Today’s Sundries

Classic SNL Recap - The Very First Episode

Watching early episodes of long running series is always a fascinating experience. Beyond the obvious - look how young everyone was - it’s jarring to see how dramatically a show evolves over time. That’s especially true for a comedy series. Comedies are so dependent on the meshing of the cast; initial episodes are often a trial and error to see which combos work best. Add that to the fact that actors often need to run a few reps to find their characters’ rhythm, and these seem like different shows entirely.

Saturday Night Live (or, NBC’s Saturday Night, as it was known in its earliest seasons) was no different. At its basic levels, elements of it are easily recognizable. It’s a live late night variety series with a guest host, musical act, sketches, commercial parodies, filmed pieces, and a mid-show news break. But the premiere episode varied enough from the basic format that it’s only slightly recognizable as the 49 season and counting institution that it become.

George Carlin was the very first host, but he did not appear in a single sketch. He did the usual opening monologue, returned a few times for additional jokes, and introduced some, but not all, of the guests. The episode had not 1, but 2 musical guests (Billy Preston & Janis Ian) who performed 2 songs each. It featured not 1, but 2 standup comedians (Andy Kaufman & Valri Bromfield.) It included 2 recurring features of the early run - a weekly film from Albert Brooks & an appearance from a new set of Muppets that Jim Henson created specifically for SNL.

If you total the running times for all of those segments you come to the conclusion that there’s not much time left for the regular cast, and right you are. In fact, they are almost treated as afterthoughts. They are not even named in the opening credits, there is a simple text with their names listed, with Don Pardo of all people making the first live flub in show history by mistakenly calling them the “not for ready prime time players.” That’s part of the reason why Chevy Chase became the initial breakout star. As the host of Update he was the only performer for whom audiences could connect a name to a face in the early going. Virtually all of the sketches in this initial show were very brief, building to a singular joke. And even many of those were updated riffs on some well-known old jokes - such as the very first piece.

Yes, the very first performer to appear onscreen was none other than Michael O’Donoghue. As somewhat of a dark prince of American comedy, he was a major creative force in the first 3 seasons, although this was the only time that he was listed as an actual cast member. (Speaking of dark princes, Richard Belzer appeared as an extra in a courtroom sketch. He served as the warmup comedian for the studio audience, but back then he was considered much too dangerous even for late night TV.)

In addition to O’Donoghue, there was one additional person listed as a Not Ready For Prime Player in this episode and no other, & he’s the answer to a trivia question that will stump all your friends. George Coe was one of those classic That Guys, & SNL initially hired him with the intention that he would portray authority figures & other sorts of older characters. He appeared on occasion in later episodes, but this was the only time he was listed in the opening credits. He continued to be a That Guy for the remainder of his life, and it seemed fitting that he gained his highest level of fame for a role in which he was not seen - he voiced the role of Woodhouse in Archer. As for that trivia question? He received an Oscar nomination in 1968 as a producer in the Best Live Action Short category, which technically made him the first SNL regular to get an Oscar nod.

Overall, the episode was not especially memorable beyond the historical factor. As mentioned, many of the sketches were one-joke premises; even Update was brief & did not include any correspondent pieces. The highlight, which isn’t on YouTube, was Andy Kaufman’s appearance. This is the one in which he lip synched the Mighty Mouse theme. His performance was perfect, from the way in which he stood impassively while waiting for his line, to the sip of water he took during the instrumental break. Kaufman was never a regular, but he was a frequent presence; especially in his pre-Taxi days.

In all, this has the feel of a show in which everyone felt relieved that they got something on the air. It would take a few weeks until the familiar format & pace of the show would be set in stone. Even something as basic as the closing goodbye was different; Carlin stood on stage solo and said “good night” without the now familiar group hug. Next week I’ll check in with the midseason entry, hosted by Dick Cavett. By that point the show was fully recognizable as SNL. Or NBC’s Saturday Night, dammit!

THIS Is What Cancel Culture Looks Like

I don’t have much to add to the resignation of Claudine Gay from Harvard, but I do want to share a couple of quick thoughts on the matter that really bother me. First, there is so much intellectual dishonest bad faith arguments from bad actors surrounding the issue. The victory lap that Elise Stefanik is taking is sickening. Sorry, you can’t claim that you’re striking a blow against antisemitism when you have nothing to say against Nick Fuentes. No matter how you felt about the answers Gay gave before Congress, the thought of Congress inserting themselves into the administration of a private institution should be concerning to us all. Doesn’t sound like small government conservatism to me. And the same crowd that reflexively screams “cancel culture” so frequently that they practically have OCD are strangely silent.

TV Of the 21st Century - Brockmire

It can be too easy at times to say that it’s inconceivable to imagine a different actor in a particular role. Hank Azaria did create the role of Jim Brockmire for himself, after all. It still works in this instance, however. It’s difficult to think of a more perfect combo of character & actor.

Brockmire was originally conceived for a Funny Or Die sketch, and Azaria eventually expanded the role into a weekly half hour comedy series. The titular character was a veteran baseball broadcaster, with that perfect announcery cadence to his voice. He also had demons. A drinker & womanizer, the series kicks off with his fall from grace following a meltdown after discovering that his wife was herself unfaithful. He was reduced to having to work for a minor league team in small-town Pennsylvania (team nickname - The Frackers) as he tries to rebuil his reputation and career.

Azaria is a well-known diehard Mets fan, and it’s clear that he modeled Brockmire’s loud blazers on Lindsey Nelson’s signature wardrobe. One of the wonderful touches that I always loved was that he didn’t have the ability to turn off his broadcasting voice. He would use the same tone of voice in casual conversation that he would use when broadcasting games.

The show ran for 4 8-episode seasons & followed Brockmire’s redemption arc. By season 2 he had already moved up to broadcasting AAA games as he attempted to return to the major leagues. He was back in the bigs by the final season, which flash forwarded to a dystopian future. Climate change had made more of our planet uninhabitable, making outdoor summer sports such as baseball more of a challenge. Even worse, in this universe the popularity of baseball had plummeted.

As expected for a series that changed locales so frequently, Azaria’s Brockmire was the only consistent presence throughout all 4 seasons. His costar in the early seasons was Amanda Peet as the owner of the Pennsylvania team. The other most frequently appearing regular character was portrayed by Tyrel Jackson Williams - a young man who served as Brockmire’s broadcast producer & chief sidekick in the first 2 seasons. A man who had no interest in sports and was somewhat socially awkward, Brockmire attempted to take him under his wing and make him into a man in his own archaic way.

A side benefit of a premise that allows a show to constantly reinvent itself is that it provides an opportunity for terrific actors to join in without needing to make a longterm commitment. Two of the better ones came in season 3. Richard Kind was Brockmire’s latest producer and J.K. Simmons was his longtime rival, an ex-player turned broadcaster dealing with serious health issues. Kudos also to Joe Buck, who made intermittent appearances as an exaggerated version of himself.

Brockmire was never the most high profile show - it never received any Emmy nominations, but its ratings were fairly decent for a basic cable series. It was a damn funny show, & it lasted long enough to tell a satisfying story yet didn’t stick around so long that it wore out its welcome. What more could one ask for?

Originally aired on: IFC

Currently streaming on: AMC+; will be coming to Pluto TV soon.

Some End Of Year Departures

Several noteworthy celebrities passed away in the final days of 2023 who are worth mentioning. Above, I mentioned George Coe as a That Guy. A close cousin of That Guy is someone who has a similar profile but whose work is so impressive that he transcends the category. Tom Wilkinson was such a man. He was a tremendous actor; the type for whom when you see him in a movie you know it’s gonna be a good one. He was the kind of actor who so disappeared into his roles that it almost didn’t look like he was acting. He was nominated for Oscars twice - for In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton - but as far as I’m concerned he did his best work in Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind.

Richard Romanus falls more accurately into That Guy territory, but two recognizable roles helped him stand out from the pack. He was the loan shark in Mean Streets, & he appeared in a handful of The Sopranos episodes as Dr. Melfi’s on-and-off husband. He served as a bit of an audience surrogate, complaining about how mobsters reinforce negative stereotypes. In the episode in which Jennifer was raped, he seemed more concerned about the ethnicity of the suspect than he did for his wife’s well-being. He also starred in one of those terrible 1980’s cop series that I somehow remember. It was a one-season wonder called Strike Force, starring Robert Stack. For some reason one episode is etched in my memory. Over the course of an hour he falls in love & gets married only to see his new bride diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. She is seen sitting at home, feels a headache, and sits down to write a goodbye note to her husband. He comes home after a hard day of fighting perps to find an empty apartment & her note on the table. This all happened in one episode! That’s why we would eventually need Peak TV.

I wasn’t a huge connoisseur of Borscht Belt style humor, so I don’t know for sure how many of those comics are still with us, but Shecky Greene was one of the very last of a vanishing breed. That group of comedians would do hundreds of shows a year in Vegas & the Catskills, but there were occasional TV opportunities for them on the Tonight Show or on the old Dean Martin celebrity roasts. I must admit that with the exception of those who had signature shticks a lot of them blended together in my mind, but I did know that Greene was among the most respected of all of them.

Finally, NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough passed away. His achievements were significant - 4 Daytona 500 victories, 3 consecutive cup titles, 83 career victories. That title streak was the longest until Jimmie Johnson won 5 in a row, and he is tied for 6th (with Johnson) on the career victory list. His most famous moment, however, came in a race he did not win - the legendary 1979 Daytona 500 in which his crash on the final lap led to an infield brawl with the Allison brothers. Yarborough was a member of the 3rd class in NASCAR’s Hall of Fame.

Closing Laughs

That wraps things up for today. Thanks as always for reading, and please feel free to share. The more the merrier. See you all again on Friday.