2009 Emmy Awards
The 61st Annual Emmys, with the theme this year "A Tribute to Lorne Michaels," benefited greatly by having Neil Patrick Harris host instead of Heidi Klum, yet introduced maybe the most appalling innovation in all its 61 years: the promo scroll at the bottom of the screen. Right in the middle of someone's acceptance speech they would flash, "Jennifer Love Hewitt and Patricia Arquette in 5 minutes." In other words, just five minutes until these nobodies are through and people you care about will again be on.
Never once during an actor's speech however, did they flash "The Writers of Burn Notice in 6 minutes."
It was painfully obvious that the producers had one goal only -- reverse the ratings trend and not lose again to the Weather Channel. The scroll was one device. Another was to pre-shoot several awards and only air edited versions (cutting out those interminable crosses from the winners' seats up to the stage). But the ATAS realized that might be disrespectful to the industry when the major guilds threatened to boycott the show and not grant them use of any film clips.
So in reviewing the telecast I have to cut them some slack because they had to stage an awards show where they were forced to actually show the awards.
The evening started on a high note for me since KTLA Channel 5 once again rolled out their red carpet show. Hosted, of course, by celebrity footstool Sam Rubin and a random bimbo. This year's tomato was Victoria Recano, who I learned is their evening news anchor. These two lovable chuckleheads are always good for a few idiotic questions and comments. Also present was Tom O'Neill (a so-called Emmys expert). Sam asked him for a preview of the show and he said, "The highlight will be the In Memoriam feature."
And then there was fashion expert Jennifer Dorogo (whoever the hell she is). Jen did not like Elizabeth Moss' gown. So Sam asks, "Is there someone to blame?" Apparently not since Jen declares, "The celebrities have the final say."
Victoria to Anna Gunn regarding her gown, "Who is this guy?"
Sam to Johnny Galecki of Big Bang Theory: "Have you heard from nerds?"
Dexter's Julie Benz, quite birdlike in a dress that looked like a chandelier, was very excited to get the free mints KTLA doled out. My daughter Annie said, "That's her dinner."
More fashion critiques from Jennifer Dorogo, who somehow mistook Lonny Ross (Josh on 30 Rock) for Jennifer Morrison (of House).
The actual show got off to a rousing start with Neil Patrick Harris (in a white dinner jacket) singing a big splashy opening number. The Academy wanted to recapture the magic of Neil hosting the Tonys and they certainly succeeded: it was the gayest opening of the Emmys ever. But Doogie can really sing and perform and has a nice easy charm. I thought he was the best Emmy host in ages. Next year the show airs on a different network, so depending on which it is, expect either Gordon Ramsay or Katherine Heigl.
There were fewer Kanye West jokes than I thought. Maybe twelve.
Very elegant comedy montage -- pratfalls, sex jokes, and Tina Fey on the toilet. Doesn't it seem like Frasier's been off the air for a hundred years?
Yay for Kristin Chenoweth, who won for a show that ABC canceled. Her voice is so squeaky high anyway that when she started to cry garage doors all over America went up. But her emotional speech felt very real and heartfelt and after directing her last sitcom, I'm relieved that I didn't kill her career.
A big comedy bit was "Best Seat in the House." A supposed fan is given the best seat in the house. But one time it's behind the Harlem Globetrotters and another it's behind equipment. Ha ha. I'm sorry but I'd rather see a winning writer walk all the way from his house to the stage than that lame bit.
Much funnier was the mock commentary by John Hodgman and Neil Patrick Harris introducing presenters by their most cringeworthy credits. Fortunately for me, no one from Mannequin 2 was a presenter this year.
Olivia Wilde had the dress of the night, maybe the year. It was a two-piece white backless gown. Feathers over her left breast and then the other part. All she needed was a parrot on her elbow and she could get a thousand dollars a night performing at the Badda Bing.
I'm sure Toni Collette deserved her award. I understand she was very good. What show was she on again?
The Reality Show montage: five minutes of angry people being bleeped. This is the "excellence in television" we're celebrating tonight.
When Jessica Lange was thanking everyone in the world I was hoping for a promo crawl underneath her to say, "Jessica Lange speech over in 8 minutes."
One category they should eliminate is "Guest Actor/Actress" for comedy and drama. These are nothing more than a salute to stunt casting. It's a reward for movie stars to slum it and do TV or former TV stars to get a big payday while they still can. Steve Martin, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Aniston, and perennial Ellen Burstyn (who actually won one year for being on camera for literally 14 seconds). Replace the category with "Newcomers of the Year." The ATAS wants new viewers? Honor new talent. Can you imagine anyone who uses the word "dude" rooting for Ellen Burstyn?
How is Jimmy Smits considered a "Guest" actor on Dexter? He was in 12 of the 13 episodes.
Debra Messing came dressed as Ariel, the little Mermaid.
I was thrilled for Michael Emerson and Cherry Jones. Happy for Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin (although I would have been happier for Jim Parsons).
Jeff Probst -- Best Reality Host. Hugh Laurie can't win an Emmy but this guy now has two for saying, "Wanna know what you're playing for?" every friggin' episode.
During the Movies and Mini-Series montage they should have had a promo crawl that said, "Music and Variety Awards in 38 minutes."
Note to winner Shohreh Aghdashloo: Sleeves!!
How did Bruce Gowers win an Emmy for directing American Idol? First of all, it was in the musical-variety category. Isn't American Idol a reality show? And second, how hard is it to direct American Idol? One singer at a time comes out and stands in the same spot. And the judges all sit at one table. Half the nimrods on YouTube could do that.
Only in television could the great Sir Ian McKellan, Kenneth Branaugh, Kevin Kline, Kevin Bacon, and Brendan Gleeson be up for the same Best Actor in a Movie award with Keifer Sutherland for the two-hour 24.
After Ken Howard thanked someone for giving him a kidney, isn't it a little hard for the next winner to go up and thank Lorne Michaels?
Family Guy might've won for Best Comedy had they campaigned.
I hear Grey Gardens was great unless you were expecting the musical.
No one who watched any of the mini-series or movies-for-television had the slightest clue what the Dr. Horrible bit was all about.
Congratulations to all the Creative Arts winners, although there was not even a single mention of them this year. "Creative Arts" is a nice word for "crew." To use a football analogy (since most people were watching the Cowboys-Giants game anyway) they're the offensive line that protects the quarterback. Without them Teri Hatcher would be sacked forty times a game.
Question about the Variety montage -- there was a shot of the Inauguration. The Presidential Inauguration is now considered Musical/Variety?
You're going to think I'm making this up but I'm not. While the winners of the best song were giving their acceptance speech a promo crawl appeared that read, "In Memoriam in 11 minutes."
The one criticism everyone had about the Oscars was that instead of just showing the people who passed on full screen during the "In Memoriam" segment, they opened with a long shot of the stage, the names and faces appearing on a screen in the background while an anguished singer performed in the foreground. That was universally reviled. So what do the Emmys do? The exact same thing.
I was happy for Matthew Weiner of Mad Men, although during his speech I half expected a promo crawl to say, "Summer Olympics in 3 years."
No big surprises for the honored shows. Mad Men, 30 Rock, The Amazing Race, The Daily Show. All well deserved. But if Lost, Dexter, Family Guy, or The Colbert Report had won I wouldn't have been that upset.
Will all the "improvements" and Neil Patrick Harris be enough to turn the tide? It's hard to say. They certainly made some strides. But the Weather Channel had a special on hail storms in Kansas. I'm not optimistic.
Read Ken's blog here.
Follow Ken Levine on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KenLevine
Zandile Blay: The Good, The Bad, The Barack Obama: Emmy Style Rundown
The Emmy's was so good it was bad. Both guys and gals were in rare form, wearing event, age, and body appropriate ensembles that were often flat out dazzling.
Ed Martin: Neil Patrick Harris Triumphs in a Much Improved Emmycast
I guess there's just no getting around the fact that most of the television audience does not watch or maintain any interest in most of the programs that take home the biggest Emmy awards, some by the bushel.
Zorianna Kit: The 2009 Emmy Awards Gifting Suites
Gifting suites leading up to the Emmy Awards began as early as six days prior to the event and continued throughout the week. Although there were far too many to account for, below are some highlights.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
***Isn't American Idol a reality show?***
No.
It is very much a musical/variety show.
In fact, people misunderstand entirely what "reality TV" actually is. COPS is reality TV.
Things like Big Brother, Project Runway, Survivor etc....are more like elaborate game shows.
See Tallulah Morehead's Profile
The category is Reality Competition Show. American Idol is one, which is not to say they are not elaborate game shows. Any "unscripted" show (Let's be honest, most are merely officially unscripted) is a "reality" show.
This show lost what little credibility it had when Bruce Gowers won a best director award.
NPH did a cute, peppy job. Thank god I DVR'd it. It was 80% commercials.
So glad that Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo won. She was really very good playing Saddam Hussein's wife and her deep-throated whiskey voice reminds me so much of Greek actress Melina Mecouri. If they do a remake of "Never On Sunday", Aghdashloo is the perfect star for that film.
Grey Gardens was terrific but for Ken Howard to have won over Tom Courtney in "Little Dorrit" was more than ridiculous; it was pathetic. Courtney should have been nominated in the Best Actor category anyway since he really was the male star of the film and spent more time on film, much more, then Ken Howard's walk-on. Maybe I just have a bias for great actors.
See Tallulah Morehead's Profile
I so agree. Sir Tom Courteneu was terrific as William Dorritt. 22 years ago, Alec Guiness was nominated for an Oscar for the same role.
Remember the "innovation" at this year's Oscars: a gaggle of well-known actors giving testimony to the brilliance of each of the acting awards?
No testaments to any other nominees, just the actors. This serves, of course, to send a wonderful message to every nominee who isn't an actor: you're not even remotely as important as the "thesps" (as "Variety" calls them); "We only nominate you, and pick one winner in each category in order to give the rubes at home the illusion that movie-making is a collaborative endeavor. The actors DO make it up as they go along ("Sunset Boulevard"'s Joe Gillis statement to the contrary notwithstaning), and everybody else is just window-dressing."
Anybody who wasted his or her time watching this awards show, or any awards show, gets what he or she deserves.
See Tallulah Morehead's Profile
Say what you will about Joe Gillis; for a writer, he was a hell of a lay. But he got blood all over my pool.
Yeah. It was cringe worthy watching Adrian Brody do the intro for Christopher Jenkins at the Oscars. As if he needed or wanted Brody's approval. How bout when they tried to spice up the deceased montage with Queen Latifah (sic?) singing and pictures of the dead on T.V screens way in the background where you could barely see them. Totally classless.
Th Emmys' last best days were back in the mid 90s when Cashbox magazine went out of business, which signaled the end of good music. When highlights of the show are honored deceased stars from the civilized talented 20th century, you know Generation Suck has all but destroyed modern pop culture. No new show will still be popular in 40 years. Think about that.
Remember when these award shows at least tried to be classy? I think all integrity went out the window by 1993 and it gets worse every year. I hope they give it to Lost next year....since it's the shows last season.
A bit of a cheap shot on Probst. He doesn't just go through the motions on Survivor. He's become quite good at stirring sh*t and putting contestants on the spot.
See Tallulah Morehead's Profile
Did it leave him too exhausted to put on a tie?
Who knew they gave Emmys for spit-roasting contestants?
Wait. That came out dirtier than I ---
I channel zapped thru this show and yes, NPH, was entertaining, as were some of the techie bits...but there's a big disconnect between the Audience out there in TV land and these shows...and its become akin to watching the Emperor with no clothes....the public often feels like this is just a fashion show ...
(and yes, that KTLA Jennifer was pure evil - she might as well don a witch hat and just hiss at the ones she didn't like) ...
and/or they just don't have HBO or enough cable channels. I used to love these shows, but now I feel like they are an elitist, insider, dinner party to which I will never get invited, so why should I care? I even worked at 30 Rock for awhile and don't understand the hoopla about that show.
So, this constant repetition of winners year after year is boring...I was hoping BIG BANG would win...or Family Guy...anything to break up the monotony. Its like a fixed race, and maybe they should have an audience voting bloc, just for fun.
NIELSEN TV RATINGS
Week ending September 13, 2009
------------------------------------
1 NBC SUNDAY NFL CHICAGO AT GREEN BAY
2 NBC NFL THURSDAY SPECIAL(S) TENNESSEE AT PITTSBURGH
3 SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK
4 NBC NFL THURSDAY PRE-KICK(S)
5 AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE
6 FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3
7 The OT
8 NCIS
9 60 MINUTES
10 AMERICA GOT TALENT-WED
11 NFL OPENING KICK-OFF SHOW(S)
12 TWO AND A HALF MEN
13 The MENTALIST
14 THE BIG BANG THEORY
15 HELL'S KITCHEN
16 BIG BROTHER
17 CSI
18 GLEE
19 BIG BROTHER
20 DATELINE
Horrible. Not even NPH could save this booorrring PREDICTABLE stupid excuse of an award show The best shows on TV ignored once again. True Blood, Generation Kill and Dexter robbed.
Never again.
Done
What is it about NPH that I don't get? I get that he's cute and charming; but, as a host, really dull. In fact, this Emmy program was the dullest award show I've ever watched.
See Tallulah Morehead's Profile
So YOU are the one other person in America who agrees with me about NPH as a host! Thank you. I've felt so alone.
Nope I'm another one, I'd rather have watched a genuinely cringeworthy host than little Mr. Vanilla, boooooring, this show is so edge-free, it could roll away, as it should
NPH is a terrific host. He was last year and this year you can' t blame him but wheoever wrote his material. He has charm, personality, can sing and he has wit if when using it beyond the script. The guy has class.
NPH was totally STELLAR hosting the Tony Awards - but when asked, I really think he should decline hosting the Emmys again. Not because HE isn't excellent, but because even he can only do so much with what the writers give him.
Boring. I turned to the Food Network. To fix it there has to be more than the tearful surprised recipient. They couldn't redo the Kanye schtick ( yes, I still believe it was contrived. see my comments to see why) so they had nothing to give that was controversial.
They really should have a one-year rule. Those who won last year don't compete this year.
I must be so used to the scrolling thingies at the bottom that I don't even see them anymore, like billboards. Because I really truly didn't see a single one. Odd.
And I agree, I can always do without whiny Sara McL and that song. Poor choice. I was embarrassed by the way they felt some memorials needed an explanation -- either introduce all or none. They were saying "hey folks, this was a nobody who died but we had to include 'em so here's why...."
When they pay you to watch . . I might consider it . . . depends on how much they will pay
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
