CNN-Emmy's Judged 'Unforgivingly bad' - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Schmoopie · 09-27-2008, 02:05 AM

NEW YORK (AP) -- In reality television's first bid to attain awards show respectability, it looks like it failed.
hosts

The Emmy hosts -- Heidi Klum, Tom Bergeron, Howie Mandel, Ryan Seacrest, Jeff Probst -- were panned.

Sunday night's Emmys were a blunt dose of, well, reality for the brand of programming that often dominates its fictional, scripted brethren in the ratings. Its practicioners complain about a lack of respect from Hollywood's creative community, but did little when they had the chance to earn more.

For its 60th show, the Emmys introduced a new category of best reality show host. The five nominees -- Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Ryan Seacrest and the eventual winner, Jeff Probst -- also hosted the awards.

By unanimous decision, they bombed.

Alluding to the unscripted nature of their shows, the five hosts opened the broadcast with a kind of non-monologue and instead bantered as if having to kill time.

"We are like on Sarah Palin's bridge to nowhere, that's where we are right now," said Mandel. "The government can't even bail us out of this. We have nothing."

The reality hosts were at least self-deprecating, but the schtick -- or lack thereof -- received an icy reaction from the quiet crowd.

Later, while accepting his award for best supporting actor in a comedy, Jeremy Piven ("Entourage") said, "What if I just kept talking for 12 minutes? What would happen? Oh wait, that was the opener."

Backstage, Piven said he wondered during the opening if the audience was "being punked."

Critics have similarly pilloried the hosts.

The Los Angeles Times called the opening "unforgivably bad" and said, "If we come away with nothing else from this year's Emmys, let us all agree that having a host with some experience actually entertaining people is not a luxury, it's a necessity."

Reality television, of course, has long been regarded as a scourge to quality programming; it's everyone's favorite dog to kick. There are few critics or even TV watchers who proclaim their love for the genre, but, nevertheless, someone's watching reality TV.

Well, almost everyone, really.

Seacrest's show, "American Idol," is easily the most-watched program on television and averages nearly 30 million viewers. Bergeron's "Dancing with the Stars" pulls in more than 20 million.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has sought to adapt to the new landscape and include the most popular shows in its annual awards, hoping for greater relevance with the general public.

At the same time, though, Emmy voters have gone in the opposite direction. Indeed, Sunday night's awards were a celebration of excellent but low-rated television.

"30 Rock" cleaned up with best comedy, best actress in a comedy (Tina Fey) and best actor in a comedy (Alec Baldwin) despite the relatively low rating of 6.4 million viewers. AMC's "Mad Men," which won best drama, doesn't even draw one million.

Probst said he knew he and his fellow reality hosts had an uphill battle at the Emmys.

"We knew all along it would be tough," he said. "Having five people agree on anything is tough. Every time we would have one idea, two people would disagree. That's why we ended up with nothing."

Reality television has also played a role in labor strife. Despite pressure from the Writers Guild, studios have refused to recognize reality show scribes as writers due union benefits. And when the writers went on strike last year, the networks replaced many time slots previously occupied by scripted shows with reality programming.

The overall effect is that the continuing rise of reality television means less work for actors and writers. Lingering soreness of this was palpable Sunday night.

Kirk Ellis, who won the writing award for the HBO miniseries "John Adams" was indignant that the reality hosts took up so much time and limelight while several acceptance speeches were cut as short as 15 seconds. (The screen went to a commercial when Ellis, doing some political grandstanding, was cut off in mid-sentence.)

"I thought it was interesting that we can have 30 minutes of a show devoted to reality show hosts, but the people who create the work don't have time to talk," Ellis said backstage.

If it's any consolation to him, the audience was less than half of a typical "American Idol" episode. The 12.24 million people who watched the Emmys, according to a preliminary estimate, would be the awards show's smallest audience ever.

The one irony, of course, is that the Emmys -- which gather celebrities in one big room and select who's a winner -- are a bit of a reality show, too.

I forgot to mention that awful opening where all the reality show hosts stood on stage. That was horrible! I hate most reality shows and this year's Emmy's seemed to reek of them!

As for Kirk Ellis' speech, I didn't hear him saying anything political in his speech, so I guess they cut it off right as he started to talk. It was kind of rude and uncessary, I thought. He had only been on stage for a few seconds. If anything they should have cut that whole lame routine with the reality show hosts at the beginning.

And get a better Emmy host next year! Geez! Tom Bergeron was just lame, IMO!

Andrea

TJL · 09-27-2008, 02:13 AM

My lord, those opening minutes were the worst thing I have seen in a long time.

Did Heidi Klum say anything? I don't remember.

70s show watcher · 09-27-2008, 03:03 AM

those emmys were a great lesson in how not to produce a tv show

70s show watcher · 09-27-2008, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJL

My lord, those opening minutes were the worst thing I have seen in a long time.

Did Heidi Klum say anything? I don't remember.

she refered to the tv drama bones as the bones

PrettyinPink55 · 09-27-2008, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 70s show watcher

she refered to the tv drama bones as the bones

Was that a joke? LOL!

I agree...this year's Emmy's were boring, and the hosts just didn't have that magic that weaves the show together. They weren't even funny. Just dull.

Schmoopie · 09-27-2008, 03:27 AM

Wow, that's amazing that this thread got so many replies so quickly when my other post about the Emmy's doesn't. I was beginning to wonder if anyone had watched them!

Yeah, that opening sequence was really hard to watch. The best moments, IMO were Tom Hanks and Sally Field, Mad Men winning Best Drama and the bit with Steve Carrell hiding the Emmy!

Andrea

09-27-2008, 02:05 AM	#1
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	CNN-Emmy's Judged 'Unforgivingly bad' NEW YORK (AP) -- In reality television's first bid to attain awards show respectability, it looks like it failed. hosts The Emmy hosts -- Heidi Klum, Tom Bergeron, Howie Mandel, Ryan Seacrest, Jeff Probst -- were panned. Sunday night's Emmys were a blunt dose of, well, reality for the brand of programming that often dominates its fictional, scripted brethren in the ratings. Its practicioners complain about a lack of respect from Hollywood's creative community, but did little when they had the chance to earn more. For its 60th show, the Emmys introduced a new category of best reality show host. The five nominees -- Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Ryan Seacrest and the eventual winner, Jeff Probst -- also hosted the awards. By unanimous decision, they bombed. Alluding to the unscripted nature of their shows, the five hosts opened the broadcast with a kind of non-monologue and instead bantered as if having to kill time. "We are like on Sarah Palin's bridge to nowhere, that's where we are right now," said Mandel. "The government can't even bail us out of this. We have nothing." The reality hosts were at least self-deprecating, but the schtick -- or lack thereof -- received an icy reaction from the quiet crowd. Later, while accepting his award for best supporting actor in a comedy, Jeremy Piven ("Entourage") said, "What if I just kept talking for 12 minutes? What would happen? Oh wait, that was the opener." Backstage, Piven said he wondered during the opening if the audience was "being punked." Critics have similarly pilloried the hosts. The Los Angeles Times called the opening "unforgivably bad" and said, "If we come away with nothing else from this year's Emmys, let us all agree that having a host with some experience actually entertaining people is not a luxury, it's a necessity." Reality television, of course, has long been regarded as a scourge to quality programming; it's everyone's favorite dog to kick. There are few critics or even TV watchers who proclaim their love for the genre, but, nevertheless, someone's watching reality TV. Well, almost everyone, really. Seacrest's show, "American Idol," is easily the most-watched program on television and averages nearly 30 million viewers. Bergeron's "Dancing with the Stars" pulls in more than 20 million. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has sought to adapt to the new landscape and include the most popular shows in its annual awards, hoping for greater relevance with the general public. At the same time, though, Emmy voters have gone in the opposite direction. Indeed, Sunday night's awards were a celebration of excellent but low-rated television. "30 Rock" cleaned up with best comedy, best actress in a comedy (Tina Fey) and best actor in a comedy (Alec Baldwin) despite the relatively low rating of 6.4 million viewers. AMC's "Mad Men," which won best drama, doesn't even draw one million. Probst said he knew he and his fellow reality hosts had an uphill battle at the Emmys. "We knew all along it would be tough," he said. "Having five people agree on anything is tough. Every time we would have one idea, two people would disagree. That's why we ended up with nothing." Reality television has also played a role in labor strife. Despite pressure from the Writers Guild, studios have refused to recognize reality show scribes as writers due union benefits. And when the writers went on strike last year, the networks replaced many time slots previously occupied by scripted shows with reality programming. The overall effect is that the continuing rise of reality television means less work for actors and writers. Lingering soreness of this was palpable Sunday night. Kirk Ellis, who won the writing award for the HBO miniseries "John Adams" was indignant that the reality hosts took up so much time and limelight while several acceptance speeches were cut as short as 15 seconds. (The screen went to a commercial when Ellis, doing some political grandstanding, was cut off in mid-sentence.) "I thought it was interesting that we can have 30 minutes of a show devoted to reality show hosts, but the people who create the work don't have time to talk," Ellis said backstage. If it's any consolation to him, the audience was less than half of a typical "American Idol" episode. The 12.24 million people who watched the Emmys, according to a preliminary estimate, would be the awards show's smallest audience ever. The one irony, of course, is that the Emmys -- which gather celebrities in one big room and select who's a winner -- are a bit of a reality show, too. I forgot to mention that awful opening where all the reality show hosts stood on stage. That was horrible! I hate most reality shows and this year's Emmy's seemed to reek of them! As for Kirk Ellis' speech, I didn't hear him saying anything political in his speech, so I guess they cut it off right as he started to talk. It was kind of rude and uncessary, I thought. He had only been on stage for a few seconds. If anything they should have cut that whole lame routine with the reality show hosts at the beginning. And get a better Emmy host next year! Geez! Tom Bergeron was just lame, IMO! Andrea
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09-27-2008, 02:13 AM	#2
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,591	My lord, those opening minutes were the worst thing I have seen in a long time. Did Heidi Klum say anything? I don't remember.
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09-27-2008, 03:03 AM	#3
70s show watcher Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 20, 2008 Location: between point place and studio 8 h Posts: 4,548	those emmys were a great lesson in how not to produce a tv show

09-27-2008, 03:27 AM	#6
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	Wow, that's amazing that this thread got so many replies so quickly when my other post about the Emmy's doesn't. I was beginning to wonder if anyone had watched them! Yeah, that opening sequence was really hard to watch. The best moments, IMO were Tom Hanks and Sally Field, Mad Men winning Best Drama and the bit with Steve Carrell hiding the Emmy! Andrea