It’s no secret that a number of us here at Mediaite have professed our love for NBC’s thursday night comedy block (which is currently suffering from a lack of Community), so naturally, the video below is chock-full of so many awesome people, places, and things, there are lit’rally (read in Rob Lowe‘s voice) no words to describe it.

We here in America were really broken up when Kim Jong-il died. In fact, we were so upset that we spent a bunch of time worrying how it was going to affect the storyline of a silly sitcom with average ratings. Yes, clearly we all had a special place in our hearts for the Dear Leader. Anyway, a producer from 30 Rock was nice enough to speak to Us Weekly to explain how the death will affect all of the actors.

No, not those actors. I’m talking about Tina Fey and such.

Despite Kim Jon-il being a ruthless dictator who’s made the lives of millions absolutely miserable for decades, it’s still important that we have enough compassion and empathy to recognize that he is still a human being who has passed away. And that’s why my first thought upon hearing this shocking news last night was, “Huh, I wonder if this will mess up 30 Rock this year?” Yes, clearly I was deeply saddened by his loss.

Anyway, for those of you that don’t know, the NBC series ended its last season with the news that Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) wife, Avery Jessup (Elizabeth Banks), had been kidnapped by the North Korean dictator and it the story was supposed to be a major plotline for this year. With the new season’s premiere only weeks away and much of it already filmed, we can imagine that yesterday’s news is throwing a mighty big wrench in the works.

When Seth Meyers reported on the story of a local strip club doing a Christmas toy drive (“give a gift to charity and we’ll give it to the manager!”), Jimmy Fallon just had to stop by his old “Weekend Update” post to hear more. Looking sharp in a navy suit and purple tie, he challenged Meyers to a “good old-fashioned ‘Weekend Update’ Joke-Off.” And, just to make things more exciting, former co-anchors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler also threw their hats into the ring.

A caption in a photo slideshow of “Celebrity Look-a-likes” sparked outrage among at least three New Zealand conservatives Friday night. The Yahoo! New Zealand feature contained a split-screen of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and comic actress Tina Fey, with a caption that read “Poor Tina – there’s something painful about resembling someone so evil.”

No doubt 30 Rock‘s Tina Fey does a great impression of Sarah Palin. But surely she’s not such a dead ringer for the former Alaska governor and current One Nation bus touring non-candidate that she’d ever be confused for the real thing in a news story–and if, somehow, she was, you can bet it wouldn’t happen at Fox. I mean, she works there, so you’d assume they have a pretty good idea what the lady looks like. Right? Um, right?

A discussion of healthy ways to add years to your life got mildly–and entertainingly derailed–on CONAN last night when CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta asked Conan O’Brien about his sex life: “Are you having regular sex?” Apparently, having “regular sex” is good for you, as is limiting your coffee intake and making sure you floss daily (flossing? why’s it always got to be flossing?) But 30 Rock‘s Tina Fey, sitting next to Gupta, immediately jumped on the adjective “regular.”

Her debt to America paid, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is having a bit of fun in the post-Bush era, having just finished filming a cameo appearance for the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Rice, who had been repeatedly referred to on the program as the Alec Baldwin character Jack Doneghy’s ex-girlfriend, will be arriving in his office soon, though no word on what her role there will be.

Tina Fey’s new memoir Bossypants is out this week and, despite a truly terrifying cover image, is clearly going to be a huge hit. After all, Fey has arguably been the First Lady of Comedy for the past decade (by the way, “First Lady of Comedy” is the exact kind of vaguely sexist comment that would lead to her choosing that terrifying cover image).

Actor/comedian Tracy Mogan stars alongside Tina Fey in NBC’s 30 Rock, so when he appeared for a surprise interview before TNT’s telecast of the Miami Heat vs. the NY Knicks game, the question presented to him seemed innocent enough. Co-hosts Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley needed someone to settle a disagreement as to who is more attractive: Ms. Fey or former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin . An odd question to be sure, but certainly no odder than the response they received from the unpredictable actor.

On Friday MSNBC had booked regular contributor Touré on The Dylan Ratigan Show to deliver a “rant” on NBC’s 30 Rock and their use of blackface as a comedic device. Alas, he was bumped by Bill Clinton‘s improvised filibuster of a Presidential press conference and his commentary never made air. Fortunately he has graciously agreed to allow Mediaite to republish his thoughts here, which follow below:

Today on Hardball, Chris Matthews discussed Time’s new cover story which featured an interview with Sarah Palin about her potential presidential campaign. After discussing the swipes she made at President Obama, he pinpointed the one thing that makes her so popular: “being a wise ass” and being “good at it.”

Odds are the only thing you know about the ceremony for this year’s Mark Twain Award at the Kennedy Center is this: Tina Fey handed it to Sarah Palin. But don’t expect to see that on PBS Sunday when the network airs the awards ceremony. As David Edwards writes on The Raw Story, Fey’s razor sharp jabs at the one-time Alaska governor and media-hyped presidential candidate were cut–for time.

Earlier this week, Tina Fey became the youngest individual to ever be awarded The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. And while the usual suspect of entertainment peers came out to adulate Ms. Fey on her accepted and prominent spot in the canon American humorists, some took umbrage at her “thanking” of Sarah Palin, which included some sharp political jabs at the conservative political leader whom Fey has impersonated with great effect.

Last night on the Late Show, Tina Fey gifted David Letterman with a few moments of her infamous Sarah Palin impression. She also got a swipe in at Fox News, saying they should stop calling her “Governor Palin” because it would be like still introducing Fey as a “Dairy Queen employee.” It was a good line if you excuse the fact that we do that for all political figures. Still, any Fey as Palin is better than no Fey as Palin.

Has this election season become a lot of sound and fury signifying disappearing candidates? That’s what Politico is reporting. Apparently a lot of politicians up for election next month are running scared of the media for fear of being caught on tape saying something stupid.

The returning cast members and Betty White sing pretty on The Lawrence Welk Show, and try not to be repulsed by Kristen Wiig.

Tonight’s all-star SNL featured a favorite “Weekend Update” staple — and reunited three of Update’s favorite anchors. “‘Really!’ with Seth & Amy” morphed into “‘Really! With Seth, Amy & Tina,’” bringing together the Update anchors who have manned the desk for the last decade: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers.

Tonight is Saturday Night Live’s second-last show of its 35th season, and also, hands down, its biggest: Newly-recelebrated old-school superstar Betty White is hosting what has become the Mother’s Day show featuring SNL’s history of funny, funny ladies, which means the return of some top alumnae like Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, and Molly Shannon. And of course Tina Fey. The “women aren’t funny” meme is pretty dead by now, killed by the relentless dominance of Fey in pretty much every comedic endeavor she tries, plus people like Poehler, and Sarah Silverman, and Chelsea Handler, and Jenna Fischer, and Wanda Sykes, and Kristen Wiig, etc. etc. etc. — but the wildly-unequal ratio in the biz still lives on.

When you think of the most important and transformational characters of the last decade, George W. Bush and Sarah Palin would certainly be at the top of the list. And when you think of each, Will Ferrell and Tina Fey aren’t too far removed from America’s vision of each.

Saturday Night Live is an iconic show – and tonight NBC looks back at the 2000s. Here’s a little of what you’ll see.

While The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will be cross-airing on the Sarah Palin Network, the other NBC late night comedy show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has been thriving in another arena as well – on the web.

Thursday night’s show was a perfect example – jam-packed with viral videos rarely seen among the current crop of late night shows.

Last night Tina Fey hosted Saturday Night Live and reprised her role as former Governor Sarah Palin by introducing an Oprah-style television network called “The Sarah Palin Network.” Among the great show parodies previewed, perhaps most relevant for this site was “Hey Journalist, I Gotcha,” in which Palin re-edited interviews to make it appear like her interviewers were “woefully unprepared.” Video after the jump.

30 Rock is a fictional comedy whose writers consistently have Escher-esque fun with real-life influences and characters. But one has to wonder if the disparaging depiction of the fictional cable provider “Kabletown,” and its revenue dependence on pay-per-view pornography isn’t reflective of Comcasts’ business model, and perhaps a concern in the halls of NBC HQ? Video after the jump.

30 Rock is well known for using both real-life news events and personalities to drive their plot, but last night’s episode featured a storyline ripped from the Mediaite headlines: NBC’s takeover by a Philadelphia cable provider, affectionately referred to as “Kabletown.” It also featured a cameo by Nightly News anchor Brian Williams (also known as “the funny one” amongst the NBC News talent lineup. Video after the jump.

The rumors are true, and yes, Facebook had something to do with it. USA Today is reporting that Betty White will be hosting the May 8 broadcast of Saturday Night Live after refusing the spot for years. White, whose legendary status has persisted to a younger generation through her role in The Proposal, playing beer pong with Jimmy Fallon, and, yes, those Golden Girls reruns on Lifetime, became the center of a Facebook campaign to get her to host after the debut of her new Snickers ad during the Super Bowl. And Lorne Michaels couldn’t sound happier about it.