Recently SNL was hosted by the actor Brendan Gleeson.
I can’t think of another SNL where I felt more like a host was more out of his element but still somehow out of a combination of good will and the hard work of the writers and cast he still succeeded. I imagine this is what would happen to me if I ever hosted. I would be a nervous wreck and blow my cues but somehow survive. At least that’s my daydream.
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If you asked me what’s number one on my bucket list I would absolutely say that killing it for laughs in one single SNL sketch like David S. Pumpkins as if I was Tom Hanks would be the answer. And I’ve flown with the Blue Angels without passing out under G-forces. I’ve driven a pace car at MIS. I’ve pretended to be naked on live television.
I’m 52 years old. I know I will never have a second act like Regis Philbin because this isn’t 1966. Or 1988. Or 1999. But I still hold onto one single hope: until I take my last breath there’s an outside chance I might get to say one funny line on Saturday Night Live. Never going to happen but if you told me ten years ago that Brendan Gleeson would host I would have said there’s no way.
Brendan Gleeson’s episode impossibly got funnier and funnier as it went on, after a bit of a rough start with a mixed bag monologue.
And why I think it’s important is this: I liked Brendan Gleeson before he set foot on the stage. I was rooting for him. And even when he stumbled I was still in his corner. It might be one of my favorite episodes of the show ever.
That’s not always the case with celebrity hosts who get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to host a national institution. And it actually angers me when the host is a cynical choice. On those occasions I am not rooting for anyone but the cast to survive Lorne Michaels’ weird whims.
You should support SNL. Through good times and bad it’s always there for us. I just hope it outlives me, whether I’m ever on it or not.
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