For a change I did not do any live blogging Sunday. Instead I chose to actually watch the awards, as the live blogging thing although fun is quite a distraction. There’s the benefit of having time for consideration, but the drawback is my reactions end up looking a lot like all the other Emmy reviews today. Plus there’s the lack of immediacy from waiting a day. But, in regards to the show itself: I was immediately shocked to find the telecast was not shown in high-def. Armed with a new EyeTV 500 MiniHD box for my computer I was all set to watch in super-duper 1080i HDTV…only to find the show was plain old SDTV. I guess NBC had no faith in their ratings, but it raises the question why a showcase for the best in television wasn’t displayed in the best television technology.
I guess I can’t fault the Kentucky broadcaster who was outraged over the show starting with a plane crash, nor with NBC for being compelled to apologize for it. I guess they were just overly sensitized to Sunday morning’s news, since otherwise the plane crash was very innocuous; and in fact, there isn’t even a plane crash. There are just shots of extreme turbulence, followed by a shot of Conan O’Brien climbing out of the sea. The comedy bits that followed were quite good, and I greatly enjoyed seeing the cast members from Lost, The Office, House, and especially 24 appearing within. After a bright beginning, the show threatened to recede into the same old crap as wins for Will & Grace, West Wing, and Monk were announced. I guess Jeremy Piven is well-regarded, but I still wanted the supporting actor in a comedy award to go to Will Arnett. After all, Arnett deserves an award for pretty much kissing off any serious acting roles after such a insanely loopy performance as GOB. I was also annoyed by the My Name is Earl win for best comedy series writing. Yeah the show is fun to watch, but I have yet to actually laugh at it. At best, maybe a smile. Any comedy writing award has to go to Arrested Development, a show with more laughs per scene than other series have in entire seasons.
— Dammit! Fox sucks!
Fortunately things picked up once Jon Cassar won for directing 24, leading to much-deserved wins for Kiefer and for the series itself. I’m constantly impressed how 24 can bring up the most ludicrous and unbelievable situations yet still ground them with the conviction of Kiefer’s performance. And Sean Callery won for best music, at the technical awards held eight days before. It’s too bad Gregory Itzin and especially Jean Smart could not win too. I was pleased to see The Office win for best comedy series, but I was not-so-secretly rooting for Arrested Development. Even with only thirteen episodes in its final season [–Dammit! Fox sucks!], it was still a comedy triumph; but I can’t begrudge an Office win. The series really came into its own last year, sloughing out of the shadow of the British original…and a win for the show got Jenna Fischer and her gown on stage.
