Over at the NJ.com blog, I take NBC out behind the woodshed for the unbelievably lame "live" coverage they gave to the Golden Globes:
At last, something good has come out of the writers' strike: Last night's Golden Globe awards were the shortest, most painless Hollywood awards show in memory.
And yet NBC - in that special, sleazy, dishonest way that only NBC can - somehow made the whole thing seem longer and more painful.
To read the full thing,
click here. As for the winners, glad to see newbies like "Mad Men" (and Jon Hamm) get some recognition. Not that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is at all reputable -- they also named David Duchovny the best comic actor on television -- but they've always shown a tendency to reward the new and shiny.
Over at the NJ.com blog, I take NBC out behind the woodshed for the unbelievably lame "live" coverage they gave to the Golden Globes:
I never realized that people could be so vapid. The "commentary" before... and then after the awards were given was just painful to watch. I could care less that Billy Bush really liked Hairspray or Nikki Blonsky.
ReplyDeleteI would have preferred Joan Rivers or Kathy Griffin doling out the awards as opposed to Hollywood Ken and Barbie.
As for the recipients, I applaud the awards to Jon Hamm and Mad Men (we could have done without the "who is that" from one of the bobbing heads) I also agree with you about the wtf award to David Duchovny. Alec Baldwin, Ricky Gervais and Steve Carrell were far superior candidates and actually worked on comedies.
And I couldn't help but be happy that Heigl did not win an award. Grey's Anatomy has been garbage for a while, and she is part of the problem.
Much as I like Jon Hamm, Mad Men, and Extras, I can't help but feel like their wins were just the HFPA's way of trying to seem cool by rewarding the least watched shows or performances in every category. I mean, is there any other explanation for Duchovny's win?
ReplyDeleteThat was quite the harsh critique of NBC and makes me that much happier that I decided to watch the portion of the actual announcements that E! presented rather than sit through NBC's pseudo Globes. We can only hope that ABC doesn't do the same thing to the Oscars.
ReplyDeleteI was thrilled to see Tina Fey get the win. Other than that, kinda bored by the wins.
I'm happy for Jon Hamm and Mad Men but kinda sad at the same time that they didn't get the chance to shine in the spotlight. I'm still not sure how punishing the artists benefits the WGA.
ReplyDeleteThat was fierce, Alan. Like a swagbucket full of hot pee. Hooray.
ReplyDeleteBra-frickin-vo, Alan. Well said.
ReplyDeleteLA, nobody is punishing the artists. The writers decided to boycott the event and the actors agreed. Nobody put a gun to their heads. The whole concept of the strike means that sacrifices have to be made.
Guess I should have paid more attention as to by whom and when the awards were being announced. I didn't realize that the other channels had a really live, mercifully briefer version, so I recorded ABC so at least I didn't have to listen to the painful chatter and could fast forward to the awards themselves. In fact, at the time, I thought, "How much nicer only one hour of this is, and how much better it would be if they just canned the 'banter' between the announcers."
ReplyDeleteHaving said all that, I was delighted that Heigl didn't get the award--Grey's Anatomy really has been awful this season (a "rumble" between two female doctors? Right.)--that Extras and John Hamm did, and that clips from previous years showed exactly how much thinner Keira Knightly is now than she was formerly. She may not be exactly anorexic, but she's definitely more skeletal. And, like others have said: David Duchovy?????
I am embarrassed that I also didn't know there were other options, so I sat through the sad, sad spectacle on NBC. I would have much preferred a pseudo-press conference, even if only to have the same veneer of credibility and excitement that I've always enjoyed with the early morning nomination announcements.
ReplyDeleteBut what NBC put out was just terrible. The banter was horrible (I don't care what Billy Bush watches with his kids - I only care that neither he nor his kids ever run for President!), the "expert commentary" only popped up about twice in the whole hour, and that guy was no Tom O'Neill. I hate to say it, but I think I would've preferred a little Seacrest.
And the worst part was that the awards themselves seemed almost like an after-thought... they were plowing through them so fast to get it all in under an hour that I could barely remember who won. (Though I add my vote to all those happy it wasn't Heigl!)
Dick Clark, shame on you.
It wouldn't have to be so lame if the writers would just return to work. Or go financial core.
ReplyDeleteAlan, thank you for your derision of NBC's ridiculous hour-long show. I was watching NBC for a few minutes before I realized that E! was showing the whole press conference in half the time. I switched over to Mary Hart, then switched back to see how NBC was handling the second half hour - and realized they were still, slowly, announcing winners I had already seen announced. I was really disgusted when they played the "who do you think will win best drama?" farce with Dave Karger, who is a writer I really enjoy and respect. And having the football announcers weigh in was ridiculous. Ugh, shame on you, NBC.
ReplyDeleteI just wish I could have seen Tina Fey collect her award. Her speech would have been hysterical, and even if it wasn't, she would have looked fabulous and, I think, would have looked really overjoyed to be recognized for her acting.
I didn't realize that there were other networks covering the press conference, so I was slowly tortured watching Ken and Barbie. They have got to be the two dumbest people on the planet. I was completely distracted by his ill fitting suit and robot stance. I have never seen two people more uncomfortable with each other. Watching the two of them trying to banter was funny.
ReplyDeleteI don't care what Billy Bush watches with his kids
ReplyDeleteI was disturbed to learn Billy Bush had spawned!
Like some others here, I had no idea this was broadcast elsewhere (and with 50% less filler!), but as I was going out, I taped the NBC broadcast and plowed through it while realizing I should have just gone online for the results. OTOH, I do like trainwreck TV. But this? This was just *bad*!
Also echoing the "WTF?!" over Duchovny, and I actually liked that show. Too bad Tina Fey, Johnny Depp, and Jon Hamm were deprived of their moments, though. I would have liked to have heard those speeches (especially if any of them were toasted, heh).
It wouldn't have to be so lame if the writers would just return to work. Or go financial core.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't have to be so lame if the AMPTP would negotiate in good faith towards a fair compensation.
And with the Directors Guild just starting negotiations and the Screen Actors Guild preparing for the same, things could get a lot worse before they get better.
Alan was remarkably kind in his analysis on the NBC telecast, his description doesn't begin to justice to the horror of it. I watched approx. 5 minutes of it, just long enough to see Billy Bush dismiss Cate Blanchett's winning performance as 'imitating a man'. Charming.
ReplyDeleteBEST. AWARDS SHOW. EVER.
ReplyDeleteBut also the worst.
It was the best because the show was 1 hour long. They could have Globes to the cast of "One Tree Hill" and the movie "norbit", and I would have thought it was the best awards show ever. They could have had Giovanni Ribisi and Laurie Metcalfe 9the 2 most annoying actors alive) reading the list, and it would have been the best awards show - ever.
That being said, the David Duchovny win ruined the entire night for me.
I have a question for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association - is Duchovny FRENCH for "James Spader"????
Awful. Just awful. You have 4 choices ranging from amazing (Alec Baldwin & Steve Carrell) to good (Ricky Gervais and Lee Pace0 and you have one completely self loathing, unfunny choice (Duchovny) and HE GET THE STINKING AWARD?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?
Thank God for "Mad Men" and Jon Hamm - absolutely deserving.
But for those of us with common sesne, the only other Dramas in 2007 as good as "Men" were "Lost, "The Shield" and "Friday Night Lights". Any other show people try and put with those 4 (ok, Maybe "Battlestar") is BEEP - the wrong answer.
"is Duchovny FRENCH for "James Spader"???? "
ReplyDeleteQuite possibly the funniest line ever
Alan, how did NBC sink to the sleazy level? It doesn't seen so long ago they were on top of the pile. Is this attributable to Silverman, or Zucker, or whom?
ReplyDeleteWhile I certainly can understand the support for Alec "New Chicago" Baldwin and the other excellent comedy guys, as someone who watched the whole of Californication, I will say that Duchovny was very funny in it, even if it's a fantasy role tailor-made for him.
"is Duchovny FRENCH for "James Spader"???? "
ReplyDeleteQuite possibly the funniest line ever
I nearly spit out my drink! Congrats, zodin2008, for Best Awards Show Snark Ever!
Never mind padding out 30 minutes' worth of "news" to an hour... I'm surprised anybody could pad it out to 30 minutes!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the love - But honestly, Spader is the first thing that came to mind with that insipid and moronic Duchovny Globe win.
ReplyDeleteIf Duchovny had been there to accept the award, I would have hoped he would have apologized and been embarrassed was the way Spader was at the Emmys.
Did anyone else see Duchovny's un-bleeped 2 F-word's on the TV Guide Channel's post-show?
ReplyDeleteSomething to the effect that James Gandolfini beat him when he was on "X-Files" because he could say f--k and now he won, because he can say f--k on Showtime
James Gandolfini beat him when he was on "X-Files" because he could say f--k
ReplyDeleteOh, is that why Martin Sheen never got an Emmy? I wondered.
Didn't watch the press conference, but that was a great smackdown, Alan. Well done. Not having access to US cable means I haven't seen a lot of the shows that won, but I'm thrilled for Tina Fey, Johnny Depp and Julie Christie. Also happy for Bardem, although I think that character falls apart if you examine it too closely. It also seems strangely appropriate that Donald Sutherland and the Piven were up against each other since they are the only good things about their respective shows.