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Betty White Is Golden On Saturday Night Live
By
Jen Chung
Published May 9, 2010
Modified May 9, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 9, 2010
Modified May 9, 2010
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The highly-anticipated Saturday Night LIve with 88 year-old host Betty White did not disappoint, as the "Golden Girl" played Macgruber's grandmother, a straight-talking granny and an ex-con trying to scare kids straight. And she also made fun of Facebook, When I first heard about the campaign to get me to host Saturday Night Live, I didn't know what Facebook was. And now that I do know what it is, I have to say it sounds like a huge waste of time."
With the return of former cast members Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon and Tina Fey, there were some returning skits and characters, like NPR's The Delicious Dish and Rudolph's Whitney Houston during Weekend Update. (There was also a Debbie Downer sketch that didn't make the show; video of it in the gallery.) The Arts Beat noted that "most of Ms. White’s jokes boiled down to some version of her (a) saying something totally inappropriate for her age, or (b) making some kind of subtle - or blatant - sexual innuendo. But really, who cares, when so many of them worked?"
The show also attracted the show's highest overnight ratings in 18 months. According to EW, "Not surprisingly, last night’s SNL was No. 1 for the night, topping all primetime programs on all major networks. In homes, SNL doubled the No. 1 telecast in primetime, which was ABC’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs (a 4.4/8 in metered markets)."
Videos of sketches in the gallery and a video of the show, sans Jay-Z's performances, after the jump.
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saturday night live
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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