emmys2009-related stories
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 9:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Cancellations, Emmys, Reality-Free, Glee
The good news is the
Kristen Chenoweth won an Emmy Sunday night. But the bad news is the she was so ill backstage she needed to be checked out by paramedics. Here's what happened.
Early during the Primetime Emmys, when Kristin's name was announced for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy, I don't know about you, but I let out a whoop! She won for
Pushing Daisies, a show – as she pointed out in her tear-filled speech – was no longer on the air. At least one of the fine actors on that wonderful, fanciful show was recognized!
Continue reading Kristin Chenoweth's Emmy night, the good and bad
Posted Sep 21st 2009 11:00AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Commercials, Obituaries, Emmys, Reality-Free
I'm not saying that I necessarily think Billy Mays should have won a posthumous Emmy, or even that his show
Pitchmen should have been included in their "The Year in Reality" segment. But leaving him out of the "In Memoriam" segment? You have people from every facet of the television industry, and you leave out the most famous infomercial personality ever. Infomercials are television programming.
Yes, they're annoying at times and yes, they're not as exciting as
Lost or
The Amazing Race, but it's still television. Billy Mays was famous
because of television. And he was famous. Virtually everyone in this country recognizes "Hi, Billy Mays here!" and that almost patented way of
shouting talking he had.
But hell, even if you don't buy any of those arguments, he was one of the stars of
Pitchmen, a successful reality show. You honor reality shows, right? I'm just saying, It seems to me that one of the most famous faces of the modern era
on television, and one of the most powerful men in the commercial industry, could have maybe earned a quick mention upon his passing.
Posted Sep 21st 2009 10:32AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, OpEd, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
I know people complained about this when the nominations came out, but for some reason, it just irked the hell out of me when Jon Cryer won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy.
Not that I don't think Cryer deserved an Emmy. No, he does a great job as the uptight Alan Harper on
Two and a Half Men. And, after all the failed shows and pilots, the man once known as Duckie deserves recognition for the fine actor his is... just not as a supporting actor.
Continue reading Cynical Emmy rant: Jon Cryer... supporting actor?
Posted Sep 20th 2009 7:30PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV Squad Live Blogging, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
Posted Sep 20th 2009 5:08PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Friday Night Lights, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
If
Jim Parsons wins the
Emmy tonight for The Big Bang Theory, you better believe he'll be in a position to pick and choose the projects he does in the future. But here's one that I think would be fascinating, to quote Dr. Sheldon Cooper's favorite Vulcan scientist:
Jim Parsons would like to appear on Friday Night Lights.
In a recent interview, Jim was asked about his favorite current show -- other than his own -- and he said it was
Friday Night Lights. That's right, the NBC drama series about high school football deep in the heart of Texas! Somehow it's hard to imagine Sheldon in pads and a helmet. Maybe he could be the water boy? Or the genius offensive coordinator.
Continue reading Jim Parsons on Friday Night Lights? If he had his way...
Posted Sep 18th 2009 12:25PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Site Announcements, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
It's that time of year again when they give out those figurines that signify that you are the best at what you do on television (supposedly). We have a live blog every year, but this year we're doing something a little bit different, a live chat that everyone can participate in.
Join us at 7:45 PM ET on Sunday night at the
live chat page here. We'll be using CoverItLive for the chat and if you go to that link you can sign up for an e-mail reminder before the chat starts. You'll be able to join in on the conversation with your thoughts and predictions and we'll have polls and news and links to AOL's coverage of the night. Hope to see you there!
Posted Aug 13th 2009 9:53AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, Emmys, Reality-Free
After the brouhaha developed over CBS's decision to
pre-tape some Emmy presentations in order to keep the broadcast moving, it only seemed like a matter of time before the network decided that the hassle wasn't worth it. So when, thanks to The Wrap's Josef Adalian, the news broke that the Eye Network and Emmy producers
were abandoning the time-shifting plan, it wasn't a big surprise.
No matter how many times producer Don Mischer
explained the time shift to critics at the TCAs last week, it didn't seem that many people were convinced the ploy wasn't going to shortchange the people whose wins were among the edited group. It seemed especially galling to a lot of the writers and producers of the honored shows that whatever time was being given up was going to be used to "celebrate the best of TV" that year, whether it was nominated or not.
Continue reading CBS doing away with Emmy time-shifting plan
Posted Aug 8th 2009 7:01AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, Rescue Me, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free
FX held panels for
Archer and
Sons of Anarchy on Friday morning, but by then press tour fatigue had set in, and the energy in the room was low for both. It was especially low for
Archer, a Adult Swim-esque spy cartoon by the creator of
Sealab 2021 that most of the critics hadn't yet seen. The panel seemed to be more content with answering with wise-ass remarks that made themselves laugh but the just served to make us tired masses annoyed.
Things perked up, though, when the network presented five of its show-runners to talk about what it's like to develop edgy dramas for basic cable. But since the theme of the week has invariably been "Leno at 10," the questions often came back to the fact that NBC with one fell swoop wiped out five hours of scripted drama per week. And the show-runners took every opportunity to bash the Peacock for it.
And it got ugly: "I feel they should take the American flag down in front of the building and just put up a white one," said
Rescue Me's Peter Tolan, "because they've clearly given up."
Continue reading FX showrunners take turns tearing NBC a new one - TCA Report
Posted Aug 3rd 2009 9:55PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, TCA Press Tour, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
The final panel of CBS's day was for the 61st Annual Emmy Awards, which the network is broadcasting. Given the controversy over the news that the academy is going to
pre-tape eight awards before the main ceremony goes live and play edited versions of the presentations during the show, it promised to be a bit of an inquisition. In fact, it was such a hot topic that show producer Don Mischer was more sought after for answers than host Neil Patrick Harris, who appeared via satellite from Montreal.
Mischer showed us what he had in mind, culled from a presentation from last year's low-rated ceremony. Essentially, he trimmed the reading of the nominees, then cut a lot of the walk-up to the podium, the hugs and kisses, and some of the winner's speech. But, it seemed to keep the essence of the speech intact. Yes, I'm sure those people who are being edited might not feel that way. But Mischer has a pretty legitimate reason why he and the Academy are doing this: They need to make the broadcast more accessible.
Continue reading Emmy producer defends pre-taping eight awards - TCA Report
Posted Jul 22nd 2009 1:02PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Late Night, Video, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Emmys, Reality-Free
Despite the fact that before
30 Rock Alec Baldwin had primarily been known for his dramatic work, he has long been beloved in the comedy world. He's one of the most frequent hosts of
Saturday Night Live, and has become somewhat of an unofficial cast member over the years. He's proven that he has no shame when it comes to comedy, which goes pretty far to explain why he went on
SNL alum
Jimmy Fallon's show last night in an all-white getup accented by a gold lame scarf, gold boots, and even a gold fanny pack.
Continue reading Alec Baldwin shows Jimmy Fallon exactly why he's nominated for an Emmy
Posted Jul 21st 2009 11:15AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, Emmys
Kathy Griffin is so ubiquitous these days, you might have to dust off an old cliché (and change it slightly) to describe her - The Queen of All Media.
Kathy Griffin: My Life On the D-List is getting the best ratings of its run, she was a guest on Privileged, her CD,
For Your Consideration, was nominated for a Grammy, her book comes out in September, and she continues to tour as a stand-up comedian. She was also recently tapped to host the Shmemmys (The Creative Arts Emmys) and to roast her good friend Joan Rivers for Comedy Central. She may not be getting Ryan Seacrest's 45 million dollar paycheck, but she may be challenging him for most entertainment jobs held simultaneously.
I caught up with her by phone recently and had a long conversation. So long, in fact, that we have posted two different versions - this is the short one. There is an
unedited version here, for those who need every last morsel of Griffin they can get.
Griffin actually started out by asking me a question.
Continue reading Kathy Griffin: The TV Squad Interview
Posted Jul 20th 2009 11:01AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
The list of Emmy nominations have become the Hummer limo of the awards show world. They get longer and even more uncool, even though they are attempting to show just how cool they are with each passing year.
The whole system is in serious need of revamping. For the most part, the category structure hasn't changed in the last 50 years when then Academy President Rod Serling chose to eliminate favoritism
by widening the playing field and the judging, a move so disastrous that no one has dared to even touch the system since then.
So if you're not going to revamp the process, at least add some categories that we wouldn't mind giving up four hours of sleep, exercise and our lives to wait for the winner.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Emmy categories we desperately need
Posted Jul 20th 2009 10:01AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
The Emmy nomination process is clearly more flawed than a line of
Dora the Explorer lawn darts.
The system is outdated and always in need of a revamping, as technology and the proliferation of programming increases every year. Some contenders are just going to get a big, ugly, high school prom date snub.
That doesn't mean the process is without its no-brainers. I'm referring, of course, to the shows that deserve special recognition for changing the course of the medium and showing the world its possibilities and not to the people actually doing the nominating. The last season of
The Wire will go down as one of the biggest no-brainers of all time.
Continue reading Is The Wire the biggest Emmy snub of all time, forever and ever, amen?
Posted Jul 17th 2009 2:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
Tina Fey's surprise return to
Saturday Night Live as
Sarah Palin was one of the ten greatest TV moments of 2008 (and quite possibly the decade, the century, the millennium and the eon).
So it's no surprise that Fey's name and show
30 Rock came up so many times in the recent list of Emmy nods. I'm no longer convinced that she's a woman. I'm convinced she's an experimental humanoid prototype designed by studio executives solely to win awards like Tom Hanks (aka "Project Red Shoe").
It's also no surprise that one of the two acting nods she scored included
her Palin performance on SNL.
Continue reading Tina Fey's Sarah Palin earns a big 'You betcha' from the Emmy people
Posted Jul 17th 2009 12:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
Television is a vast alien landscape of shows, programs and other watchables. So the odds of a really good show not getting special recognition are about as good as Michael Chiklis' chances of his noggin being mistaken for a shiny, beige Brunswick in a bowling alley.
The Emmys also tend to favor younger shows rather than the oldies that have had their chance to win some awards because the best stuff on television is always fresher out of the gate. It's just the beast of the cycle. Great movies age like a fine cheese. Great TV shows age like spray cheese.
The Shield, however, got totally snubbed from this year's nomination list. And is that something the Academy really wants to do to a guy with a hair trigger anger who considers a Smith and Wesson as his "backup piece"? (I should ask myself the same thing after that bowling ball noggin joke.)
Continue reading The Shield gets the big ol' cold shoulder from the Emmy collective
Next Page >
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
