Last night was the broadcast of the 60th Annual Emmy Awards. I'm sure there will be plenty of scathing and snarky posts about people's hair and dress missteps (do we really care??), but the real story lies with some of the acceptance speeches. Kudos to Laura Linney for her quietly courageous acceptance speech, for her role in "John Adams," in which she finished by thanking, "the community organizers who founded our country." To anyone living under a rock, this was clearly a nod of support for Obama and a retort to Republicans who mock Obama's noble political roots.
Speaking of rocks, "30 Rock" (see how I did that) was a big winner--garnering well deserved awards for best comedy series along with individual awards for Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Though, "30 Rock" hasn't been overwhelmingly popular with viewers, for my money it is the funniest show on tv today. Every episode is jam packed with hilarious lines, perfectly delivered by hilarious actors. How can you not fall in love with a show that has lines like, "Never let a hippie take you to a second location"? "30 Rock" is smart and...hilarious. This is both Tina Fey's and Alec Bladwin's best work. Let's hope the show doesn't languish like the amazing, but cancelled "Arrested Development".
I was pleased to see not only "30 Rock" win big, but I was also glad that "Mad Men" picked up a few awards too, including Best Drama. If you aren't watching this show already, netflix the old episodes and start watching on Sunday nights. The dialogue is clever and snappy. The sets and costumes are gorgeous throwbacks without being kitschy and the acting is superlative. This show definitely has a welcomed dark edge--most of the characters are square, but the show sure isn't.
Thanks to funny bits by Ricky Gervais, Steve Carell, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert the Emmy Awards Show had some life to it. Steve Martin's award presentation speech for Tommy Smother was a hoot. Which brings me back to why last night Emmys celebration was special--Tommy Smother's used his acceptance speech to address our dire and appalling political situation here in the United States. People complain about Hollywood actors discussing politics, but as a friend of mine pointed out artists have always discussed politics. And really, aren't actors citizens too? Wait, I think I've heard this speech before. Anyway, bravo to funny, politically, and socially conscious people. Thanks for reminding why I love tv.
