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Awful Emmys and angry Letterman mark eventful week
• After a year in which a writers' strike crippled the television season, was the hiring of five reality series hosts to handle the Emmys meant as an after-the-fact slap in the face?
• If so, it backfired. The hosts certainly proved that writers are necessary. The unfunny, unnecessary and interminable discussion about nothing was also supposedly unrehearsed - the hosts evidently couldn't come up with a skit, sketch or song to open the show. If that's true, why didn't the writers step in and offer something - anything? Even a simple "And now for our first award" would have sufficed.
• It could be that Howie Mandel and company just read the horrible script beforehand and decided to come up with something on their own. It's true that just about everything on the show tanked, most notably a laborious, cringe-inducing "Laugh-In" tribute. The idea of resurrecting old series sets ("West Wing," "Mary Tyler Moore," "MASH,") was clever, but there was no follow through. Nobody seemed to know what to do with the sets once they were rolled into place.
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• At this moment, Rickles should be the leading candidate for next year's host.
• Ratings for all awards shows have been declining, and it's highly unlikely the cause is just the corny banter between presenters. Instead, it just might be that the shows have lost touch with the masses. Grammy honored Herbie Hancock and Amy Winehouse, Oscar was smitten with "No Country for Old Men," and Emmy heaped its awards on "Mad Men" and "30 Rock." We're not suggesting any of these shows lower their standards, but we are offering that perhaps the ceremonies ought to be moved from mass appeal networks to a cable station.
• On the other hand, viewers would still watch - no matter the nominees - if the shows were entertaining.
• When John McCain suspended his campaign last week, he also canceled an appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman." Letterman was none too happy, telling his audience that "something smells" and asked, "Are we suspending it because there's an economic crisis or because the poll numbers are sliding?" A valid question, but I'm not convinced the rant should have made the cut for the broadcast. If most of what Lettermen said was not in poor taste, it certainly was that of a poor sport - and may backfire should Lettermen ask other politicians to his couch.
• Lettermen also said McCain called him personally to cancel, saying he was on his way to Washington. Moments later, Lettermen showed a live feed of McCain getting makeup applied for an interview with fellow CBS employee Katie Couric. So much for that emergency trip to D.C. That was good - and funny - television. Lettermen made his point. The rants before and after, however, diminished its impact.
• ABC asked its audience to tune in to see David Blaine make a 44-foot "Dive of Death." Turns out Blaine made the dive in a harness, a la bungee jumping. Should have called it "The Dive of Deception."
• "The Mentalist" and "Fringe" aside, most new series are being ignored by viewers. That hasn't stopped the CW from renewing "90210" for the full season. Last week, the series had 3.3 million viewers, which not only made it 89th among network shows, but also put in behind cable shows such as "The Closer" and "Army Wives," not to mention news programs such as "Hannity & Colmes" and "The O"Reilly Factor." I guess when you're the CW, you're content when anyone at all is watching.
• What if opportunity knocked, and no one answered? Case in point: the new CBS reality series of the same name.
• Ratings for summer sizzler, "America's Got Talent," have dipped a bit since the regular season kicked into gear, but it may not be the competition. Wasn't the point of "AGT" to spotlight a variety of acts? Yet of the final 10, "Nuttin' But Strings" (dueling violins) was the only non-singing act. That would have been acceptable had the singers been outstanding, but the truth is most would not have made the preliminary cut on "American Idol."
• Some pundits are wondering about NBC's decision to air several prime-time "Saturday Night Live" specials this month that focus on the presidential election. The criticism centers mostly on the inconsistency of "SNL" the past few seasons. Must be young critics. "SNL" has been inconsistent since its premiere in the '70s. There were never legendary shows, just a few legendary skits or commercial parodies each season. They're called "The Not Ready for Prime Time Players" for a reason. For the most part, "SNL" has featured green comedians who use the show as a testing ground. Some launch movie careers, others are never heard from again. The joy in watching "SNL" is the chance to see the actors work and develop their craft.
• That having been said, the forte of "SNL" always has been its political satire, and its ability to influence elections.
• Wonder who will be impersonating Letterman?
Changes at Channel 4
If you're a regular WTAE viewer, you'll notice a dramatic shift in anchors beginning today.
Mike Clark has moved to mornings and noon, Sally Wiggin has been relegated to just the noon show and Andrew Stockey has inherited the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. slots. Co-anchor Michelle Wright moves from 5 to 6 p.m.
Sports anchors stay put, but meteorolgists also are juggling shifts, with Demetrius Ivory mornings and 5 p.m., Erin Kienzle at noon and Stephen Cropper at 6 and 11 p.m. As Stockey landed the plum assignments, one can perhaps assume that of all the anchors, he looks the best in high definition.
Terry Hazlett covers TV and radio for the Observer-Reporter. He can be reached at snowballrizzo@aol.com.
Letterman : 9/29/2008
"If most of what Lettermen said was not in poor taste, it certainly was that of a poor sport - and may backfire should Lettermen ask other politicians to his couch." Then those politicians should follow through and appear when they agree to instead of coming up with a B.S. excuse to cancel. Letterman was ok with the McCain cancellation until he was caught getting his nose powdered next to Katie Couric instead of flying to DC to "fix" the economy.
