"Award show banter is not pabulum... [dejectedly] Reality television celebrates the human condition... by illuminating what's extraordinary in the ordinary person." – Jon Stewart's response to Stephen Colbert when they presented the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Competition Program. It was the funniest presentation (viewable at YouTube) of the show and the source of this entry's title.
I watched the Emmys on Sunday because it's fun to hear acceptance speeches from actors who win for shows I never watch. I also tune in for the first ten minutes, which are usually the best minutes of the entire evening, but more on that later.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) and Tony Shaloub (Monk) won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy. I watched Monk once upon a time, when it aired on ABC, and liked it. I'll probably add it to my queue when the list of DVDs begins to dwindle. I may do the same for Julia's show if I can get over my distaste for the title and the aftertaste of Seinfeld, which enjoys syndicated ubiquity.
Megan Mullally (Will and Grace) and Jeremy Piven (Entourage) won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy. Will and Grace never seemed funny to me and likely never will. As for Entourage, I'm a big Jeremy Piven fan, so I should rent it just to check it out. I recently saw him in Runaway Jury (with John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz) and it reminded me of how much I like the duo of Cusack and Piven. It's a Grisham film, so there weren't exactly opportunities for them to display their comedic chemistry, but it's what I like and remember most about them. Only Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson come to mind when I think of current actors with a similar on-screen rapport and off-screen friendship.
Blythe Danner (Huff) and Alan Alda (The West Wing) won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama, while Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) and Kiefer Sutherland (24) won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama. Of the four shows, I only watch L&O: SVU with any regularity. One of these days, when I'm bored out of my mind and trapped indoors, I may try to watch an entire season of 24 in a single day (synchronizing the episodes with the clock).
On a side note, after seven excellent seasons on L&O: SVU, Christopher Meloni finally received a nomination for his work. His loss to Sutherland was the second biggest disappointment of the night. The biggest was Lost's omission from the Outstanding Drama category. Had it been nominated, I doubt 24 would have won. And just so I have it written somewhere, The Office won for Outstanding Comedy.
As for the first ten minutes of the Emmys, Conan O'Brien had a great opening sketch (YouTube). It starts with him taking a flight from New York City to Hollywood to host the show. The plane experiences turbulence and Conan stuffs himself into an overhead compartment for safety. We then see him emerging from the ocean and collapsing on an island beach - the island from Lost.
After drying his signature red hair using a hairdryer built from twigs, he encounters Hurley, and together, they discover a hatch. Conan asks Hurley if he wants to come with him to the award show, but Hurley quips, "Well, we weren't exactly invited."
Conan's ensuing quest takes him through The Office, 24, House, South Park and Dateline: To Catch a Predator and ends with his arrival at the Emmys. It was classic.
Yesterday, in light of Sunday's plane crash in Kentucky, articles and blogs slammed the bit and called it insensitive. Instead of receiving kudos for its comedy and creativity, it's received criticism for "questionable taste" due to unlucky timing.
One wonders what the reaction might have been if the plane hadn't crashed, if the Emmys had aired twenty-four hours earlier or if the producers had pulled the sketch. NBC issued an apology yesterday, which is now the required response whenever public sensitivities are offended.
Conan was fortunate that none of his other funny moments offended anyone.
To make sure the show didn't run over the allotted time, he declared there would be consequences this year. An airtight glass booth was rolled onto the stage containing "exactly three hours of oxygen" and Bob Newhart sitting inside. If the show ran long, the "beloved comedian" would die.
O'Brien also introduced a timesaving innovation I think he called the Podium Segway. To demonstrate, Christopher Meloni appeared on a spruced up Segway and gave his acceptance speech while driving across the stage.
And during his opening monologue, O'Brien joked about the infamous (and now taxable) Emmy gift baskets valued at $51,000. He claimed it included "a cell phone, a DVD player and a gift certificate to the Olive Garden worth $50,000." He then proceeded to perform an inspired parody of "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man about NBC's rating woes.
Luckily, nobody suffocated to death, died in a freak Segway accident or received serious injuries opening an expensive gift basket earlier in the day. Otherwise, Conan really would have been in trouble (with a capital T, and that rhymes with G, as in "Gee, we're screwed!").
