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Monday, September 22, 2008

Emmy Recap


I don't usually watch the Emmys. I know - shame on me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Luddite, I watch some tv; probably more in the past couple of years than in earlier times in my life. But I watched this particular Emmys initially because my best friend works on Grey's Anatomy and had a little something to do with the Michael Phelps bit that Jimmy Kimmel did. Which I though was HILARIOUS. So I tuned in for that only to get sucked into the show afterward. Here are my observations:


Not nice things I thought and felt bad about and yet….
Wow Oprah has (re)gained a lot of weight!
Candace Bergen – she’s aged well but that blouse – ew!
Mary Tyler Moore – one of my idols but BLEEP! The plastic surgery overkill is disturbing and disappointing. Especially side by side with Betty White who has not gone down that road.

Awards that made me really happy:

Alec Baldwin
Betty White
Tina Fey

Best moments:
Jimmy Kimmel’s lead in show
Tommy Smothers speech
Glen Close’s speech: …we’re proving that complicated, powerful, mature women are sexy and…can carry a show.
Josh Groban’s medley of television theme songs
When Kathy Griffin commanded the audience to Get. Uuuup for Don Rickles.

Most cringe-worthy moments:
The lame Heidi Klum joke about ripping off her tuxedo; that landed with a horrible thud.
The lame reality host time killer at the top of the show
Howie Mandel. Every time.
The Laugh-in presentation

Best sly jibe at a dumb move:
Conan O’Brien’s reference to Katherine Heigl’s assertion that the material given her character in the last season of Grey’s was not worthy of an Emmy nomination.

Most telling quote:
Barry Sonnenfeld, Director, Pushing Daisies: Love TV and fear the internet.

Funniest quote, attributed to Lorne Michaels by Tina Fey:
Don’t ever follow a hippy to a second location.

Most disturbing and annoying commercial slogan:
ABC’s National Stay at Home Week

Most egregious music-off:
Kirk Ellis, writer, John Adams:
a period when articulate men articulated complex thoughts in complete sentences. They used words….music. ARGHGH!

Most boring sweep:
John Adams. Full disclosure: I haven't seen it. And I'm a history buff.

Most egregious waste of a comedy actress who should be more famous:
Sarah Chalke shilling underpants with the slogan: Be wedgie free!
Close runner up: Jamie Lee Curtis and that yogurt that makes you more regular ad.

In Memoriam’s that made me really feel sad:
George Carlin
Suzanne Pleshette
Sydney Pollack
Dick Martin
Bernie Mac
Deborah Kerr
Harvey Korman
Jim McKay

And – Bozo the Clown died?

Random thoughts:
Until CSI I had never heard of William Peterson. I mean, he’s good but I have literally never noticed him in anything before. So. You know. I guess I’m a dope.

Laurence Fishburn’s red jacket: not so much.

Was Craig Ferguson drunk?

Why does Brooke Shields increasing look like a man?

Sally Field still sounds like Gidget and it is vaguely discomfiting.

Is Entourage a comedy? Why was it in that category?

Tom Selleck – holy BLEEP is he still handsome. Man.

Tina Fey’s multiple wins made me really happy – really happy – but she didn’t need to shill her show when she won the best comedy award. Don’t worry, Tina, we’re watching your show. And we know where to find it, thanks.

Complete list of winners.


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12 comments:

elegraph said...

I missed the first 40 minutes of the show, darn it! But yes, I am so glad 30 Rock got its due. Glad Two and a Half Men didn't get anything big (if anything at all), and sorry to see NPH not get an E for How I Met Your Mother, the 2nd best show on TV (after 30 R). Love Gabriel Byrne but hated what I've seen of In Treatment. Sounds like I didn't miss much, not seeing the beginning of the Emmys. Too many cooks spoil the broth... maybe next year they will keep it to one host again.

Enjoyed your recap. Agree that Sarah Chalke should be more famous!
And that's another thing: why doesn't Scrubs get more kudos??

Anonymous said...

Actually, Tina Fey does need to plug 30 Rock any chance she can get. It's criminal how low the ratings are for the funniest show on TV! If NBC's ratings weren't already in the toilet, it would've been cancelled by now...

Kirkland said...

I was disappointed in the John Adams and 30 Rock Sweep Fest--quick name another mini-series/made for TV drama movie or another woman in a comedy series (and nonaming Katherine Heigl doesn't count...

I thought Catherine Keener's performance as Getrude in An American Crime. with Ellen Page as the abused child, was a chilling performance. But I'm guessing nobody watched the telemovie because it was so dark.

I'm hoping at next year's Emmy Awards that they do away with hosts and non-funny comedy bits and just make the winners sit in the audience as the presenters say something funny and toss the award to the winner like peanuts at a Dodger's game.

And how the hell did Dancing With the Stars escape not winning being best reality show? It's got everything going for it: trained monkeys at hosts, circus acts, and near naked women. What else do they need to be nominated?

Writerly said...

Beside hoping new audiences will find and love 30 ROCK as much as I do -- I think Tina Fey's reference was sort of a joke and also a plea - the more people buy the show, the more writers could get paid on their .0007% residuals from downloads... ha!

Also - how AWESOME is MAD MEN!? And Matthew Weiner wrote that with his writer's assistant 8 years ago. Don't throw away any of your old scripts - who knows what could happen!

MikeyP

E.C. Henry said...

Didn't watch the Emmys, but my vote goes to Steve Carell in NBC's "The Office." He is so funny. I love that one episode where he feel upstaged in a wedding procession, and walks up the aisle with someone's wheelchair. Hillarious stuff.
"30 Rock" is marginally funny, , but it's no "The Office," "Chuck" or "How I Met Your Mother." "The Office" is the closest thing we have to "Sinefeld" these day.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

ScriptWeaver said...

Entourage is funny as Hell.

If you're a guy, I guess.

Belzecue said...

>> Is Entourage a comedy?

C'mon... seriously?

I'm newly into the whole Entourage thing, and am working my way through Season 4 as my entry point. But, c'mon... Drama and Turtle in the Bunny suit? Was that not the height of slapshtick?

Anonymous said...

I was so incredibly excited that MAD MEN picked up best drama.

It's a spectacular show.

Julie Gray said...

To me Entourage is like Sex and the City for men. SATC (of which I was a big fan) didn't feel like a comedy to me, maybe a dramedy-hybrid? It had funny moments but I wouldn't term it a comedy, per se. I've only seen four or five episodes of Entourage and tonally, it reminds me of SATC a lot. But that's just me.

Anonymous said...

Hey! I'm a girl and I love ENTOURAGE.

I think it's hilarious. There are times when my stomach hurts, I'm laughing so much. Yeah--the bunny suit--great moment!

You know what--my mom likes it, too!

I do see the slight similarity to SATC--the basic thread of the story is the friendship of the guys. But I thought of SATC as a comedy, too.

Anonymous said...

Brooke Shields -- I was just thinking the same thing the other day! I saw her picture in a magazine and did a triple-take because it was so scary. Those eyebrows just make it worse. I know they were her trademark at one point, but let it go. For the love of God man! ~ Trina

Julie Gray said...

Brooke Shields, as Seinfeld would say, is a very "handsome" woman. :)