ABC's presentation of the ...
Question: ABC's presentation of the
2008 Emmys was one of the poorest presentations in a long time. All the networks should learn from this. Forget reality show hosts and leave it to funny people like Ellen, Conan and Stewart. I find it ironic that Ryan Seacrest felt honored that reality hosts were finally accepted by the Emmys and their television peers, while their peers showed their displeasure with the Emmys host. The highlights definitely were Ricky Gervais, Don Rickles, Conan O'Brien, Tina Fey and all the comedians that have made the show fun.
Answer: The comics were my favorite part of the show as well. Maybe next year, if they decide a host is even necessary, they'll go back to some actual talent. Reality TV has earned its place at the Emmy table, but on a night when shows like
Mad Men,
30 Rock,
John Adams and 60 years of Emmy history are being celebrated, they did not deserve to be center stage.
Here's a sampling of other gripes: From Nancy: "Since when is Howie Mandel's show Deal or No Deal a reality show? It's a quiz show. I couldn't understand why he was nominated in the best reality-show host. The Emmys was a disaster."
No argument here on the "disaster" comment, but reality TV takes many shapes and forms nowadays, including twists on the game show — and you really can't call Deal or No Deal a "quiz" show, either, because this show takes pride in requiring absolutely no knowledge to play. It's all about guesswork and gambling, and remains one of those inexplicably popular shows in which I can find absolutely no merit. I will bet, though, that unless he gets nominated again, this will be the last time you see Howie Mandel anywhere near an Emmy stage for a long while.
PAW wrote in — twice! — to make the point: "It seems to me that the tribute to theme songs, which was to commemorate the 60th anniversary, was very light on early shows, especially from the '50s and '60s. Some notable slights: Maverick, Wagon Train, 77 Sunset Strip, Have Gun Will Travel, Bourbon Street Beat, Zorro, Lawman (one of the great themes of all time!), The Avengers, I Love Lucy, Talk of the Town, Cheyenne, The Virginian, The Naked City, Milton Berle's Texaco Hour and Hawaii 5-0. Not even Magnum, P.I. or Rockford Files. I have to stop as I am overcome with memories from my childhood. These were all memorable songs. Most of these are even in Josh Grobin's range!" And later: "Please add The Untouchables and Peter Gunn to that list. How could I forget Nelson Riddle and Henry Mancini? Or Alfred Hitchcock. Bonanza. I've gotta stop now."
Granted, a few of these are a wee bit obscure and some of the themes might not have led to vocal interpretation very well — and talk about a polarizing part of the show (you either loved it or got flop sweat yourself) — but I couldn't believe they left out Bewitched! And finally, this.
