Live blogging the Emmys a little late

Forgive my tardiness.  For the first half hour, I could barely breathe.  Then, it all came crashing down when Alec Baldwin was announced the winner of Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.  Can I demand a recount?  Formal protest.  Denied?  Informal protest.  Oh, what good is it?  I hate the Emmys and the stupid “academy.”  What do they know?  I could lament the defeat of Jim Parsons for the next year (and there’s a good chance I will), but I am going to pull myself together….and do some online shopping.  There’s no therapy like retail therapy.

9:20ish??  Kiefer Sutherland doesn’t have a chance in hell against Sir Ian McKellen, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin Kline, or that other guy.  Also, how is 24: Redemption a mini-series?  Give me a fucking break.

9:32PM  Was that Wolowitz?  I didn’t know he was part of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along blog?

9:33PM  BOOOOOO Alec Baldwin.  BOOOOO.  Farting.  BOOOO.

9:36PM  Hmm, Justin Long.  I guess he and Drew are back together again?

9:49PM  YAY!!!!  Jim Parsons!!!  Johnny Galecki!  Kaley Cuoco!   He can’t be blamed for screwing up his line.  He’s been robbed.

9:53PM  These nominee videos for best writing in a variety show are great!

9:56PM  I think Jon Stewart just moved to get closer to the cast of The Big Bang Theory.  I don’t blame him!

10:10PM  Nice shout out from Jon Stewart!  NPH is doing a fabulous job!

10:20PM  Oh!  How nice!  Michael Emerson!  It doesn’t make up for Jim Parsons losing, but it’s a start.  Nice spectacles!

Live blogging over.  I am going to console myself with an episode of The Big Bang Theory.

The buzz surrounding Jim Parsons

When the primetime Emmy nominations were announced on July 16th, I remember feeling a mixture of disbelief, smugness, and anticipation.  These feelings had nothing to do with Family Guy securing an Outstanding Comedy Series nod.  Let’s face it, this nomination is coming at a time when Family Guy’s jokes feel somewhat stale.  Instead, all of these feelings centered around the Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series category.  Jim Parsons, the delightful and talented actor who portrays the delightful and talented Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, was given an Emmy nod.  He would now be in competition with, what his mother referred to as, household names–Alec Baldwin and Steve Carell.  The disbelief came from a history of Emmy nominations and wins that seemed predictable and undeserved.  Honestly, how many times can Tony Shaloub win for Monk?  How many people have seen Monk?  More importantly, how many people enjoy Monk?   However, my real issue isn’t with Tony Shaloub.  Jeremy Piven being the winner in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category for the past 3 years is the real reason I was just about ready to write off the Emmys entirely.  Then, a funny thing happened this year–Chandra Wilson read Jim Parsons name as one of this year’s nominees for Oustanding Actor in a Comedy Series.  This led to an intolerable air of superiority on my part.  “Well of course, Jim Parsons was nominated!” I would say, “He’s fantastic, and Sheldon is the best character in the history of television.  I’ve been saying it since Day 1.”  Nevermind the fact that I had not been watching The Big Bang Theory from the beginning (regrettably, I did not start until several episodes in to Season 2).  This brings us to anticipation.  I haven’t been this excited to see an awards show since Keri Russell received her Golden Globe nomination in 1999 for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV series Drama (which, by the way, she won).

Welcome Back, Project Runway!

It’s been quite a length of time we’ve been without Project Runway.  Coupled with being underwhelmed by last season, I am more than ready for a new season (on a new network)!  Despite all the excitement, both the “All-Stars” special and the Season 6 premiere were kind of a snore.  I was especially disappointed with the all-stars’ stale designs.  I was always a big fan of Daniel Vosovic, but seriously, his mini fashion show was boring and to be completely honest, ugly.  The dress that all the judges seemed dazzled by reminded me of Nina Garcia’s fashion proverb from a past season: Shiny, tight, and short is the quickest way to look cheap.  I am fairly certain that Daniel Vosovic’s A-list dress represented all of those things.  Depsite all the buzz in the blogosphere right now about how Korto was robbed of the All-Stars title (and more importantly the $100,000 prize), I think Chris March was really the one who was robbed.  The gray plaid was marvelous, well-made, and so adorable!  Why was he so surprised to be among the Top 4 All-Stars?  He did reasonably well in his season, finishing just behind the top three finalists.  

As for the new season, as soon as Christopher Straub said something about bringing in the volume with a belt, I knew he’d be my favorite.  It’s a nice story  that he has never been formally trained (I remember this only because he mentioned it about five times).  I wonder if Ari has ever been formally trained because she didn’t even sketch.  There are only a few people who can get away with skimping on the basics (sketching, using time wisely), and Chris March is the only designer in the history of Project Runway thus far who can nap (while others are running around like lunatics trying to get something on their models) and still do well.

I never thought I would utter these words….

but the Bones finale disappointed me in a major way.  What was that?  I hate episodes revolving around a character’s dreams/hallucinations/fantasies.  They’re totally pointless and extremely indicative of being out of fresh ideas.  What was the point of Booth’s comatose dream mystery?  The end of the episode was the only part of the show worth watching, but I am not looking forward to a season of Booth not remembering anything or anyone (particularly Bones).  It’s going to be agonizing and painful to watch Bones realize that she loves/loved Booth, but due to Booth’s amnesia, they cannot be together.  Also, how are they going to continue working together?  Certainly, he can’t continue to work for the FBI.  Will they bring in new FBI agents for Bones to collaborate with each week?  Instead of the revolving door of interns to replace Zack, will it be a revolving door of FBI agents for Bones to choose from?

In closing, I would like to express some anger over what we were led to believe about Bones and Booth finally getting together.  We were told explicitly that it would not be a dream or hallucination.  LIES!

I’m kind of over the MTV reality thing…

I read today on ew.com that Kristin Cavallari will be replacing Lauren Conrad on MTV’s “hit” The Hills.  Notice the quotes around hit; they were placed there for a reason.  Admittedly, I watched The Hills regularly (not religiously) when it premiered.  I was intrigued at how being an intern at Teen Vogue could support such a lifestyle.  Not to long after the premiere, the show became very one note.  The formula  became something like this: Lauren feels “betrayed” by a friend and vows never to speak to them again.  Then, Speidi was born, and the show officially went to hell.  I don’t see how Kristin Cavallari is going to re-invigorate the show.  After Laguna Beach, she disappeared from the reality scene to, presumably, act for real, but all I can recall is a failed UPN show (which she hosted–not the same as acting) and a random guest role on Veronica Mars.  It’s clear that Ms. Cavallari is desperate for anything, including going back to reality television.  She can say whatever she wants about her acting goals (The goal for me is to get my fans excited about me again. When I first started out, I had a celebrity name but I didn’t have the acting skills I have now. If I have some buzz with my name again, I feel like it will only help.”), but I think we all recognize desperation when we see it.

Why I Love The Big Bang Theory

Despite The Big Bang Theory’s semi-slow start, it’s become one of my favorite shows this season (and any other season for that matter). At the beginning, the show was too formulaic. Sheldon and Leonard were too stereotypically nerdy. Penny was too hot. Everything was exaggerated to the point where I wanted to scream, “OK, we get it!” However, a friend brought up that sometimes it is a necessity to  overstate the premise of the show at its start. That idea coupled with the fact that it has become brilliant is enough for me to overlook the first few episodes of Season 1 (which to clarify were not horrible, just average).

Since those first few episodes, Big Bang has exemplified the true meaning of “must-see television” (a phrase coined by NBC in the 90’s to describe their Thursday night line-up which included Friends, Seinfeld, ER, and various other shows over the years). Throw How I Met Your Mother into the mix, and it’ll blow NBC’s version of “must-see” out of the water any day.

So what is it about The Big Bang Theory that makes it so wonderfully addictive? In a word, Sheldon. Sheldon (portrayed with excellent comedic timing by the talented and relatively unknown Jim Parsons) is the reason we all can’t wait for the next episode, the reason we find ourselves laughing over and over again at our favorite scenes, and the main reason for the show’s success. I wish I could say that this is a true ensemble cast (ex: How I Met Your Mother), but it really isn’t. This is the Sheldon Show, and I can’t get enough of it. This is not to say that the rest of the cast is terrible, not even close. Leonard is likeable and amusing enough (see Episode 1.6 The Middle Earth Paradigm in which Leonard puts Penny’s meathead ex-boyfriend in his place). Wolowitz is creepy without being too creepy (most of the time), and he has one of the best[1] mother/son relationships on television. Koothrappali is also an engaging character, and surprisingly his “can’t talk to women unless he’s drunk” schtick has not worn out its welcome yet. I also enjoy that he finds things slightly racist at times, but doesn’t go so far as to take real offense to anything. In fairness to the show, I should at least mention Penny. Penny doesn’t need to be “hot.” She could be average, and the guys (minus Sheldon) would probably still fall all over her. She’s “hot” in order to emphasize the fact that she is on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of looks and intellect. (I also think she’s “hot” as a ratings ploy, but it’s really not necessary due to Jim Parson’s comic abilities). I really have no feelings for Kaley Cuoco one way or another, but I will say that not everyone could have believable chemistry with this cast. That is one reason why she’s good for the show. It’s believable that she genuinely likes these nerdy guys, and I’m not sure another “hot” actress could pull that off.

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[1] “Best” does not equal healthy.

Survivor: Is it a blind-side or just voting out someone who is really self-involved?

Jeff Probst keeps touting this season as one of the best seasons in Survivor history, in part because of the record number of blind-sides that will occur in tribal council.  After just two episodes, I’m beginning to think that these aren’t blind-sides as much as they are voting out people who are extremely self-involved.  Let’s take a look back at the first victim, Carolina.  She wasn’t exactly in tune with the other people on her tribe and really just wanted to whine about things all day.  Every member of her tribe voted for her to go home, so I’m not sure that it’s a blind-side.  I think in this case Carolina ignored the warning signs (eye rolls, people getting up and leaving when you approach them and/or start talking) and continued to think that she was a useful and helpful tribe member.  Last night, Candace was voted off.  She’s no different, other than the fact that she is an educated woman.  Anyone who feels the need to bring up the fact that they are an educated woman is clearly over-compensating for something.   Anyway, she’s another one who didn’t see the eye rolls and sense that peope were tiring of her.  Everyone on her tribe also voted for her to go home.

Also, I’m kind of pissed that we know this season has a record number of blind-sides because it ruins the episode.  If you hear people mention that they want to vote out so and so because they’re weak, but wouldn’t it be great to vote out so and so instead, you’re going to know it’s the latter going home.

Stars! They’re just like us!

Master Chief mows his lawn, just like us!

Top Chef: Deviled Eggs?!

Arianne is really lucky that she won immunity with her cream of cauliflower (no butter!!).  Speaking of her dish, I love that she mentioned what a great way it was to get kids to eat cauliflower without bothering to mention all the heavy cream she mixed into it.  What good is the cauliflower when they’ve just consumed three cups of heavy cream?  Anyway, getting back to the challenge itself, she is lucky lucky lucky!  Deviled eggs are not TOP CHEF.  Deviled eggs are made by people with absolutely no experience with cooking because it doesn’t require ANY skill.  As long as you can boil an egg, you’re good to go.  Arianne makes me believe that I can be on Top Chef because I make one hell of a meatloaf.  What’s that?  Eugene made meatloaf in a previous challenge? Ok, now I’m positive that I could have been on this season of Top Chef!  What the hell is going on?  One last thing, when the front runner (Stefan) is making chicken pot pie, you know something is up.

Survivor: A Satisfying Winner

I’d like to start out by saying that it really should have been Bob, Sugar, and Matty in the final three, but for whatever reason, Susie actually won the last immunity challenge.  It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who thought the last challenge should have been an endurance one, standing in the hot sun while balancing a pole on your head- endurance.  Building a house of cards was interesting to watch, but should not have been the final immunity challenge.  Maybe building a house of cards could have been a component of the final challenge, but it should not have been for all the marbles.  Despite the fact that the final challenge was not an endurance challenge, I expected Bob, the physics teacher (!!) to walk away victorious.  Who better to build a house of cards than a physics teacher?  I never expected Susie to win, with Matty a close second.   Speaking of Matty, his house of cards was looking extremely sturdy.  If only he could have figured it out sooner; he would be a million dollars richer.

During the last episode, Sugar really showed off her ability to think quickly and influence people’s decisions.  Also, she showed her allegiance to Matty by giving him her immunity idol (even if it was unnecessary).   So why would she vote for Matty last night to force a tie with Bob?  I’m not entirely sure.  I suppose it had something to do with feeling that Bob deserved to win more than Matty?  I wonder if it had anything to do with ensuring that Susie would not win (because she viewed Bob as a shoo-in for the million dollars). If she truly didn’t want the million dollars (which seemed to be the case, judging by how she answered those questions from the jury), why didn’t she sacrifice herself so that Bob and Matty would both have a chance at winning?  Sugar has been all over the place strategically, and just when I think she knows what she’s doing, she does something so completely puzzling.

I didn’t get a chance to watch the live reunion show beyond the reveal of the votes because it was so late, but I am interested to hear what everyone had to say, if there were any apologies going around (especially Corinne to Sugar), and who the fan favorite winner was.

Speaking of how late Survivor started….CBS really needs to do something about their football schedule.  It’s probably the biggest reason why I didn’t watch the Amazing Race this season because I never knew when it would finally come on.  On a larger scale, can someone please explain to me why it isn’t possible to finish a football game in 3 hours when the actual playing time is only 60 minutes?  There is something seriously wrong with that.  I flipped to CBS around 6:45 hoping that CBS was on schedule to air Survivor at 8PM as advertised, but I was annoyed to find more than 2 minutes remaining on the game clock.  Experience told me that it would take another 15 minutes for the game to end and at least 15-30 minutes for the post-game show before 60 minutes would air.  As the title suggests, 60 minutes takes up an entire hour, after which Survivor was schedule to air.  Survivor didn’t start until after 8:30PM making it impossible for me to watch the entire reunion show as planned (I would never have made it to work if I stayed up past 11PM).  I could go on and on about the stupidity of football, but I’m sure no one would want to read that.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but if I had all the money in the world, I would buy the NFL and run it into the ground.  Screw global warming, world hunger, poverty, etc. etc.  My first order of business would be putting an end to the NFL.  Ok, I’m done now.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on Survivor’s newest winner?  Were you surprised by the close vote?