The Gold Standard

I mean, I knew it was going to be a good night when the opening Emmy number was set to Bruce Springsteen and included Jon Hamm. That and knowing George Clooney was going to be receiving the Humanitarian award? About as mysterious an outcome for me as when I order up some nachos at the local pub: pure joy!

Duh.

GOOD Everyone's been talking about how good the opening number was and I'm no exception. Besides what I've already mentioned, let's not leave out that Betty White never gets old (figuratively and literally). I even have to admit that I liked the Kate Gosselin moment where she disses herself, though it was slightly marred by the fact that girl looks a little plastic surgeried up to me. Had to rewind for a sec after a "Who is that?" moment. Seriously, Kate, it's time to go away and design baby strollers or something. Step. Away. From. The. Camera.


BETTER Ok, fine, it's no secret I'll pretty much like anything with George Clooney in it, but his inclusion in the "How can we make Modern Family better" bit was priceless.

BTW, when I tried to find a picture for this, I Googled "george clooney emmy modern family". Why is the picture that comes up first the girl who plays Kayla on Days of Our Lives? Someone should start a website of "Weird S&*T that turns up on Google searches".

Hmm, maybe I just did.

BEST And of course, speaking of Modern Family...Eric Stonestreet getting the Emmy was not just good because he is so freaking hilarious as Cameron on that show, but for me, way beyond all the quippy banter and skits, I am tuned in for the good acceptance speeches. Not the over-rehearsed-in-front-of-the-mirror ones (I'm talking to you Kyra Sedgwick) but the really awesome, heartfelt-make-you-cry ones, and Eric's speech fit the bill. Plus, bringing his mama as his date and giving his award to his parents as a show of his appreciation?

I'd like him to be a part of my modern family.

Party Like It's 1999

I know, I know, where the hell have I been? Can't a girl go on vacation? Zeesh! Well, I'm back with some tv goodies for ya. It's all gonna be ok now. Don't worry.

So I was very skeptical about the Clooney comeback to ER, but dang, those producers got it right, don'tcha think? They just slid Dr. Ross and Carol Hathaway right in there like they'd never left. Benton and Carter, too. No trendy time warp or flashbacks needed here (which, BTW I have an EFFIN headache from watching Lost and that stupid time machine wheel of fortune gizmo, but more about that another time).

Anyhoo, I think ER did it right and it was almost as though it was 1999 again. Actually, it feels a little 1999-ish now, doesn't it? Look around...Dr. Ross is in the house. Who Wants to be a Millionaire is all the rage (Ok, Slumdog style. Whatever). And Britney Spears is on tour.

But I must confess I miss that 1999 rush-home-to-see-my-show feeling. DVR kinda nukes that. I mean, I love my DVR. I love that I can rest easy knowing that all my 30 Rocks are getting stock-piled, and my Oprah's are safe and sound.

And I love knowing that even if my DVR gets all fried up, which HAS been known to happen, I feel sure I can just find that coveted show on-line.

I love all this new technology, and I'm even starting to learn what Twittering is (though seriously, folks, I don't need to know every time you have a cup of coffee. You know who you are.)

And I know you live blogger types will say there are some shows we do still watch in real time, but it's just not the same. Not to me.

Sigh. At least some things stay the same. Ten years later, my VCR is still blinking.

Yes, I also still have my VCR. Baby steps.

In sickness and in health

Tonight, ER, that long, long, lonnnnnnnng running series about that hospital set in Chicago sets its sights on going out in style. It's the start of the 15th and final (no, really!) season of the series that launched a thousand Caesar haircuts, Clooney-style.

That seemingly teflon-coated hospital has seen more guest stars check in than the Love Boat, and as this season begins, Angela Bassett muscles her way in as a doc with a - wait for it - troubled past.

I, for one, hope all these docs and their troubled pasts go out with some class. Now, yes I know we alllllllll want Georgie-poo to come back to say goodbye, but let's be honest....if he didn't show up for Mark Greene's funeral, it ain't gonna happen. But, who knows? Even Anthony Edwards is coming back for one episode, despite his brain tumor death.

God bless the inventor of flashbacks and dream sequences.

Anyhoo, that cast sure has changed since 1994. Some arrivals have been good (hellooooooo John Stamos), some have been bad (sorry Scott Grimes/Dr. Archie Morris, you will always be annoying to me) and some have just plain vanished (where ARE you Rick Rossovitch, aka Tag, the dude Carol Hathaway ditched for Doug?).

I will admit, even I strayed for a few seasons in the middle there, but it's been pretty damn good in the last year or two. So, if your DVR can stand it, that's THREE hours of doctor-palooza tonight (lest you forget the 2 hour season premiere of Grey's).

It could be good for what ails ya.

Night Court

Julianna Margulies is back on TV. She of the perfectly-manicured eyebrows and formerly 1/2 of the George Clooney coupling on ER, is back, starting tonight at 8pm on Fox.

On ER, she was a complicated, sometimes dark and troubled champion of justice in the hospital.
On the new Canterbury's Law, from the ads it looks like she plays a complicated, sometimes dark and troubled champion of justice...in the courtoom.






Does every drama involve medicine or the law? Between the 47 Law and Orders and 28 CSI's, I mean, seriously? Ok, fine, LOST is about neither of those things, but Jack IS a doctor and Kate IS on the run from the law. So there. I'm just saying, can't there be a drama about, oh, I don't know, a bunch of people who work in a mattress store or something?

Suddenly you're understanding why I am not in charge of the networks.

Anyway, that said, this one's got Denis Leary behind it (yes, of Rescue Me...a show, ok, not about the law but about firefighters) so it's got potential. The Monday night premiere also has Mike Figgis directing. That's the Mike Figgis who also directed Leaving Las Vegas, so if anyone knows from dark characters, it's him.

Doctors, lawyers, who cares? I think I'm in, because frankly, I need a little darkness.

The most serious thing taking up my DVR space right now is Simon's mean comments to Paula.

I Don't See Dead People

"There Will Be Blood": title for an award winning movie or the thought that women around the world would have about the prospect of meeting George Clooney's girlfriend in a dark alley? Discuss.












I wanted Julie Christie to win but I'm sorta glad that French chick won for Splash La Vie en Rose only because, well, upsets are fun.















Katherine Heigl's tool-ness grows exponentially every time I hear her speak. She was a presenter and announced that we should forgive her because she was 'really nervous'. Um, relax you phony, there are no Oscars in your future for "27 Dresses".


So my pet peeve with the dead people montage THIS YEAR had to be the music choice. Did they really need to build to a triumphant crescendo on Heath Ledger? I'm not sure what was more inappropriate: that or the glaring omissions. What was worse was that they put DATES after the In Memoriam (do they usually do this?) as if to say, "If you inconveniently die after our Jan 31st deadline, ROY SCHEIDER, we are NOT gonna re-edit this montage for you." This gets them off the hook for Roy, but Brad Renfro totally made the dead people deadline so I'm not sure what's up.

Memo to producers for next year: double check the obits and stick to the somber Forrest Gump theme for your montages. No need to get creative when it comes to the dead.

Go Diablo Cody...from Blogger to Oscar winner!

Mr. Big (s)

This past week, ABC rolled out both Dirty Sexy Money AND Big Shots, both [not to oversimplifiy it] about rich guys. But, Big Shots is about much HOTTER rich guys, and is much campier, escapist fare. Dirty Sexy Money is pretty campy, too, but it feels like it might *try* to be more serious. My problem with it though is that the characters were such cliches...I mean that kid that played Jeremy Darling, the drug addict rich kid? He was SO some kind of sad Less than Zero parody. I'm going to give it a [big] shot, though, probably because I'm brainwashed by ABC's PR machine. They seem to have more of THEIR dirty sexy money behind this one. You can already go to their site and see a full episode, and at least here in NYC, the billboards are EVERYWHERE.

Regardless, Big Shots just got me right away. True, it's just the male Desperate Housewives, but it's pure sug-ah, especially with the one two punch of Dylan McDermott AND Michael Vartan, who both look like they've stepped out of a Bruce Weber ad. The dialogue is snappy and fun, and I can't wait to see what happens next week on this soapy soap.

Moving around the dial, I also checked out Life. I'm kind of into it, though I was absolutely annoyed to the point of distraction by the shooting style of the inserted "documentary" pieces that are used as a storytelling device. If you're not familiar, this is NBC's offering about a wrongly accused cop who goes to jail for murder, then is freed years later with a gazillion dollar settlement and becomes a cop again. It's worth a second look.

And, not to leave the gals out, I also gave Bionic Woman a chance. Also heavily hyped, I wanted to like it even though it's not my typical fare. I couldn't get into it, and frankly wasn't really sure what was going on half the time. But, the plot went something like this [I think]: girl gets in car accident that may or may not really be an accident with boyfriend and is brought to some Lost-ish medical facility where she gets all of her bionic parts. Then we find out her boyfriend is in on it, the people there want her to fight crime, or commit crime...I'm not really sure. Then some other bionic dissenter wants to kill her and/or her boyfriend who may or may not also be a criminal. Mostly, all of these people seemed to very baaaaaaad people. I think.

Oh, and Miguel Ferrer, aka George Clooney's cousin, is in it. Don't ask me why I know this.