Sarah Palin was a big ratings hit on 'SNL'

Last update: October 19, 2008 - 11:11 PM

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Anyone tuning in to "Saturday Night Live" hoping to see side-by-side versions of Sarah Palin and the Tina Fey version would have been disappointed.

But Palin, the GOP vice-presidential nominee, did appear on the show on Saturday night, wearing a bright red suit for the opening sketch.

She left most of the comedic heavy lifting to Fey, who played Palin giving her first news conference as the vice-presidential nominee. Palin stood next to Lorne Michaels, the show's longtime executive producer, as they watched Fey playing Palin, from a TV backstage.

The appearance was Palin's attempt to be good-natured after enduring weeks of mockery from the show, especially from Fey, whose winking, girlish, folksy impersonation of Palin has been called one of the most pitch-perfect in political satire.

The entertainment summit of the season earned "Saturday Night Live" its best ratings in 14 years. But if you blinked, you might have missed it.

While Fey was answering questions at the "news conference," something Palin hasn't done yet as the Republican vice presidential nominee, Palin walked on stage. Fey beat a hasty retreat, walking past the real Palin with a barely perceptible nod.

Later, Palin came on stage during the "Weekend Update" mock news segment and bobbed to the beat as cast member Amy Poehler performed a rap song the Alaska governor decided was too hardcore to perform herself.

Palin's guest shot, widely anticipated since Fey began imitating her a month ago, led "SNL" to its highest mark in overnight Nielsen Media Research ratings since March 1994, when assaulted skater Nancy Kerrigan was guest host.

Although a complete audience estimate for the rest of the country won't be available until later in the week, it is likely to be around 14 million. For the first half-hour, when Palin first came out, the audience was about 17 million.

Her running mate, John McCain, watched clips of the broadcast on Sunday. "Did you catch Sarah Palin on 'SNL'?" he asked a crowd in Toledo, Ohio. "She did a great job."

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