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PrintShow that celebrates TV is itself a crashing bore
Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:48 AM EDT
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For a TV show that celebrates how fantastic television is, the Emmys sure manage to be an exceptionally boring TV show, even when they make history on their 60th anniversary.
Not even the presence of the five nominated reality TV show hosts could liven up the broadcast. In fact, after being introduced by Oprah, the five emcees sent the Emmys down the path of lameness with an opening that was later mocked by Jeremy Piven during his acceptance speech and by Don Rickles when he was presenting an award. That's because the hosts literally did nothing except talk about how they had nothing prepared.
It was an awkward, weak introduction from the first five nominees in a brand-new category that acknowledges television's ever-changing landscape. If they represent the new, their failed bit represents the old: an Emmy telecast that's just barely watchable, worth tuning in just to see who wins and who doesn't.
The actual Emmy winners themselves were a similarly awkward mix of old and new. The old was found in undeserved repeat winners (six-time winner "The Amazing Race," three-time winner Jeremy Piven), while the new came from cable, which made history for the first-ever nomination of basic cable series in the best drama category (AMC's breakout series "Mad Men" won for best drama, and also for best writing in a drama, giving creator Matthew Weiner the series' only two wins).
Elsewhere on cable, Bryan Cranston's best actor in a drama win for AMC's "Breaking Bad" was definitely an upset in the category, and FX's "Damages" took both the best dramatic actress and best supporting dramatic actor awards. HBO's "John Adams" broke miniseries records with its 13 wins. On broadcast TV, NBC's "30 Rock" won for best comedy, best comedy writing, and best actress (Tina Fey) and supporting actor (Alec Baldwin).
The disparity between old and new is best illustrated in the two reality TV show awards presented last night. "The Amazing Race" won its sixth consecutive Emmy, and the award is at least its third undeserved Emmy, since the competition series won in 2006 for the year that included the awful family edition.
However, in the brand-new best reality show host category, "Survivor" host Jeff Probst won, defeating the hosts of two more popular shows, "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars."
Although his show falls behind them in the ratings, Probst absolutely deserves the win, as he's the most versatile: he hosts the live reunion, provides color commentary during challenges, and moderates Tribal Council discussions, among other things.
Sometimes Emmy voters gravitate toward popularity or familiarity when they don't know what else to do, but in this case, they got it right.
That could be argued for many of the awards, such as in the acting categories where there was tough competition. Wins by nearly any of the nominees would have been deserved, so it's arguable that for the most part, Emmy voters got it right.
Telecast needs a revamp
However, the Emmy telecast did not get it right. In fact, it was dreadful, in part due to the reality show hosts, who ended up doing little more than reading badly written lines off teleprompters. Every one of them is far more entertaining on their respective shows.
Hiring the hosts to emcee the telecast was supposed to help it rebound from last year's second-worst ratings ever, but because they were so underutilized, they may have had the opposite effect. Even if more people tuned in, they're likely to skip next year after being bored for three straight hours.
There were moments of great comedy and entertainment, but those came from great comics and entertainers such as Ricky Gervais, Steve Martin, and even Jimmy Kimmel, who announced the best reality show host winner by flawlessly satirizing Ryan Seacrest's "American Idol" hosting, right down to the annoying pause for a commercial in the middle of the reveal. Besides that, though, the hosts didn't even really mock themselves or their respective shows, with the exception of a throwaway line or two.
A show that wastes such talent is one that doesn't deserve its place on TV next to the quality programming that it honors.
What's clearly wrong with the Emmys is not the talent, but the production itself.
Due to the actors' strike, the Golden Globes were reduced to what essentially amounted to a press conference, the rote reading of nominees and winners. That lasted about 30 minutes, and yet it accomplished the same thing that the three-hour Emmys did.
Ultimately, the Emmy telecast offers quality that's dismally lower than nearly anything else on television. "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars" deserve plenty of criticism, but even their worst episodes — typically their results shows, as they lack content and waste time — are more engaging and entertaining than the Emmys. Those episodes build drama and tension between the filler and fluff, which is why people tune in despite the time-wasting segments.
The Emmys need to dump their producers and directors, hiring a team who knows how to produce popular television. (That almost happened last year, when "American Idol" producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick were hired to produce the Emmys, but later backed out.)
On stage to present an award Sunday night, Emmy-winner Cynthia Nixon said, "It just so happens that some of the very best work for any actor today is on television," and Emmy-winner Glynn Turman added, "that sort of quality television explains why some of our finest directors are making their mark in prime-time."
It is endlessly ironic that the Emmy telecast's writers can write lines about how good television is but fail to deliver good television themselves. Just as the Emmy awards can change to include reality TV, it's time for the telecast to evolve, too.
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 | Reality TV fails to impress at Emmy indoctrination | Associated Press | Mon Sep 22 | 0 |
| 'Mad Men' and `30 Rock' win top Emmy Awards | Associated Press | Sun Sep 21 | 0 |
| Vignettes from 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards | Associated Press | Sun Sep 21 | 0 |
 | Emmys get a reality check — at last | Associated Press | Mon Sep 15 | 6 |
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{"commentId":3037315,"authorDomain":"co0olbeanz"}
The Amazing Race, undeserving? I disagree. It is the most difficult of the 5 shows to produce and they do it effortlessly every year. Traveling around the world just can not compare to singing, dancing, cooking, or fashion design.
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#1 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:00 AM EDT{"commentId":3037463,"authorDomain":"jssitzes"}
What is most sad about the Emmy's is that the people who write about it take "reality" TV as seriously as the awards now take "reality" TV. When awards start going to "reality" TV, which has nothing to do with reality... consider most Americans finally done with it all.
Thank god for HBO.
{"commentId":3037463,"threadId":"364172","contentId":"1894886","authorDomain":"jssitzes"}
- 1 vote
#2 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:37 AM EDT{"commentId":3037565,"authorDomain":"john-f-w"}
I agree with Dehnart about the quality of the Emmy show. I rarely watch any more - just read who won the next morning.
However, the crack about the "undeserved" Emmy for The Amazing Race doesn't track with what happens in my house. My wife and two teenagers truly enjoy the show, and even though it has had some missteps every year the teams capture their interest and hold it. The host is not intent on tearing people down or overwhelming the contestants with his personality and he lets them be the stars.
And why the singling out of one underserved Emmy? When James Spader and William Shatner won in years past, few critics said those Emmys were undeserved, but lots of regular TV watchers thought they were. Just goes to show that the decision as to who wins is up to the voters, not Dehnart or me and our individual opinions.
Just because a show manages to stay on the air for several years does not mean it automatically declines in quality or is undeserving of an Emmy. Sometimes television does manage to produce consistent quality.
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#3 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:13 AM EDT{"commentId":3037922,"authorDomain":"rej6877"}
I couldn't agree more. The opening was brutally awful and the show went downhill after that. The five hosts were all dreadful . For as much as I watched of it, the show looked badly written and very under rehearsed . I gave up at 9:30 and turned off the TV.
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#4 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:07 AM EDT{"commentId":3041568,"authorDomain":"lfrisby"}
I agree the only good thing was the winners. Then they were throwing the winners off the stage.
The emmy show I have ever seen. Plus I liked to watch the actors win for there guest shot now thats gone. Whats going next.
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{"commentId":3037969,"authorDomain":"teddy1781"}
Noone really cares about what uber-rich actor wins what award, especially with the economy the way it is. We have people losing their homes due to foreclosures, to huricanes. We've got familys barely getting by wondering where their next meal is going to come from.... So, I end with, "Who really gives a crap about who won what!"............
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#5 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:33 AM EDT{"commentId":3038488,"authorDomain":"manstett"}
I couldn't agree more. This was the most boring broadcast I had ever suffered through. Some of the skits were downright painful. Including the Laugh-In reunion. I was embarrassed for the seasoned entertainers that took part in these poorly directed skits.
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#6 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:26 AM EDT{"commentId":3038690,"authorDomain":"bjh551"}
What an embarrassment!! I cringed during most of the broadcast.
John Hamm was robbed!!
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#7 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:52 AM EDT{"commentId":3038780,"authorDomain":"imaveronica"}
Check your facts - Alec Baldwin won best actor in a comedy, not best supporting actor.
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#8 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:03 AM EDT{"commentId":3038796,"authorDomain":"Marilyn-542925"}
This was the most boring show I have ever seen. I turned it off half way through. The jokes were silly and adolescent. No one really seemed into it, and recipients winning over and over again for doing nothing new or exciting was a real turn off for me. The hosts were; 1. too many 2. boring 3. seemed to be out of their element, like they couldn't think of anything to do or say. Much ado about nothing...
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#9 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:05 AM EDT{"commentId":3039163,"authorDomain":"baldwinhc"}
Granted my husband and I are not a part of the generation that watched Laugh-In, so perhaps we were not the targeted audience, but... the Laugh-In reunion was atrocious.
While watching it we said, "What's supposed to be funny about this? Was this show ever actually funny?" After it was over, we noted that you couldn't even hear anyone in the audience laugh during the whole skit. Pretty bad when you can't crack a laugh out of your Hollywood peers. I was embarrassed for everyone involved in that painful waste of air-time.
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#10 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:43 AM EDT{"commentId":3039537,"authorDomain":"aarondavidmac"}
I've never really held much value in these award ceremonies to begin with since most of the time it's more about popularity than quality. The fact that "The Wire" didn't recieve the recognition it deserves only strengthens my point. That is truly a shame.
Television for the most part is going downhill fast.
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#11 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:11 AM EDT{"commentId":3039999,"authorDomain":"markoster"}
Hollywood Awards shows are BOOOORING... besides who gives a damn about Actors? There must be 50 different award shows these days. Did YOU vote for any of these programs?
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#12 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:46 AM EDT{"commentId":3040229,"authorDomain":"neume56147"}
One word....BORING! It appears that even awards shows have no substance, and certainly no entertainment value. And please, spare us reality television. It is like the movie "Network" gone wrong. I am proud to say, the only winning program I have ever watched was Damages! The rest are garbage for the simple minded. Television execs need to get their heads out of the clouds....TV has gone down hill since the strike, great shows are limited or frankly, do not exist. Viewers are disenchanted. Ratings are plummeting.
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#13 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:02 AM EDT{"commentId":3040380,"authorDomain":"brewster55555"}
The whole show was a snooze fest. Why would anyone select 5 boring and bland people to host any show? At least Heidi Klum is pretty. This trainwreck showcased the lack of quality writers that is needed to keep things entertaining. The scripted dialog was the worst. The hosts had nothing funny or interesting to say. What was with that lame Josh Groban number, that was just plain tortuous. Maybe the people that put together these award shows are just too old. That tribute to Laugh-in, now that may just be the worst thing ever on television.
{"commentId":3040380,"threadId":"364172","contentId":"1894886","authorDomain":"brewster55555"}
#14 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:11 AM EDT{"commentId":3040673,"authorDomain":"vadulak"}
The Emmys were atrocious. Full agreement with all the key points cited by this writer and bloggers. Thankfully there was a 'House-a-Thon' on TV last night, for real entertainment purposes.
My alien antennae tell me that 20 different writers wrote each segment, and Ruth Buzzi knit them all together (condolences to the great actors of Laugh In, who clearly had absolutely not even a dry run prior to going live.)
It's too late to blame the folly on the writers strike, but perhaps it was writers revenge?
Or was everyone just waiting for Tina Fey to show up in her Sarah Palin suit?
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#15 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:28 AM EDT{"commentId":3041716,"authorDomain":"ndrock"}
Anybody can see why it's such a bore!! I quit watching all awards shows years ago. WHY?
Who gives a @!$%# what some celebrity thinks about politics when the show is suppose to be about Awards. If I wanted their personal agenda I would write them and ask, or they should set up a "show where all the Hollywood "think they know it all" could stand and spew their own crap.
All the awards shows have turned into nothing more than a political platform for the liberal fruitcakes out of the drug addled sick Hollywood agenda.
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#16 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:21 PM EDT{"commentId":3041791,"authorDomain":"jlivesay"}
Not worth watching in real-time for sure. Today's wrap-up was less boring.
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#17 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:25 PM EDT{"commentId":3041875,"authorDomain":"brewster55555"}
Note to future Emmy hosts: Just say no (unless your name is Jon Stewart).
{"commentId":3041875,"threadId":"364172","contentId":"1894886","authorDomain":"brewster55555"}
#18 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:30 PM EDT{"commentId":3060568,"authorDomain":"baldwinhc"}
Except he's really bad a hosting awards shows too. He should stick to the Daily Show.
{"commentId":3060568,"threadId":"364172","contentId":"1894886","authorDomain":"baldwinhc"}
{"commentId":3042157,"authorDomain":"frantran"}
When you don't have good shows you have to go with the boring, not funny stuff. We don't even watch the basic TV channels any more. Most of the shows are just plain dumb and don't do anything for us.
We watch the 1st night and if it puts us to sleep it is off the list. 30 Rock is one the most dumbest things I ever watch and I feel sorry for the actors and actresses. Oh wait a minute the networks bring in top stars to get ratings, yea right like brittany spears, who wants to watch that or even paris helton gross.
As always just my opinion.
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#19 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:45 PM EDT{"commentId":3042288,"authorDomain":"eleanorbrooks"}
terrible writing - terrible delivery - boring boring boring - even the tributes to the older shows fell flat. and the josh groban number was badly written. what were they thinking? and would someone teach these presenting starts that they don't have to eat the mike to be heard.
pacing of awards shows needs attention. why waste all the time in the front half of the broadcast and then put the rush on the more major awards. a high school production has better pacing.
i'm not looking for an mtv kinda show, but really, can't we get this updated a bit!!
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#20 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:52 PM EDT{"commentId":3042966,"authorDomain":"stu226566"}
the Emmys' show is best left to Radio
{"commentId":3042966,"threadId":"364172","contentId":"1894886","authorDomain":"stu226566"}
#21 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:32 PM EDT{"commentId":3043660,"authorDomain":"shrl5murp"}
Emmy show was horrible, but I stopped watching it years ago. This is nothing new. What happened to good shows with real "actors"?
{"commentId":3043660,"threadId":"364172","contentId":"1894886","authorDomain":"shrl5murp"}
#22 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:08 PM EDT{"commentId":3043891,"authorDomain":"shrl5murp"}
They were horrible. I stopped watching the Emmys a long time ago. They need good shows and "real actors" instead these "flash in the pans"
They have lost site of voteing for actors
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#23 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:20 PM EDT{"commentId":3045605,"authorDomain":"kcurrie"}
I agree with Steven 100. Even if the show were worth watching, I did not want to hear all the "celebrities" political opinions. They mostly do not reflect the views of most Americans and hearing them slur about beliefs and views I care about will not make me change my mind. If I wanted their opinions, I would ask them. What it does do, however, is make me not want to watch anything they are appearing in. And I also agree with other writers, reality shows are boring and fake. The only ones that are the least bit interesting are the talent shows but they can be overdone too.
{"commentId":3045605,"threadId":"364172","contentId":"1894886","authorDomain":"kcurrie"}
#24 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:56 PM EDT{"commentId":3045809,"authorDomain":"cletus"}
This show was not just boring, it was embarrassing. The five terrible, untalented hosts were just a preview of what will happen in the future if reality shows are deemed worth honoring a the Emmys - God help us.
Oprah does not belong on the Emmys. She's not interesting and she actually looked surprised when she didn't get much applause. Whatever that thing was with Josh Groban made me want to turn the channel, but I had that fascination with the horrible and humiliating. Having grown up with Laugh-in, I just cringed at that skit. For those too young to know, Laugh-in was terrific. Dan Rowan and Dick Martin turned over in their graves during that skit.
Thank God for Steve Martin, Don Rickles and Ricky Gervais.
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#25 - Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:06 PM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"364172","isPrivate":false}
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