Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2006 > August > 28
Monday, August 28, 2006
Conan, si! Emmys, no!!
What the heck was that? Mariska Hargitay beat Kyra Sedgwick, Megan Mullally beat Jaime Presley, Tony Shalhoub beat Steve Carrell and neither Jean Smart nor Gregory Itzin won for playing the totally dysfunctional president and first lady on “24?” We were robbed!!
Check out the whole list for the full horror.
It was a night of bizarre results and, on occasion, even more bizarre presentations. Charlie Sheen and dad Martin Sheen stumbled through a woefully written intro as they presented Blythe Danner with a supporting actress award, and Howie Mandel launched into a shameless promotion for his icky game show “Deal or No Deal” during his award hand-out.
Here’s an important tip for award presenters: If you don’t want to come off looking like an idiot, write your own quips and deliver them with gusto. The crowd appreciates the effort.
Witness Hugh Laurie, who translated Helen Mirren’s remarks into a bumbling, over-pronounced French. Very funny. Best of all were Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who served up a hilarious schtick as they presented the Emmy for reality competition. Colbert, always in character as the pompous host of his fake conservative talk show on Comedy Central, blasted reality TV as “the gates of hell” … and then burst into tears because he got beat for his own Emmy (comedy or variety performance) by Barry Manilow.
If one man could have saved last night’s Emmy Awards from total boredom, it would have been stork-bodied, carrot-topped host Conan O’Brien. Not even he could pull the telecast out of its total misery, but he certainly did a commendable job trying.
O’Brien’s intro to the telecast, an homage to several TV shows and no doubt inspired by Billy Crystal’s Oscar openings, started with a plane crash onto the beach of “Lost,” continued with a visit to “The Office,” then popped into a frantic phone call between Jack and Chloe on “24,” then on to the examining room of “House” and then a quick trip to “South Park” (and into the closet occupied by Tom Cruise).
O’Brien topped off his opening with a cool spoof of “The Music Man.” The whole bit was inspired. So was another bit in which the host locked Bob Newhart into an airtight cylinder with exactly three hours worth of oxygen. Either the Emmys would end on time, Conan said, or Bob would die.
Tributes are always dicey on awards shows, and last night’s offerings were no exception. “American Idol” grump-pot Simon Cowell’s tribute to Dick Clark, who looked good but was difficult to understand because of his stroke, seemed heartfelt and was generally well-received.
The Aaron Spelling tribute, however, left a lot to be desired, and the audience sat on its hands for the most part. It didn’t help that the original “Charlie’s Angels” — Kate Jackson, batty-looking-and-sounding Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith — all seemed terrified.
I’m all in favor “In Memoriam” segments that remind us of tthe alented people who died during the previous year. But do casting directors, talent agents and obscure producers have to be included?
Finally, the fashion police should have arrested Candice Bergen’s stylist before the star got out of the limo. Bergen is a classic beauty who has aged extremely well. I’m a huge fan. But whoever put her in that white blouse, enormous Western belt and long blue skirt with a fishtail should be slapped. She looked like a chubby old cowgirl, which is the opposite of Bergen’s usual cool sophistication.
The good news? The Emmy Awards ended straight up at 9:59, right on time. Be thankful for small favors … and look forward to next year, when “My Name Is Earl” and “Rescue Me” should win the awards they so richly deserve.
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