Just as Tina Fey’s rendition of Sarah Palin last year put Saturday Night Live back on the map, the Tiger Woods media tsunami is looking like it could help keep it there. Although I can’t help but think what greatness would have occurred if this story had been placed in the hands of Eddie Murphy, the current cast has turned in a solid effort so far. Pictured is Jason Sudeikis as PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem engaged in some on-camera damage control, even as assistants are replacing sponsor logos behind him.
“We’re currently looking for the second-best black golfer. There’s none on the Tour right now, or the junior tour. But we’ve taken a page from the film The Blind Side, and we’re currently driving around poor neighborhoods, looking for big kids walkin’ through rain.”
Video following the jump.
Link to the Sudeikis segment here. Weekend Update segment, also from Saturday:
“It’s really hard not to have an affair with some you’re having sex with.”
Last week:
Saturday Night Live shows obvious signs of wear as it approaches its 35th birthday; it’s nowhere near being the cultural bellwether it was during its first 10 years of life. But amazingly, even with Letterman and Kimmel and O’Brien, and cable TV and the Internet, we still look to Lorne Michaels’ shop as being the satire of record. CNN even fact-checked an SNL sketch recently, and a domestic violence group took issue with the Woods-Elin Nordegren segment above, shown on Dec. 5. When that happens, you know you’re still relevant.
Like an aging slugger, Saturday Night Live swats fewer and fewer home runs these days; but the Woods story has proven that there’s still some life there. It just needs the right inspiration. Perhaps, to paraphrase Norma Desmond, SNL is still big. It’s the stories that got small.
***
Saturday Night Live [Hulu]
‘Saturday Night Live’ Criticized for Tiger Woods Cheating Skit [News Busters]
