you are prepared in advance to get worked over. Palin knew that. Palin came on to be a good sport. And she was. She was polite, gracious. (More so than some of the famous actors who come through there, believe me.) However, I assume that, like Meet the Press, SNL feels an obligation to offer their special forum to any and all public figures and officials who are current. Headline making. And in SNL’s case, would make for a hit show.
(TBC on next post)
Alex Baldwin cont:
Several people decried SNL for giving her a spot on the show. You’re kidding, right? The woman is the Vice Presidential nominee of one of the two major parties in this country. Don’t put her on SNL? With all of her exposure and the Tina Fey performance? What reality are you in? If you think an appearance on Saturday Night Live would sway voters and actually affect the outcome of the election, you may have more contempt for the electorate of this country than the Republican National Committee does. And that’s a lot of contempt.
KC, you’ve made your point, move on.
@ “your a bunch of sickos”:
What relevance does that tragedy have to this post? For that matter, of what relevance is your lack of grammar skills? Perhaps it’s that you should think things through before expressing yourself and accusing others.
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