Sunday, August 27, 2006

Quick Emmy Awards Wrap-Up - aka (once again), All Hail Conan!

Well, the show is over and it was mostly pretty predictable (see my previous, pre-show post for all my preambling predictions).

I called Kiefer and 24 winning, and I'm glad they did -- the show with the most gravitas clearly won. Howver, super-producer Brian Grazer and his Edward-Scissorhands-esque haircut, standing beside the show's producers as they accepted the award for best drama - well, that did kinda detract from the overall gravitas, just a tad.

Other predictable picks included the obligatory Will and Grace / West Wing farewell awards - suffice to say that both Megan Mulally and Alan Alda are talented and I congratulate them - and I'll even be a team player and say -- go NBC-U! Office for best comedy, Mariska Hargitay best dramatic actress for SVU, and hey, Julia Louis Dreyfuss breaks the Seinfeld curse, reminding us of our glory days in the Must See TV era. But NBC really did do a great job of building up the hype for Heroes, Studio 60, 30 Rock, Kidnapped, 20 Good Years, et al - I think that all this preseason hype may actually lead to some decent ratings spikes for us as well. My personal picks? Studio 60 is a must-watch for fans of good TV, 30 Rock is Tracy Morgan at his best and Alec Baldwin bringing the funny, and 20 Good Years may have lightning in a bottle with the combo of Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow.

Yes, the 'Cock was out in full force tonight, going all-out in promoting our shows. But the star was Conan O'Brien, who was a little wobbly at first but quickly settled into his role as host and pretty much knocked it out of the park, from the hilarious opening montage (COnan encountering House was particularly hilarious, as was Rainn Wilson's reaction to Conan dropping from the ceiling into the set of The Office) to the classic Bob Newhart-in-an-airtight-tube gag, Conan was a great ambassador for NBC and yet still classically self-deprecating and unafraid to mock NBC, going so far as to do an all-out, Simpsons-style song and dance number bemoaning the state of the 'net that would have made Lyle Lanley proud.

Upsets? Well, I predicted lack of award-age for Arrested Development and Malcolm in the Middle, so no big surprises there. I was pretty shocked to see Monk's Tony Shaloub win out over Steve Carell, but, continuing with my unusual amount of NBC cheerleading, it's another one for NBC-UNI! Seriously, Carell did a great job on the Office and I felt he should have won that one.

But just to show I'm not all ra-ra NBC, I give a solid jeer to the Peacock for advertising the new season of the Office as if it were the new season of Melrose Place. Come on, The Office should NOT, of all things, be about soap-opera romance. Advertise the comedy, emphasize the COMEDY, and let the rest of the show follow organically.

Props to all the awards for John Stewart as well, but especially props to Stewart and Colbert for their awesome bit as presenters - their little exchange before the Reality award was simply CLASSIC. Colbert is a True American -- that is all.

Also, as a true TV geek I always look forward to the noms for best variety / talk writing, as the writers always do some hilarious stuff for the intros. As always, my pals (haha not really but I'd like to think so) at LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN kicked ass with their hilarious India-tech-support bit. Those guys are geniouses.

Was surprised, however, that My Name is Earl took home the prize for Best Comedy Writing. I mean, come on ... Earl is kinda funny but Arrested Development has some of the smartest EVER comedy-writing on TV, on a level inhabited by the likes of Seinfeld and The Simpsons. The Office can be up there as well, so I'm surprised both lost out in favor of Earl.

And the Sopranos' writing award only emphasizes the fact that at some point I really need to catch up on that show. Alas, I've been HBO-less for all of my life, and have only seen a few meager episodes of the show.

One more upset in that both Itzin and Smart came up short for their supporting roles on 24. Well, seeing President Palmer up on stage made me realize - if Dennis Haysbert never got a trophy for his kickass role on 24, can anyone? And notice CURTIS taking center stage as the 24 Best Drama award was accepted by cast and crew ... could this indicate that CTU's designated ass-kicker is ready, willing, and able to step up this coming season and walk into an Almeda-like role? Hmm ... still, long live Tony!

Whoah, Gillian Anderson sighting! Oh Scully, where art though (in some obscure TV miniseries, apparently - but I guess it was really good?)? I guess the Emmy nom got the too-good-for network-TV thespian to descend from her flat in London. Now make the second X-Files movie already!

Man, on a serious note, that Dick Clark tribute was almost unbearable to watch - there was something just amazingly sad about seeing a guy who is known for always looking so young get on stage, suddenly looking every bit the part of a guy who had just been through major health complications. It really was jarring to think about how it must feel to go through something like that when your entire career is made on being telegenic. I hope the best for Dick Clark - as was shown in the tribute video he truly has been a remarkably influential force in television.

Similarly moving tribute to Aaron Spelling, and it was a kick to see the original Charlie's Angels on stage, even if it is always odd to see aging starlets looking so plasticy and gaudy (well two out of three at least, right? am i right?) rather than taking a cue from the likes of a Hellen Mirren and acting and looking their age.

All of it was a reminder that showbiz is an inustry filled with odd, eccentric, and exceedingly crazy people. We pay tribute to the greats, but at the same time, seeing the Spelling family, knowing all of the tabloid drama and scandal they've been through, it just kind of shatters the whole delicate illusion of "stardust," as was mentioned in the tribute. We WANT so much to cheer for people like Spelling, and Dick Clark, and even people like Kiefer Sutherland and Charlie Sheen, and yet all you read about is their scandal and depravity. It's just kind of sad and depressing that an industry where people are so admired by the public is filled with so many people unworthy of that admiration.

But anyways, let's talk about some of the good, smart, awesome people in entertainment. Conan, John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, the cast of The Office, and all of us little people who are out there trying to live the dream.

Overall, good show - great job and lots of quality comedy from Conan, although in a show like this you can't help but have your share of lame banter (aka all of it not written by the performers like Tina Fey and John Stewart), nutty acceptance speeches (Blythe, anyone?), tons of awards for PBS miniseries and random TV movies that no one really cares about, and odd production errors (Conan getting cut off as he introduced the Sheens).

Next year, maybe Veronica Mars will get some love.

Or, maybe BARRY MANILOW will simply continue his improbable winning streak. Is there anything the man CAN'T do?

1 comment:

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