JOpinionated has left the building. And the country. I’ll be back next week with some movie and music reviews. Long flights and relaxation have lead to new lists of pop culture favorites. Stay tuned!
Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, gobble.
Read MoreArrested Development
Deadwood
Grey’s Anatomy
Lost
Rescue Me
Scrubs
Six Feet Under
The Sopranos
What do these shows have in common? Oh, nothing much. Just that they were ignored by an academy of voters who clearly don’t appreciate spectacular casts and performances, brilliant direction and stellar writing. The conspiracy theorist in me is beginning to question the validity of the Emmy voting system, as I’m sure are the millions of rabid, dedicated fans of these shows who also feel that their beloved programs were unjustly jilted in all major categories.
I went to bed angry. I know, it’s sad that a few hours of television can affect me to that extent. But with the exception of the two trophies that made sense and went to deserving parties (The Office – Best Comedy Series and Jeremy Piven – Entourage), I thought the Emmy Awards were awful. The entire night, from red carpet to rushed ending, was a train wreck that left a bad taste in my mouth; very disappointing from a pop culture perspective.
Am I a party of one on this one?
Read More
Here are my honest, unedited thoughts, written as I followed Sunday night’s Emmy Awards….
I am looking forward to two things: Conan O’Brien hosting and the awkward ‘Tori Spelling v. her family’ moment during the Tribute to Aaron.
I didn’t get the memo that Purple is ‘the’ color.
Goddaughters are the new daughters. See: Jon Voight and Barry Manilow. What, your own daughters weren’t available? Couldn’t get a date??
I heart Tim Gunn. I love impersonating his voice while reading his blog out loud after each episode of Project Runway every week.
First Impression: DRESSES
YIKES
Paula Abdul (Unflattering floral & pearl combo)
Tyra Banks
Candice Bergen
Blythe Danner
Eva Longoria
Debra Messing (Too white to wear without a tan)
Jeremy Piven (An ascot…really?)
Ellen Pompeo (Slick hair…yikes)
Leah Remini
Kyra Sedgwick (Love her, not the dress)
UNDECIDED
Portia de Rossi (Where’s Ellen?)
Cheryl Hines (Are those jewels glued on her back?)
Heidi Klum (Pregnant or not, this was kind of bland for the Runway Queen)
Lisa Kudrow
Evangeline Lily
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Sandra Oh
Kim Raver
Kate Walsh (Beautiful otherwise)
APPROVED
Annette Bening (Very classy and age appropriate, which is rare & appreciated)
Felicity Huffman
Kathryn Heigl
Jane Kaczmarek
Virginia Madsen
Helen Mirren (Ditto my comments about Bening)
Jaime Pressly
Alfre Woodard
Ok, the show is starting. Conan is doing a LOST parody! I love it!! Hurley! I love the nomination snub reference. OMG! The Office! This is the best skit ever. Jim! Pam! I am dying. Now they’re on to 24. And House.
So far, so good. Nice work, Conan.
Wow, I still can’t believe that Ducky (Jon Cryer) is on a hit show. Not that I know anyone who watches Two and a Half Men.
Ah, the first obligatory Mel Gibson joke, met with mixed and somewhat uncomfortable applause…followed by the first obligatory gay joke, met with a similar response. Come on Conan, kick it up a notch. Ok there you go – making fun of Charlie Sheen. Not a candidate for father of the year.
For a guy who has a show on NBC, Conan sure is making fun of his own network an awful lot.
The cameras are only showing actors from NBC shows for reaction shots now. Yawn.
Oh good, McDreamy and Zellweger’s doppelganger are first to present.
That’s not nice, cutting off Mullally’s speech with music one minute into it.
I have missed Julia Louis-Dreyfus. If only her new show didn’t have a laugh track!
Ah, the Sheens. Fake banter. Painful.
I am very frustrated by the fact that brief scenes for all major nominations are not being shown; why on earth aren’t there scenes from the Supporting Actress in a Drama Series?
Did Blythe Danner really just use the phrase ‘my golly’ on national television? Twice?!
So far, this show has been horrible except for Conan’s opening skit. The music has been rudely interrupting the acceptance speeches and they are so concerned with coming in under three hours that they’re rushing through and it’s messy.
I love that Jason Lee’s hair and mustache are in character, even when he’s in a tux and off set. Jaime Pressly should have won her category.
Jeremy Piven totally deserves the award and was surprisingly emotional. The recognition is long overdue.
Although the Christopher Meloni bit was funny, it still takes time away from the actual winners. I’m not sure how much more I can take without fast-forwarding my TiVO.
I admit to not caring about any of the Miniseries categories this year, and thus not writing about them.
What’s with the scenes being shown on iPods and cell phones? This is not getting any better.
The editing of this show is HORRIBLE.
I’ve made an executive decision. I am not going to blog anymore, except about the major category winners. This sucks, and this show is both boring and frustrating. Such a letdown (I do love my award shows).
ACTOR: COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: Tony Shaloub. Again. Unreal. I am so tired of people winning for shows that no one watches.
SUPPORTING ACTOR: COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: The Pivs (Jeremy Piven)! Sweet!
ACTRESS: COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Wow. Good for her, but sad for Lisa Kudrow, who’s return to television was spectacular. If you didn’t watch The Comeback, go rent it now. Painfully hilarious.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: Megan Mullally. Admittedly, she was the best thing about Will & Grace. Where was Sarah Chalke’s nomination for Scrubs? That girl is pretty damn funny.
ACTOR: DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: Kiefer Sutherland. I know he is Mr. 24, but Denis Leary was robbed. His character on Rescue Me is both mesmerizing and disturbing. That show makes for great television.
SUPPORTING ACTOR: DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: Alan Alda. He isn’t even there. Yawn. At least it wasn’t Shatner again.
ACTRESS: DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: Mariska Hargitay. Does she deserve it? Yes. But in a weak category this year I think Frances Conroy outshined all of the others. It is also a damn shame that Edie Falco was not nominated, as her performance last season on The Sopranos was incredible.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: Blythe Danner, Paltrow’s mommy. Again. Who watched Huff before it was canceled? Anyone?
COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: The Office! Finally – a deserving win. Genius.
DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: 24
REALITY – COMPETITION PROGRAM
WINNER: The Amazing Race. Fourth time in a row. The production and entertainment value of this particular reality show is impressive, but I have watched every season of Survivor and am infatuated with Project Runway.
WRITING: COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: My Name is Earl. It’s a good show, but in my opinion, the writing is better on Arrested Development. Bonus points: the writer who won for Earl had the best speech of the evening.
WRITING: DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: The Sopranos. Again, a great show, but in the writing category I’d give the edge to Lost and Six Feet Under.
To sum up, I am very disappointed. The nominations, for the most part, had major omissions and the winners prove that I have absolutely no idea who votes for these people (clearly not folks who watch the same amazing shows I do). The show was horribly edited and rushed, and I’ve never wanted to turn off an awards show before tonight.
As for my personal Emmy predictions, they represented wishful thinking at best. Only 2 of my 13 picks won. At least The Office won for Comedy Series. That is THE only redeeming moment from these three hours of dull schlock.
Conan did an average job, and the Aaron Spelling tribute didn’t even feature any of his family members. My favorite part was the first five minutes – Conan’s opening montage.
Grey’s Anatomy, Lost and Six Feet Under were all shut out in all major categories. Now that is a sad statement.
And now for the most outrageous portion of the evening. Why is it that when announcing the nominees, most of the clips shown were for the men nominated in each category? Seriously. How freakin’ sexist is that?! Winners for both Actress in a Comedy (Louis-Dreyfus) and Actress in a Drama (Hargitay) – no scenes. But both Actor in a Comedy (Shaloub) and Actor in a Drama (Sutherland) – brief scenes from their shows were shown. I don’t get it; then again, I didn’t get how the voting rules changed this year and didn’t anticipate just how far from grace this show had fallen.
Two well-known writer/directors (Joss Whedon and James Gunn) posted their selections for Favorite 25 TV Characters Ever on their blogs. As a huge fan of lists, I wanted to play along.
So here are my choices, in alphabetical order of course. Admittedly, most of my favorites are from recent shows and I am totally showing my age, but I reserve the right to make additions should they come to me at a later date!
Here are their rules:
No puppet or cartoon characters
No miniseries
No reality show folks
All characters must be ‘regulars’
1. Elaine Benes – SEINFELD
2. Sydney Bristow – ALIAS
3. Phoebe Buffay – FRIENDS
4. Carol Burnett – THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW (the rules don’t say anything about variety shows)
5. Calamity Jane – DEADWOOD
6. Angela Chase – MY SO-CALLED LIFE
7. Laverne DeFazio – LAVERNE & SHIRLEY
8. Claire Fisher – SIX FEET UNDER
9. Ruth Fisher – SIX FEET UNDER
10. Marshall Flinkman – ALIAS
11. Tobias Fünke – ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
12. Henry Gale – LOST (he will be a regular in Season 3, starting in Oct.)
13. Tommy Gavin – RESCUE ME
14. Ari Gold – ENTOURAGE
15. Jim Halpert – THE OFFICE
16. Miranda Hobbes – SEX & THE CITY
17. Sayid Jarrah – LOST
18. Frank Pembleton – HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET
19. Jo Polniazek – FACTS OF LIFE
20. Dr. Elliot Reid – SCRUBS
21. Dwight Schrute – THE OFFICE
22. Dana Scully – THE X FILES
23. Andy Sipowicz – NYPD BLUE
24. Carmela Soprano – THE SOPRANOS
25. Al Swearengen – DEADWOOD
Runners up; ensemble casts that provided too many characters for me to choose from: ER (the early years), GREY’S ANATOMY, NIP/TUCK, OZ, THE WEST WING, and WILL & GRACE.
Thoughts? Additions? Omissions?
Most people prefer to watch a show or go to the movies without knowing much about what they’re going to see. It is safe to say that the viewing majority likes surprises. I, however, am drawn to Internet Spoilers like a car crash; I can’t help but slow down to look. Sites proudly boast about spilling the beans and spoiling plot points, sometimes months in advance of an actual airdate. And I bookmark these sites to keep in the loop and form my own theories. Believe it or not, this does not ruin the experience of watching my favorite shows. First of all, misinformation and errors are rampant and misleading (sometimes purposefully). Second, I enjoy trying to figure exactly how these Spoilers will unfold, and when.
Spoilers tend to originate from extremely dedicated fans with connections in the media or industry, or from leaks directly (and stealthily) from network sources.
As for my part, as a Blogger and pop culture specialist, I promise not to post any Spoilers without an obnoxious and large disclaimer boldly announcing their arrival.
Read MoreWhen I look at my favorite movies of all time, there isn’t a specific genre that stands out or a common theme running throughout. Because I’m prone to making lists, I created a large one to compile and analyze statistics about my choices. I know, nerd alert.
A surprising fact arose from my silly research – Katie Holmes is in three of my top 40 films of all time. You have to remember that before she went on the Cruise, Holmes had memorable roles in several excellent yet underrated independent movies:
The Ice Storm (a highly intense family drama from Ang Lee)
Go (Doug Liman’s frenetic follow up to Swingers)
Wonder Boys (a clever, charming little film with a great cast)
The Gift (a thriller helmed by Sam Raimi & written by Billy Bob Thornton)
Pieces of April (Holmes’ first true leading role)
Thank You For Smoking (a very funny and scathing view of big tobacco, out in theatres now)
Much to my chagrin, I must also admit to enjoying and owning several Tom Cruise movies. Thank goodness Spielberg directed Minority Report; it gives weight and value to my assertion that it’s a damn good sci-fi flick that just so happens to star a certain someone. And regardless of Cruise’s current popularity wane, I will continue to stick by my choice of Jerry Maguire as both one of his best and one of my favorites (Magnolia is a close second in my book).