Ask Matt: Let the Alien Host ‘SNL’!
Welcome to the Q&A with TV critic — also known to some TV fans as their “TV therapist” — Matt Roush, who’ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today’s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, but there’s always closed-captioning.)
One caution: This is a spoiler-free zone, so we won’t be addressing upcoming storylines here unless it’s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected] (or use the form at the end of the column) and follow me on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush). Look for Ask Matt columns on many Tuesdays and Fridays.
If It’s Good Enough for the Coneheads …
Comment: I am thrilled that Alan Tudyk is back with a new season of Resident Alien, but I am still hoping for a guest-host shot on Saturday Night Live for him, and I wish Lorne Michaels would read this. After all, SyFy is part of the NBCUniversal world, as is SNL.
On another note: Regarding the outcry over winning streaks on Jeopardy!, I don’t know why anyone would watch Jeopardy! without trying to answer the questions (or I should say answers) on their own at home, which has always been the main attraction of this show for me. It is a good way to keep your brain working. — JV
Matt Roush: You may have brought this up during the first season as well, but I couldn’t agree more that the versatile Alan Tudyk — who I’ve enjoyed on screen (big and small) and on stage and in numerous voice-over roles in animation — would be a dream guest host. Even if you only knew him as Harry the Resident Alien, you’d have to admire his gift for physical comedy. I wish he were more of a household name, but that’s often the character actor’s lot. And much as I love celebrating “five-timers” as in the upcoming return (Feb. 26) of the wonderful John Mulaney, I’d like to see SNL widen its tent a bit for singular talents like Alan Tudyk.
Regarding Jeopardy!, we’re also in sync. While I understand the frustration among some viewers of watching so many lopsided games during a historic winning streak like Amy’s, I found myself focusing instead on matching my own wits with hers. There were many times I was astonished at what she knew and could come up with so quickly, but there were also moments — including Daily Doubles and a few Final Jeopardy clues — when I got it right and she didn’t. And I’m not ashamed to admit I fist-pumped in triumph from my couch. That’s the best way to watch Jeopardy!
Giving Credit to Opening Credits
Question: Too bad there’s not an award for opening credits. HBO Max‘s Peacemaker is fantastic. Being in my 20s during the hair metal days, I really appreciate the opening plus the entire soundtrack. Glad I gave it a second viewing after not thinking too much of the first episode – I absolutely love the show now (although maybe a bit too graphically violent). Your thoughts on the opening credits, please. Love your column!! — Roger S
Matt Roush: Actually, there is an Emmy category for Outstanding Main Title Design. (Last year’s went to Showtime’s The Good Lord Bird, which shamefully was that terrific miniseries’ sole nomination.) This category typically rewards graphics designers, not a performance piece, but I agree that Peacemaker’s dance sequence is a riot and perfectly captures the tongue-in-bloody-cheek spirit of this superhero parody. I’ll share one of my new favorite, which won’t premiere until next week (Feb. 18), but the credits sequence that has been haunting me recently is the surreal, Escher-like credits for Apple’s sci-fi thriller Severance, which brilliantly illustrates the duality of Adam Scott’s character. Who doesn’t love a good title credits sequence? (I never skip over them if they’re this cool.)
Calling Bull on This Cancellation
Question: Why is CBS canceling Bull? It is so well-written, and the stories are interesting and provocative. — Ada
Matt Roush: This isn’t so much a cancellation as a case of the star moving on. By all accounts, this was Michael Weatherly’s call to end the run after six rather turbulent seasons that included an embarrassing lawsuit filed by Eliza Dushku (settled for $9.5 million) after she alleged she was fired when she complained about the star’s inappropriate on-set behavior. More recently, co-star Freddy Rodriguez and showrunner Glenn Gordon Caron exited the series ahead of Season 6 after an in-house investigation into workplace misconduct. CBS stuck with the show despite all of the turmoil, and it’s unclear if the network would have kept Bull on for a seventh season if Weatherly had opted to continue.
A Life Worth Seeing
Comment: Just finished watching the terrific third and final season of After Life on Netflix. Ricky Gervais deserves both comedy and drama writing Emmys for this show. It’s laugh-out-loud funny one minute and the next it brings a tear to your eye. Can’t wait for his next project! – Mary Ann from Chicago
Matt Roush: I never expected to be so moved by a Ricky Gervais series, and as much as I admire The Office and Extras, this heartfelt and often hilarious character study of grief and moving on could be among his most lasting and resonant achievements. Maybe because there are so few episodes per season (18 total over three seasons), After Life doesn’t get the attention that it deserves. I would love for that not to be the case for this final run.
The Hetty Conundrum
Question: There’s one thing that NCIS: LA has been doing this Season that both confuses and annoys me: In CBS’ press releases for the episodes themselves, Linda Hunt is still listed in the column as a series regular, and in the opening theme reel of each episode this season, Hetty is shown right next to Kilbride. Yet when the names are listed after the credits, her name is no longer showing up before LL Cool J‘s name! Any idea why this is happening? Or is this another one of CBS’ many slipups when it comes to this show? – Maria
Matt Roush: I see it as a tacit acknowledgment that Hetty (Linda Hunt), as has been the case for some time, is now only marginally attached to the series. When the character remains MIA, which is most of the time, her name won’t be in the credits — the way it is on many shows with recurring (or in her case, barely recurring) regulars. Hetty is still part of the show’s world, as the title-credit montage reminds us, and when she makes one of her rare appearances, I’d expect she’ll be back in the title credits—unless they want her return to be a spoiler. What I’m more curious about is when the NCIS mothership will stop pretending Mark Harmon is still the star of the show in its opening credits, which now feels very misleading.
No Gold Medal for Today
Comment: Since there isn’t much that can be done with NBC having the rights to cover the Winter Olympic games, can the network at least remove the incompetent Today Show hosts from any further coverage of the event? There isn’t an expert amongst them, and just as they exploited the young Olympians during the summer games, they are hyping these young men and women so much that if they do fail to bring any medals home, the athletes are made to get on the air and explain what happened. Case in point: a Today Show host was screaming from a balcony to one athlete just before she competed, and when she didn’t do that well, she was told that “I was up there yelling encouragement to you.” That is not your job. Comment, interview, provide color commentary, and shut up. — Michael K
Matt Roush: Shutting up while commenting and interviewing may be too much to expect from these blabbermouths, but this is a key reason why I’m planning to watch most of my Olympics on the streaming platform, picking and choosing what I watch and when. It’s much easier to avoid aggravating moments like these.
And Finally …
Question: Why does Garrett Morris only appear in the pilot episode of NBC’s Grand Crew? — Alex
Matt Roush: He was just a guest star in the pilot, which used his stilted introduction (“We got layers, y’all!”) to set up the show’s premise, such as it is. He’s not an actual character in the show.
That’s all for now. We can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to [email protected] or shoot me a line on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush), and you can also submit questions via the handy form below. (Please include a first name with your question.)
