TTH 7/8/26

Classic SNL Recap - Season 31, Episode 10

Scarlett Johansson has hosted SNL 7 times and counting; this episode from January 2006 was her debut. She wouldn’t seem to be the type of actress to feel so at home there; beyond the fact that her filmography leans more towards drama, she also has an icy vibe which shouldn’t lend itself very well to sketch comedy. However, like the best serious actors/SNL hosts, she has always used her SNL time to let herself explore a goofier side to her persona. One other note - this was Colin Jost’s first season as a writer. I can picture him as a nervous rookie, pitching ideas to an intimidatingly beautiful woman. I doubt he thought that one day he would marry that woman. Before digging into the episode, some quick casting notes: Tina Fey has returned from her maternity leave, Maya Rudolph is still on hers, and since we last checked in, Kristin Wiig has joined the cast.

Much like the season 31 premiere episode, the Peacock edition runs for less than 20 minutes, but additional sketches are on SNL’s YouTube channel, so I can piece together this episode to a small extent. This episode includes an appearance from what would eventually become a recurring character for ScarJo. This was the running series of ads in which Fred Armisen would promote his line of increasingly garish decorations. “Ya gotta get some _____!” In this case it was chandeliers; the husband and wife team of Armisen and Rachel Dratch encouraged their customers to install giant chandeliers all over the house. Johansson portrayed their daughter, speaking with the same over the top accent that her parents used. Dratch’s time on SNL was drawing to a close; Johansson would soon take over as the second star in these sketches whenever she returned.

Another favorite of mine from this week is the Swedish cooking show Smorgasbørd. Johansson and Seth Meyers portrayed the show hosts with the correct amount of Scandinavian doom. The joke is that in addition to being co-hosts they are also secret lovers, but ScarJo will not divorce her comatose husband (Bill Hader) so they are waiting for him to die - and his hospital bed is on the show’s set - before they can be a couple. There is also a cameo from a famous Swedish chef (Andy Samberg) as the beloved Muppet character.

Will Forte is in full Will Forte mode this week. There was a sketch set at a morning talk show called Duluth Live. The hosts (Amy Poehler and Jason Sudeikis) announced the debut of a new theme song, Fly High Duluth, written by Forte’s bandleader. Forte insisted on playing the full version of the song, which went on and on and on and on. It ran so long that it took up the entire running time, causing the hosts to cancel the appearances of the already booked guests.

There were a couple of less interesting pieces this week. The MTV parody Deep House Dish, a program hosted by DJ Dynasty Handbag (Kenan Thompson) and Dratch’s dullard of a co-host was a recurring sketch in this era. They would introduce a series of house music singers; it was the sort of assembly line sketch which tends to be more miss than hit. There was also a sketch about the film adaptation of a lost, unfinished Jane Austen novel entitled Mr. Willoughby. A trio of sisters (Johansson, Fey, and Dratch) eagerly await the arrival of the titular character and their descriptions of the decidedly unimpressive man make him seem like the Bizarro World version of Bill Brasky. I also want to mention that this episode included a repeat showing of the ad parody for Taco Town. This fast food joint promoted its newest menu item, a taco wrapped in an increasingly absurd amount of additional foods.

In the years since this episode aired Scarlett Johansson has become a member of the SNL family, both figuratively and literally. This was a solid entrance for her into the SNL Extended Universe. Her later hosting stints would be more memorable than this debut was, but you can already see how comfortable she feels in this atmosphere. Next week I will recap the finale of season 31, an episode which served as the farewell for a larger than usual number of cast regulars. Kevin Spacey (ick) hosted.

Announcers We Hate To Hate

I have noticed this before whilst watching sporting events, but British sportscasters really love to use the word “brilliant.” To be fair, it’s a word which sounds great when it is drawn out by a professional broadcaster with a British accent, but boy do they overuse it. I can almost believe that the word is taught on the first day at British Broadcasting School. On Sunday’s England/Mexico match I was almost tempted to do a shot every time I heard the description of a brilliant save or a brilliant offensive set, but had I done that I would have been blotto before the first hydration break. Apologies if you can now no longer unhear this.

There is something odd about the way that networks insist on trotting out broadcasters whom no one seems to like. This isn’t exactly anything new; I’m old enough to remember when a clever salesman produced foam bricks that viewers could throw at their TV screens in response to Howard Cosell. In Cosell’s case his detractors were numerous and vocal. Did ABC care? Not really, he drew additional eyeballs to whichever event he was announcing.

One’s feelings about a particular announcer are subjective by definition. Even the most universally acclaimed voices will have some naysayers. As hard as it is to imagine, there are some who probably couldn’t stand the likes of Vin Scully, Marv Albert, or Doc Emrick.

There are, however, many instances in which the networks insist on hauling out voices for whom the audience seems to almost universally hate. (This is not the same thing as a network continuing to use a veteran who had lost his fastball years ago. Nor is it the same thing as a producer of hot takes who is polarizing by design.) What I mean by this is the type of announcer for whom a large majority of viewers dislike to the extent that they cry “ugh, why?” at the first sight of face on screen.

As a baseball fan the most obvious example is John Smoltz. To be fair, when he is fully engaged he breaks down the game very well, but he instead chooses to use most of his time to complain about the state of the current game. Call me crazy, but I believe that job #1 for a broadcaster should be to actually like the sport that you are working on. That was also an issue with Cosell; he never hid his disdain for baseball, yet ABC insisted on placing him in their top broadcast booth. I’m certainly not alone in my feelings about Smoltz; the online negative chatter about him is constant. I can’t imagine that there is some sort of silent majority of John Smoltz fans out there. It is clear that fans watch baseball on Fox in spite of Smoltz, not because they are eager to hear his insight.

And then there is Alexi Lalas. Fox has made him their primary studio analyst for years, despite the fact that many people seem to actively hate him. I don’t have much skin in this game; I don’t watch enough soccer to judge his insights. But, his tendency to offer controversial takes rather than useful analysis means that I am not learning much from him either. The running gag through the early days of the World Cup was the extent to which his studio colleagues Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovíc wouldn’t even bother to hide the obvious contempt they held for Lalas. Whether or not this was Fox’s plan all along, it opened some eyes when Lalas was suddenly shifted to studio duties for the games the American team played and wasn’t with the Rebecca Lowe-led crew for each match.

Don’t expect any changes anytime soon. When a network makes a big money commitment, they are going to stick with them regardless. CBS is paying millions to Tony Romo, they are not going to reassign him to the B or C team just because the quality of his analysis has noticeably slipped. Lalas in particular is probably untouchable. Even though much of the discourse is negative, people are still always talking about him. Fox seems to believe that they have their own version of Charles Barkley in Lalas; so what if he is neither as smart, funny, or perceptive as Barkley is at his best. People are talking about him. Apparently, all publicity is good publicity.

The Sports Movie Pantheon - Million Dollar Baby

The Oscar winning Best Picture of 2004, Million Dollar Baby is essentially two separate movies in one. It starts off as an inspirational sports drama before suddenly turning into something considerably more tragic. It’s worth noting that the trailer embedded below only focuses on the first part, it does not hint at the shocking turn the film takes in the third act. Spoilers below.

Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, he stars as Frankie Dunn, the owner of a boxing gym in Los Angeles. Both he and his gym have seen better days. He has just lost his best fighter to a rival manager, and he has not seen his daughter in years. One day Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) asks him to train her, but he initially refuses, stating that there is no place for women in boxing. She still shows up at the gym every day, where Frankie’s best friend Eddie (Morgan Freeman) has been training her clandestinely. Frankie finally relents.

Maggie turns out to be a prodigy, rapidly rising in the rankings. Frankie begins to regard her as a surrogate daughter, and he presents her with a boxing robe embroidered with the term “Mo Cuishle,” which he refuses to tell her the meaning of. Maggie has a hardscrabble past, and she is the classic “boxing is my only way out” character trope. Her mother, played by Character Actress Margo Martindale, is a textbook example of the term trailer trash, the furthest thing you can find from a loving and nurturing mother.

Maggie gets a chance to fight for the welterweight title against an opponent who has a reputation as a dirty fighter. Time for the sharp turn, and SPOILER ALERT!!! Maggie was winning the fight, but her opponent sucker punches her after the bell, which results in Maggie awkwardly landing her neck on the corner stool. She has suffered a spinal injury which has left her a quadriplegic, unable to breathe without the assistance of a ventilator.

Frankie blames himself for having placed the stool in the ring, and he feels deep guilt. He is a devout Catholic who attends mass every morning, and he frequently speaks with his parish priest for guidance, usually about his relationship with his daughter. Now, he is holding a round the clock vigil at the bedside of his surrogate daughter. After complications result in the amputation of one of her legs, she asks Frankie to end her life.

He can’t bring himself to do it, until Maggie bites her own tongue in a suicide attempt. Realizing that only he can give her the peaceful and painless death that she wishes for, and after his priest futility tries to talk him out of it, when no one is watching Frankie injects her with a fatal dose of adrenaline. But not before telling her that “Mo Cuishle” means “my darling, and my blood.” Frankie then goes into hiding, never to be seen again.

Million Dollar Baby was highly acclaimed, and pulled in large box office numbers, numbers which are not often seen for a movie with such mature themes. It went on to win 4 of the big 7 prizes at that year’s Oscars. In addition to the Best Picture win, Eastwood was Best Director, Freeman was Best Supporting Actor, and Swank won her 2nd Best Actress Trophy. It might be true that it pulled the rug out from underneath the audience’s feet, but there is no denying that this was an exceptionally powerful piece of work. In my eyes it is the greatest boxing movie ever made.

I am almost finished with my personal pantheon of the top sports movies. I still have one final movie to add, and then after that I will offer my takedown on what is my pick for the worst sports movie of all-time. Then I will choose a new genre for which I will offer my thoughts on the best movies found in that realm. I haven’t decided on that yet.

Closing Laughs

Lo and behold, this brings things to an end for yet another day. Thanks as always for participating, and please don’t forget to hit that “share” button. Subscription upgrades are always welcome and appreciated. Be sure to have a great day. See you all again on Friday.