It seems fitting that The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards take place on the eve of the new television season, which according to Nielsen officially begins tomorrow, Monday, September 22, 2008.
I am not a big fan of award shows. Oscars, Emmys, VMAs, People's Choice; I ignore them all equally. According to this chart, last year's Emmy Awards averaged 13 million viewers, which means a lot more than that took in at least part of the airing. So although I do not care, I'm aware that many do, and especially our friends at the networks.
Mad Men is up for a bunch of awards, including outstanding lead actor in a drama series for Jon Hamm. This is a tough category where he'll be up against James Spader from Boston Legal, Michael C. Hall from Dexter, Hugh Laurie from House, Gabrie Byrne from HBO's In Treatment and Bryan Cranston from AMC's Breaking Bad. Other than Breaking Bad and In Treatment, I watch and enjoy all the other shows. I'd be hard pressed to cast a vote here as I really appreciate the efforts of Hall, Laurie ,Hamm and Spader.
Of all those shows, if I was stranded on an island that had high tech like LOST and allowed me to view only one program a week via satellite, I'd probably pick House. But I'd be very pissed that I only had one selection. The first two seasons of Dexter were great fun. Mad Men is many things, but "great fun" would probably not be how I'd describe it. Still, when Hamm is on screen he's a movie star, with movie star presence.
Win or lose, Hamm's star is starting to shine and he will be hosting Saturday Night Live on October 25.
One thing that really struck me is that in its final season The Wire got but one nomination (for writing). One. One nomination for the best.show.ever. That definitely strikes me as some kind of snub. You can comb through the Emmy nominations (PDF) yourself if interested. The awards air between 8pm-11pm tonight.
The third season is looking like it’ll be just as fun for Dexter. (If you know where to get preairs from that is.
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My prediction is that this will be the least watched Emmys yet. Any takers?
Hmmmm, Cowboys vs. Packers is stiff competition, but I am not bold enough to predict less than the 12.3 million in 1990!
As I was watching the Emmy Awards,Tommy Smothers accepted his award, which was very much deserved. How sad that at the end of his speech he chose to mock a decision that the President of the United States made in regards to war. The freedoms that we enjoy here in the USA came at a very heavy price. The colors on our country’s flag,red-for the blood shed to have peace and enjoy freedom, blue for loyalty to our country, our constitution, and white for purity. I have had several family members who were very proud to serve our country. If he doesn’t like the President’s decision about our current involvement in the war, then perhaps he should meet with the President.
I am not going to guess at how tonight’s telecast will do in terms of ratings, but it certainly deserves to be among the lowest-rated Emmy telecasts. The hosts all seemed uncomfortable, many of the presenters as well, and although individually they seemed capable and competent (especially Tom Bergeron and Jeff Probst), as a group they never came together. It was a disjointed three hours with few memorable moments and hardly any good jokes (anytime Don Rickles was on the stage was hilarious, though).
At least Mad Men won Outstanding Drama Series. Bryan Cranston’s win in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series was certainly well deserved but I would have preferred John Hamm, personally. Overall, tonight’s telecast just hammered home the fact that despite the disgusting amount of television I watch on a weekly basis, there is still so much out there I am not watching. Of the big categories announced tonight, I would say I have seen perhaps 30-40% of the programs that won.
After a disappointing start, I end tonight very happy with 30 Rock’s huge showing. Here’s praying that this is enough to warrant a fourth season, since we all know the ratings won’t!