Monday Morning Quarterback Part II

By BOP Staff

September 25, 2013

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David Mumpower: I deride the Emmys whenever they come up in conversation because...well, I can give the blueprint example this year. Bob Newhart is not only a television icon but also one of the few people alive who could stake a reasonable claim to being the greatest living professional in the medium. At the age of 84, a man who has been appearing on television for more than half of his life finally won an Emmy. I have no idea how the voting process works, but it has proven inflexible in terms of considering all but a few darlings for each category.

To wit, the shock of the evening was probably Bryan Cranston not winning for Breaking Bad. I idly wondered during Jeff Daniels' acceptance speech if someone backstage was having to scratch Cranston's name off the trophy. Edwin mentions Cranston and Jon Hamm as much more worthy, and I am confident that is the prevailing opinion. All I can think when I hear those words is, "How many times do the same people have to win?" Sometimes it feels like these ballots are pre-punched.

What I did like about the Emmys was the acceptance speech by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (a four time winner, by the way). The decision to receive the award in character as Vice President Selina Meyer with assistance by bag boy Tony Hale was very clever. I was also pleased that Ellen Burstyn won for her portrayal of a grandmother/past her expiration date party girl in Political Animals, a mini-series nobody watched that I quite enjoyed.

The award that shocked me was Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama. I am a huge fan of Bobby Cannavale, but he was only the second best actor from The Station Agent to be nominated in the category. I guess they didn't want to celebrate Dinklage again, but as I mentioned above, they do that repeatedly for performers they love. Even if Tyrion Lannister wasn't to win, I would have voted for every other actor in the category above Cannavale, primarily because Boardwalk Empire doesn't do a damn thing for me. Meanwhile, both Breaking Bad nominees (Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks) and especially Mandy Patinkin delivered better performances on vastly superior series.

I just don't get the Emmys.




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Kim Hollis: I watched just bits and pieces of the show, and quit watching altogether once Breaking Bad actually started airing. I thought a lot of the winners were strange, including Jeff Daniels. I also like him a lot on The Newsroom, but I don't feel like it was quite his time. Breaking Bad is a deserving winner. Mostly, I was annoyed at the lack of tribute to Jack Klugman, who was one of my favorite TV actors through the years. I realize that the Cory Monteith tribute was really intended to bring in the youthful audience, and I can't argue the point since ratings were spectacular. That doesn't mean I can't be annoyed, though.

Reagen Sulewski: I enjoy the novelty of an awards broadcast dedicated to the best in television taking place on network TV. Got to throw them a bone somehow. I also look forward to it being on Netflix by 2017. I'm never too concerned about Emmy awards (I think there were still a few dozen write-ins for David Hyde Pierce), but it's good to see the obviousness of Breaking Bad's superiority being recognized. I concur with Edwin on both the non-terribleness of Daniels and also the insanity of him winning given that competition. The overall highlight for me was Hale as well, but not his win - instead his pitch perfect supporting role during Louis-Dreyfuss' speech, which on some level might have been glory stealing but was really just a spectacular bit of character work.

Max Braden: I tend to not bother with the Emmys. They never award the right shows. I get that everyone loves Modern Family but I just don't find any of the characters likeable, and I feel like most of the jokes are obvious. Every one of the eight minutes I've seen of The Big Bang Theory made me want to strangle Jim Parsons. And AMC's shows are just so dreary. Why do they keep awarding shows I hate, or at best love to hate? Why can't they award shows I love to love? Where is the appreciation for Suits? (Are USA regular series not allowed to be nominated?) Rick Hoffman has been killing it as Louis Litt. Sarah Shahi's return to Person of Interest this week reminds me that she had some brief but stellar moments last season. How about the writing on Archer, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Community, or Justified? Really the only award I could get behind was The Colbert Report's win, because as much as I enjoy the first ten minutes of every Daily Show, Colbert is consistently brilliant throughout every episode and has been deserving of the praise.


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