A political season

It is pretty obvious which cast has filled most water cooler talk in the past few weeks -- that of Saturday Night Live. The political skits were right on -- Tina Fey as Palin will go down in the books not only because of her perfect exaggeration of some of Palin's quirks (the wink, the shout outs, the uninformed use of slang) but also because she gave us the opportunity to laugh again at the actual true statements this candidate made. It was unbelievable to hear the words come out of Palin's mouth and then unbelievably hilarious to hear Fey repeat them. Fred Armisen as Obama got stronger and stronger in his characterization as the weeks went on and I'm excited to see where he takes the character in the coming years (as president!). Darrell Hammond was very funny as McCain, but in the end it was McCain who was funniest of all as himself proving that the man is genuinely likable just unfortunate in his campaign and running mate choices.

In terms of hosts this season, Ben Affleck last Saturday was by far the best so far and his impersonations were uncanny. The Olberman skit went on too long but the guy definitely proved his chops with the Alec Baldwin impersonation. Loved Jon Hamm's "John Ham" skit -- I can't believe he ate the ham off the toilet paper roll. But of course the highlight for me was...David Cook. Okay he was just a musical guest but he ROCKED. I really like Light On, the new song, but the fact that I already was singing along to the unheard song he sang (Declaration?) makes me VERY PSYCHED for the new album. This guy can sing. Oh and yes, I love, love, love when he sings really high and starts a new verse low and almost a capella - it gets me every time.

New 30 Rock -- was good - not great, but I think it is hard with the level of expectation on Tina Fey's shoulders right now. Also, it is a show that is better on the second viewing -- there are so many moments that you can miss the first time. Need to save on DVR.

Can we talk about season finale of Mad Men? Look, the show is morbid - it can drive anyone to drink or smoke or contemplate committing suicide, but the storytelling is so well done and the acting is just phenomenal. And if you fall into the rhythm of the episode, you are transported to that world and the characters take you with them on their journey through life. And the choices each character makes is so well thought out and planned -- it is great writing at its best -- no haphazard moves for the characters which I love.

I am going to end this night before the election blog quickly because Daily Show is on and I AM OBSESSED. I always loved it, but didn't always make it a part of my nightly ritual until a few months ago. I really enjoyed watching Jon Stewart through this election process and actually learned a lot too. What a great way to watch the news -- okay it is slightly biased, but it also cuts through a lot of bullshit - love it! Is that wrong? I also watched a lot of Meet The Press!!

VOTE TOMORROW everyone -- here's to a new commander in chief! And remember,
Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...