Wednesday the 13th
SNL Recap
Watching a television show is not done in a vacuum. In light of (waves hands around everything) it’s impossible to see this week’s SNL without taking what happened last week into account. That makes it hard to put my negative feelings towards the episode into perspective. Was it a genuinely subpar outing, or was I simply not in the mood for this?
The cold open initially looked like it was going to be one of those oh so earnest bits. Bowen, Ego, Kenan, and Heidi (arguably the inner circle of the current cast) soon to be joined by additional cast members solemnly stood on stage and began to speak about the election. Then, in a bait and switch they assured President Elect Gaius Baltar that they have been with him all along. Ego said that she is one of the 8% of African-American voters who supported him. Not only did Jost throw Che under the bus, but the veterans also “outed” the 3 newbies as Harris supporters, so if the minions wished to target anyone, here they are. The sketch also included SNL’s new take on President Elect Greg Stillson, with JAJ emerging as Jacked Trump, complete with veins bulging out of his arms. No Maya & Co. this week, but Dana Carvey cameoed as Elon Musk, which makes sense. There is clearly no one in the current cast capable of pogoing like a lunatic. Thank goodness he was hanging around to lend a hand.
Bill Burr brought his un-PC edge to his second stint as host. The tone of the show was apparent in his monologue. I generally like Burr much more than I do other comics of his ilk. For one, he tells actual jokes. Second, his jokes have a “just kidding” tilt to them rather than throwing verbal bombs at vulnerable groups. Still, he wasn’t reading the room very well this week. The audience wasn’t having what he was giving them. On a related note, I wonder if the pedestrian material this week was a result of the writing staff being too distracted to produce high quality work.
One of the highlights of Burr’s first hosting stint was the Sam Adams ad in which he portrayed the quintessential Masshole. A revisit to that character was my choice for Top Sketch Of the Week, this time in an ad parody for Buffalo Wild Wings. It was far from an all-timer, but it was the best of a mediocre lot.
Because of the persona that Burr presents, I admit that my spine stiffened a bit when I saw a couple of the premises? A psychologist giving a Rorschach test to a group of firefighters? A trauma support group in which Burr used a vaguely feminized voice? Both threatened to be nothing more than mockery of touchy freely sensitivity. Neither was as painful as I had feared. In the former Burr’s character revealed himself as terribly disturbed, seeing creepily sexualized images of cartoon characters within the inkblots. In the latter Bowen took center stage, as his character acted traumatized over the most mundane scenarios.
In Update Che reverted to his “I give up” persona, sipping from a glass of bourbon through the proceedings. Two correspondents this week; in one Ego was a woman frantically searching for something out of her purse. In the other we had the return of a long absent character - Che’s neighbor Willie, the most optimistic man he knows. This is a perfect Kenan showcase, the twinkle in his eyes as he describes the horrifying details of his life remains a gem.
Otherwise the show was filled with decent ideas that didn’t go as far as they could have. There was some solid character work in the sketch in which Andrew and Devon phoned their uncommunicative dads (Burr & Kenan.) The musical piece in a restaurant filled with bald men might have worked better had it not come the week after John Mulaney’s big musical number. And I liked the details in the pre-taped Good Will Hunting parody, but I found it too reminiscent of the classic Dead Poets Society parody from years earlier.
Now that the ringers have largely left the house, it could be time for the three rookies to show what they can do. So far, Jane Wickline has taken the clear lead, with Emil Wakim consistently filling the job of “most thankless role in any sketch” and Ashley Padilla bringing up the rear. Padilla finally got a chance to shine in the closing sketch. It wasn’t a very good one, but she shows the potential to be someone who fully commits to a character the way that Heidi & JAJ do.
OK, campaign season is over. Those obligatory pre-election elements are no longer necessary, the writers and cast are now free to shape the show the way they wish to. These first 6 shows were a preamble; season 50 really starts next week. Charli XCX will handle double duty as host and musical guest.
Mid-Season Check-In
As a general rule of thumb I am not a binge watcher; even for streaming shows that dump an entire season in one day. I still like to watch shows on a weekly basis; to me watching a complete season in one marathon viewing is like sitting down and eating an entire pie at once, except in this case it means you won’t have an opportunity to eat another pie for more than a year. Savor what you’ve got as long as you can.
Take the final season of What We Do In the Shadows. I was thrilled to see that FX began the season by airing three episodes back to back to back, until I remembered that this meant a quarter of the season was already in the books. So, 6 episodes in (there will be 11 episodes in this final season) and we are in the back end with the finale only 5 weeks away. Nooooooo!
Final seasons can be tricky; you want to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion while also realizing that the story still needs to move forward, which can necessitate adding new elements, such as this year’s introduction of Jerry the Vampire as well as Guillermo’s and Nadja’s experiences in the world of venture capitalism. At the same time you would also like to see as many recurring characters as possible return for a final bow. (Can I please see some more of Simon the Devious?)
This week’s episode was another illustration of what has made the show so special. When I saw that it was titled “Laszlo’s Father” I immediately got giddy and made it a point to avoid any news about the episode. I wanted it to be a pleasant surprise to see who got cast as the senior Cravensworth. No disappointment, Steve Coogan was an outstanding choice. And the B-plot was a perfect representation of the inherent stupidity of the vampires.
It wasn’t until now that Nandor and Nadja realized there is a house on the other side of the vampire mansion; Sean is not their only next door neighbor. And there can only be one explanation as to why the people entering the house look different from week to week. Not because the house is an illegal Airbnb, it’s because the residents are shapeshifters! That was a nice callback to an early episode in which an email sent with an incorrect email address bounced back with the “daemon mailer” notice and they screamed “demon!” There was also a nice homage to Rear Window in the episode.
With only 5 episodes to go, it’s great to see that it is still on top of its game. Damn, I’m gonna miss this show.
Ballot Breakdown - Ken Boyer
There are not enough third basemen in the Hall of Fame. Along with Dick Allen (who played more games at first base but had his best seasons playing third) Ken Boyer is a third sacker who is very worthy of getting a close look on this year’s ballot.
Boyer was equally adept on the field and in the batter’s box. He was arguably the second best defensive third baseman of his era, beyond only Brooks Robinson. He won 5 Gold Gloves, and the defensive metrics back that up. He could have easily won even more than those 5. He was also a superb hitter, routinely hitting around .300 with over 90 RBI & 25 homers. Looking at more advanced metrics, in his best years his OPS+ ran well above 100, and his WAR totals were consistently among the NL’s best. In addition to being named an all-star in 7 different seasons, he capped his career with the 1964 NL MVP award, although to be fair that was not one of his best seasons and there were at least a half dozen players more worthy.
That MVP season was his last big year, but it was the culmination of a decade in which he was a magnificent all-around player; able to help the Cardinals win in any number of ways. I look at his career and it‘s not all that different from Scott Rolen’s. As I said, the Hall needs more third basemen. Ken Boyer would be a deserving choice. Whether he is one of the 3 most worthy names on this year’s ballot is yet to be determined.
NBA Cup Fever… Catch It?
Sorry, that should be the NBA Emirates Cup. Last night year 2 of the NBA’s in-season tournament tipped off. There has been one immediate change this year and that is to the special court designs which are used for tourney games. They are not the assault on the eyes that last year’s courts were. This year’s are still excessively bright, but not so garish that they would burn out the picture tubes if anyone happened to watch the games on an old school TV set.
Last year’s tournament was a novelty (won by the Lakers; in-season tournament flags fly forever) this year’s edition should go a long way in determining if it will last. I was skeptical a year ago, but I admit I started to really get into the games as the knockout round approached. And it did exactly what league executives hoped it would; it added some much needed juice to regular season games. The players had something to play for and the games were contested with a higher intensity than were usually seen in regular season play.
50 Years Ago - Chico and the Man
I’m fairly certain that I have not watched a single episode of Chico and the Man since it ended its run in 1978. I’m confident in saying that is likely aged quite poorly. I see that it currently streams on Tubi. Being that there are not 28 hours in a day, I am not willing to carve out a half hour to see if my instincts are correct. But it is there and it is tempting.
Freddie Prinze and Jack Albertson starred as the titular characters. Chico was a young mechanic working for The Man, a gruff old curmudgeon who owned a car repair shop in East L.A. The comedy came from both the generation gap and the culture clash. Albertson’s character was essentially an amalgamation of Archie Bunker and Fred Sanford, a classic bigot with no filter yet who had a soft spot that he fought to keep hidden. Chico was all flash and confidence, and since it was a 1970’s sitcom he had the requisite catch phrase “looking good!” that no episode could be without.
Because he has been dead for so long, it’s easy to forget how big of a phenomenon Freddie Prinze was. He was a true supernova; only 20 years old when the show premiered, its run coincided with his rise towards becoming one of the top standup comics in the world. Tragically, fame was too much for him to handle. He committed suicide during the show’s third season. He was 22.
The show carried on without one of its co-leads. At first the character’s absence was explained by saying that he was visiting his father in Mexico. In season 4 a “new” Chico was introduced; a 12 year old orphan who hung around the garage. Later on in that season the show quietly acknowledged that Chico had died. The 4th season would be the show’s last; it wasn’t the same without Freddie Prinze.
Despite the show’s steep decline it remains fairly well remembered, and not just because Prinze was one of the sadder What Could Have Been stories. The Jose Feliciano composed theme song was a great earworm, and there were wonderful actors such as Scatman Crothers and Della Reese in supporting roles. Charo even made a few appearances in the final season, because of course she did. Still, as I stated at the beginning, knowing how ethnic comedy in that era too often crossed the line into offensiveness, I dread thinking of how a random episode of the show would play in 2024. I might actually be discouraged.
Closing Laughs
That should do it for another day. Have a terrific day, and I’ll see you all again on Friday.
