On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 8:12 PM, David Bruggeman <[email protected]> wrote:
> It's a cliche for folks to empty a 40 ounce malt liquor beverage out of > respect for who passed. > > Maybe it's because I've been nursing a fever for the last day or so, but > Fallon did okay. Ended the broadcast at 11 pm, though the credits pushed > the show a little bit over. > Well, my expectations for him were so low that I was mildly pleasantly surprised that he sucked less than I thought he would. For me, the big stories in entertainment television in the last year were The Jay Leno Show, The Rise and Fall of Conan OBrien at the Tonight Show, the end of Lost, 24 and Law & Order, Mad Men, Dexter, Modern Family and the continued brilliance of John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I don't know or care much about Glee, Vampires, Reality Shows or most TV movies. For what I cared about this year, the Emmy Show only real captured the impact of Modern Family. It touched on most of the others, but I don't think did much to really tell the story of their impact on popular culture this year. I have never seen Glee - I assume the opening was funny for those who know that show (I was confused though - I thought Glee was about kids who do musical theater, not kids who do Karaoke?). Aside from Jany Lynch (whom I love) I am now also confused about the status of the rest of the cast. I thought Glee was a scripted program, but from the opening it seemed like maybe the high school kids are not actors, but real kids who got picked to sing and dance on TV? But then it was nominated in the comedy category (not Reality, or Variety) - so I guess I really have no idea what is going on with that show. Something seemed off about the whole production - I don't think it was Fallon's fault. I don't think we were hearing the crowd reactions very well, and at times it seemed like the people on stage were reacting to a response that the TV audience didn't know anything about. And the transitions from what was shown on tape and on stage seemed abrupt and awkward. I don't think this telecast will be nominated by an Emmy for direction next year. Aside from Glee the night seemed to belong to Modern Family (Yay! I love that show and glad it got recognized. In its own way it is as much a feel good, feel good distortion as Father Knows Best, but it is a much nobler kind of distorted myth, and you can't ask for much more than that from your TV set) and Temple Grandin. I have not seen the Grandin film - though I could tell even before she gave her speech that it was produced by the parent of an autistic child. Sounds like it was a worthwhile project and the attention may motivate me to look for it - but it seemed like a pretty off year for TV movies. I thought The Pacific got screwed - it was hurt by comparisons to Band of Brothers (one of the best mini-series ever on television), but while it was not as good, it was still excellent, and deserved better. The award it did win seemed like a backhanded kick in the ass (the winner in a 2 horse-race?). I have accepted the fact that Breaking Bad is really is a fantastic show, and once I actually get around to watching it in a summer or two I will probably jump on the bandwagon. For now I have to bite my tongue that John Ham does not get recognized - dude kicks ass on Mad Men, and is hilarious on 30 Rock, and he is one of the few men I find myself nodding in agreement when my wife says how handsome he is. I didn't get the lead actors in comedies at all, but have never seen either show. I am reliably told that the Big Bang guy is good, so I will leave it at that. No big moments - I liked that they pretended they were going to play off Al Pacino, even though he could have given a 30 minute speech if he wanted to (TV gives awards to big actors like that just bathe in the glow). I guess the hug from Grandin to the producer in mid-speech was touching, as it illustrated how personal the topic was to the producer, and something about Grandin herself. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
