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NEW YORK - NEVER MIND all those questions about who will win the election: The more pressing concern for many viewers is whether Tina Fey will return to play Alaska Gov Sarah Palin on the TV comedy show Saturday Night Live.
The guest appearance by the show's former cast member and head writer was by all accounts a virtuoso impersonation and a viral hit.
But Fey stars in NBC's weekly prime-time comedy 30 Rock, and it's unclear if she will be moonlighting on SNL to skewer the Republican vice-presidential candidate, to whom she bears a much-remarked-upon resemblance.
Fey - and the will-she-or-won't-she suspense that preceded her appearance - helped make NBC's Saturday Night Live a ratings smash in its season premiere (which was hosted by Olympic swimming gold medalist Michael Phelps).
Then the five-minute segment pairing Fey with cast-member Amy Poehler (as Sen Hillary Clinton) became a global Internet sensation.
In preliminary ratings numbers measuring major US cities, SNL's 34th-season premiere logged a 7.4 rating and 18 per cent share of audience - the largest viewership for a SNL season debut since 2001, and up 64 percent from last year's opener, according to Nielsen Media Research.
With the Alaska governor poised to be a prominent part of the political race through Election Day on Nov 4 as Sen John McCain's running mate, and possibly serving as vice-president after that, there is little doubt she will be spoofed again by SNL, which historically has had particular relevance in its political parodies.
Will Fey be back in the role? 'We are taking it day-by-day,' said SNL spokesman Marc Liepis on Monday.
Could she be back as soon as this Saturday's show?
'We don't even have a script written yet,' Liepis replied.
Under any circumstances, it was unlikely Fey would make an encore appearance on this week's SNL, in as much as the New York-based show will air the night before Sunday's Emmy broadcast, live from Los Angeles. With 30 Rock having snagged several nominations, including Fey as best comic actress, she is expected to be on hand for those festivities.
For the long term, SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels reportedly has an as-yet-undisclosed Plan B and Plan C for a Palin impersonator, in lieu of Fey.
In the meantime, as Liepis noted, 'She has a day job.' -- REUTERS
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