34th Season Premiere of SNL
Michael Phelps, Tina Fey, & Lil Wayne Bring in popular Show
Sep 15, 2008
Saturday Night Live kicked off their 34th season this weekend with a performance by current hip hop “it guy” Lil Wayne and appearances by Olympian Michael Phelps and Tina Fey.
Saturday Night Live Celebrates 34 Years Of Comedy
One of the most famous and longest running sketch comedy shows on TV, Saturday Night Live has pushed the envelope for 34 years with strong bits on everything from politics to entertainment. It helped launch the careers of some of comedies brightest stars including the late great Chris Farley, Eddie Murphy, and Steve Martin.
This year’s season opener included comedic takes on the recent FDLS cult scandal in Texas, a spoof of the T-Mobile Fave Five Commercials, and what is being called one of the strongest political sketches in SNL History. Here is a run down of Saturday night’s show.
Tina Fey Impersonates Sarah Palin
In one of the show’s most “buzzed about” moments, Tina Fey triumphantly returned to her SNL roots with a dead on impersonation of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The joint sketch, with Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton,is being heralded by critics as one of the greatest moments in SNL history.
“In conclusion, I invite the media to grow a pair,” Poehler/Clinton said most notably . “And if you can’t, I will lend you mine.”
Michael Phelps Host SNL
Eight time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps hosted Saturday night’s funny show. While some are slamming the athlete’s performance, fans were pleased by his commitment to the material and obvious connection with the cast.
Complete with a cameo appearance from his real life mother, Phelps got the most laughs with the line: “This is seriously, like, the ninth greatest moment of my life.”
Lil Wayne Performs On SNL
Lil Wayne took the famed SNL stage to perform his hits “Lollipop” and “Got Money.” Dressed in the “hood uniform” (a white tee shirt and jeans) and a sleek pair of designer shades, the hip New Orleans rapper belted out his vocorder aided tune with a slight tinge of rock star swagger.
“Shawty was a thug, bottles in the club, shawty want to hump, you know I like to touch, those lovely lady lumps,” Wayne sung as the bopping minimalist track played in the background. Although the performance was sans “hype man” and overbearing entourage, Wayne summoned the charismatic qualities of Lil Jon (Yeah!) and R&B crooners as he sang (not rapped) through the commendable set. It was his first time on the SNL stage.
Proving that hip hop has the ability to cross genres and boundaries, the hip hop hit maker even broke out his electric guitar and played a few notes for the song’s closing.
Click here to see Wayne perform “Lollipop,” the song that helped catapult his most recent album “Tha Carter III” to the number one spot.
