In case you didn’t get enough of her cheesy catchphrases about Joe the Plumber and huge prom hair during the 2008 presidential elections, don’t worry — Sarah Palin is back and ready to win the hearts of every American with her new reality show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.”
Sarah Palin’s Alaska
Sundays at 9 p.m.
TLC
In what Palin likely hopes will aid her political comeback, the former governor takes us inside her family home in Wasilla, Alaska as well as on trips across the state, doing everything from fishing to mountain climbing.
Palin claims the goal of this series is to display the beauty of Alaska to the rest of the country. But clearly, she’s trying to show the likeability of her family. After an unsuccessful run for the vice presidency, endless mockery of her speeches and intelligence, and daughters caught up in scandal after scandal, she obviously feels the need to improve her public image.
On the program, Palin overtly disciplines her children for things conservative Middle America would deem unbecoming of their youth. In a possible attempt to compensate for the Bristol issues, Palin punishes her other daughter, Willow, for sneaking a boy into her room. She also tries to play the victim by bashing Joe McGinniss, the author who rented the house next door while he works on an unauthorized Palin biography.
As an executive producer on the show, Palin tries to depict herself as a “fun” mom. She bakes with her kids and goes on hiking and fishing adventures, all while balancing a “rising” political career. In her mind, she’s the mom of the year, capable of anything.
But it’s hard to not make fun of the stupid crap that comes out of her mouth. In explaining about McGinnis, she had her husband build a 20-foot high fence ― asserting, “This is a good example of what we need to do to secure our nation’s borders!” These intelligent phrases are exactly what you want to hear from a person with probable aspirations of running the nation. In the ultimate Palin moment, she explains that her favorite thing to do in Alaska is to “sit on her cement slab.” Not exactly something you want to be describing when you’re trying to promote the beauty of a state.
The only interesting moment comes during a fishing trip when the program suddenly becomes an Animal Planet show. Two grizzly bears get in an epic brawl over their cubs and for a moment of bliss, Palin stops yapping. The rest of the time, you’re watching her get stuck on a mountain for 30 minutes, yak on about how pretty her state is and listen to her kids talk about her addiction to her BlackBerry, as you wonder how in the world she became a politician.
Palin is lucky that Alaska is so beautiful because without it, she wouldn’t have anything left for a show. Let this be a warning to any politicians looking to enhance their public image — a TV show is just not the way to do it.