Perhaps I am getting older or more mature or perhaps my tastes are changing, but I don't have the same excitement that I used to for award shows. I used to look forward to the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and most especially the Oscars. But now they seem like an afterthought. I still consume a great deal of media (perhaps too much). But my desire to see the industry award itself is waning.
My biggest takeaway from watching the Emmys didn't have to do with any of the actual awards. I noticed that all of the help had to wear masks, but the rich and beautiful people did not. I was very surprised to learn that a virus knows who is important enough to not need a mask and who isn't.
The show was an improvement over last year's unwatchable show. Cedric the Entertainer wasn't that bad of a host. There were even some funny bits like the skit for the non-Emmy-winning support group. It reminded me of an old SNL skit "Emmy Fight!"
But here are a few of my thoughts:
BIG WINNERS: Ted Lasso and The Crown
I do not watch The Crown, so I could care less about their wins. But I was very excited for Ted Lasso. Even though the 2nd season is not as good as the first, I was impressed with that first season's ability to mesh cynisicm with optimisim and heart. The performances are also fantastic, which is why I'm glad that they won in every category of acting where they were nominated. The other big winner was Mare of Eastown, a show that I heard is great, but I haven't seen.
CONAN'S FINAL SNUB
For all his years on television, I would say that has been the funniest late night host I have ever seen. And while there has been a more depressive edge to his work in the last decade or so, he is funnier than any of the other nominees. Even the winner, John Oliver, acknowledged that.
HAMILTON'S FINAL AWARD
Even though I had this as my best movie of 2020, I was surprised that Hamilton pulled off a win this year. I'm not sure how it qualified, but I'm glad it won. I have the feeling this will be the last award that the show will win in a long time. And even though he won previously in 2014, Lin-Manuel Miranda is still only one Academy Award away from an EGOT.
SPEECHES?
This year, I started the show late and then sped through it on my DVR. As a result, I got to skip almost all of the thank you speeches. And I have to tell you, it made the night much more pleasant. I couldn't tell you if anyone said something offensive or annoying. I could just concentrate on the awards themselves.
IN MEMORIAM
I don't know how these awards shows keep screwing up the In Memoriam part of the evening. Sometimes they leave off names they shouldn't. Sometimes they choose the wrong song/singer. But this time, it was the directing that ruined it. Why don't the directors understand that this is a time where we don't care who is singing. Don't put the band in the foreground obscuring the dead people in the background.
NO LOVE FOR STAR WARS
Again, The Mandalorian is the one invited to the party that no one asks to dance. So many of these shows are not going to be remembered in 10 years. Heck, I would say some of them won't be remembered in 5 (I'm looking at you, Hacks). But people will still be talking about and debating The Mandalorian and its effect on Star Wars for decades.
Thoughts?
No comments:
Post a Comment