Oprah. The ultimate parody.

Okay, Oprah is officially ruined for me. I used to record her new episodes with the DVR and over the summer, when it was all just re-runs, I hit a dry spell. I hadn't seen a new episode in months. But I did catch several Mad TV and SNL parodies instead.

Their parodies are very similar - The fake Oprah shouts into the camera... pausing... at every...other...word for EFFECT!!!!! Her low voice sounds forced. Her delivery is totally over the top and made that much funnier when they add crazed fans, skinny/fat cams and spoofed Gails and Stedmans.

So, imagine my shock when I catch the first few episodes of the new fall season. I swear to you, she has turned into a parody of herself. The voice. The shouting. The over...the...top... DELIVERY!!!!! I watched her tribute to Team USA, which was really great, but barely tolerable because of her crazy shouting. "And here... comes... the... U... S... MEN'S... VOLLEYBALL... TEAM!!!!!!"

I tried to find a clip of real Oprah to compare to the fake one, but quite a few have been taken off You Tube for copyright issues. Figures.

I think I'm also a little over the legions of Oprah fans who hyperventilate during the opening of each show. If you want to see out of control, watch one of the Oprah's Favorite Things episodes.

Somehow, I actually found a great comparison of real vs. fake Oprah fans gone wild.

The first clip was from the real show - Oprah's Favorite Things 2007. While her behavior is pretty subdued, fans totally and completely freak out. The insanity lasts for a full, 2 and a half minutes. See if you can last that long.



And here's the SNL parody. It's really not too far off the mark. The best is at about the 2 minute mark when a crazed fan wets herself. (Tina Fey, you're my hero.)



Yeah... sorry, Oprah. I think I'm done.