Today’s Profundity

Classic SNL Recap - Season 2 Finale

There is probably no SNL host more indelibly associated with the first 5 seasons than Buck Henry. Not only was he the first 5-timer (although they weren’t handing out the jackets yet) but unlike any of the other early perennials, he never returned to host after the original cast departed. A run such as his doesn’t seem possible anymore. He had done some acting, but the reason Lorne asked him to host in the first place was that he had written and/or produced many cool projects that the cast & audience would have loved. Who would be the modern equivalent of Buck Henry? Maybe Paul Feig? It’s hard to picture Feig hosting the current incarnation of SNL once, never mind 10 times.

Beginning with season 2 Henry always hosted the season finale. There’s good reason for that honor. Not only did the cast enjoy working with him, but he was also game to do anything. He had no image to protect, so he would agree to do sketches that would have been pitched earlier in the year that other hosts turned down. The writers could clear out their inventory and not have to work too hard producing new material that week. In this episode alone, Henry’s monologue involved his daring the censors with the promise to perform a live sex act on stage with an audience member; the props included a bullwhip and a giant tub filled with cottage cheese. He appeared in Update to bestow Jane Curtin with a newscasting award, but it was soon clear that the presentation was merely an elaborate ruse to get her into bed. And he appeared as Charles Lindbergh (the episode coincided with the 50th anniversary of his flight) using adult magazines to help him stay awake on the journey. A more image conscious host could conceivably agreed to do one of these, all three is a big ask. Not a problem for Henry.

This episode was VERY heavy on recurring bits. Among the featured repeat characters were Dan Aykroyd’s outstanding Jimmy Carter impersonation. In the cold open as part of a nationwide address he provided the necessary power by riding an exercise bike to generate the electricity. It ended with Gilda Radner’s Lillian Carter struggling to maintain a fast enough pace to keep it going. It also included appearances from the samurai (this time as Samurai Big Man On Campus,) The Coneheads (called back to Remulac,) Emily Litella (appearing with Bella Abzug!) and Rhonda Weiss. Even the land shark made an appearance. Yep, Chevy Chase made a return visit, although he stayed in the costume. He briefly popped out of the shark head during the closing goodbyes to prove that it was really him.

This wasn’t precisely a recurring but, but the first post monologue sketch is worth noting. Somewhat lost to history is the fact that Bill Murray was very shaky in his early episodes. He missed cues, flubbed lines, and fans hated him because he wasn’t Chevy Chase. He started to find his footing towards the end of the season, and in this sketch he had what was arguably his greatest showcase of the year. While taking a shower he grabbed a shower mic and proceeded to sing, complete with hammy renditions of popular songs & introductions of his special guests - his wife Gilda attempting to take a shower of her own, and Henry as the man she has been having an affair with. If the premise sounds familiar, it’s an embryonic version of Nick the Lounge Singer. (On a related note, in the Rhonda Weiss sketch Curtin used the same voice that she would later use for Enid Loopner.)

My favorite sketch of the week is one that wasn’t a recurring bit. (Like much of the early run, nothing from this episode is on YouTube, so I don’t have a video to share.) Curtin hosted a talk show with Henry’s psychologist as his guest flanked by Gilda & Laraine Newman on either side. Radner would obsessively state each punctuation mark that would be included in a transcript of Henry’s comments. Then at the end of each sentence Newman would ring a bell, and point to Radner as she hands a cookie to Curtin. It was an odd sketch with a fun payoff. Henry said that his professional goal was to refute Pavlov’s theory. Once again Newman rang the bell, but this time Radner did not hand out a cookie even though Curtin had become conditioned to hold her hand out. A close up showed that she was heavily salivating in anticipation of another cookie. Well played.

The season ended with Michael O’Donoghue insanity. He had recurring appearances as a famous impressionist, with his shtick being that he would impersonate famous people after long steel needles had been plunged into their eyes. The “impression” would simply consist of him rolling on the stage screaming in agony. The premise would grow more elaborate with each appearance and this week it culminated with an impression of the entire Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Most of the cast and writers took part, all screaming at the top of their lungs.

Buck Henry hosted episodes were always a real treat, and this one was no exception. The current show has another week off this weekend, so I can move right into season 3 next week. The season 3 premiere was hosted by Steve Martin. That one promises to be filled with highlights as well.

Ballot Breakdown - Sade

When a new Hall of Fame class is announced I like to speculate on what the results mean for future elections. If artist A is chosen, which similar acts will follow in their footsteps? Kate Bush’s election last year made me consider other off center female singers with distinctive voices and images. As it turns out, I was looking in the wrong direction. The Kate Bush descendant isn’t Bjork or Fiona Apple, it’s Sade.

Like Kate Bush, Sade is a one of a kind talent, fiercely protective of her privacy who spends years in between album releases. (Please note that the nomination includes the entire band, but for the sake of this discussion I am generally referring to Sade Adu the lead singer. No disrespect intended, but her talent is the sole reason that they are under consideration.) A crucial difference between Bush & Sade is that Sade will at least go through the standard promotional duties upon the release of a new album, yet she maintains a mysterious persona.

Sade stood out from the get go. She took the already established quiet storm sound and added her own special touch. Born in Nigeria and raised in England, she had a smoky quality to her voice as well as a jazzy feel. It seems fitting that their breakthrough hit was called Smooth Operator; that phrase describes her image to a “T.” That amalgamation of influences resulted in a musical style that sounded much more mature than what was generally hitting the top of the charts at the time. That also means that their initial run of success largely passed me by; it wasn’t until I grew older that I learned to really appreciate Sade. I can’t honestly say that I love her music, but it serves as ideal comfort food. You can’t go wrong with firing up some Sade on a cold winter morning.

As mentioned, there was always a sense of mystery about her. She hasn’t done very many interviews, which makes her seem even more exotic. She has also been prone to loooooong absences from the spotlight, which makes every new album a special event. Their 4th album came out in 1992, but #5 wasn’t released until 2000. The 6th album? A full decade later, in 2010. And that’s it, there have been a couple of soundtrack singles, but no full album since then. There were rumblings a few years ago that they had been working on a new album, but nothing has come out.

My personal take on Sade is that I respect them a lot more than I love them. Her vocal talent is admirable; the fact that no one else sounds exactly like they do is a big factor in their favor. Voters can choose up to 7 artists from the ballot, there are more than 7 names on this year’s ballot whom I would prefer to see rather than them. But I would be cool if they make the final cut. We’ve said time and time again that the Hall could use more female artists and more artists of color. Sade would make for a fine addition to the club.

If elected, would they perform at the ceremony? - First things first, if she makes a speech I would finally know what her speaking voice sounds like after all these years. The possibility of a performance is an interesting question. As reclusive as she is between album releases, she did consistently make the late night talk show promotional rounds. However, it’s been more than a decade since the most recent album. Is her voice still in strong enough shape that she would be comfortable performing publicly? Or would she pull a Bill Withers? Remember, at his induction he simply sat next to Stevie Wonder as Stevie sang in his honor. I could picture something similar happening here.

Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hit - The Sweetest Taboo

My Personal Favorite - Smooth Operator

Something’s Happening Here

What it is ain’t exactly clear, but it’s probably not collusion. I have a natural inclination to assume that something fishy’s going on when MLB owners collectively keep their checkbooks closed, but I don’t think the fact that several useful players remain unsigned with Opening Day just over a week away is a sign of malfeasance. Instead, there are a series of factors unique to this specific offseason that have contributed to the slowdown.

That’s not to say that players shouldn’t have good reason to have suspicions. When he finally signed with the Dodgers Enrique Hernandez implied that the owners were colluding, but during his argument he also made a salient point. He mentioned that all of the franchises have access to the same data, which is why they all make the same general contract offers. He meant for that to be a criticism, but he also makes management’s point. Each smart franchise likely has its own proprietary metrics, and each also interprets the public data differently, but the fact remains that predictive info is publicly accessible to everyone. Old school fans may mock FIP or BABIP, but those stats can often provide hints as to whether an uncharacteristically good or bad season from a player is a real trend or a simple matter of good or bad luck. Teams can make better informed decisions when it comes to making free agent offers.

In addition, lots of focus has been placed on the Boras 4, or 5 if you wish to include J.D. Martinez. They are all fine players, yet each also have notable flaws. Take Blake Snell, who finally reached agreement with the Giants on Monday, as an example. Yes, he’s the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, his second such trophy. It’s tough to ignore, however, that his Cy Young seasons are the only 2 years in his career in which he pitched enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. As high as his potential ceiling is, can a team really feel comfortable offering him a 9 figure contract?

The ambiguity surrounding regional sports networks is also a huge factor. There’s loads of dough to be made in TV & in streaming, so in the long run that money supply should remain as strong as ever. But at this moment several teams are facing a short term cash flow issue. It’s understandable that this would make some clubs hesitant to dip their toes into the deep end of the pool for this one offseason.

Finally, the overall quality of this year’s free agent pool is not as strong as it has been in year’s past. Jordan Montgomery and a few others aside, the majority of the players that remain unsigned largely fall into the “easily replaceable” bin. How valuable is someone like Johnny Cueto or Brad Hand? The unsigned player that I’m most surprised about is Tommy Pham. He’s a productive 4th outfielder type, contending teams could use a guy like him.

We’re now at the point where veteran players are going to have to start making tough decisions. Has the sport decided on their behalf that it’s time to retire? I’m glad that Joey Votto finally found a home; Josh Donaldson wasn’t so fortunate, so he had to face reality. I would be bummed if circumstances mean that Zack Greinke or Evan Longoria will have to quietly walk away & not end their careers on their own terms. There’s always Rich Hill - history proves that there is always a market for a left handed pitcher out there.

Has Sports Illustrated Been Rescued?

I stopped bringing up every story about yet another media company suffering massive layoffs or shutting down entirely. It’s become all too common and depressingly predictable. Private equity vultures come in, do everything short of ripping the copper wiring out of the walls, rinse, repeat. Good news is worth sharing, however. It appears that Sports Illustrated will survive, after all - including the print edition.

It’s too early to fully exhale; we will need to wait & see exactly which laid off employees will return. Plus, there is the question as to whether or not the damage done to the brand is irreparable. I will remain guardedly optimistic until I have reason to believe otherwise. It’s an encouraging sign that the new publisher has other thriving sports publications in its existing portfolio. That suggests they recognize the value of the SI name. We can only hope that the magazine will retain more real writers & photographers and not rely so much on stringers/glorified interns/AI bots.

As I’ve previously mentioned, I let my Sports Illustrated subscription lapse years ago. I rarely visit the website either; too much of the content is behind a paywall & I can’t justify subscribing when I can already get what I need from The Athletic. But it will still be a comforting feeling to know that I will still be able to visit an airport newsstand & grab a copy if I wish. Now, PLEASE, can someone do the same rescue for AV Club?

The Oscar Mulligan - 1980

Sometimes I think it would be a good idea if there was a way that the Oscars could do a revote 10 years later, and not just so that something could finally be done about Green Book. We all know the cliche about a movie that’s pure Oscar bait: a big, sprawling epic that everyone admires and no one ever watches again. I think back to the days when CBS presented those annual 100 greatest specials in conjunction with the American Film Institute. The very first was the top 100 movies of the last 100 years, which they revisited with an updated list 10 years later. That made sense; over time newer movies enter the canon & the reputation of other movies wanes.

I hope this will be a fun little exercise; try to determine which Best Picture winners are still worthy. The chief factors are which movies do audiences still regularly rewatch, which ones have footprints that have largely vanished, which ones seemed like poor choices as early as award night, etc. I’ll try my best to set my personal feelings aside, I’m trying to figure what would be the best choices using hindsight. And as much as I want to relitigate Driving Miss Daisy v. Do the Right Thing, I’ll limit the debate to the movies that were the actual original nominees. I’ll make 1980 the starting point. Now I realize that there are about a thousand logistical reasons why something like this could never happen, so let’s not take this too seriously. Let us begin.

Winner: Ordinary People

Other Nominees: Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, Tess

I believe that The Elephant Man was the best of the 5 nominees, but realistically this choice comes down to either Ordinary People or Raging Bull. Ordinary People was a searing portrait of an emotionally distant family dealing with tragedy. It proved that Robert Redford was as skilled of a director as he was as an actor, and it was quite a change of pace for Mary Tyler Moore. Here, she could take a nothing day and make it seem even less worthwhile. It largely holds up, effectively creating a cold and distant tone.

Raging Bull was a brutal movie in so many ways. It’s rightfully remembered for the beautiful black & white cinematography, as well as for Robert De Niro’s Best Actor winning performance. Martin Scorsese has had an odd relationship with the Academy. Among his generation only Steven Spielberg has more truly great movies in his filmography, yet despite a large number of nominations over the years it wasn’t until The Departed that he finally won a trophy of his own. That one felt like a career achievement award, it was an outstanding movie but I wouldn’t put it in his top 5, maybe not even his top 10. It’s very likely that if the Academy had honored Scorsese earlier in his career that The Departed would not have won Best Picture.

So should Raging Bull have been the one? I admire the film, and appreciate the fact that in addition to De Niro’s tour de force, it introduced Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty to the world. It’s not an easy watch; it’s difficult to make Jake LaMotta into a sympathetic figure. There’s also the issue that I often have with boxing movies. As beautifully shot as the fight sequences are, and how impressive the sound is, if there were as many punches landed in real prize fights as there are in movie prize fights, then the rash of brain damage to fighters would be at epidemic levels.

I will go with Raging Bull as the victor in a hypothetical revote. De Niro is iconic in this one, and the movie contains the necessary amount of scenes and quotes that live on in pop culture to make it a classic.

Closing Laughs

Springtime at last! Enjoy your day, everyone. Thanks as always for reading, and see you all again on Friday.