Emmys back with shockers, fresh host
By MIKE HUGHES
Gannett News Service
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The Emmy Awards are back again tonight, mixing glitz and glamour and — this year — philosophic shrugs.
There are, it seems, too many good shows and too many bad nominations. Maybe the only solution is to relax and have fun.
"Most people know my sense of humor," host Conan O'Brien said, exaggerating for effect. "It's fairly silly. It's, for the most part, a waste of time. It will be in that vein."
He'll have a monologue, plus odd, taped bits. He also promises that Emmy controversy will be noted. "Yes, we'll be talking about it."
The trouble started with a basic problem, said Dick Askin, chairman of the group (Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) that runs the Emmys: "The Emmy had a sameness, year after year. It was always the same shows, the same people."
So the nominating rules were changed. If Askin wanted change, he overachieved:
Laurie, the well-bred Englishman, views his snub politely. "A show being nominated is a much bigger thing than an individual being nominated," he said.
With "House" nominated, he insisted, that's enough. Laurie was the first person announced as an Emmy presenter.
Others are less diplomatic. Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment, has admitted that "Desperate Housewives" slipped a little in quality, but feels "Lost" was as good as ever.
"To have that kind of oversight, to me, is remarkable," McPherson said. "It's ... one of the best shows on the air, maybe one of the best shows of all time."
The changed process had committees doing the nominations on the basis of only one episode each. Some people sent stand-out episodes; James included a pole-dancing routine. Some didn't.
"The (submissions), on the part of the producers, really were not as thoroughly thought out as they should have been," Askin said.
The Emmys themselves will be decided via six episodes, not one, he said. And next year, the whole thing might change again.
"If this engenders a little more interest in the show itself, ... it's going to wind up being positive," said director Ken Ehrlich.
Meanwhile, he's looking for fun. "What's great about Conan is that he'll bring a freshness to this. You'll see a lot of him; you'll see some pieces we're doing."
Those go beyond the usual monologue.
"I also like to have visual bits," O'Brien said.
On the serious side, O'Brien said any system would bring controversy.
"I honestly believe it's one of the best years ever in television."
That's mainly in drama, stuffed with strong nominees — "Sopranos," "West Wing," "House," "24," "Grey's Anatomy" — and omissions, including "Lost."
So serious actors prepare for their possible moment.
"I will spend that day in a frenzy of anxiousness about whether my dress is all right or not," said Helen Mirren, whose "Elizabeth I" work could bring her a second Emmy. "Because you know that's the only thing anybody's going to be interested in."
Sometimes it seems that way. Cable channels will be on the red carpet early; NBC will be there at 7.
There will be lots of posing and gaping and fun. Later tonight, the griping can resume.
On the Web: www.emmys.org
