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.

The Miss America 2010 Pageant is over, and aside from Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron, the winner was hot-button pop culture references. Miss Alaska made a quick and cheery Sarah Palin takedown, while other contestants skewered Tiger Woods and leathery Jersey Shore star The Situation. Maybe it’s too much to expect world peace.

When Game Change authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann joined Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough in discussing their best-selling and oft blogged about book, Halperin mentioned that the authors are in discussions with HBO about making a film version. Their dreamcast? Meryl Streep playing Hillary Clinton and Will Smith playing Barack Obama. Mediaite’s ideal cast is after the jump!

Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin have a plan to save NBC’s late night line-up! Well late Saturday night, anyway. During Beck’s interview with Palin earlier this evening the two offered to host Saturday Night Live! WHAT A GREAT IDEA. It is comforting and encouraging to know that Glenn Beck is apparently regular Mediaite reader.

Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, discloses her plan for ensuring the future security of network and cable TV providers everywhere: nail a television set to the wall of every dorm room in America!

This week, Barney’s unveiled their annual holiday windows, this year celebrating Saturday Night Live. The displays are heavy on allusion to various characters, scenes and personalities from the series’ 35 years – but deciphering each of those references is hindered by the primary mode of presentation, papier-mâché. I can’t help but suspect that this medium was chosen primarily to evoke sympathy – after all, it’s possible, if not probable, that they were actually made by a class of fourth graders.

Hillary Clinton remained mum on Sarah Palin for much of the remainder of last year’s campaign (as did Obama). But now that the media is about to once again take a ride on the Palin express courtesy of this week’s release of Going Rogue, the topic of the two meeting has been raised once again, this time by Meet the Press‘ David Gregory, who asked the Secretary of State whether or not she’d have a coffee with Palin. The answer? A very gracious ‘yes.’ Sort of. Video after the jump.

News about Sarah Palin‘s much-anticipated memoir is slowly trickling out. The AP has apparently got its hands on an early copy and can confirm some of the rumors: it was not smooth sailing between Palin and McCain’s campaign staff; Palin still harbors some ill-will towards Katie Couric. But there’s also a new one.

The eagle has landed! Translation: the Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey interview is a wrap. The much-anticipated interview was taped yesterday in Chicago; later in the evening Palin posted an update to her Facebook page, and Oprah spoke about it via video. Both after the jump.

It’s been a big week for Brian Williams. Tonight, he guest-stars on 30 Rock. Last night, he emceed “Stand Up For Heroes,” the star-studded annual charity show benefiting wounded returning soldiers via the Bob Woodruff Foundation, sharing the stage with Elvis Costello and his idol Bruce Springsteen. Sunday, he returned from a week spent in [...]

Sarah Palin has done only a handful of interviews since she and McCain lost the election last November. Moreover, it’s been a while since she’s been put directly on the hot seat (read: Katie Couric) so there’s certainly plenty to talk about! In an effort to help Oprah prepare for her interview we’ve compiled a top ten list of of outrageous questions about Sarah Palin that will need to be addressed.

Vivian Schiller is the president and CEO of National Public Radio, which she joined at the end of 2008 after seven years with The New York Times Co., where she served most recently as SVP and General Manager of NYTimes.com. During her tenure at the Times, she oversaw a complete overhaul of the paper’s website and dismantled TimesSelect, an early attempt at charging for content online. Schiller’s leadership at NPR has also meant a redesigned website. Earlier this week, Schiller came to New York to participate in a debate with Journalism Online founder Steve Brill — “The Great Digital Debate: Free vs. Paid Content Online.” Now she answers our 5QQ — Five Quick Questions.

The New York Times is rarely a bastion of backlash, but for Tina Fey — whose NBC comedy 30 Rock had its fourth season premiere last night — TV critic Alessandra Stanley will make an exception. In her review yesterday, Stanley was especially pointed with detailed jabs at the much-loved comedienne. And yet she loved her last year!

This is fantastic – the folks at Daily Fill & Movie Fill have done a major data cull, ranking SNL alumni by their total movie grosses and Rotten Tomato rankings. The results? Eddie Murphy dominates (thank you, Norbit), Tina Fey is in last place (but give her time), and Rob Schneider’s doing better than Will [...]

Long before The Daily Show, long before The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live was making fun of the news in a way that no one had ever seen before.
In honor of the premiere of Season 35, we’ve pulled together 35 of SNL‘s choicest news anchor spoofs and Weekend Updates, from Baba Wawa to Fred Armisen‘s Joy Behar to the infamous Couric/Palin interview.

What to do about Glenn Beck? Keith Olbermann is issuing ridiculous “Fox-twas” in the hopes of putting a stop to him, to little avail. But could a really devastating SNL sketch wreak the same havoc on the cable anchor as Tina Fey‘s did on Palin last fall?

Did Conan miss the part where everyone is excited about Mad Men? All the reviews and previews and tie-ins excuses to write about Mad Men because people love it? Sesame Street is doing a parody this year, for God’s sake. Conan, wake up!