TTH 7/29/26
Classic SNL Recap - Season 32, Episode 10
This episode turned out to be a pleasant surprise. My constant frustration with the episodes on Peacock has been the number of great sketches which had to be omitted due to music licensing costs. This episode is not only mostly fully intact, but it is the first time I have seen one which also retained the performances from the musical act - The Shins in this case.
Jake Gyllenhaal was the host for this one; the first of his 3 hosting gigs thus far. Adam Driver remains the gold standard for intense dramatic actors who have taken to SNL like a duck to water, but Gyllenhaal comes reasonably close to clearing the high bar that Driver has set. This was just a real solid overall episode, albeit one which is overly reliant on recurring sketches.
The cold open was an Oval Office address from George W. Bush, and Jason Sudeikis has taken over the Dubya duties from Will Forte. His Bush was only OK; I actually preferred Forte. In this piece, Bush announced an increase in troops which will be sent to Baghdad; he will activate literally every uniformed employee on the federal payroll, up to and including postal workers.
The highlight of the week was one of the more endearing repeat sketches from this era, the Bronx Beat talk show starring Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph as Betty and Jodi. Talk show sketches are a well that SNL goes into often, but this is one which I never grew tired of, because the characters were well drawn and the performances were impeccable. This is a sketch often used when the host was a young man, especially a boyishly handsome one, which would give Betty and Jodi a chance to tell him how adorable he is. Gyllenhaal fit the bill as a young author promoting his newest book.
Less successful is the latest edition of Deep House Dish, a sketch which I found overly formulaic. Kenan Thompson as host DJ Dynasty Handbag, joined by clueless co-host T’Shane (Andy Samberg sporting a spiky Mohawk) introduce a parade of musical acts who sing a snippet of a song before coming to the couch for a brief interview segment.
Last week I briefly discussed the new Update team of Poehler and Seth Meyers; the full Update was not included in the Peacock stream of the season premiere, but it is fully intact this time and their immediate rapport was crystal clear. Both desk pieces this week were good. Fred Armisen appeared as Steve Jobs, hawking the capabilities of the iPhone. Even better was Rudolph doing one of her finest impressions - Whitney Houston. Here she was auctioning off some of her personal belongings to help pay off bills. The way in which Rudolph’s Houston would pronounce the name “Bobby Brown” was pure art.
The Digital Short this week was Samberg’s and Bill Hader’s long awaited sequel to their beloved Laser Cats. The audacity of the concept was outstanding - a cheapo science fiction movie about cats who shoot lasers interspersed with Lorne’s disgust. I can easily picture Lorne Michaels having the exact same reaction when Samberg initially proposed the piece.
The episode also included a trio of very good non-recurring sketches, the best of which was an acting class specifically for actors searching for a guest starring role on Law & Order. Yes, one of the students pantomimes unloading boxes from a truck, as every witness to a crime on L&O appears to do. I also liked the Stock Footage Awards piece. This was an awards show hosted by Dan Rather (Darrell Hammond) and Jane Pauley (Kristen Wiig) which honored the best uses of stock footage to serve as B-Roll on news stories. Finally, there was a sketch set at a party in which Gyllenhaal and Rudolph portrayed a couple who were trying to set up a paraplegic friend of theirs (Sudeikis) with a woman who they claim would be perfect for him. The woman in question (Wiig) is also in a wheelchair and Gyllenhaal and Rudolph need to awkwardly deny that their sole reason for believing that the couple has so much in common is that they are both in chairs.
Overall, this was an outstanding episode. Jake Gyllenhaal still needs to host twice more before he earns that 5 Timers jacket; I would welcome him to return at any time. Next week I will turn to the finale of season 32; hosted by Zach Braff.
Welcome To the Hall
The National Baseball Hall Of Fame Class of 2026 was formally inducted this past weekend. The ceremony, the speeches, the unveiling of the plaques, Rob Manfred reading the plaque inscriptions out loud with the dynamic magnetism that only he can provide, the whole kit and kaboodle. Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent are now all officially members of the Hall. The pricing on their autographs will now rise accordingly.
Attendance at this year’s ceremony was sparse compared to some of the more recent ones. It makes sense; even though the 3 players all have their fans, their popularity is nothing compared to that of someone like, say, Ichiro. On top of that, people have issues with the candidacies of each man to one extent or another. I won’t go there; I may not agree with the induction of Jones, but I am not going to be the guy to rain on someone’s parade on one of the greatest days of his life. If Lou Whitaker and Bobby Grich are more deserving second basemen that Kent, that’s not his fault. He was on the ballot, they were not. And although the presence of a former Giant as well as a cheater on the podium causes people to make the “what about Bonds?” argument yet again, all indications are that the people in charge of the Hall have made it very clear that they will do everything they can to keep Bonds and Clemens out. I don’t see that changing any time soon. Next year’s induction is likely to be highlighted by Buster Posey and Dusty Baker. We shall see if attendance improves.
I am rarely all that interested in the speeches; there is a clear format to a HOF speech, and unless one of the speakers is unusually witty, the speeches tend to be forgettable. The part I enjoy most is the sight of the returning Hall Of Famers on stage. This year a record number of 60 past honorees returned to Cooperstown. These are men who range in age from their late 40’s all the way up to 90 year old Sandy Koufax, so in some cases there is added poignancy in seeing some of our heroes from the past as aged men. It’s still a treat to see them; I will not question the decisions of those who choose not to make the trek. Cooperstown isn’t the easiest place to get to, and it’s an additional challenge for a man of a certain age for whom travel is difficult to head on up there. The thought of a ceremony with 100% attendance is a pipe dream, but no matter how many HOFers are there in a given year, a wide shot of the stage is a special sight indeed.
A Photo Which Brings Me Great Joy
Rick Moranis has been informally retired from acting and has refrained from making public appearances for years. His wife died from cancer in 1991, and Moranis stepped away so that he could be there for his kids. That is admirable; he has always seemed to be an exceptionally nice man, and his desire to be a full time dad should be celebrated. From a purely selfish standpoint, however, one can’t help but wonder how many wonderful comedic performances we would have seen from him had he remained active.
In recent years he has made a few tentative steps back into the spotlight, none more heavily anticipated than his return as Dark Helmet in next year’s Spaceballs sequel. To be clear, I don’t have much confidence that the movie is going to be very good; is it even possible to recreate the same magic in a 40 years after the fact sequel? So what; it was uplifting to see Moranis make an appearance at a ComicCon panel last week. The dude looks so happy; I certainly hope he appreciates how much joy he has brought to so many over the years. Welcome back, Mr. Moranis.
Deadline Time
MLB’s trade deadline is less than a week away - 6PM on Monday to be exact - and the soft middle of the American League muddies the trade market. Because there are so many teams near .500, and therefore close enough that they can convince themselves that they are in playoff contention, it could take up until the very last moment for front offices to decide if they should be buyers or sellers. Overly optimistic organizations can turn their lonely eyes towards Boston - where the Red Sox quickly went from all but out of it to finding themselves in the postseason were the season to end today. Amazing how quickly a 15 games winning streak can change the narrative. Conversely, the bottom has dropped out on the Marlins. Not so long ago they were a stealth contender; a 12 game losing streak, which finally ended on Monday, has placed them in likely seller mode.
Because there are so few teams who are indisputably out of the race, it is a seller’s market. Even more so because the Angels should be sellers, but that franchise never does what is expected of them. As deflating as this annus horribilis has been for the Mets, the number of potential buyers makes this a trade deadline in which a team can turn things around fairly quickly. The biggest question hanging over the next several days is what the Tigers are going to do about Tarik Skubal. There is practically zero chance that they will be able to sign him when he hits free agency. One would think they can’t risk losing him for nothing, but at the same time they have Fangraphs playoff odds above just above 25%. Not out of the race, but far from a likely playoff participant. The front office has a difficult decision to make; that’s why they earn the big bucks.
50 Years Ago - Logan’s Run
As we have seen time and again, the mid-1970s were a fertile period for dystopian thrillers. Logan’s Run was among the very best of them. Set in the year 2274, humans were living in domed cities. In these cities, people live lives of debauchery, in which every primal need is tended to. The tradeoff is that when each person turns 30, they must sacrifice themselves as part of a quasi-religious ceremony known as “Carrousel.” In order to guarantee participation, each person receives a palm implant at birth, which changes color as the fateful day approaches.
Not everyone goes willingly, and there is a special police force known as Sandmen who track down the runners. Michael York stars as Logan, one of the most accomplished sandmen. He is assigned to infiltrate an underground society of runners, who all wear distinctive pendants. It turns out that these pendants are intended to help people escape the domed city and search for a mythical sanctuary found outside the dome.
Eventually this causes Logan to Question Everything. Joined by Jessica, a woman he has fallen in love with (Jenny Agutter) he goes on a run to find sanctuary while being hunted by his former partner and close friend Francis (Richard Jordan.) Among his stops along the way is an underground plastic surgery clinic, which de-ages the patients so that they do not look 30. The physician’s assistant was portrayed by Farrah Fawcett, which I only mention because when Logan’s Run aired on network TV she was promoted as one of the stars of the movie, even though she was only in 2 scenes.
Logan and Jessica do eventually make it out of the city, where they discover the abandoned remnants of Washington D.C. They are struck by the moss covered ruins of the Lincoln Memorial; they had never seen a man that old before, even if it was only a statue. That was nothing compared to their next discovery; they find an elderly man portrayed by Peter Ustinov.
The movie climaxes with the final confrontation between Logan and Francis, as well as Logan’s reveal of the old man to the citizenry, offered as proof that one could live beyond 30. Logan’s Run stood out from most movies of its ilk because it was a fascinating concept well executed. It should also be noted that the 23rd century setting placed it far enough in the future that societal collapse doesn’t feel quite as foreboding. I have seen enough futuristic thrillers in which we have already passed the date in which it was set. If you go by timelines, we should already be eating Soylent Green or living in a society in which talking apes are the dominant species. Thankfully we have a ways to go before we will need to concern ourselves with Carrousel.
Closing Laughs
And that’s the end of that story. Thanks once again for tuning in, you guys are the best. Have a terrific day, and we shall speak again on Friday.
