Monday, September 19, 2011

The rapid death of the Primetime Emmys

Not that it's worth mention in the slightest, but last night's Emmy broadcast cemented every flaw and discrepancy in the ceremony, and in the awards themselves. I set aside my own prejudice for them never once rewarding "Fringe" with even a nomination. What I won't set aside is my anger at the clear disdain they show for it. In their montage of the year in Drama television, they set aside time for even mediocrity like "Smallville" and "True Blood". They don't spare a second for the sci-fi drama, which says a great deal about what respect they hold the show in. It's a display of boorish ignorance that only inspires disgust.

As for the ceremony itself, gaudy and repulsive from start to finish is all I can really say for it. I could tell I was in for an embarrassing show from that painful opening number. Jane Lynch is quite possibly the worst host in recent memory for the telecast, no offense towards her. She's just gotten remarkably stale with all of her appearances. I just don't care for her anymore, which is a sad statement indeed. If there was a slight moment of levity it was "The Office" parody, most specifically the moment that Jesse comes in and sells Creed meth. It reminded me that there were better things I could be watching right now, instead of this crap.

And if the nominees didn't celebrate mediocrity enough, the winners surely did. I was never a fan of "Modern Family", and I'm still not. I think too much hype has surrounded it to be truly rewarding. It demolished any competition last night, and I felt vindicated in my own hatred. The drama race was scattershot, with barely a single series garnering more than one win. Undeserved wins were distributed to "Justified", "Friday Night Lights", "The Good Wife", and "Boardwalk Empire". As much as I appreciate Martin Scorsese, his directing job was remarkably unextraordinary.

I am glad that Peter Dinklage got attention for his fine performance in "Game of Thrones". Looking forward to seeing more of him this season, optimistically anyway. I'm deeply sad to say that "Mad Men" took home only one award, even if it was the top one. Jon Hamm pulled off his greatest performance in the series this past year, and he's unlikely to get another such opportunity for another two years, seeing as Bryan Cranston will obviously win for "Breaking Bad" next year, and the year after. And that's all I can say. Moderate disappointment throughout, and I didn't even stay for the final hour. I didn't feel like wasting another second.

1 comment:

  1. Undeserved wins and The Good Wife, Friday Night Lights, and Justified don't belong in the same sentence.

    And I was annoyed by how Modern Family won practically everything in the comedy categories. Bowen's award was ok, but the others? Meh. And Pohler or Plimton should've won best actress.

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