Emmy 2011 Review

The Emmys are a strange award. The fact that they are for television means that each year the broadcast cycles between the four major networks. This year FOX aired the Emmy's. FOX is a strange network in that a third of its lineup is dedicated to singing competitions and it has 7 hours less of programming every week then the other networks and no morning show. This was evident in the pre-show which was full of people that I had never heard of trying to interview celebrities, none of whom succeeded.

Then the show started with Jane Lynch hosting. I wasn't sure how she would do. I am a fan of her comedy, but I didn't think that she would be allowed to be the Jane Lynch that I know from the Christopher Guest movies. And I was right. The opening number was OK, but it was missing some of the magic and fun that television can bring. The bit inside the offices of Mad Men was brilliant though. Her opening monologue was a little too nice. I think she didn't want to come off as Sue Sylvester, her character from Glee. The rest of the show she did a few one-liners that were worth a few chuckles, but it took a while for her to let go and get those out.

The show also had a few other bits worth mentioning. The Lonely Island medley was entertaining and I still can't get enough Jack Sparrow. The bit with other characters from TV showing up at the Office was hilarious, Jesse Pinkman as Creed's crack dealer was awesome. However this doesn't mean there weren't any duds. The Jersey Shore sequence was awful, as is anything with the Jersey Shore cast. Ricky Gervais isn't funny if he's being edited. But neither of these were as bad as the Emmytones. I love almost every actor that was up there singing, but I grew to hate them more and more as the night went on. Bringing in LL Cool J at the end did not improve things. In fact that was the worst thing I have ever seen him do, and I saw "Toys."

From a award perspective I am not to upset with the winners. I am a little upset that my picks were completely wrong. My only real objection is to the winner for Lead Actor in a Comedy. Steve Carell not winning means that the Emmy's decided not to award the portrayal of one of the greatest TV characters ever, Michael Gary Scott. It's a shame because Michael will always be remembered. Do you really think Sheldon will? And it had plenty of opportunity because he was nominated 6 times.

People can get bored with TV award shows easily because they award the same shows year after year. But if a show is good there isn't much we can complain about. Good is good. Except for "The Big Bang Theory" that show is racist against my people, the geeks. And for this geek the Emmy's 2011 gets 3 out of 5 stars.