Sarah Palin vs. the monkey at NBCs press tour party

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Sarah and Todd Palin the Barrymores of reality television caused consternation among lamestream TV critics at NBCs Summer TV Press Tour party.

The Palins are celebrating their fourth reality-TV series: Todd will compete on NBCs new reality series, Stars Earn Stripes, in which celebrities yes, Todds one execute military exercises.

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(Lisa Rose/NBC) - Sarah Palin joined husband Todd on Tuesday at NBCs press week party. Todd Palin will compete on Stars Earn Stripes, a new NBC reality show, this fall.

One of SESs executive producers, Mark Burnett, is the same guy who produced Sarah Palins Alaska for TLC. And of course, daughter Bristol Palin who was the improbable finalist on the 11th edition of Dancing With the Stars is starring in Lifetimes Bristol Palin: Lifes a Tripp, and is expected to be among the celebs announced later this week for ABCs upcoming all-star edition of Dancing.

Reality TV is the Palin family business.

So naturally, Sarah Palin showed up with her husband on Tuesday at NBCs pr! ess tour poolside party at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Critics, who should not have been surprised, were, judging by the commotion her presence caused at the clambake.

Sarah Palin was at NBCs TCA party I feel dirty, reported HuffPost TV associate editor Laura Prudom in a since-deleted tweet.

I gave her the evil eye, chimed in Jethro Nededog, formerly a senior reporter at the Hollywood Reporter and a featured writer at Zap2it.com, now senior TV editor at Celebuzz.

It will go down as one of Sarah Palins more challenging press and photo ops. Not because the lamestreamers oogled and/or snickered shes used to that. Yet its the first time, we think, that she competed for press attention with a capuchin monkey.

Yes, NBCs Summer TV Press Tour party will go down as the death match between Sarah Palin and Crystal the Monkey. Based on TV critics reports, blog posts and tweets about the evening, wed have to say that Crystal star of NBCs new comedy Animal Practice won by the slimmest of margins. But thats only because Crystal the scene-stealing darling of The Hangover II and We Bought a Zoo, and whos soon to be known as The Monkey Who Saved NBC so enthusiastically wrapped herself around TV critics for photo-taking, and kissed them on the lips and licked their cheeks on command. That is, until her trainer said it was time for her to take a break so he could check her diaper at which point she called it a night and Sarah Palin had the field all to herself.

In Palins favor, Crystal was stuck wearing a diaper. Palin, on the other hand, was a knockout, by all press accounts, in a short brown wrap dress that freelance TV critic/blogger Bill Brioux said hugged her like a long lost cousin.

Critics marveled at her Hollyweird tan, and the wrap-around glasses ! she neve r took off the jurys still out as to whether they were Oakleys or something more Cito Gaston-ish, as one critic insisted.

Palin also wore an American flag bracelet. And critics seemed to love the black platform peekaboo gladiator boots one called them bondage gear, in a good way she was wearing. The critic from TV Guide Canada who, yes, asked Palin who she was wearing on her feet reported that she responded: I dont know theyre on consignment from somewhere.