Friday, November 12, 2004

Set the TiVo

As we all know, NBC runs an old episode of Saturday Night Live very early Sunday morning each week...and they run the full 90-minute versions of them, not the 60-minute cutdowns that are more often available. Lately, they've been jumping around the Eddie Murphy years, running some shows that haven't been seen — at least in their entirety — for a very long time. This coming weekend, the schedule says they're airing the episode from December 11, 1982. Once in a while, they inexplicably don't air what they've announced but if they do, you'll get to see a show from Season 8 hosted by Mr. Murphy and featuring musical guest Lionel Richie and a comedy-magic routine by Harry Anderson.

Season #8 was one of those years where they might as well have called the show, Eddie Murphy and Friends. He was easily the most popular cast member and the rest often didn't have a lot to do. On the episode allegedly airing this weekend, he became the first (and to date, only) member of the cast to host while still a member of the cast. Nick Nolte was supposed to do it that week but a few days before the broadcast, he cancelled, claiming illness. So Murphy got to function as host. It is said that most of the other cast members resented one of their own being singled out that way, and they especially objected when Murphy referred to the program, on-air, as The Eddie Murphy Show. It was...but that was kind of rubbing it in. Some folks think that, in the goodnights, you can see the other cast members registering their annoyance over the whole thing.

By the way: If they air this particular show and if you watch, stay 'til the end. Just before the goodnights, there's a pretty funny surprise guest cameo.

• Posted at 8:42 PM · LINK

Scott (Not) Free

I didn't follow the Scott Peterson case. I didn't see what there was about it that warranted more attention than your average homicide. The O.J. Simpson matter involved a movie and sports star, some other peripheral celebrities, racial tensions, a couple of well-publicized public spectacles, colorful lawyers, some pretty serious charges of incompetence and/or treachery by the L.A. Police Department, and a murder case scenario that was chock full of fun stuff to study and discuss. The Peterson case seems to have had nothing of the sort. As far as I can tell, there wasn't even a good, solid controversy as to his guilt or innocence.

A crowd outside the courtroom cheered when the verdict was read. I'm wondering just what they were cheering for. One presumes they were all pretty certain that Peterson was guilty...so were they cheering because a guilty man was found guilty? I hate to think it's come to that in this country; that it's a cause for celebration when the system works the way it's supposed to work.

On CNN, I just saw a "legal analyst" say that the next task for the Defense is to convince the court that Peterson isn't so terrible that he warrants the death penalty. In other words: Yes, he plotted and committed the murder of his wife and unborn child...but it could have been worse. I don't think I'm going to follow that phase of the trial, either.

• Posted at 3:02 PM · LINK