ReasonForOurHope

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Sunday Best: Emmy 2013 Results

So the Emmys were last week.

I wish that I had watched Breaking Bad instead.

As I wrote a while ago about the Oscars, the thing that makes these awards shows exciting is if you have a horse in the race and you get to see it win.  But there were so many shows that I did not watch that happened to be nominated, that much of the telecast was boring.

So here are my thoughts:

THE SHOW

I like Neil Patrick Harris.  I think he is a real showman.  I think that they wanted to confound expectations by having him not do a musical number in the beginning, but that was a mistake.  And putting multiple numbers in the middle of the show was a worse mistake.  You can start with a big production.  But once the awards get going, we just want to see who wins next.  We don't care about any kind of special tributes (except the In Memorium)

Speaking of which, I thought the personal tributes were very nice, but then you have the problem of people being left out.  I understand why Cory Montieth's death was highlighted, because it was unexpected.  But then you realize that Jack Klugman, a TV icon, was lumped in with everyone else.

The jokes were the jokes.  They usually aren't that memorable.

THE AWARDS
I thought that the Netflix shows would come out strong this year, but they didn't.

Veep had a stronger showing than I thought, but Amy Poehler is consistently robbed for best actress in a comedy.

One of the few guys I don't know won the best supporting actor drama award, which left me disappointed, as did Mayim Bialik not winning for The Big Bang Theory.

Speaking of which, that show should also have won the best comedy award.  Modern Family was a great show when it came out primarily because of the humor and heart.  You could laugh with or at the characters, but you could see their genuine affection and a sense of family.  I've since stopped watching when I came to perceive a coldness that was pervasive among all of them.  The Big Bang Theory started with an emotional distance, but over the years the characters have grown and developed and continued to be incredibly funny.

It is not a shock that Liberace won a number of awards, particularly Michael Douglass.  If a pretty actress uglifies herself for a movie role, she is more likely to win an award (Chalize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Anne Hathaway, etc).  If a straight actor plays gay, he is more likely to win an award (Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Eric Stonestreet).

The biggest shock for me was Jeff Daniels winning.  My theory is that everyone who voted knows that The Newsroom is a Hollywood fantasy and is disconnected from any kind of reality.  I mean, think about this, it is too unreal for Hollywood!  But they are so attached to Daniels' character because he is the embodiment of their own hopes and frustrations.  He gives voice to their thoughts in an heroic way. So regardless of the other nominees, they would honor him because of that.

But at least Breaking Bad finally got the best show award.

Tonight is the finale.  If it ends with the same emotional force as we've seen the rest of the season, we should see them win again next year.

Thoughts?

(Below are my live tweets.  If you have nothing better to do: enjoy!)






  1. If you had watched the Emmys, you could have seen the Breaking Bad dance number to tide you over
  2. Breaking Bad finally wins! Glad I waited till the end. I'm off to bed
  3. The Big Bang Theory should have won
  4. Liberace beat out Jesus for an Emmy. That sounds about right for Hollywood
  5. I am shocked, shocked I tell you that Michael Douglass won
  6. to paraphrase the knight from Last Crusade: I chose... Poorly
  7. I wouldn't have minded cutting one if the 3 dozen musical numbers to give more time to remember Jack Klugman
  8. I don't want this to sound rude, but they intentionally choose the most unflattering pictures for the In Memorium?
  9. Wake me when a category I care about comes up
  10. Do I have forfeit my Y-chromosome for choosing the Emmys over Breaking Bad?
  11. I don't know if I'm gonna make it. Fading fast
  12. You know what's more exciting than an unnecessary musical number? The making if an unnecessary musical number
  13. Oh goodie. We're going to have another unnecessary musical number!
  14. Gold statues and "you think I'm cool." I think that just summed up Hollywood
  15. Not for one second of Newsroom has Jeff Daniels been better than Bryan Cranston, Kevin Spacey and Jon Hamm's worst moments on their shows.
  16. The return of Prof. Proton and Prof. Proton Jr.
  17. "No one steals Khalisee's minerals!"
  18. Lets see how many time Clare Danes insults the Philippines in her acceptance speech
  19. Why am I not watching breaking bad right now?
  20. You know, after nearly 2 hours, I was thinking that the show needed to slow down with another unnecessary musical number
  21. No way! I don't watch The Newsroom, just like most if America. Bryan Cranston has already won, but he still deserved it
  22. Why did Julianna Margulies come out in a bath towel?
  23. So no Emmy love for Peter dinklage or the breaking bad supporting actors
  24. What was The show Solid Gold actually about? I don't remember anymore
  25. Finally NPH does a the song and dance thingy
  26. I think that Cosmopolitan casino commercial just gave me epilepsy
  27. They just called Carrie Underwood's upcoming performance "unforgettable." Reminds me of calling Robocop 2 a hit before it premiered
  28. I am a recent Breaking Bad devotee, so good for Anna Gunn. But Prof. McGonnegal should have won
  29. Linney's a good actress, but 's words stick in my head
  30. once wrote: " the permanently squinty-faced Laura Linney — who always looks like she's clenching against the runs...
  31. 9pm. Should I switch to breaking bad?
  32. Doesn't having a musical tribute to one of the nominated subjects kind of stack the deck?
  33. I actually saw Liberace in concert as a kid. Great performer. It take a lot to make a 9-year-old pay attention to classical music
  34. I don't know about you, but really like these personal tributes. On a night I artificiality, these seem actually genuine
  35. Jim Parsons winning at the ? Not surprising. But Jim Parsons being FORTY YEARS OLD? I'll never recover.
  36. Jim Parsons wins again. And he actually continues to get better as the years go on
  37. Even though my wife and I don't watch Modern Family, it does have good directing
  38. I think this Julia Louis Dreyfus skit if I watched Veep
  39. Amy Poehler got robbed again. She is one of the funniest women on tv now. Oh well
  40. What a nice tribute to Jonathan winters
  41. Tony Hale wins. Way to go Buster Bluth
  42. Double dose of Deschannel. They should mash up their shows: "The New Girl's Bones"
  43. Mayim Bialik loses. I feel like Blossom was cancelled all over again
  44. Seriously! No musical number! What a waste
  45. When is NPH going to start singing?
  46. 8 minutes in and we already have man in man action. That was fast.

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