Election season has become the one time when Saturday Night Live is guaranteed to be high in the public consciousness, so NBC must have concluded that its Obama-based and McCainiac jokes are just too vital to be wasted at 12:20 on a Sunday morning. Therefore, SNL will run three Thursday night prime-time specials between now and Election Day, which will apparently take the form of extended "Weekend Update" segments.

It's a lot of extra work for the show's writing staff, which has been going at a heavier pace than usual already (this Saturday is the only scheduled weekend off in the eight weeks prior to the election). The very pregnant Amy Poehler, who has to carry Weekend Update as a co-anchor, will likewise be stressed. But the good news is that the show is likely to draw an audience heavily engaged in the campaign, one that won't need jokes and references spelled out for it.

Also, the headlines do much of the writers' jobs for them. The vice presidential debate sketch on last Saturday's show was nearly 12 minutes long, and simply played off comments Sarah Palin and Joe Biden had actually made. A similar sketch about Tuesday's debate, even if short enough to be folded into Weekend Update, could kill a lot of time.

The specials have been heavily promoted, and will likely get a boost from early-to-bed types tuning in to see one of the much talked about Tina Fey-as-Palin appearances live for the first time. A month ago, there were those who felt that Fey playing Palin would be problematic, given that she has heavy duties both behind and before the camera on 30 Rock. Now, after three sketches that have already entered the SNL pantheon for their uncanny accuracy, it's amazing that anyone ever doubted. The attention has been good for Fey (even if the work is tiring), and has been fantastic for the show, now getting its highest ratings in years.

Another angle that might serve to boost viewership is the widespread rumor about an appearance by the real Sarah Palin. Everyone with the show is denying that anything is in the works, and in truth it would make more sense for Palin to show up for a traditional SNL, given that campaign schedules are typically lighter on the weekend.

But the prime-time specials will draw an audience that will dwarf even the numbers the show has been putting up since Fey's Palin became a sensation, so the temptation for both sides to work something out will be strong. And Palin has been open about her desire to appear alongside Fey, or simply in the kind of "I'm in on the joke" walk-on part that SNL has become famous for. If nothing else, coming to the show and shaking hands with everyone certainly can't hurt the treatment Palin might get in the future. It can't be a coincidence that SNL's vice presidential sketch, which concerned two people who have never been on the show, was more vicious than the presidential debate sketch, which dealt with two men who have been to SNL.

Saturday Night Live has already been setting much of the agenda for the Sunday talk shows; now NBC is betting that it can do the same for Friday water-cooler chatter.

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