September 22, 2008

Emmy winners.

The list.

A lot easier to read the list than to watch the damned show. Did you watch? Do you care about anything on this list? I guess it's mildly interesting that Paul Giamatti won a best actor award "John Adams." I still haven't been able to plow through to the end of that thing, and I have the DVD set (which HBO sent me for free). I found it so alienating, the way everything seemed so small -- as if Abigail ran the farm without any help and President Adams ran the country through various one-on-one arguments with petulant egotists. And now I see that Giamatti won over Ricky Gervais in "Extras." That's just stupid.

Now, this is funny:
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM

Jon Stewart, “80th Annual Academy Awards” (ABC)
David Letterman, “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS)
* Don Rickles, “Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project” (HBO)
Tina Fey “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Stephen Colbert, “The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
Stewart and Colbert will likely be hilarious on the subject of losing to Rickles. And Tina Fey, otherwise the darling of the night -- she won 3 Emmys -- lost to him too. Ha ha.

32 comments:

goesh said...

- was happy to read Glenn Close won

Simon said...

I didn't watch it, but must say kudos to Tina Fey for her haul! Love her. And love that show - she and Baldwin are both terrific.

Paddy O said...

I'm going through John Adams now, via Netflix.

Really liking it. I wouldn't say it is small as much as narrow. This is not a sweeping epic that is trying to encompass the whole of the revolution and early American history. This is about John Adams and his part in it.

It's like a picture where only the specific object is in focus and the rest is quite blurred. The neglect of other participants helps the focus even more. And, as I see it, the focus on Abigail working on the farm isn't dismissing the help she had, it's contrasting the work she had to do as opposed to Jefferson and the rest. She did not have slaves to give her a life of ease. She had to work, even with help.

And Giamatti is a brilliant actor in this. I just watched American Splendor again a couple months ago and the contrast in parts is incredible. Of course, he beat out Ricky Gervais. It's an acting award, not a preferred character in a preferred show award.

Unknown said...

Didn't see it either, but I did watch a couple of the best parts on YouTube.

Anonymous said...

As much as I might appreciate the performances, etc., these award shows are waste of time. Not that they always were or have to be.

Joan said...

Paddy O.'s comments are exactly right, and whatever you think of the character, Giamatti was brilliant. To go from the whiny (heh) schlub of Sideways to this man who had the most delightful and complex vocabulary casually rolling from his lips (and pen) was really amazing. The chemistry between him and Laura Linney was fantastic also. The scene where she's talking him out of making so many classical allusions in defending the Boston Tea Party regiment was awesome.

Ron said...

Not enough props here for Mad Men!

Trooper York said...

The PBS series The Adams Chronicles was far superior to this turgid mess of a miniseries.

This from someone who thinks everyone on PBS is a communist, except for Big Bird.

Susan said...

I watched it. Best part: the Macy's commercial which used clips from old movies that mentioned Macy's.

Trooper York said...

I hated the Macy's commercial because Clinton went there to film it on Friday instead of taking the crew to the store for another What Not to Wear. Screw Macy's.

Susan said...

Clinton was in the vintage movie commercial?

Trooper York said...

Sorry, Clinton Kelly of What Not to Wear was in the commerical with Tommy Hilfinger and Michael Kors. Once again I am preoccupied with my own concerns.

Sorry.

Trooper York said...

That was a differant Macy's commercial I was going on about.
The movie one was cool. But still, screw Macy's. The Bastards.

Trooper York said...

George Gizzard was a much better John Adams than that over prasied troll.

ricpic said...

Paul Giamatti got Virginia Madsen in Sideways and almost made it look believable. If that's not great acting I don't know what is.

X said...

I'm gonna guess more people watched the Cowboys/Packers game.

Gretchen said...

We love Mad Men, and we're glad it got Best Drama... but we were watching "The Neanderthal Code" on the National Geographic Channel. My favorite UW-Madison professor happened to be in it, and he was great!

Unknown said...

X: you're right.

Beth said...

Simon, we are in agreement. And I thought Baldwin was right in calling Fey the Elaine May of her generation. What an apt comparison!

Triangle Man said...

You didn't mention Kathy Griffin. In addition to the Emmy she deserves an award for "most improved". Even if someone hates her now, I bet they hated her a lot more 10 years ago.

George M. Spencer said...

Mad Men is a masterpiece. Better even than The Sopranos.

For those who don't know it, the first season is on DVD. It's on AMC Sundays at 10 EST.

It's about the work and family lives of a a team of Mad Ave. advertising executives. The first season covered 1960. The second season has jumped to 1962. Each following season will jump two years.

Fascinating characters. The 'hero' assumed the identity of a soldier in Korea and has been living a lie for 15 years; his brittle wife is straight from a Breck ad. Female copywriter in the office had a baby by a slimy Nixonian jr. exec, kept it a secret, and gave it away, and he and she are clearly going to be duking it out for control of agency in future years. The art director is in the closet. A Helen Gurleyesque secretary is having an affair with everyone's boss who's is stilling smoking and drinking after two heart attacks. Plot twists out of left field. Costume design is great. Set design is incredible. (I noticed in a rerun last night that a bottle of Wolfschmidt vodka appeared half hidden in a shot. That's really paying attention to detail.)

Ordinarily, I'm not into set design or costumes, but since the show is set during the time when I was young, there is one dead-on reference after another to people's drinking habits, child-rearing, customs, i.e. kids climbing all over the car not wearing seat belts, people smoking cigarettes constantly...on and on.

Wince said...

Kevin Dillon should have won over Jeremy Piven.

Between the two Entourage characters, "Johnny Drama" is an entertaining combination of insecurity and bravado.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

If you tivo'd it, go to the part where Ricky Gervais is presenting and he leaves stage to harass Steve Carell, who deadpanned quite long [and his wife next to him was having a difficult time of it]. That was pee-in-your-pants funny.

I think Ricky Gervais should host the Oscars.

edh: I agree. I've had about enough of Ari.

walter neff said...

Let's hug it out bitch.

Roberto said...

Simon said..."I didn't watch it, but must say kudos to Tina Fey for her haul! Love her. And love that show - she and Baldwin are both terrific."

Good Lord...we agree.

It's my favorite show, followed closely by The Office, Extras and Dexter.

Roberto said...

Stinger Assassin said..."Mad Men is a masterpiece. Better even than The Sopranos."

Well, it subjective, but I find Mad Men good, but rather stilted due to the time frame in which it takes place.

As for it "Better even than The Sopranos."...I doubt there are many who would buy into that.

* If you get the chance, rent the entire "Six Feet Under" series.

knox said...

Paul Giamatti got Virginia Madsen in Sideways and almost made it look believable.

No, he emphatically did not, he was ugly and had a disgusting personality.

Sorry, fat men with bad personalities... you can NOT land a beautiful woman [without a lot of money].

Roberto said...

Can I assume most here loved Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert?

knox said...

over prasied troll

yessssss

CarmelaMotto said...

I am happy to see Glenn Close for Damages as well as Zeljiko Ivanek. They missed Rose Byrne however. That is an awesome show. Miss it. Cursing the writing strike.

Also love Mad Men and actually, I think all episodes are available online and I think if you have "on demand" cable. I was disappointed in the repeat last night. Don't leave me hanging another week!!

And I love Ricky Gervais. I also love Ashley Jensen as Maggie. Those two make me squirm with the most uncomfortable embarrassment like no one else.

Roberto said...

knox said..."over prasied troll"

Translation?

Simon said...

Beth, I must confess that my perception of her is not entirely unbiased, although it doesn't take much away from her talents to admit that I salivate a little when she's on screen. She's just so... Yummy.

Michael, a friend of mine was visiting from Engliand recently and he had us watch I guess the pilot of Dexter and I thought it was very, very creepy. We don't get the station that it's on, but I'm not sure I'd watch it again if we did - I had kind of the same reaction to The Dark Knight. They're both very, very well done, so much so that it's really quite disturbing to watch. Actually 'd go further with TDK - that movie was actively distressing. I left the theater shaking and wanting to get home to my family as fast as I could drive.

I think Colbert's funnier than Stewart, although I don't make a habit of watching either. I also think Colbert's guest exchange with O'Reilly showed a lot of nerve for both of them.