Pre-Holiday Musings

The Ballot Is Out!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Hall of Fame released the 2024 ballot on Monday, which officially kicks off two months of what is sure to be calm and reasonable debate. 12 newcomers join the 14 holdovers from last year’s ballot. Most of those newbies will only be on the ballot for this one year, either because they gain election in the first year, or they get dropped for falling short of the 5% threshold. There’s no shame in that, however. Simply putting together a career significant enough to make it onto a ballot in the first place is quite an accomplishment, which is why I never snidely say “he’ll have to buy a ticket to get in” when I dismiss someone’s chances.

One thing I like to look at when I read the new names is to see if there’s a Javier Vasquez this year - someone who is clearly not HOF caliber, but at least deserved the honor of seeing his name on a ballot yet didn’t make it past the screening committee. I don’t see any egregious omissions this time; the best eligible player who was bypassed is, I don’t know, Miguel Montero? The new ballot also often serves as a slap to the face. “Wait a minute, THIS guy has already been retired for 5 years? Oh boy!”

Over the course of the next few weeks I’ll go through the ballot and look at all 26 candidates, culminating with my virtual ballot. The Hall, in its infinite wisdom, does not send me a ballot so my choices are for pure entertainment purposes only. Oh well. In the meantime, here are this year’s candidates:

• Holdovers - Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltran, Mark Buehrle, Todd Helton, Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Francisco Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins, Gary Sheffield, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner

• Newcomers - Jose Bautista, Adrian Beltre, Bartolo Colon, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes, James Shields, Chase Utley, David Wright

A Significant (And Traumatic?) Anniversary

Interesting article in the LA Times about some films from 40 years ago that dealt with the potential for nuclear apocalypse. Generations of children grew up with that Sword of Damocles hanging over our collective heads. I wonder how much that has to do with the apathetic mentality prevalent in my fellow Gen X-ers. Sure, we didn’t do duck and cover drills in school, but that also meant that we weren’t deluded into thinking that we could escape catastrophe by simply hiding underneath our desks. We grew up with some genuine existential dread. S*** felt real.

The huge cultural milestone was clearly ABC’s telecast of the film The Day After. Presented as a realistic depiction of what nuclear war would look like, it was one of the major television events of its time, including a panel discussion following the film featuring the likes of Carl Sagan and William Buckley. Its power is magnified by the fact that even though it has rarely been seen since its initial broadcast all of us who watched it remember it so well. It may have been a movie that few people have seen in 40 years, but it remains permanently embedded in our psyches.

It was set in Lawrence, Kansas - chosen because it would have been close enough to a major target that the residents would immediately suffer effects from the blast, but not so close that everyone would have been killed instantly. In the opening scenes as the characters are introduced we hear news reports in the background about some vague dispute between the Cold War powers in Berlin. And then, the missiles launch. Among my biggest memories was the scene in which characters witness missiles departing from the silo. One observed that they would take approximately a half hour to hit their target, with another somberly noting that it would the same amount of time for the Soviet missiles to strike here. And although I’m sure it was well known at that time that roaches would survive a nuclear war, this movie brought that knowledge into the mainstream, inspiring years of “when the bomb drops the only survivors will be roaches and fill in the blank” jokes.

The Day After may be a cultural flashpoint (no pun intended) but the movie that really hit me hard was Testament. Originally produced as part of PBS’s American Playhouse series, it was given a small theatrical run in order to qualify for the Oscars, and Jane Alexander did in fact earn a Best Actress nomination. With a much smaller budget than The Day After had, it didn’t include any flashy special effects and focused on the personal stories.

This one was set in a suburban town in Northern California. Alexander’s character was the mother of 3 children, and the depiction of the nuclear attack was shown by the familiar EBS siren on TV, except this time it was not a test. As with The Day After, the bulk of the movie dealt with the gradual deterioration of society along with the slow deaths of the characters as radiation takes its toll.

The reason it was so effective was due to the small moments. The town meeting as citizens try to decide what to do as they are cut off from society. (Including a desperate young couple, portrayed by a young Kevin Costner & Rebecca De Mornay, with an infant child.) Alexander listening to an answering machine message from her husband one last time before she removes the batteries so that they can be used for flashlights instead. Her daughter asking her what love is like knowing that she will not live long enough to actually experience it. Gut punching moment after gut punching moment.

And as I’m writing this I realize I’m describing the most depressing movie imaginable during a holiday. So, I wouldn’t recommend this as family viewing when you’re tired of parades and football. Suffice to say that there’s a good reason that both The Day After and Testament had such profound effects on people who watched them. The plausibility is what made each so terrifying.

TV Of the 21st Century - Extras

This one was a perfect example of the British model of television. Two seasons, 6 episodes each, plus a wrap up special. That was the exact amount of time that Ricky Gervais needed to completely tell the story, no need to pad things out. It was similar to his original version of The Office.

A co-production of HBO and the BBC, Gervais begins the series as a struggling actor having to settle for background roles, accompanied by Ashley Jensen as his platonic best friend and fellow extra, and Stephen Merchant as his incompetent agent. Gervais’ Andy Millman was ambitious and eager to break out of that bubble, and his attempts to build a more lasting career made up much of the story in season 1.

One of the big hooks in the early going was not only the fact that it was his followup project to The Office, but also that it featured guest starring roles from major A-List stars appearing as themselves. Stars portraying themselves unflatteringly was already a well established trope by this time, but Extras did it so much better than most other shows did, as was demonstrated by Kate Winslet in the very first episode.

For my money, the best example came from Daniel Radcliffe in a season 2 episode. He made himself out to be the classic overconfident adolescent, trying to make the moves on Jensen’s character even though she was an adult woman and he was still a teenager. It was punctuated by a surprise cameo from another major star.

I’ll restrain myself from sharing more clips, but the appearances of David Bowie and Chris Martin are worth watching as well. Martin’s appearance in particular perfectly lampooned shameless self promotion.

The show made a big zag in season 2. Andy successfully sold a script he had been shopping in season 1 and was now cast in the lead of his own sitcom. Following lots of network interference it strayed from his original vision and it now become a sitcom set in a factory with Andy cast as the boss. It was pure hackery, his character wore an outrageous wig and had his own overused catchphrase. The season dealt with his unhappiness; he finally had what he wanted, but he felt he was working on a show that was beneath his talent and he was no happier than he was when he was an anonymous background player.

Ricky Gervais’s appeal has lost a lot of its luster in recent years. He has too often become the kind of guy who will say something shocking for shock’s sake and brush off any criticism with “oh, have I offended you?” flippancy. But at his best he was outstanding, and Extras perfectly demonstrated that. It’s currently on a streaming service that not many people have. Here’s hoping it finds a home with larger reach; it’s definitely worth a watch.

Originally aired on: HBO

Currently streaming on: BritBox

Don’t Blame The Turkey

Finally, here’s an interesting pre-Thanksgiving read. It’s behind a paywall, so in case you can’t read it the article busts the turkey/tryptophan myth. Short answer, Turkey does not contain higher levels of tryptophan than other protein rich foods do. The turkey is only one of several reasons why we feel so sleepy at the end of the meal. Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble.

Closing Laughs

OK, this one is an obvious selection, but it’s a classic for a reason. It also serves as another reminder that the full episode doesn’t stream anywhere. That’s just crazy. And lord, did I have a crush on Jan Smithers.

I’m going to take the holiday off, so there will not be a newsletter on Friday, see you all again on Monday. Among the many things that I’m thankful for is all of you. Thanks so much for supporting Tending the Herd. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. May your dinner conversations be devoid of drama, and for those of you who are traveling, may your journeys be uneventful.