the buzz log

Live from New York, it's time to mock the disabled!

With Sarah Palin out of the national eye, "Saturday Night Live" turned its satirical guns toward another governor, New York's David Paterson. However, this time the laughs weren't quite as hearty. It's one thing to mock a moose-hunting beauty queen, but quite another to laugh at the visually impaired.

Governor Paterson is a legally blind man who took over for the disgraced Eliot Spitzer earlier this year. SNL's Fred Armisen portrayed Paterson as a bumbling man who is completely unqualified for the position. Funny? The studio audience seemed to like the skit, but many groups are outraged and speaking out.

The National Federation of the Blind issued a statement calling the characterization "absolutely wrong" and criticized the show for playing up the stereotype that blind people are "incapable of simple tasks." Meanwhile, Governor Paterson's office issued a statement that the show should be able to "find a way to be funny without being offensive." Indeed, while comedy is in the eye of the beholder, many of the knee-slappers at Paterson's expense seemed to be, as the New York Post put it, rather "stock." Wandering aimlessly? Confused? One could argue that Mr. Magoo pulled the same gags a lot better 50 years ago.

Still, funny or not, searchers sought out the "SNL" video. Queries for "snl david paterson" and "armisen david paterson" both surged on Sunday and continue to stay hot. "SNL" has yet to release a comment in response to the outrage, but if the heat keeps up, perhaps Mr. Armisen will invite the real governor to make an appearance. Hey, it (kinda) worked for Sarah Palin...

Filed under: Saturday Night Live

The show never had many ladies to begin with, and now "Saturday Night Live" loses not one, but two women of the "Night." Witty twosome Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch want their weekends free for a gig on NBC's new sitcom "30 Rock," airing this fall.

Will they follow the fame and fortune route of, say, a Bill Murray, or the middling success of a Rob Schneider? It may be easier to trace the success of men of the venerable sketch show, but quite a few SNL lady alums are kicking up searches. Here are the top former SNL ladies in the Buzz this week...

1. Sarah Silverman—With her appearance in "The Aristocrats" and her concert film "Jesus Is Magic," her career is smoking...or maybe that's just the fires of damnation preparing for her.
2. Amy Poehler—Now that Tina's leaving, she has a shot to pull a Katie Couric and become the solo anchor. Time to wax those gams.
3. Maya Rudolph—Critics say she stole the movie "A Prairie Home Companion." Next up, she provides the voice of the fairy princess in "Shrek the Third" with Amy Sedaris.
4. Julia Louis-Dreyfus—A false start, but she shook the "Seinfeld" curse and scored with "The New Adventures of Old Christine."
5. Janeane Garofalo—She just left her gig as "Air America" host, but the liberal wisecracker will surface somewhere.
6. Tina Fey—On to TV independence, costarring with Alec Baldwin this fall.
7. Molly Shannon—She snagged a role in "Little Man" with the Wayans Brothers. Rob Schneider may need to do an intervention.
8. Gilda Radner—The memory of this class act still lives on.

Filed under: TV, Saturday Night Live