Emmys Noms: First Impressions

You might be tolerable this year!

The Emmy nominations were announced today and I was SHOCKED with some of the results. And by that I mean that it didn’t look like an exact replica of last year’s ballot which is a huge breakthrough for the Emmys. I have been watching the Emmys since I was a little kid (probably long before the Oscars since I wasn’t old enough to watch any of the movies–but dammit I was old enough to watch Fraiser) and I gotta say, I’m pretty happy with how things shook out. Here are my random thoughts on the whole thing, take ‘em or leave ‘em.

-Jack Bender got nominated for his direction of the final episode of LOST and all I have to say is hallelujah. He has probably directed the most episodes of the show and is responsible for so many of those long, sweeping montages or action-packed running-in-the-jungle sequences that were so beautiful we can’t get them out of our head. I hope he wins but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it went to Mad Men or Breaking Bad.

Comedy Showdown: ‘Community’ vs. ‘Modern Family’

Compelling soap opera it was not.

This season has brought us some amazing new shows as well as some lackluster ones (sorry, Jamie Oliver, but I hope to God this is the last time I will bring up your lame-ass Food Revolution.)  Through it all, two sitcoms have outshone the rest, and it is those two sitcoms we sit down and dissect.  Enjoy!

Michael: For you, which has been the better new comedy this season: Community or Modern Family?

Kiki: I’m going to have to go with Modern Family on this one, although I do enjoy Community a lot. Modern Family for one is more consistent. I know when I watch I’m going to lol at least once. (Which for me is saying something. I usually watch it on Hulu by myself at 7:30 am so there isn’t a need to outwardly display how much I’m enjoying the show. But I do. I lol every episode.) I also enjoy more of the characters on Modern Family. Cameron is of course my favorite with his broad comedic bits and flare for the theatrical. He’s every theatre person I’ve ever known all balled up into one giant lovable lug. And his melodrama is always perfectly juxtaposed to Lily’s adorable dead pan.

Michael: Can a baby really be credited with a deadpan?  I mean, she’s probably staring at a Beanie Baby off camera…

Finales Finally

One of our faithful PopFountain addicts pointed me to a survey on EW about this season’s finales that I’ve quickly come up with my responses to. Hey, better to read my opinions here than me posting it as a note on Facebook. Am I right?

She's f***ing Matt Damon. Hopefully.

Best Death: Jack from LOST wins hands down. It might be time for that guy to get nominated for an Emmy.
Most Welcome Exit for an Unloved Character: Vaughn on Community. Little nipples are not okay.
Best Overall Ending to an Otherwise Crappy Season: V. It wasn’t for everyone but I thought they went out strong. Cest la vie visitors.
Worst Overall Ending to an Otherwise Solid Season: Community. What happened that was funny in this episode? No, really?
Best Romantic Cliffhanger: Michael and Holly on The Office. I know, I’m the only one still watching. But it beats that four-some on Community.
Best Non-Romantic Cliffhanger: 30 Rock. If Matt Damon is supposed to be the love of Liz Lemon’s life, how the hell is that going to work out? Unless he becomes a regular I’ll be very, VERY disappointed.
Best Kiss: Jack and Kate on LOST. That aggression was steamy.
Best Fight (Verbal or Physical): More like Best Sexual Tension which of course goes to Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest.
Top Tissue Moment (Single tear or sobfest): LOS…I can’t even finish typing it without getting choked up again.
Most Clever Single Twist: I hate to sound like a broken Dharma record, but the Sideways/Purgatory story takes the cake.
Weakest Single Twist: Annie kissing Andy on Parks and Recreation. Yawn, boring, saw that coming 2 seasons ago.
Funniest Half Hour: Modern Family, although I don’t think it was their strongest episode by a long shot. They should have ended on the Hawaii vacay.
Spookiest Image: Why is this even a category?
Most Rewound Moment: Last 10 mins of LOST.
SPECIAL AWARD: Biggest Regret That I Didn’t See It, I Just Read About It: Grey’s Anatomy. Apparently not watching for the past 2 years doesn’t matter and I should still watch this finale. But I probably won’t.

And here are a few categories of my own:

I’ll take “Don’t Add Crappy New Characters” for 100, Alex.

As a college student I didn’t have time for TV. No Thursday night line-ups on NBC. No TGIF on ABC. Not even a Movie and a Makeover Sunday with TBS.

But now I’m a bonafide working girl with a less strenuous schedule and Hulu has taken away any barrier between me and the small screen. I’ve unearthed my IV drip of yore, plugged it directly into my MacBook and with only a few hits a day I’m back in my TV coma. While I’m propped up on my Tempur-Pedic bed waiting for my jello to arrive I’ll confess that I am actively following LOST, The Office, Modern Family, V, 30 Rock, Community, Parks and Recreation, Glee, and the occasional Project Runway. Damn, it feels good.

Looking at this line-up I notice a lot of newcomers. Shows that are doing pretty well in their first season with no looming signs of cancellation in sight. LET ME WARN ALL OF YOU. You will be tempted to add new characters in future seasons. But listen to this re-lapsed TV junky: I beg you, choose wisely. There is right way to do it. And there is a very, very wrong way to do it.

More like Team Andy Richter

How semi-timely and cool of myself to be writing about the Conan/Leno War.  Here are some fast and dirty facts to get you up to speed of where I’m at in this back-and-forth slap and tickle fest:

1. I never watched old Conan. I was either too young or behaving too old to stay up that late. Mama needs her sleep.
2. Triumph the Annoying Dog never has and never will be funny to me.
3. But, neither will Leno.
4. I didn’t start watching Conan until he took over The Tonight Show (for a whopping .2 seconds). I actually watched Tom Hanks (who I have an unhealthy love for) dub him Coco. From then on I kept Huluing mainly so that I would have stories/quotes to Twitter about and because I felt like I was finally lame enough to watch late night programming before I went to bed.

There you have it. But what am I left with now that Conan is no longer Mr. Tonight Show? Well, I got another 42 mins back that I can use to watch LOST, Jamie Oliver (nice previous plug Michael!), and Modern Family (which continues to be the best thing to happen to sitcoms since Friends and Will & Grace).

I just feel kind of  “meh” about the whole thing. For a while I was outraged for Conan. I mean, Leno sucks. Big time. But then I realized that I don’t care about late night. Why is it still on? I can’t wait for old people to die so we can finally get some good programming up in here. If we can’t have social security at least give us good tv. None of this Leno Hits the Streets piece of bullshit.

And while I do have tickets to tomorrow night’s performance of Conan’s Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on TV tour, I’m more excited to a.) just feel a part of something that is so topical and doesn’t involve vampires and b.) to see Andy Richter. Because he is a reason to wish that Conan was still Mr. Tonight Show.