SNL Skewers Keith Olbermann
By Nicole Belle Sunday Nov 02, 2008 9:00amYou know I loves me some Keith Olbermann, but I think when he got to the point where he was doing a Campaign (Special) Comment daily and got pulled off debate coverage by Brokaw because of fears that he would not be able to keep from editorializing that a SNL spoof was coming up.
Ben Affleck tries to hold onto Keith's gravitas as he delivers his #5 story, does Worst Person in The World and delivers a Special Comment against the president of the co-op to which he applied. I lost count how many resignations he called for. Ouch.
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great satire! Right on the money!
A classic!
And Nicole I respectfully disagree with your comment that 'he got pulled off debate coverage by Brokaw because of fears that he would not be able to keep from editorializing".
If you watched his shows as I do, regularly, Olbermanns' words are direct and substantive. Shocking to those used to the Right leaning or muddled middle of non responsiveness I know, but necessary to stop the bullsh** previously pushed by the pandering media since the Right came into power. This is too serious of a time to keep pushing Britney, and he rose to the challenge.
He boldly backs up the Left when the Right is wrong, or is given less than equal time. Brokaw is clearly Right leaning and Williams is useless if you want substance. That's the way the networks have had it for years. And that's why Bush survived for 8 years.
Affleck's viscous spoof naievely pushed the hard liners view, that the true Left is wrong in it's boldness, it's opposition to the Right's pro-business, pro-Wall Sreet agenda.
And that we little citizens should all just be quiet and not make a stir - those in power are all knowing.
Affleck is not the first of the Hollywood politico's to play the monkey in a time of crisis, but it was the worst I've ever seen at the worst time in our history.
He therefore wins my very first 'Stupidest Person in the Whole Word" award. And beating out Sarah or George was quite a feat.
Heaven forbid Hollywood makes fun of anyone on our side of the political spectrum. It's okay to mock Rush but Olbermann is off limits?
Next time you want to advocate censorship, look in a mirror and admire your jackboots.
It's not about NOT mocking Olbermann. It's about mocking O'Reilly and calling it a parody of Olbermann. There's a difference.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
I'm with you hazmaq. I did sort of enjoy the spoof, but I think it was channeling O'Reilly more than Olbermann - a mistake that a lot of people who don't regularly watch Olbermann make. KO does not editorialize beyond the truth. He does not pull stuff out of his ass as O'Reilly does, and he does not treat his guests and correspondents like fools or yells at them. He does not sandbag, victimize or insult his on-air guests. His tone matches the scurrilous outrages of the Republican Party, and there have been SO many that a Special Comment a day has been utterly apropriate. He is not one to put words into the mouths of the correspondents. In fact, his questions are such that they help the correspondent clarify their thoughts and respond smartly and in a relevant manner, revealing the truth rather than glossed over equalizing.
I loves me some Olbermann, too, and it's why I enjoyed the Mrs. Perfect Princess Special comment, which was hilarious, as were the varying camera angles - but I think the rest of it was more Billo that KO.
Right on, Hazmaq!
Funny - I thought a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at ourselves was an advantage. Silly me.
One of the lamest written shows in years, even (especially) the update. If you want to make fun of Keith, there is plenty of ways to do it (the way they gently mocked McCain, at least til he left):
1. the way he sneaks in sports references
2. the way he personalizes his battle for rating with Bill O.
3. the way he never has guests from the other side
4. the way he fought with Chris (an appearance by Hammond would have been great)
Instead, it was a one-joke, generic skit based on only pontification. Considering that the ash heap is littered with the politics of personal destruction targets, it is amazing that Keith has survived at all. Now SNL decides to legitimize what will certainly become an excuse for a campaign to get him off the air by the right (i.e., even far left SNL thinks Keith goes too far).
I agree. I am a struggling comedian in NYC. Some other comedians keep urging me to give SNL a chance again. So I did. If today's SNL is what passes for brilliant satire, comedy is dead.
Sadly, many of us in the minor leagues can't see that anything is wrong.
The people at SNL can do whatever they want. I am not upset they attempted to spoof Olberman. It is a testament to his popularity and ratings. I'm upset that they couldn't make anything funny. A bombastic figure like Olberman should be fish in a barrel. Someone needs to tell Lorne Michaels to load the gun.
3. the way he never has guests from the other side
Actually, he does, although admittedly not as often. Pat Buchanan has been on several times, among others.
I'm a HUGE Olbermann fan (and not just because we share a first name and last initial) whose copy of The Worst Person in the World is in fact lying on the desk in front of my monitor as I type this, I think that this sketch ROCKED!!! (A to any of my fellow Olberfans who are writing to complain, I say: lighten up! Not only do I think KO was probably laughing his butt off, I frankly wouldn't be surprised to hear that he actually came up with the idea for the sketch. Kudos to Ben Affleck for a superb job of channeling our man Keith.
A spoof could be a sign that he's really made it in the public consciousness. This one's a bit over the top, so I'd take it as a compliment. Is Olbermann himself over the top? Sometimes. Is his anger righteous and well timed? Always.
i'm not an ben affleck fan but i must say he was funny.
Do they dood rash limpballs or bill o'really?
I think they're just jealous that SNL's best days are well behind them, and Olbermann has a popular show.
They wouldn't even have an audience this year if it weren't for the coincidental resemblence betwee tina and sarah.
With a heavy black actor playing Limbaugh. He's such a bigot, he'd go berzerk
Yes Lumpy Rash is such an obvious target for satire, are the comedians afraid of doing him for other reasons, maybe thugs with baseball bats waiting in dark alleys !?
Lumpy Rash has had at least two arrests and convictions for drug smuggling and possession, perfect excuses for satirizing a moralizing buffoon.
One was for viagra, one for hill billy heroin, hes a walking talking one man satire show.
☻ They Should Spoof Limbaugh ☻
Sun, 11/02/2008 - 09:33 — Bangkok Bob
With a heavy black actor playing Limbaugh. He's such a bigot, he'd go berzerk
Bernie Mac?
[Only if Jebus raises him from the dead -- October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008-Sitemonitor]
If he was still alive. He died Aug 9th. (oops, sitemon got it already)
Sitemon Jamaican?
I'll be thinking about that one all day!!
I have dim memories of a show that probably only lasted a couple of episodes where Henry Winkler was playing a limpball type announcer, but of course his family ran all over him.
The problem was that without his Fonz voice, his own sounds kind of dweeby.
On top of that Olbermann has already done essentially a take-off of himself on an episode of The Simpsons.
After seeing Ben Affleck on Real Time with Bill Maher, I can gaurantee you that Ben's an Olbermann fan. He had some of his mannerisms down pat.
It was no Dana Carvey doing his McLaughlin Group thing though.
Wow. That McLaughlin Group bit was awesome. Thanks for the link.
Yes, very nice!!!
Dana is spot-on as McLaughlin. Funny stuff. Thanks, Moose.
I love that!! I had forgotten all about it. Thanks. Very hilarious.
Carvey is a frickin' genuis and his McLaughlin is one of the greatest political impersonations ever.
I wish Carvey would come out of retirement. We need you, Dana!
..."The Master of Disguise" put Dana Carvey formally and permanently on the "I have forgotten how to be funny" list.
the mclaughlin group was fully based on truth...with mclaughlin always telling his panel that they are wrong
this bit got absurd with the cat deal
it was still funny...but they couldve easily just stuck with ko's pomposity
Here’s Olbermann’s Special Comment on Ben Affleck
I've always been of the opinion that Affleck is only good when Kevin Smith is involved (if anyone brings up Good Will Hunting, here's something interesting - Kevin Smith was an executive producer on that movie).
Here's a perfect example of Affleck not having Kevin around - his impression of Keith was way too over-the-top.
that's usually what satire/impressions are.
over the top characterizations of the person in question. LOL.
but given the fact he's one of the few people with the balls to tell the truth, it looks like this was made to appeal to right wingers in the SNL audience- perhaps to soothe the right wing nerves offended by the Tiny Fey spoofs of Sarah Palin
You're right. There's a big party going on at Redstate.
Olbermann is ripe for a good satire that would skewer the overblown self righteousness to which he can succumb. No one is perfect and satire serves an important function in keeping ridiculousness in check. But the skit missed in my humble opinion. Olbermann rips statements out of context and turns on peeps the moment they disagree? Really? Example please? It felt scripted so that some NBC exec could say "See, we criticize liberals too." If such false equivalence is the only motivation for a skit, bad comedy ensues.
And Affleck the pompous taking on Olbermann? Kettle, there's someone I want you to meet.
I have a hunch SNL didn't want to lose the Republican viewers it offended by tiny Fey's spot on depiction of Palin- so SNL decided to attack someone on the left to 'give it a balance'
Palin and McCain gave SNL a lot more material to work with.
I thought it was stilted and reactionary, but I don't have any problem with them poking fun at Keith. It just wasn't all that funny to me.
Is SNL turning into the Half-Hour News Hour?
Affleck was on the mark, and got Olbermann's mannerisms down.
As funny as it was, I wonder if SNL would make such over-the-top jokes about Nazis if they were doing a skit about Chris Matthews, or Sean Hannity?
Still pretty good, and I liked that he would make such a courageous (not outrageous!) stand for the rights of his kitty! :)
I thought the Olberman skit was well written, but Affleck was awful!! SNL should do a skit with Billo and Keith duking it out. That would be funny! David Cook was awesome!
He became Olberman at times during that skit. I thought it was funny as hell and a great caricature of Keith's voice and mannerisms.
how it looking over there? Is this thing gonna happen as planned? Or are the R's gonna pull another grift on us.
My fingers are crossed so tight that it is cutting off blood to my feet. I want to say it looks good, and to me it does, but after the last two presidential elections, I know looks aren't everything.
Aren't you up really late or really early? No matter, just good to hear from you.
Got a case of the tequila flu.
Re: SNL Skewers Keith Olbermann New
Sun, 11/02/2008 - 09:34 — pissed off patricia
My fingers are crossed so tight that it is cutting off blood to my feet.
That's what happens everytime I get a woody.
you pass out, right?
(rhetorical... :))
I thought I was watching Olberman a couple of times watching that last night. Hilarious!
I know, same here. There was one or two times he transformed right into Keith. I bet Keith laughed at it too.
BUT a dishonest skit. Olbermann's outrage is NEVER glib or facile. For a long time, his was the ONLY voice on teevee who dared call these evil corrupt disgraceful bastards out. The only one.
Also note the free bit of rehabilitation for the Chimp - like he's been unfairly attacked - my arse! Get ready for the weepy farewell media tributes.
Olbermann has gone through the being IGNORED stage; now the RIDICULE stage begins.
Oh also, he'll have the stones to highlight this on Countdown so unlike all the other brave media figures who distain their well-deserved critics.
omfg, lighten up!
just because you agree with him doesn't make him exempt.
In order for a good satire to be the most effective to me you need to take a bit of truth and stretch it to the breaking point. That "truth" is false so the bit fails. I think they missed on this one. The "truth" they seem to be lampooning is that Keith is outraged over trivial matters and cuts guests off before they can disagree. I have never seen him do either one of these things. The only "funny" part was Affleck's impression but the satire is lost. But that is just my opinion.
They could have done a better sketch with his unhinged Clinton hatred.
Jack Cafferty too.
I guess MSNBC is balance for fixed noise.
I was surprised they left out the rampant misogyny. They hit everything else that gives me pause during one of his shows. I think he has tried to rehabilitate himself a bit lately by taking out the "celebrity watch" segment where he used to get his hate on. At one point it began to seem that every segment was about how much he hated Senator Clinton. Last week, four out of five segments were about how very dreadful Governor Palin is.
The writers were brilliant, and so was Affleck.
I thought this was pretty funny, and I wondered why it took so long. I'm a fan of KO, but have often wondered if he was going to self-combust a few times. I admire his passion, but can't deny that sometimes it seems a little over the top. Everyone is fair game these days, as long as it's done in the spirit of fun and with a modicum of good observation skills.
Life under the Republican Reich is over the top.
It amazes me that more people dont crack up under the strain and go postal across America.
I suppose cheap booze and other self-meds keeps the pressure cooker lid on.
Its a tribute to reason and humanity, that people keep cool under bad situations.
That was absolutely hilarious! Miss Precious Perfect and her hairballs....LMAO!!!!!
Ben Affleck no doubt is a huge fan of Keith's and I expect him as a guest on the show before the week is over. That skit had me LOL repeatedly.
Cant wait to see Keith's take on this tommorrow, I, like usual, wont miss Countdown
Mr. Lieberstein, we beg you: LET MISS PRECIOUS PERFECT IN!
That was really good. I'm a big KO fan and I'm LMAO
An actually interesting read on the Foxnews page, of all places!
Points of view from both sides. Also worth reading are the comments.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/02/oppos...
Affleck did a bang up job in the skit but it really disturbs me when people push or buy into the equivilency notion that O'Reilly & Olbermann are just two of the same extremes. That's like comparing the Nazi's to the French Resistance. I wish the skit had ended on a serious note.
All these years, SNL had a veritable goldmine of rightwing characters to regularly lampoon - O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity, Savage, Beck, Medved, Malkin et al - and they didn't. Suddenly, two days before the election, they skewer Keith. FOX has been running parts of it all day and I'm sure they will be running it all week.
I agree, SNL is not nearly as liberal or entertaining as the blogosphere who has targeted all those nuts with a vengeance. Fear of the right wing should fall out of fashion beginning Wednesday after Dems win big.
I think KO writes very well, is eloquent and passionate. But I also think he jumped the shark a while back. When the Special Comments came once a month or so, they were particularly interesting. But as of late, the snark has gone away, and the anger has been too up front.
The spoof was very good, and Affleck did a great job. And if Olbermann is true to form, I'm thinking he probably laughed as well.
I appreciated Keith speaking up in the past few years but lately he has become a joke. He's gotten lunatic like he's the O'Rielly of the left.
He and his producers seem to pick and chose issues and promote various factions and industries which have just become another Fox like machine.
I still wish another party or viewpoint could come along and show how ridiculous and out of touch both extremes are.
Keith is doing the same thing he has done since day one. He's just more comfortable doing it. I give MSNBC a lot of credit for finally giving someone the chance to respond to the truly extremist views of the rightwing Republican party. I believe his voice has had an impact on voters and hopefully he'll be doing it for another 10 years.
I do not understand how anyone can say KO is "extreme"!
They tolerate right wing extremist points of view as mainstream.
After all, we are now the country in the industrialized world with 40+ million citizens sans health insurance, heck indian reservations have infant mortality rates as bad as certain 3rd world parts of Africa, we have conducted a war of aggression against a country that never attacked us that has caused probably close to 1 million casualties in a country of less than 30 million people. And we are a society stupid enough to give our money to the bankers, so that they can loan us our very own money under some ridiculous interests... talk about fucking stupid! And yet so in line with conservative ideals...
But someone dares been pissed of about that, and oh... noes... he is a lefty extremist!!! Oh... gosh... think of the children.
A nation of fucking idiots, that is what we are. BTW, if some people here consider Olbermann's opinion as left extremist, I would recommend these fools to not read some really left leaning international press. You may get the shock of your life time. You know, people out there having the indecency of fighting for a more equalitarian society, with decent standards of living, health care and quality of environment, and peace. That is so fucking extremist!!!!
"I still wish another party or viewpoint could come along and show how ridiculous and out of touch both extremes are."
We're totally doomed as a nation. That was Bush's major downfall. When you choose to be President of only one-half of the country, and label the other half enemies, then you are really President of nothing. McCain is repeating the mistake. If lightening somehow strikes and he is elected, in terms of leading the United States anywhere, he'll be DOA. I always wondered what it would be like to live in a third-world country. Maybe I'll get to know.
I still wish another party or viewpoint could come along and show how ridiculous and out of touch both extremes are.
----
Woah..
How is this sentence even possible???
Where have you been these last 20 years???
There is NO extreme LEFT viewpoint anywhere...
Kieth is not ridiculous at all, His special comments have been lone oasis's of outrage and truth in a vast desert of lies and deceit..
Although I suppose your mindset brings this Orwell quote to life yet again...
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Consciousness created Kieth Olbermann .. and if it was not him it would be someone else...
The extreme ultra right wing has doomed that side of the road.. and now it needs to be completely redone.
Re-education if you will.. perhaps we will have a desk available for you as well..
Comrade!
My understanding is most Europeans don't think the US even has a left, just right and far-right.
The "extreme" left, the "angry" left, the "far" left...these are all constructs manufactured by the Right. There is no extreme, angry, far left.
no, i don't think he's gone like O'Reilly and I think your assertion is incredibly disingenuous.
The different camera angles was funny as hell and nearly true to life. It was all done in humor and I tell you what, anything that can make me laugh between now and the last vote being reported Tuesday night, is greatly appreciated.
I loved the angle looking down! Very funny. Some of his facial expressions very incredible and so "Keithy". I thought the Richard Wolfe impersonation was good. I find Wolfe really odd.
When he spun all the way around it the chair, it was funny as hell. Almost pee in the panties funny.
The camera angle switching was spot on. Started out slow, but I love how it got more and more ridiculous. I'm sure Keith will love it too.
I love me some KO too..
This was funny...
Although I think Bill Orielly would actually do a "comment" on something so self centered ... Which makes it even funnier... in a twisted way.
And not KO.. Who's rants I personally love.
SNL was pretty funny stuff.
If you would like to see the McCain campaign absolutely skewered, with a 1 minute parody of an anti-Obama attack ad. Please check this out (and share it):
"The anti-Obama ad the networks will not run"
http://scootmandubious.blogspot.com/2008/11/a...
This was kind of Ben doing Keith doing BillO.
Yes, exactly.
It was a decent clip, but it was a bit over the top. If O'Reilly was on the left, indeed.
Olbermann's faux outrage is well captured but I don't really like Affleck's performance.
It was a decent clip, but it was a bit over the top.
--------------------------
it is still failing logic when people think an impression is an over the top characterization of someone.
NO KIDDING!
It just wasn't that funny to me. Although it was good satire. Keith does need to tone it down a bit.
I've been a fan for a really long time; he's a great writer; he just yells too much lately. This satire captured that.
I actually found fake Olbermann less annoying than the real thing at times. I love what K.O. says most of the time, but his voice, mannerisms, and affectations are all extremely annoying to me. I feel like a lot of his success was just by default since no one else was saying what he was saying, a sort of "only liberal on TV" advantage. That took courage and I'm proud and grateful, but sometimes I couldn't help but think, "really? This is the best our side can do?" The man is incapable of winning over large segments of the population.
I am so glad we have Maddow now. She makes nearly the same points and is a lot more palatable. I kept thinking to myself how successful a show would be if you said all the things K.O. says but just took out all the over the top histrionics, silly music, and cheesy theatrics. I think Rachel has proven that point. We need a lot more people like her on TV. Until that happens, I'll bite my tongue and wish K.O. the best, but I home he doesn't become the standard bearer for liberals on TV forever.
I agree that Keith can be overly histrionic at times, and "Special Comments" become simply rants, but without Keith paving the way, I doubt seriously that Rachel would have her current gig. (This is in no way meant as a sleight to her obvious talent.)
I think MSNBC wanted to avoid a boring, sleep-inducing, overly intellectual show (imagine Dukakis or John Kerry as the host). They picked a perfect guy with the right mix of intelligence, humor and outrage. KO and Maddow are two of the best political/social news hours on TV.
There is this general idea the liberal political shows are pontificating, overly nuanced and lack humor.
Although liberals are better at satirzing conservatives than conservatives can satirize liberals.
Just read mallard foulmore, better yet, don't.
The character that Colbert plays on his show is the king of camera angles. But this was pretty damned funny.
This is sort of a Come to Jesus moment regarding Keith. Father forgive me for I have committed a liberal sin. I have complained at times because I don't like it when Keith talks in different voices, like the one he uses when he is being BillO. Also father, there have been times during his special comments, especially when he speaks of bush, and keeps saying, "Sir" that I have cringed.
Re: SNL Skewers Keith Olbermann
Sun, 11/02/2008 - 10:08 — pissed off patricia
This is sort of a Come to Jesus moment
I thought that was Mary Magdeline's job.
The worst is when he tries to do Rush whooziewhatsit. I can't understand a thing he says. I thought it might be just me, so I checked with a couple people who used to watch him. He was unintelligible to them as well.
The sneering "sir" bit is right up there with "my friends" as a bit I hope I never have to hear again.
I'm a big Olberman fan. It was funny, but a lttle too much over the top. It finally got to the point of deminishing returns.
Most SNL skits go on at least 30 seconds too long. The writers just seem unable to compress and compact.
Or edit.
When the "Special Comment" part of the skit started, I cringed, and looked for the remote.
I think it was a ridiculous and hilarious exaggeration of Keith and that's what cracked me up about it. As another commenter linked below, it was over-the-top in the same way the DAna Carvney/McLaughlin Group skit was in the early 90's. That's what makes it funny.
And he really channelled Keith at times, esp. at the end. I bet Keith Oblermann was laughing his ass off.
Notice that he uses perfect grammar - or a sort of skewing of it - by twisting sentences so that they don't end in a preposition???
It truly takes a liberal to notice that sorta stuff.... LOL!
in CA public schools, nonetheless! I think his ability to construct sentences correctly is part of why so many consider him "arrogant."
That's an homage to a snarky comment Winston Churchill once made, on being criticized for using a dangling participle: "That is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put."
It shows not only that the writers have a sense of humor about their political leanings, but also that they're historically literate. As opposed to some people in this country who can't even figure out what the First Amendment means.
I would have loved to see Dana Carvey resurrect his Church Lady skit, with Tina as Palin as a guest. Among other things, he could have raked Palin over the coals for her belief in witchcraft. "Could this be the work of... SATAN?"
Ben Affleck may well be the worst actor in Hollywood today. I had to bail out after just 30 seconds.
Am I the only one not getting any audio when you play the clip?
I checked everything. Even went to the website. The audio slider was al the way to the left, but even after moving it, I'm still not getting sound. :(
Having the same problem with YouTube vids today also. Downloaded clips are fine though.
Firefox/Flash glitches occasionally get me...
it plays flash much better
Firefox has a hard time with flash embeds. They're allegedly working on an upgrade to fix.
If you try it in IE or Safari, you should be able to hear it.
but...Fortunately, vids are are but a small portion of my computer use.
Another O/S? Too much work...
...if they are special, so they won't be lost to me if deleted by YT. Then I play the .flv files full screen with vlc.
You can fish the .flv from IE cache, but I prefer Maxathon browser for easy downloading to desktop.
Are y'all practicing glossolalia?
I have no idea what y'all are saying.
I'm right-brained too, but computer video tools seduced me over to the left side.
Ahhh...the sinister side.
The impersonation by Ben Affleck was very well done but the writing in the skit wasn't very funny, IMO. I really didn't laugh out loud until the "Special Comment."
If it were just the part about the cat, that would have been okay, but it felt like the whole skit was 10 minutes long. It was nice to have Ben balance out McCain's appearance with some of his remarks, but SNL is being too nice with the reich wing. I liked "The View" spoof more; I am a big fan of KO.
...someone told he could be a good actor, and he still believes it.
God this Show is PATHETIC! I cant imagine wasting Electicity to put this shit on the Air. Ben working latley i mean Ben Affleck is soooo.
bad that anytime he is on Real Time i change the Channel.
Pretty funny. Great camera work.
It would have been really fun to add some signature O'Riley taunting though.
I love KO, and in respect Ben Affleck work this piece out hard. Grab a wide range of KO monologue. However I do respect KO contribution of being the lone voice of outrage for the Bush administration for so long.
I'm a big Olbermann fan and found myself laughing out loud, particularly at "Richard Wolfe" and Affleck practically launching himself over the desk during the "special comment". I do agree, though, that it's past time for SNL to also take on Limbaugh. And Hannity, too, actually!
Nobody knows who he is. He's got 20 million listeners or whatever it is, and 18 million of them probably don't own TVs.
A limbaugh skit would be lost on 90% of the audience. It would be impossible to lampoon Hannity since he lampoons himself.
It would be like the Palin skit were 3/4 of it was her own words.
The reason nobody lampoons Limbaugh or Hannity is because nobody cares about them.
I've got nothing for or against Affleck, but he really doesn't pull off the impersonation very well, and the rest of the material just feels forced to me. I would laugh if it were funny, but it wasn't very. Thing is, Olbermann himself is funnier and better at mocking himself on appropriate occasion than SNL is. And they're supposed to be the professionals.
They should probably stick to Sarah Palin. She's -not- funny and needs to be made fun of, and they do that very well.
Off topic but somebody needs to pick up on this and soon. I've seen MSNBC do it once before (several weeks ago) but at 3:05 PM EST the MSNBC election map colored the safe Obama states solid black. Nice touch!
I have a feeling this will make his Oddball or #1 story on Monday night.
I seem to recall that he said that it was hilarious and hoping that it didn't get bumped by McCain.
I liked Keith when he was the fresh new voice during a time when the media was in the bag for the Bush administration, but that freshness has worn off as he's beat it into the ground time and time again and is little more than Rush Limbaugh for the left in my eyes even though he's not as over-the-top. I love MSNBC, but I just can't sit through a full episode of KO. I can do the first 10 to 15 minutes for the top story and then have to turn the channel.
I hope they move Rachel to 8pm and push KO to 9pm in time so Rachel will start attracting more high profile guests across the line and compete head on with O'Reilly. I think Rachel is just as liberal as KO, but she's not a maniac about it and doesn't allow it to severely distort effective and useful commentary and journalism. Because she follows KO, she can't attract high profile Republicans to her show to offer a counter viewpoint because they think she's a KO knock off when you really would get a fairshake on her show when you're on there and after you leave.
Affleck's depiction was right on during the middle but was too rushed during the beginning and off mark by being overdone the last third.
Keith is my hero - but I don't have an unlimited tolerance for his too-often indignation. I'm usually doing other things while watching television so I suppose the problem rests with me - but sometimes it seems forced and unwarranted.
I'm also a huge countdown flag. I thought it was hilarious.
fan!!!!
I thought the skit was funny in parts but was bordering vicious in others.
As a loyal fan of a very brave person I will back Olbermann. If he is okay with this skit depiction then I'm okay with it....
parodying the time Affleck won the Best Actor Award. Oh wait. Nevermind.
but, frankly, it wasn't all that funny.
Oh...I laughed at this one (not as hard as when Tina Fey does Palin). I think having a good sense of humor is crucial in getting through the hard times. Sure Keith has been a touchstone for liberals in the media, but he also has a tendency to be bombastic coupled with a little bit of braggadocio. This doesn't make what he says any less true, but it does make his on air character ripe for satire. Also, if we can't laugh at our foibles, then we really do live in a sad world.
I wish Dana Carvey would come back and do Church Lady and interview Sarah Palin. How can we make this happen?
I loved the first few "special comments" because it was time somebody said what he said and not get thrown off the news. But he spends too much time on the "crimes of celebrity blondes", and he does get, uh, bombastic. Brokaw at this point is a tired old hack, but Keith is not the face of NBC News.
Who? Look at Rachel Maddow's astonishing numbers. Much lighter touch. More fact, less fustian.
Maybe KO made a fustian pact.
Fustian. I get it. Heheheh.
Well I guess there's nothing wrong with a little equal opportunity satire,but all this clip proves to me is that Affleck still can't act,and SNL should have been taken off the air about 15 years ago.
...the use of film from 9/11 in the course of this sketch, that of Bush making his statement at Booker Elementary just before he dashed onto AF1? Should film from 9/11 be used as a prop in sketch comedy?
REALLY?!?
every one in the right for the better part of I dunno... 7 years?
And by the way, there is a big difference in context between the footage of Bush "deer in the headlights" look, and the real tragedy footage of the people in the twin towers dying in real time.
Like most C&L readers,I'm a big Keith fan and see Countdown as one of the most important news shows of the Bush era. Before him, there were really no mainstream answers to the propaganda of FOX, radio, Drudge, and the echos delivered by Bushie surrogates on network pundit shows (enablers like Blitzer and the sainted Russert fearfully ignored the lies or bent over backward to create false equivalencies).
However, anyone can see that Keith has become a parody of himself, making him fair game for SNL's writers, who did a good job of capturing his self-righteous hyperbole and self-indulgent pretension.
I love him, but his giant head needs to be deflated ASAP, especially if he wants to remain relevant after Obama wins and the emergency-like atmosphere of the campaign dissapates.
If you disagree, just compare his show to the graceful, informed and generous Rachel Maddow's. Of course it was Countdown and Keith's support that made her show possible, but face it, it's a MUCH better program.
I can't believe anyone with a brain thought this was funny. I couldn't even watch the whole thing. Affleck was TERRIBLE. He doesn't have 1/10th the presence and intelligence of Keith Olbermann. The skit itself was not clever. To be funny, it has to have an element of truth to it. Olbermann doesn't pick things out of the air to get outraged about. He has every right to be outraged about the things he talks about. Sorry, but, in my opinion, if you thought this was funny, you're probably a lemming.
Really? So when he made Sarah Palin the Worst Person in the World for saying at a rally in Eastern Pennsylvania that she was happy to be in the home state of the World Series winning Philadelphia Phillies, even though everybody knows that Eastern PA is Pittsburgh Pirate country, you didn't think that was a little hyperbolic?
Which episode was that? I can't seem to find it in the Google.
http://thenewshole.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008...
The fact remains that the skit was unfunny, unclever, awfully acted, and, like some intelligent person above said, panders to conservatives. Speaking of which, conservatives could not have done a worse job of putting together this pathetic mess of a skit. I don't mind people making fun of Olbermann, but if you're going to do it, make it funny and find someone who can act, for Christ's sake.
You didn't answer my original question. Was KO naming Palin the WPITW for her Pennsylvania appearance just a little hyperbolic?
Your point was that Keith doesn't pull outrage out of the air. I've shown manifestly that he can and has done it. Whether you think the skit was funny (a subjective assessment) or that Affleck is talented (again, subjective) is entirely beside the point.
And I must disagree further with you, conservatives COULD and HAVE done a worse job of putting together humorous skits. Clearly, you have blocked from your mind Fox's Half Hour Comedy Hour.
I respect your umbrage for Olbermann, but I think that it does our side no favors if we can't laugh at ourselves too. A parody should go over the top. It's not pandering to conservatives, it's skewering Olbermann's tendency to grandiosity in his outrage by taking it to the Nth degree.
Someone equally as intelligent (and perhaps, more importantly to this discussion, versed in humor) pointed out that the real Sean Connery is neither stupid nor as raunchy as Darrell Hammond portrayed him in those hilarious Jeopardy parodies. It is because it is so over the top that it makes the skit funny. Of course, your mileage may vary.
I thought it was a little hyperbolic too but if I recall correctly that was one of the lighter 'worst persons' segments. I thought to myself, gee, isnt there something else that you could find that wouldve been worse? But given his love of baseball, I'm not surprised that Palin's faux pas caught his eye for that segment. But come on, do you REALLY think that he considers her the worst person in the world for that? He just used it as another opportunity to point out how clueless she is, of which I heartily approve 8D
You seem to be incapable of understanding why someone may not find this skit was funny other than thinking it's because "we can't laugh at ourselves." You provide one example of Keith being "hyperbolic", even though the episode was meant to be light-hearted, and use that as "proof" that Keith pulls things out of the air to take umbrage with. ONCE AGAIN, THE SKIT WAS NOT FUNNY. Stop trying to tell me I can't laugh at myself and try to find more insipid reasons to convince me that it was funny, when it. is. not. funny. And, one more thing. Don't include me when you say "our side". You sound like a Republican who can't stand it when someone from "their side" disagrees with their point of view and can therefore no longer be considered "one of them".
Easter PA loves the Phillies and Western would cut off their arms for the Pirates.
search Ebay for a sense of humor
Is that where you find your super clever one-liners?
I like Keith and I have to admit, that was hilarious. Affleck's impersonation was spot on and the Worst Person In The World spot was a riot. Let it not be said that liberals can't poke fun at themselves, unlike the Cons.
...because I laughed a sh**load when I watched it Saturday night, and I laughed more when I watched it on a DVR replay this morning. It was a spoof, pure and simple, and it pushed all the right buttons for me.
I love Keith Olbermann, and all the skit did was play up the more hyperbolic aspects of his show. Kudos to Affleck!
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