I wasn't annoyed by the show honoring Ellen as I was the ones honoring Tina Fey and Will Farrell. I actually laughed out loud more than once. But no matter how timely the other two SNL graduates are, I'd didn't laugh as much and would have preferred a Burnett retrospective. I also agree Garrison Keillor would be a great recipient. His humor might be too gentle for some but I'm grateful for anybody who can make me laugh out loud. I'm a fan of the Mark Twain Awards and had no complaints about who was honored until Tina Fey. That Ellen has had a sociological impact might suggest that she's funny in a similar way to Mark Twain, both making points. Arianne Laidlaw On Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 9:17 AM, M. Christine Benner Dixon <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Obviously, Ellen is a different kind of comedian than Twain was = > ("comedian" is hardly the right term for him, anyway). But the fact of = > the matter is, her style of humor resonates with a huge audience, and = > she has participated--for many years--in the development of American = > humor. Ellen genuinely offers insight (sometimes biting insight, = > sometimes more subtle critiques) into our culture and its many quirks. = > Ellen's comedy talk show consistently wins awards (and every clip I've = > ever seen has made me laugh). >