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SNL Season 9 Premiere

Season 9 was one of the rare years in which there were no cast changes in the offseason. 2 new regulars would climb aboard midseason, but at least the beginning of the year provided status quo. (If memory serves correctly, Eddie Murphy missed some episodes while he was filming Beverly Hills Cop, which necessitated reinforcements.) NBC Entertainment chief Brandon Tartikoff served as host, which gave the show opportunity to poke fun at the boss and for Tartikoff to prove to the nation that he was a good sport.

For the monologue the show pulled a page out of the old Buck Henry template. As he drily spoke of NBC’s accomplishments, a scroll ran on screen which mostly spent some time listing many of the network’s more disastrous programming choices in recent years - the likes of Supertrain, Mrs. Columbo, and of course, Pink Lady and Jeff. That talking point went further in a filmed piece in which Tartikoff attempts to promote the new fall schedule to random New Yorkers. Like any right thinking American, I can always appreciate a good Manimal joke.

Eddie Murphy was fully in the rock star phase of his career by this point. He wore the same black leather suit throughout most of the episode, and every time he stepped on the stage the crowd would greet him with the type of roar generally reserved for Chachi’s initial entrance in any Happy Days episode.

Two recurring bits appeared this week. Joe Piscopo and Robin Duke showed up as Doug & Wendy Whiner. This one was always a bit of a one-note premise but I liked the twist this time that they drew Tartikoff’s attention by revealing that they are a Nielsen family. And Murphy donned the big green costume once again as Gumby, this time rehearsing a reunion gig with Pokey. I have to say that I always get a kick out of his twisted take in Gumby.

It’s a new season but there’s a lot of the same old same old. Brad Hall still serves as the anchor for Saturday Night News, and he is still awfully weak in the role. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is still terribly underused, which seems insane in retrospect. As always the musical performances were edited out of the Peacock stream, but this episode’s guest is worth noting. It was John Cougar, and to give you a hint as to how long ago the episode originally aired, at this time he was still going by the name John Cougar.

Next time I’ll revisit the midseason episode hosted by… Michael Palin! I always enjoyed the episodes hosted by either Palin or Eric Idle. They would bring a real Pythonesque sensibility to SNL.

The Return

The writers’ strike is now officially over, so the machine will quickly fire up. The entertainment biz isn’t completely out of the woods as long as the actors remain on strike, but I find it difficult to believe that this one won’t be settled fairly soon as well. The prolonged work stoppages have damaged corporate profits; writers returning to work helps things slightly but the modern day robber barons need the actors back as well. The requests of the guilds are similar enough that the writers’ deal could establish the framework for a new actors’ contract.

For the moment, the talk shows, both daytime and late night, could return as early as next week. The question would be what type of guests the shows will be initially limited to. Nothing would prevent any actor from appearing on a talk show for general chit chat, but strike rules would prevent them from discussing a current project. Even with those hurdles, the hosts are eager to restart their shows ASAP. Their staffs have been out of work and out of paychecks for months, so it’s in everyone’s best interests to return immediately. And musicians have been without a crucial promotional tool for months; there has got to be a long line of bands anxious for those five minutes at the conclusion of talk shows.

I didn’t realize until just now that SNL could return just as quickly. Even though the cast is made up of striking actors, the show falls under the same banner that reality shows and talk shows do. There could be a season premiere as soon as October 7 without violating any strike bylaws. That will accelerate the normal offseason doings for the show - who is leaving, which rookies are invited back for a second season, who are the new hires - so prepare for a barrage of news from that corner.

With the actors still on strike, that will affect the choices for host. Although it wouldn’t technically be a strikebreaking act for an actor to host, the optics would be poor enough that we would most likely see episodes hosted by non-professionals until the strike ends - athletes, politicians, public figures. I’m horrified to think who might be the early season hosts under this scenario. Eric Adams in the season premiere? Jeff Bezos in episode 2? Dear God, Lauren Boebert the following week?

My plan is that once brand new episodes return, I’ll go back to doing my weekly recaps/reviews and use the offweeks to continue my rewatch of old episodes.

Paging Buzz Capra and Doug Rau

Repeat after me - the postseason is a crapshoot. It promises to be even more evident this year, particularly in the National League. The two most dominating teams in the league, the Braves & Dodgers, both have serious questions in their starting rotations. There is almost an NFL playoff vibe surrounding both squads - it’s not who is the best time as much as who has the most men still standing. The physical toll of the regular season is significant for both teams. Do they have enough horses left to cross the finish line?

The 2023 Braves have a historically great offense, so there is little doubt that they will score a lot of runs next month. But they just placed both Charlie Morton and Max Fried on the injured list, which puts them out of the picture for at least the division series. If either or both will have to miss significant time, that will make it much more difficult for Atlanta to piece together a staff. Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder can only do so much. Will they need to use openers more frequently than they would normally wish? For a team with over 100 victories and a frightening lineup, they seem oddly vulnerable.

That’s nothing compared to what the Dodgers are facing. Their rotation is decimated by injuries. No Walker Buehler. No Tony Gonsolin. No Dustin May. Julio Urias is persona non grata. The rotation is led by Clayton Kershaw, who is admirably gritting it out, but it’s difficult to imagine him as much more than a 5 inning pitcher at this stage. After that, they’re left with the homer prone Lance Lynn, and an array of promising but untested youngsters. With a strong final week the Dodgers could also finish with 100 victories but good luck finding enough pitchers for the next month.

I don’t make postseason predictions precisely because of the crapshoot element of the MLB playoffs. This year the prediction game looks to be more difficult than ever. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. October promises to produce constant whiplash.

Collateral Wenner Damage?

The discourse surrounding Jann Wenner’s ill-fated interview continues. There has been a long overdue reckoning over the damage his sexist and vaguely racist attitudes he has long held has caused to the culture at large. Which once again shines a spotlight on the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Considering that the two most crucial figures behind the early years of the institution were Wenner and serial sexual harasser Ahmet Ertegun, it regenerates the argument over its relevance. Simply put, is it worth saving?

You can probably guess where I fall in this debate. I wouldn’t talk about it so frequently if I didn’t feel it was important. It’s fair game to criticize the Hall’s choices and omissions, especially now that Wenner has revealed his core beliefs so starkly. But using this moment as an excuse to scrap the whole thing is a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Current chairman John Sykes is obviously aware of the underlying issues and has been taking steps to alleviate the issue. He could clearly do more - adding more women to the nominating committee should be a no-brainer. Progress, albeit slow, is being made to induct more women and artists of color so that the percentage of old white guys with guitars steadily decreases. But it’s a long, slow process. Calling it quits is the wrong move at the wrong time.

This is a critical time for the Hall. Ticket sales for November’s induction ceremony have been very poor so far, and as best as I can tell there is still no broadcast partner yet. No matter how one feels, the museum itself is a worthy institution, and interest over the annual inductee list generates interest in the physical museum. We shouldn’t let Wenner’s toxicity spoil a noble institution.

RIP To The Human Vacuum Cleaner

When I watch the baseball Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, the portion that I most look forward to each year is the introduction of the returning Hall of Famers. It’s always wonderful to see the game’s greats, but I also admit to feeling a tinge of worry when I notice which of the elderly members didn’t make the trip, especially one who is a regular attendee of the ceremony. This year I noticed Brooks Robinson’s absence. It was sad to hear of his passing at the age of 86.

Robinson’s career took place in the portion of my life in which I’m old enough to have seen him play but not old enough to have seen him at his best. His accomplishments are considerable; MVP trophies in both the regular season & World Series, and a total of 15 Gold Glove awards. Just as important, he was universally regarded as an exceptionally kind and sweet natured man. His greatness as both a player and as a human being are why he is arguably the most beloved player in Baltimore Orioles history.

His legend was largely burnished in postseason play. Because much of his career took place in an era in which not every game was televised, and even fewer have been preserved, there is a relatively small amount of existing footage of his career. But there is plenty of footage of his defensive wizardry from the 1970 World Series. He is still generally regarded as the greatest defensive third baseman in history, and much of the evidence in his favor can be found in those clips. Blessed with tremendous range and soft hands, he was practically the Platonic ideal of a third sacker.

In a year in which the Orioles have put together their strongest team in ages, Robinson’s absence will be felt this October. RIP to one of the sport’s true legends.

The Menendez Watch Continues

Is Robert Menendez still a United States Senator? For some reason, yes. It took a little long, but the dam has burst among his Senate colleagues. Last time I checked almost half of the Democratic caucus has called for his resignation. He remains defiant, but I don’t see how he can realistically maintain his position much longer. Governor Phil Murphy must be going through a huge pile of resumes right about now.

And with that, let’s put a pin in it for today. Thanks for reading, and why not spread the word? See you on Friday.