Martin Short, Claim Your Jacket
SNL Recap
It’s the holiday season and I am in a festive mood. Of course I was going to like this week’s episode, even though it contains 2 elements that usually turn me off - an over abundance of guest cameos and an over reliance on repeat bits. I’m no Scrooge, it was funny enough that I was never bored.
Martin Short joined the Five Timers Club, and such an occasion always comes with the compulsory club sketch, featuring previous honorees greeting the new member along with prolonged cheers and hoots from the studio audience. This edition featured 9, count ‘em 9, returning champs. In order, they were (draw a deep breath) Tom Hanks, Paul Rudd, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Scarlet Johansson (closing the door in her husband’s face as she entered,) Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Emma Stone, and John Mulaney, along with non-5 timer Jimmy Fallon as Jacket Boy. Steve Martin was notable by his absence, but Short mentioned in his monologue that he did not want him there.
This came with its share of good natured joshing among the stars. The premise involved a lot of low-lying fruit, but what the hell. It’s my pick for Top Sketch of the Week. This much star power also meant that the regular cast was largely pushed aside. The majority of the ringers stuck around to make other appearances in the show. No joke, Paul Rudd was in almost as many sketches as Short was.
As a result, we had one of those rapid fire premises that allows most of the cast to pop in for a joke or two to ensure that everyone had something to do this week. This time it was another edition of the parade sketch, this one set at Newark Airport during Christmas week, introducing everyone from the guy whose edible kicked in too early to the woman bringing a smelly meal on board to Captain Sulley.
The show also brought a reprise of the sketch from Quinta Brunson’s episode, Mikey and Chloe as a dad and his teen daughter getting into a road rage incident and pantomiming their argument with the other driver behind closed windows. Here, Short portrayed the other driver (with McCarthy later joining in as his wife) as they fought over the only open spot in a mall parking lot. Once again, Chloe’s teenager mimed oral sex acts a little too graphically for her father’s comfort.
The star power also meant that Short was on screen a lot less than most hosts tend to be. Case in point was the return of Sabado Gigante. This premise seems tailor made for Short’s over the top persona, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the Phantom of Studio 8H (aka Dana Carvey) joined in and Paul Rudd was the hapless contestant - the only 2 Spanish words that he knows are tequila and Shakira - roped into the insanity.
As for the rest of the show: it was another musical monologue, with the camera following Short backstage as he sang. He briefly greeted Lorne, but unless I missed it the backstage llama was nowhere to be seen. I hope he’s OK. The pre-filmed piece provided another example of classic misdirection. Heidi portrayed a woman who drops one of her gifts while walking in Manhattan. Kenan was a homeless man who returned the box and she was so moved by the gesture that she gives him a makeover. It was so earnest that it was only a matter of time before a record scratch payoff would come, and it did. And the episode ended with a piece set at the dance sequence from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Short and Bowen were a choreographer and assistant hired to whip them into shape. They seem to be the only adults in the Peanuts Universe who do not speak with a trombone voice.
Finally, I must mention Update. I am adamant in my belief that Che & Jost have passed their expiration date. Still, their annual joke swap is a great tradition. I love the wince in each of their faces as they see the joke on the cue card for the first time. This year there were two twists. First, Jost was asked to read his jokes using a “black” voice. Second, two of the jokes that Che wrote for Jost referenced ScarJo, and the camera cut to her watching it on a backstage monitor. At one point she said an audible “oh s***.”
No Employee Of the Week award this time. Because the regular cast was given so little to do this week, no one really stood out. So, Christmas bonuses to all 17 cast members. I should also acknowledge that for his second song musical guest Hozier performed Fairytale Of New York. I have made the What Is The Greatest Rock & Roll Christmas Song debate with my friends. I insist that Christmas Wrapping is the correct choice, but I get outvoted by the majority who favors Fairytale instead. You can’t go wrong either way, but I stand behind my choice.
That’s a wrap on 2024. The show will return in January; the next host has not yet been announced. Next month will also contain the initial batch of retrospective specials surrounding the 50th anniversary season. There will be an NBC special produced by Questlove on the musical history of the show as well as a 4-part documentary series on Peacock. The splashy star-studded gala special follows in February. There also figures to be a tsunami of content on all corners of the internet. Top 50 this, top 50 that. Brace yourselves.
Rickey The GOAT
Rickey Henderson’s death was so shocking for multiple reasons. The dude played in the majors until he was 44, he seemed immortal. His last public appearance was this past September at the A’s final home game in Oakland and he looked like himself. The news was an absolute gut punch.
Henderson was more than just a Hall of Famer, he was in the inner circle of the inner circle. As Bill James once noted, you could split him in half and would still have 2 Hall of Famers. He had a mixture of power and speed like few others. And his peak greatness combined with his longevity led to his setting several records which appear unreachable - he has the most career steals and runs scored, and ranks second in walks drawn. More importantly, he had an immeasurable It Factor.
No disrespect to other great players, but when you look at the returning Hall of Famers at the annual induction ceremony it brings on the warm & fuzzy memories of how great each of them were. Only a select few conjure up indelible images. Think of Rickey, and you immediately picture the collar pop on his home run trot. Or the extreme crouch in his batting stance as he shrinks the strike zone. Or the snatch catch. Or his finger wiggle as he takes a lead off off first base.
That finger wiggle above all else personified the Essence of Rickey. He was basically taunting the pitcher, letting him know that he was a dead duck and that Rickey would find himself on third base before too long. Henderson had it all. The aura. The swag. The magnetism. He was one of the most aesthetically pleasing players of my lifetime.
And boy, was he a personality. If you simply Google the phrase Rickey Henderson stories it will lead you to a treasure trove. Of course, the major anecdote about him - you know the one I’m talking about (John Olerud) - wasn’t true, but such was Rickey’s vibe that it seemed plausible. Even so, the stories that are true are plentiful and wonderful. Framing a $1 million dollar bonus check rather than cashing it so that he could look at it every day to remind himself that he’s a millionaire? Love it. Hitting a home run to break the runs scored record and deciding “the hell with that, I’m sliding into home plate anyway?” Love it more.
In general players that are too egotistical are a turnoff for me, but I found Rickey charming. Perhaps because he was so over the top. Let’s face it, it’s tough to be a professional athlete without also having a healthy ego. Some just hide it better than others. Rickey wouldn’t bother to hide it; his constant habit of referring to himself in the third person was only one part of that.
My personal favorite Rickey story was one which was antithetical to the caricature that people had drawn about him and which showed that beneath his bluster he was a good dude. A major part of the Henderson narrative was his constant displeasure over his contract. “If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Mike Gallego.” Mike Piazza told the story of the Mets team meeting when they were dividing playoff shares in 1999. Every time they voted on a member of the support staff, Rickey screamed “full share!” When other players questioned that, his response was the same. “F*** that! It’s life changing money.”
Let that be his epitaph. In addition to being the undisputed greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history, he was still someone who looked out for the little guy. This has got to be brutal news for Oakland fans. He was born in Chicago but moved to Oakland at a young age. Although he played for 9 different teams across a 25 year career, he will always be indelibly identified with the green & gold. To lose the face of the franchise months after the team moved out of town is too cruel for words. Henderson died mere days before what would have been his 66th birthday. I highly recommend Howard Bryant’s biography on Rickey Henderson. It is a great read about a fascinating guy.
Merry Happy
For the umpteenth time, wishing someone “Happy Holidays” is not an assault on Christmas. Starting with Thanksgiving there is a litany of holidays, both religious and secular, which lasts all the way through to early January. So when I say Happy Holidays it is to acknowledge that I wish you nothing but joy throughout this entire season. See you all again on Saturday.