Archive for the ‘Television (TV) Satire’ Category

A New Gig For “Word Salad” Sarah

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016

“Sarah Palin Developing Her Own Judge Judy-Style Reality Show”

Judge Palin? Please say it ain’t so.
Don’t panic. Supreme Court’s no go;
Not a judge in real life,
Simply legal case strife
On TV, a Judge-Judyish show.

Damn! I was so hoping she’d be The Donald’s running mate.

Bracing For The SOTU (Limerick)

Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

Bracing For The SOTU (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Tonight we’ll be glued to our set,
Even though it’s a very safe bet
That, as always, the SOTU
Will drive us to go to
Strong drink. (We’ve no hash cigarette.)

SOTU Antics (Limerick)

Monday, January 27th, 2014

SOTU Antics (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Watch the SOTU’s bipartisan fight,
As the Prez walks the aisle Tuesday night.
Pols will lunge for his hand
Or a cheek, so they’ll land
On TV in this annual rite.

*****

And speaking of the State of the Union Address, remember the good old days when there was one yearly State of the Union speech and a single response from the opposition party?

Then, suddenly, the Republicans added a second rebuttal (referred to as the Tea Party response.) This was done in accordance with the “Oh my God! There’s a black president!” rule.

Well this year, two Republican responses have been deemed insufficient. (The “Why hasn’t he been impeached yet?” rule.)

So this Tuesday night we’ll be treated to three Republican rebuttals from Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Mike Lee, and Rand Paul, respectively.

What’s the matter? No room for Chris Christie?

Maybe next year, if he hangs on to his gig in New Jersey.

Trumped Up Campaign (Limerick)

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Here we go again! It’s too early to pretend to run for U.S. President. So instead, Donald Trump is fake-running for Governor of New York State.

Trumped Up Campaign (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

This brainchild (I trust) won’t get far:
New York Governor Trump — TV star.
He might run, Donald claims,
But we know his true aim’s
To get press for his show … or be czar.

Limerick Ode To Mike Wallace (1918-2012)

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

RIP Mike Wallace!

Limerick Ode To Mike Wallace
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Mike Wallace, a man without peer,
As a journalist often struck fear
In villainous hearts
With persistence and smarts.
Let us toast his distinguished career.

Keith’s Current News

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

I was pleased to hear that Keith Olbermann has a new gig at Current TV.

In his new role, Olbermann will debut a new nightly show sometime in “late Spring.” The five-nights-a-week show will air in primetime (the exact timeslot, along with the precise start date are still undetermined), and Olbermann described it as “an improved and amplified” version of Countdown. The show will be produced at studios in New York City.

In addition to hosting the new show, Olbermann will consult and executive produce additional programming for Current, which could include bringing new hosts to the network as part of a primetime lineup of news and politics.

I thought I’d celebrate with a limerick:

Keith’s Current News
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Keith’s been hired by Current TV.
Will he rescue Gore’s baby? We’ll see.
He’ll be back to reports
That are newsy — not sports.
It bodes well for progressive esprit.

(My Limerick Ode To Keith Olbermann on his MSNBC departure is here.)

Limerick Ode To Keith Olbermann

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

I was stunned to learn that Keith Olbermann is leaving Countdown and MSNBC effective immediately. Although I sometimes disagreed with him and even poked fun at Keith in verse, Olbermann’s departure leaves a gaping hole in my podcast-watching schedule.

I’ll miss Keith and look forward to his next show, wherever he turns up. In the meantime, here’s a limerick in his honor:

Limerick Ode To Keith Olbermann
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear Keith, to my shock and dismay
I’ve learned that you’re going away.
Though I’ve mocked you at times
For bombacity crimes,
I miss you already. Oy vey!

Sarah Palin Edict: Reality show contestants without talent must not compete … unless their last name is Palin.

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Once again, Sarah Palin shows she has no sense of shame or irony. In her new book America By Heart, the woman has the audacity to criticize American Idol singers as “talent-deprived” contestants who suffer from “the cult of self-esteem.” Now mind you, this is the very same woman whose talentless daughter Bristol has been making a spectacle of herself on Dancing With The Stars.

And that brings me to my latest limerick:

There’s a cult of no-talent, rants Palin.
How ironic’s her Idol show railin’!
With a daughter whose dancing
Is talentless prancing,
What’s next? Bristol’s Idol show wailin’?

(I have lots more Sarah Palin humor here.)

Unreal American Stories

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

I was glad to see that Sarah Palin’s Fox News Special did just so-so in the ratings. And I was amused that her just-pretend interviews with LL Cool J (which ended up being pulled) and Toby Keith drew objections from her non-interviewees. After all, if you’re going to do a show called Real American Stories, there should be something … uh … real about it.

And now, yet another Sarah Palin limerick:

Unreal American Stories
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Palin’s show was a snooze on TV.
Even fans did not find it must-see.
Plus pretending to talk
With celebs made them squawk.
And recycling old footage? Ennui!

Political April Fools’ Day

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Political April Fools’ Day (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

April Fools’ Day is coming. Beware!
Cuz it’s practical joke time. Prepare!
Don’t assume something’s frank,
Though perhaps as a prank,
Fox News will be balanced and fair.

Now Playing On My Other Blog

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

It’s the biggest football weekend of the year. Which is why I have a really bad case of the Super Bowl blues on my other blog.

Now Playing On My Other Blog

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

If you’d like a break from politics, my other (general humor) blog has a pair of limericks about the Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, NBC controversy and about Simon Cowell’s decision to leave American Idol.

Telling Tiger To Convert Just Ain’t Kosher

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

Up until now, I’ve avoided writing about Tiger Woods’ serial philandering. But Brit Hume’s outrageous comments leave me no choice. According to Hume, if Tiger Woods wants forgiveness, he must convert from Buddhism to Christianity:

Tiger Woods should turn his back on Buddhism and become a Christian to be forgiven for cheating on his wife, Hume told Fox News’ Chris Wallace Sunday.

“The extent to which he can recover seems to me depends on his faith,” said Hume. “He is said to be a Buddhist. I don’t think that faith offers the kind of redemption and forgiveness offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger is, Tiger turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.”

You can watch the charming video over at Crooks and Liars.

And that brings me to my latest limerick:

Telling Tiger To Convert Just Ain’t Kosher
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Tiger Woods’ rep has really been hurt.
Hume’s solution? The guy should convert:
Be a Buddhist no more —
Enter Christian faith’s door.
Get redemption for chasing each skirt.

Related Posts: Fuming About Hume; and Petraeus and Crocker Face Hume Humiliation

Larry King and Carrie Prejean — Not Headed To The Altar

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

I can’t decide what’s funnier:

a: Carrie Prejean’s finding Larry “King Of Softballs” King too tough and “inappropriate” an interviewer during her appearance to promote her book (and dodge discussing her lawsuit and sex tape); or

b: Carrie Prejean’s inability to properly storm off a set.

Note To Beauty Pageant Coaches: Must add storming-off-tv-set etiquette to your coaching regimen.

Here’s the video and here’s my limerick:

Larry King and Carrie Prejean — Not Headed To The Altar
By Madeleine Begun Kane

There once was a wingnut named Carrie
Who got angry at talk show host Larry.
So she yanked off her mike,
Then just sat there on strike.
But when storming off sets, must not tarry.

“Short On Facts” Fox

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

One of the silliest Republican (and Fox News) talking points is that the Democratic health reform bill is too long. Fox News Live Desk’s Trace Gallagher seems especially fond of it, making repeated (and inaccurate) comparisons to Tolstoy’s War and Peace. (Well, we always knew that Fox is fond of fiction.)

“Short On Facts” Fox (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

When on substance your grasp just ain’t strong,
Simply bitch that the health bill’s too long.
War and Peace is much shorter,”
Rants Trace (Fox “reporter”),
And even on that Fox is wrong.

Heinous Heenes?

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Last week I managed to avoid the Balloon Boy media frenzy. Reality show participants with an endangered child on an AWOL helium balloon? Yeah … right. Then again, I don’t spend my time watching kids being rescued from wells either.

In any event, I’m not surprised that Wife Swap participants (and reality TV series pitchers) Richard and Mayumi Heene may be arrested for “concocting a publicity stunt by pretending that their young son [Falcon] had climbed aboard a homemade helium balloon and was hurtling through the skies above Fort Collins, Colo.”

The Heenes’ lawyer David Lane expects the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office to file charges this week, and Denver man Robert Thomas says Richard Heene gave him advance word of a media stunt.

And that brings me to my latest limerick:

Heinous Heenes?
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Two publicity mongers named Heene
Are accused of a hoax quite obscene:
Claimed their wayward balloon
Held their child. Opportune
For a shot at “reality” green.

Update: I’ve heard the Heenes’ name pronounced three different ways, two of which screw up my rhyme scheme. Since I’m not sure which pronunciation is correct, I guess I’ll leave my limerick up as written.

Ode To Fresh Faces

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Ode To Fresh Faces
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Republican planning is plain.
They want to rebrand, they explain.
So on Sunday’s TV
New faces we’ll see:
Folks like Cheney and Newt and McCain.

Fox Pundits At Sea

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Fox News “pundit” rants always look foolish, especially when they’re packed with gleeful predictions of Democratic failures. And most especially when their predictions turn out to be dramatically wrong.

Such, thankfully, was the case with the loony rantings indulged in by Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck and sundry Fox News personalities who “bet against the Obama administration’s ability to rescue Richard Phillips, the American ship captain who was taken hostage by Somali pirates.”

How those Fox nuts salivated in anticipation of Obama’s failure! And how disappointed they must surely be in the wake of Phillips’ rescue after the Obama-authorized killing of three pirates.

I, for one, don’t expect any gracious apologies any time soon. Do you?

Fox Pundits At Sea (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Obama’s been tested and won.
Three pirates were killed with a gun.
Now will loons who foretold
That he’d fail to be bold
Say they’re sorry, congrats, job well done?

Ode To AP’s Ron Fournier

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

After President Obama’s outstanding performance during his second primetime press conference, the AP’s Ron Fournier had some column inches to fill. So, what words of wisdom did he share in his “news analysis?” Obama really “likes to have [his words] up on the Teleprompter.”

How nice to know we can count on Fournier to perpetuate the “Obama can’t talk without his Teleprompter crutch” rubbish. Apparently, poor Ron can’t write without a nonsensical meme:

Ode To Ron Fournier (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear Ron, you have nothing to say.
But, alas, you’re on deadline today.
Just continue a meme
Like that lame prompter theme.
Maybe someday you’ll merit your pay.

Ode To The Laughter-Police

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

I could have sworn that Obama’s 60 Minutes interview was both serious and informative. But I guess that’s what happens when you watch something yourself, instead of relying on press accounts. Silly me! Somehow I missed the part where Obama laughed it up over our economic hardship.

On the other hand, perhaps it’s because it NEVER HAPPENED!

Yes, there was a bit of gallows humor in the course of Steve Kroft’s interview with the President. But the laughter-police media has completely mischaracterized the President’s demeanor.

And that brings me to my latest limerick:

Ode To The Laughter-Police
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Watch the press-buzzards busily mocking:
“The President laughed — oh, how shocking!”
Distortion’s their game
As they try to place blame.
Wake me up when there’s something worth knocking.